Once we got through CO, we hit a little town called Vernal and spent a night at a campground where other than some long-termers, we were the only ones there.  It was a first night in, “Rosie” the Roadtrek and we pretty excited to try her out!





The locals said that we picked the wrong night to camp because the tempreture went down to 7 degrees!  Although it was super cold all night, we did find some pretty cool ice crystals on Rosie.

On the INSIDE of the windshield!  That little humidifier we bought really worked!After a freezing night of contantly waking up to find the covers, we set out for Dinosaur National Monument.  Mom thought she found a shortcut through some back roads but it added an hour to the trip.  She calls it a “Diane Detour”.  It turned out to be one of her best memories of the day as we rolled through the hills Utah expecting to find the park after each turn but instead, just finding more amazing views.  That little bit of thrill and adventure settles into your stomach and after a while you don’t care where you’ll end up.  THAT’S a Roadtrip!



Found it!



We went on a private tour that took us inside an amazing building that was built on the actual site where the dinosaur bones were found.  The building was built onto the side of the mountain so you could witness the actual dig and see what the archeologists saw.  Douglas found the bones but only allowed the museums to take some of them because he wanted the rest of them to be preserved for the children, scientists,and archeologists of the future. That is pretty cool.  It is a very nice National Monument to visit if you are ever in the area.





The rest of that day was spent driving into Salt Lake City and finding a hotel similar to the one we stayed at in Steamboat. After a night full of restful slumber, we spent half of the next day visiting Temple Square and educating ourselves on the Book of Morman and the Morman religion.  Their religion is strongly centered around family and being brought together in the afterlife.  Apparently, they can even baptize their long-dead ancestors that might not have been baptized in their time on earth so that they all can be reunited after death.  The Temple Square is the first place we have been that is truly a religious center.  The people working there on their missons and the volunteers were very friendly and ecucated. 

Rooftop garden by Temple Square.

Fountain near Temple Square.

 We then found lunch at the most beautiful mall we had ever set our eyes on. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, gathered our things, and hit the road on our way to Nevada. We both get the same feeling at the same time about moving on.  When we are on a lonley highway for a while we need a big city.  After being in the city for a day, we long for the open roads and a night camping.