Journal 61. J. Groth 1985 Aug 2 (cont'd) got to the Blue Mesa area, I took a gravel road across Blue Mesa to the NW; the top of the mesa was grass/sagebrush with scattered growths of aspen/spruce and few ponderosa pines. Here the clouds began to thin out, as I was finally escaping the tropical moisture of the southern mountains. I took Hwy 50 W past Montrose, then followed Hwy 90 into the Uncompahgre National Forest. Along this route, the pinyon/juniper zone met the aspen/spruce very abruptly, and I drove straight into the midpart of the forest. I turned left to go NW through the heart of the forest. The cone crops on the two (?) species of spruce looked good here, especially in the northern reaches of the plateau, and on the road to Delta, Colo., the forest became ponderosa pine savanna with only some trees in green/brown cones. Camped at the edge of this pine savanna on the road to Delta, or about 1/2 mi. S of where Cottonwood Road turns off to the NW of the main forest road. There was a thunder/lightening storm visible to the S of where I camped, but my camp remained dry. Coyotes howled here.