Colorado and Utah

About 60 hours ago and some minutes, I left Pennsylvania and I've now reached Utah! I made it to Denver last night and saw my friend Katie and her sweet dog Pepper. I got to have a nice hot shower and sleep on a comfy bed. I slept well but am still kinda on the east coast time zone so I woke around 5:30am. After a few hours hanging out with Katie, I said sayonora and hit the road for Utah. I got my first views of the Rockies a few minutes out of Denver and then manuevered the car through twists and turns for a few hours. Colorado should be renamed to Beautiful. I drove through canyons next to raging rivers where I saw white water rafters,through the tunnels in the mountains and in between gorges of red rock formations. I stopped in Grand Junction for my last pitstop since there is a stretch of about 60 miles on Route 70 w/ nothing - no gas stations etc. One thing about my trip so far that has made me feel better about people is that there is still so much open space left and it is wonderful to see it first hand. Being an east coaster, there just aren't as many places where you truly feel "off the grid." Utah wasn't long before I turned off and headed south to Moab. I went straight to Arches National Park but to my dismay, the campground was full and booked for 4 months, apparently this season is a new rule of only reservations which hasn't been well advertised. Luckily, the ranger was super friendly and he gave me some advice, I traveled two miles down the road and found Slickrock Campground for only $2 bucks more a night than Arches and it comes with swimming pool, hot tub, bath houses, and free wifi (all of which I have already utilized in the two hours that I've been here). I'm slightly concerned about the weather, as there may be high winds tonight but we'll see. I'm hoping to get up early, close up camp and see the sunrise at Arches and get a nice walk in before getting behing the wheel for another day. Things are going well and I only have really 3 days left in the trip which is good since I'm getting lonely. Sure wish I had mom, Allie, Jason or someone else with me. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well, on to some map reading and reading for pleasure before the sunsets. Adios!