On Monday, Nov. 18th we drove up into the La Sal Mountains, South-East of Moab, Utah. The La Sal Mountain Loop Road is a 62-mile long scenic byway that winds its way up and around the La Sal Mountains.
The views were breathtakingly beautiful as we drove along the top of the mountain passes. The day was hazy again, so some of these pictures are a little fuzzy in the distance. These mountain peaks range from 13,000 to 14,000 feet high.
Near the top, there was a dirt road turn-off that leads to Warner Lake, a nice alpine lake that overlooks the valley.
The road was a bit scary, especially the switch-backs, some of which had to be taken at a crawl.
As we came down the other side of the mountain road we could see the Colorado River in the far distance.
Castle Rock is a local landmark that can be seen from thirty or more miles away.
The village of Castle Rock Valley is at the base of the mountains, just below Castle Rock.
The La Sal Mountain Loop terminates at Route 128 adjacent to the mighty Colorado River.
On the way home to Moab, we stopped at the Moab Museum of Western Film in the Red Cliff Lodge at Castle Creek. The museum holds memorabilia from the 120 movies and TV shows that have been filmed in the Moab area.
Such movies as Thelma and Louise, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Easy Rider, The Trial of Billy Jack, Back to the Future III, City Slickers II, Star Trek, Con-Air, National Lampoon's Vacation, The Adventures of Joe Dirt, Mission Impossible II, Vertical Limit, and recently The Lone Ranger, Transformers 4 and Need for Speed have been filmed there.
Also, numerous John Wayne classic movies like Stagecoach, Rio Grande, Fort Apache, The Searchers, The Comancheros, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Cheyenne Autumn, and many more. Dad had a great time exploring the museum while Mom and I went for a nice walk along the Colorado River around Red Cliff Lodge.
Tomorrow we are going to explore the Hidden Valley Trail, up over the western cliffs of Spanish Valley, outside of Moab, Utah. Wish us luck, it is very steep and rocky😊.
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