Day 25 #TeslaRoadTripUSA
Vail to Moab National Park. 257 miles
The Index of all 30 posts from day 1 of our #TeslaRoadTripUSA is HERE.
Left Vail with a full charge, 329 miles. Enjoyed free charging at the Hotel.
The drive to Moab National Park took us through Colorado, Westwards on the I-70.
The I-70 drive. Exciting road with a river and a rail line, winding through the Rockies. here’s a two minute video of this picturesque road. maybe the most spectacular leg of the drive.
Not long after we crossed into Utah, the I-70 near Morrison shut down when a driver crashed into the back of a parked semi, killing himself. We did see some typically reckless driving by cowboys in Trucks. F-150’s especially.
Images from the drive. the Colorado River. A fruit processing Co Op. We passed through Rifle and I recognized it from the Boebert story. Lauren Boebert, famous for many reasons. None of them good. While driving through the 3rd District we googled some information about this area. Rifle, where Boebert lives is bigger than I imagined.
The land that Rifle resides on was once in the heart of the Ute Nation, a classification of the Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. The most common tribe in the area were the Tabagauche, who hunted and lived on the land slightly to the east of Rifle in the Roaring Fork Valley. Due to their location, the Tabagauche were somewhat less exposed to white settlers, and to some extent their ways remained less altered than other native peoples.
In 1878 Nathan Meeker was appointed as the director of the White River Ute Agency (the town of Meeker 40 miles north of Rifle was named after him). Meeker had no training or knowledge of Ute culture, and launched into a campaign centered on sedentary agriculture and European-American schooling.
As this clashed with the culture of the nomadic Utes, he was met with resistance. It all came to a head when Meeker had the pasture and racetrack for the Ute's horses plowed under. The event that followed is known as the Meeker Massacre in 1879, during which Meeker and his 10 employees were killed.
The aftermath of the conflict resulted in nearly all members of the Ute nation being forcibly removed from Colorado into eastern Utah, although the federal government had formerly guaranteed them the land on which they were residing. Ethnic cleansing all Ute from land that would one day become the purview of Lauren Boebert.
Colorado's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. It takes in most of the rural Western Slope in the state's western third portion, with a wing in the south taking in some of the southern portions of the Eastern Plains. It includes the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Ignacio, and Pueblo. The district has been represented by Republican Christian Lauren Boebert since 2021. Laurens most notable CV item is that she was a grandmother at 36.
We drove through Rifle Colorado where Boebert lives. Representing some 759,000 people who must love family values in the Boebert Christian style. Lauren represents Jesus and guns with some confidence. We saw a poster advertising HandJob Hoebert. Not sure what that’s about.
Driving through all this beautiful countryside it is difficult to see why residents in such abundant and beautiful land believe Lauren adequately represents their political voice.
Into Utah. As usual, God is everywhere. (Explaining why they vote for Christian Boebert.)
We have noticed that there is a proliferation of Cannabis stores, usually near churches. We passed countless churches and imagery of Jesus.
From a passing car it seems that Cannabis sales pair well with Jesus products. Not once have we seen the freedom of religious expression representing anything other than Jesus.
The Utah sign. And a picture looking back up the road we traveled into Utah.
We arrived in Moab around 2.pm. Entered the Arches National Park. Surprised to learn they now have a limited admission policy that requires downloading an app and registering for a limited number of admissions.
When its full, there is no entry to the park, no matter how far you drove to get there. Never mind. We made it in and managed a 10,000 step hike through the stunning red rocks that are so much larger and more awe inspiring than an iPhone photo can suggest. It was hot, about 80 f.
Some lovely Red Rocks in the Arches
Our Hotel, like every other Hotel in Utah, features a free Gideon Bible in every room. Religion is everywhere In Utah. Home of Joseph Smith’s 1830 iteration of Prosperity God in America; that involves the Angel Moroni, whose name cannot be said without first saying Moron.
The Angel Moroni is who Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823.
Smith said the angel Moroni was the guardian of the golden plates buried near his home in western New York, which Latter Day Saints believe were the source of the Book of Mormon. An important figure in the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, Moroni is featured prominently in its architecture and art.
Besides Smith, the Three Witnesses and several other witnesses also reported that they saw Moroni in visions in 1829. So its validated by the THREE WITNESSES. But wait. Who are the THREE WITNESSES?
I know the answer. Its the three who said they heard God's voice informing them that the book had been translated by divine power. The Three are part of twelve Book of Mormon witnesses, who also include Smith and the Eight Witnesses. So, clearly EIGHT WITNESSES plus Smith equals NINE. Three times better than THREE.
But for the avoidance of doubt, if asked why we should believe Smith’s account of God conversation, now you know. The Three Witness narrative provides all the provenance necessary.
The bar in our Hotel has a sign. Must produce ID to enter. Over 21 Only. “I am over 60. “Do I still need to show ID” I asked. “Yes. That’s the law. Everyone must show ID.
Tomorrow, hiking in Moab.