7-08-15

Bedrock, Paradox Valley, Colorado. So I'm taking pictures of this old store (which was still open despite the defunct gas pump), and a pickup truck pulls up. And the woman driving then asks me enthusiastically if I knew that this store was in a scene in "Thelma & Louise"? Well, no, I'd never seen the movie, but she was very proud of the fact that lots of the movie was shot in and around the Paradox Valley!

Upstream from Moab, Utah. Justifying its name! "Colorado" is literally "colored" in Spanish, but often means red. The Colorado was originally named because, before the 20th century dams, it was usually reddish with its silt load. Here, tho, we're upstream from the dams and the red silt load is due to runoff from the monsoon thunderstorms.

Colorado, USA. Looking upstream, just upstream from its confluence with the San Miguel River. This is the canyon the river follows from Paradox Valley. The river is muddy from the monsoon rains.

From the River Road, looking upstream to Paradox Valley. Colorado, USA.

Looking northwest (downstream) from off Colorado State Route 141 (the highway visible on the ledge to the right) toward Gateway, CO. The Dolores rises in southwestern Colorado and flows generally northwesterly, joining the Colorado River in Utah upstream from Moab. It flows thru lots of red standstone country and spectacular canyons. The name is considerably shortened from the original Spanish: El Río de Nuestra Señora de Dolores, River of Our Lady of Sorrows.