July 7-10

Week two, first half:

Supply stop in Grand Junction. We have quickly realized that our cooler arrangement won’t hold up to the intense summer heat. So we bought a second Yeti cooler, doing the math, we could spend $6/day or every other day on ice or make the investment and have ice last closer to a full week. We also stopped at Sprouts and City Market for our first weekly resupply of groceries. Those stops took a long time, but we got back on the road and to Dinosaur before dark so that’s a win.

We headed northwest to Dinosaur National Monument. It was HOT and if we were to visit again it would have to be a season other than summer. We hiked 4-6 miles each day through canyons and up scrambling rocks. We cooled off in the afternoons with a dip in the Green River where tiny, curious fish would nibble our toes. By now we’ve found a comfortable camping and cooking rhythm. There’s coyote howling in the distance through the night and the almost full moon comes up really late in the so we can go to sleep with the windows open and blankets off. Our next stop will be somewhere about halfway between here and Yellowstone for rest and supplies.