The San Rafael Reef, Utah to camping in Nevada

Day 30: We left Arches National Park behind, but not spectacular land formations. Interstate 70 cuts through the San Rafael Reef and the San Rafael Swell.  I had never traveled through this part of Utah, so it was a nice surprise.

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Prompted by the Cold War, several uranium mines popped up in this area between 1950 and 1956.  The highway we traveled wasn't put in until the '70's and 80's.




Black Dragon Canyon was a great stopping place for taking pictures and for buying a souvenier. Native Americans often set up stands alongside the road to sell their hand made jewelry.

I have a frog collection, so I bought a necklace with jade frogs from this lady. There's Greg, getting out the cash to pay her (canyon is in the background).

Seems like many regions have "Badlands" where travel is next to impossible. Outlaws with colorful names like Butch Cassidy, Flat-nosed George and Kid Curry hid from lawmen here. Around 1800, the Spanish forged a trail through this area. It was later used by slave traders who sold Native Americans for up to $200 each in Mexico City.

This area made the long trip across Utah entertaining. We found a rainbow of colors in the rock layers...

  

...fantastic rock formations

 ...and, of course, more salt flats.

 We finally made it back to Nevada--only one state away from home--and had our last campout at the Ely KOA, a very nice campground.

There was more to do on the last leg of our journey the next two days--window shopping for turquoise in Austin, Nevada, and another overnight in Reno--but I'm going to end this photo album with a shot of the sunset from our campground on the 30the day of our 32-day trip.

I hope you enjoyed our whirlwind tour of the United States. One day, I'd like to go back to all these places when we can stay as long as we like in each before moving on to the next great adventure!