South Knox and Mrs. Bubba's Western Road Trip

Greetings from Silverthorne, Colorado

On our way out of Moab we stopped at a little coffee shop/bakery for breakfast. We asked the lady working the counter where we might find the "Edward Abbey shrine." We were only half joking, thinking there might be a memorial or collection of his papers or something. The nice lady acted like she wasn't sure who Edward Abbey was and asked the "chef" where the shrine was, thinking it was the name of an actual place. The somewhat haggard mountain woman chuckled and said "There ain't no Edward Abbey shrine. Just step outside and look around or go walking up in Arches. That's the shrine." Well said.

We also asked about the origin of the "Gonzo Inn & Restaurant" and if there was an HST connection. The chef's companion said "no, there's no Hunter Thompson connection. You need to go to Woody Creek." He then told an elaborate story about some Mexicans who moved up from California and opened the place. He said their name was Gonzalez and they just shortened it to fit in better with the locals. We were like, oh, that's interesting. Then he laughed and said he was kidding and he didn't know how they came up with the name.

We also stopped by the Hogan Trading Company, which sells jewelry, pottery, rugs, and fine arts by Native American and other local artists. We were attracted by the wind machine sculptures outside. Inside was one of the most amazing collections of art and furnishings I've ever seen. It's more like a gallery and museum than a store. I could have easily spent $20K, but it wouldn't fit our decor. We did buy a beautiful piece of pottery with, according to the proprietor, silver melted in to the glaze on the final firing. It was pretty reasonable at only $60. There were also versions with gold and copper. The potter calls himself an "artist, potter, and alchemist".

I asked the proprietor, Vern Erb, if he did all the buying. He said he did almost all of it and he loved it even more than selling, but that he had to sell to be able to keep buying. If you are decorating a home with a Southwest motif, or you're outfitting an upscale Southwest themed restaurant, this is the place to go. Trust me.

We decided to take the Highway 128 scenic route out of Moab back up to I-70. It follows the Colorado River and at times it's almost like driving through the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Well, almost. With all the stops along the way to enjoy the incredible scenery, we were thinking we'd only make it as far as Denver. About 6:00 it started raining. It was the first time we've driven in rain except for a brief shower near Oklahoma City and only the third time it's rained on us at all, counting a tiny squall that blew over at the Grand Canyon.

Anyway, we were over 10,000 feet at the Vail Pass, the temperature had dropped to 43 degrees, and we were worried it might start snowing so we started looking for a place to retire for the evening. That's how we ended up in Silverthorne (elevation 8751 feet, population 3541), about 60 miles out of Denver.

It appears Knox Vegas is about 1300 miles from here, so we're almost halfway home. We don't have any more planned stops, but I’m guessing it will still take us three or four more days at our pace.

Here are a few photos from yesterday...