Today we go our separate ways from our friends Peter and Jacqui. They depart for LA and we go north east to Moab, Utah.

Leaving around 9.00am having checked out from the Casino Royale we immediately got stalled in traffic. No present or future presidential reason this time, just a crash, followed by some curious having a follow up crash in the other direction. Still we got to see yet another side of Las Vegas detouring around the scene. Finally travelling north we passed the prison (road sign says “don’t pick up hitch-hikers”). Also passed the Nellis Air Force Base and were entertained by the swooping jets doing go-arounds right by the highway.

Last town in Nevada is Mesquite and, indeed, there is a couple of last chance casinos. No gambling in Arizona next door. Just skimming the corner we were soon in Utah stopping for fuel in Beaver, UT. It was drizzling from time to time and most of it was at 80 mph (128 km/hr) which was quite safe as we were on a separated 2-3 lanes in both directions.

Las Vegas to Moab approximately 6 hours 30 minutes

We had a couple of scenic stops along the way.

Firstly we passed a parallel track with a hand hewn tunnel. We made our way off the highway on to a gravel road and tracked back to it and a couple of other spots through this canyon. The temperature has dropped from a high 20s in Las Vegas down to less than 10 and windy. We both got out of the car and straight back in for the down jackets that seemed a bit foolish in Vegas.

Part of the San Rafael Swell area is a geological bunching together of layers of different colours and ages making for an amazing layer cake effect. There are eroded towers everywhere and even with the lower visibility it was amazing.