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Show Rs-' Vx?- ;v p: '"I'M .If' . 'ih'M:xcU :'k -':'' 'JUltji- . I . , ! ? , ' , ' A. ' f " t.j , f ' y ' V i v" - ', ' U t x" r . . ..J If Dewey Bridge on route 128 north of Moab-is a one-lane crossing of the Colorado Rivter. A sunny, dry day is J A the one to choose for a comfortable fl automobile trip along the up-river road. Eventual proposals may. include this route in a national parkway connecting con-necting scenic locations along the Colorado Colo-rado River as far as Page, Arizona. Highway 128 Up f lie Colorado River l One of Area's Most Popular Drives BY DICK WILSON 3 One of the convenient auto U tours near Moab is Highway 128, commonly known as the Dewey Road. Its accessibility . and comfort make it one of II IK the most popular drives of JJ the region. Immediately after turning off U. S. 160 near Lions River Park is the place where cool I water coming from a crack may be obtained. The USGS topographical maps label this feature as Matrimony Spring, possibly from the many nam-t nam-t es written on the walls. This is Moab's famous waterfall wa-terfall route. The waterfalls come later on in the spring and are especially beautiful right after a cloudburst. Mo-ab Mo-ab people and tourists migrate mi-grate to certain spots .along . this river route when rain comes in torrents just to be rr able to catch the falls in the process of falling. It is possible pos-sible to count at least 30 dif- ferent waterfalls after a hard rain. It's wise to inject a warning here and that is that motorists should exercise discretion dis-cretion when driving beneath the cliffs of Highway 128 to see the falls. Boulders and other debris come along with the falling water at times. Some of the waterfalls spill onto the highway so during !J an extremely heavy cloud-burst cloud-burst is not the time to view unless a safe vantage point is found. A Small Arch About three-fourths of a mile east of U. S. 160 there N is a small arch quite lovely f look at high on the cliff to the south. This is perhaps 'lie closest arch to Moab but you have to be fast on the t000t 'rigger to catch it. You can ee it only from the north 3a lae of the highway so it's advisable to be traveling in a westbound direction. The best way to see the arch is 'o leave your transportation at the nearest turnoff and walk back along the north s'de of the road to the point where the arch may be view-ed- It's worth the trouble even though the arch is not too large. a0t00 Purtfier up Highway 123 (11 miles to be exact) is a fine picnic area (Moose Park; with numerous flat rock tables. tab-les. Beyond that the highway continues to swing into a large S-curve while it goes around the Big Bend, then swings around to the opposite direction to miss Mat Martin Point. Movie Country An awesome and inspiring view, especially to tourists, is the entrance to Castle and Professor Valleys where several sev-eral movies have been made The La Sal Mountain Loop Road branches to the south through Castle Valley with the higher roads not being recommended for ordinary vehicles during adverse Weather Wea-ther conditions. The paving of the Dewey Road (U128) does not extend past the turn off into Castle Valley. The road . beyond is graveled and easily managed at this time of year except when precipitation in goodly quantities interferes with progress. Fisher Towers The Fisher Towers is probably pro-bably the major point of interest in-terest for most travelers of this route. The side road is adequately marked and the Towers are easily reached by auto. From the parking area it is possible to hike back among the 1000 or so pinnacles. pinnac-les. You can also get imposing impos-ing views of Castle Rock as well as "The Priest and the Nuns." Back on the main route northeastward the next marked mark-ed feature is Locomotive Rock a monument carved from the Moenkopi formation that resembles an old-fashioned steam engine. Six miles beyond the Loco -motive the traveler finds himself him-self at the romantic and adventurous ad-venturous one-lane Dewey Bridge. Automobiles are able to continue on the south bank of the Colorado river for another an-other three miles to the Dolores Do-lores river confluence, with jeep routes leading further in- i (''; T ' : I V : , . ' ' . v- , - , " " '. - . . - i - ' ' -: ''. " "'' - ' -. '' ". .. -1 , y ; " , ' ' ' - ' Fisher Towers are found on the up-river up-river route from Moab. Easily reached reach-ed by automobile, those intricate towers tow-ers present a spectacle of beauty. to the Dolores Triangle country. coun-try. The Uncompahgre Across the rugged northern extension of the Uncompahgre Uncompah-gre Plateau, seen in the distance, dis-tance, east of the Dolores, may someday become a highway. high-way. As proposed by Bates , Wilson, Canyonlands National Nation-al Park superintendent, it would serve as a parkway to connect the system of national nation-al monuments, parks and recreational rec-reational areas in the vicinity vicin-ity of the Colorado river from Grand Junction, Colorado, to Page, Arizona. Highway 128 would become a part of this proposed tourist link and such an extension would become a mighty convenient route for travelers between Moab and Grand Junction. The distance between these two cities could be shaved almost in half, comparable to that from Moab Mo-ab to Blanding presently. Crossing the Dewey Bridge and traveling north soon brings one into the Mancos Shale flats. This area can become extremely muddy in wet weather. 43 miles from Moab, Highway 128 connects with U. S. 50-6. Returning to Moab by way of Crescent Junction gives a round trip distance of 100 plus miles, a pleasant Sunday afternoon excursion. Formed in Moonkopi-type rock, these formations present a unique appearance appear-ance in the late afternoon sunlight. |
