Nine Mile Canyon, Utah - March 11th to 12th, 2024
Monday was a planned short travel day from Heber City to Green River, so we decided to take a detour to Nine Mile Canyon. Dave and Sandy had been there quite a few years ago and thought Ann and Keith would enjoy it. It is a beautiful canyon known for its many petroglyphs. The canyon is 46 miles long, with viewpoints and short trails along the way to view the rock wall art.
We spent about three hours in the canyon, stopping at many, but not all of the sites. Horses, cattle and deer were grazing in the meadows in the places where the valley was a little wider. We could have spent a lot more time there, but we needed to move on.
Since it was getting later in the day, we stopped in the town of Wellington for dinner. Wellington was where we left highway 6 to head over to Nine Mile Canyon. There weren’t many restaurants to choose from in Wellington. The Outlaw Cafe sounded like an interesting local joint, so that’s where we went. It was traditional American food, with breakfast served all day. It was a charming place and the food was OK.
The sun set while we finished our drive to Green River. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow on the rocky cliffs in the distance. It was a spectacular sight.
In Green River, we checked into the River Terrace Inn. It is an old, private tow-story hotel. Some of the fixtures are rather dated, but the place is classily done. The rooms are very spacious. However, there is no elevator and our rooms were on the second floor. Normally that is not a big deal, but when we reached our room, Ann’s back started aching. She must have strained it carrying her luggage up the stairs. It took several days for her back to completely heal.
Breakfast Tuesday morning at the hotel matched the lovely rooms. The eggs, sausage, hash browns, and pancakes were made to order. Also included with the room price was a buffet of fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, rolls, cereal, oatmeal, and grits. Ann’s omelette was cooked to perfection. If you are trying to decide whether to stay at the Comfort Inn across the street or the River Terrace Inn, we would definitely recommend the River Terrace Inn. But if you have issues with carrying things up stairs, request a room on the first floor.
The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful. We really lucked out that the roads through the mountains were dry and clear. For lunch, we stopped at Loaded Joe’s in Avon, Colorado. We’ve stopped there several times in the past, as it is about a two hour drive from our house so we are usually ready for a stop and lunch as we head into the mountains. New this time was paying for parking in the little shopping strip. We don’t remember paying to park before. However, when we went to the app on our phones and selected one hour, there was no charge, although it did record what time we arrived. We’re not sure how long you have to stay before being charged. I guess they don’t want the lot to fill up with people parking there all day leaving the shop customers with no where to park. The food at Loaded Joe’s did not disappoint. It will probably remain one of our regular stops when traveling the I-70 corridor through the mountains.
Nine Mile Canyon was a nice little side attraction. Some of the nicest memories are those things that are not planned. No expectations are set. You just enjoy where you and relish the moment. Thank you, Sandy and Dave, for showing us Nine Mile Canyon.
Check out our related video: Nine Mile Canyon, Utah
(Ann)