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fine road was going to turn into dirt. We speculated that the government must have some secret facility on this road (hiding aliens from outer space, perhaps). Why else would a road that went nowhere be so well maintained? About 10 miles from the Colorado border, we got our answer - oil wells! Lots and lots of oil wells. That was why my cell phone worked, too. So no secret alien outpost; just people with money.

The instant we crossed the line into Colorado, the road turned to gravel. Very rough for the first half-mile, then just regular gravel road. The sign at the border said "Welcome to the Real West!" and was riddled with bullet holes. The rugged scenery is beginning to grow on us. Sage brush, gravel instead of dirt, rocky outcroppings and bluffs. While I wouldn't want to live there (though there are some people who do), it has its appeal.

The GPS lady kept trying to get us to turn around (we kept expecting her to say, "turn back, before it's too late!) but we kept going. I may have mentioned that Ben loves gravel roads and both Marian Rose and I were enjoying the drive, too. Some fellow travelers had told us that we would pass through a canyon so we were excited when we rounded a bend and entered Irish Canyon. The walls on the left were rock layers, creamy white or dark brown. On the right, the walls were not as steep but also made up of this colorful rock. Then the color changed to a reddish-brown. The whole 21 miles was beautiful and I'm beginning to look more favorably on some of the roads Ben chooses.

The rest of the drive to Steamboat was uneventful and we made pretty good time once we got on the paved roads again. If you've been to Steamboat Springs, you know about Rabbit Ears Pass, the 7 mile climb out of the city on the east side. The road rises almost 3000 feet in 7 miles and, thank goodness, it has a passing lane. We were down to 9.5 mph at times but Ben never had to go into Ford Low. He made it to the top in Warford Low, Ford High and usually at a speed of 18 to 20 mph. (Whoo hoo!)

We slipped on into Kremmling around 7:20pm, late but feeling that we had had a great drive. We had time for pictures, we enjoyed the gravel road, we stopped for lunch and visited with a man driving his Model A around his small town. 248 miles makes a long day but a good one. Tomorrow may be more threatening. We usually try to avoid cities and Denver is one of the worst. We'll let you know how it goes.