Where do I start. We had a busy week and covered a lot of ground, especially in the car. As I mentioned in the last blog I dropped Bev off at Salt Lake City International Airport so she could return to Connecticut for Kevin's mom's funeral.
Sunday July 21 I drove the 7 hours round trip back to Salt Lake City to rescue Bev from the grips of Delta Airlines. She had a great trip and commented that Kevin did a fantastic job arranging his mom's funeral. (Kevin, your mom is looking down on you and is pleased.)
Bev was glad to be back home in the camper and we were both exhausted so we hit the rack early.
Monday July 22 was an exciting day for us because Bev's sister and brother-in-law, Pam & Kent, arrived to spend time with us for a couple of days. They had a long drive and we were still tired from Sundays trip to the airport so we just hung around the campfire and relaxed.
We had a nice little campfire but my buddies Wayne & Pete would think it was a wimpy fire. They like the flames to be 6 feet high.
Tuesday July 23 was a busy day with a lot of touring around Flaming Gorge. Before we hit the road though we walked around Lucerne Valley Campground to check out the sights and wildlife. We saw the usual Pronghorn and this Osprey with her chick.
The Osprey is a large fish-eating hawk with a white head and underparts. The Osprey fly with a crook in their wings and plunge feet first into water to catch fish. They are found along lakes, rivers, and coasts. Their large nests are made of sticks in tops of dead trees, on rocky pinnacles, or on poles set up for them like this one.
We also walked along the shore and checked out these boats.
This is a huge reservoir with a lot of boating and fishing activities.
Now was the time to hit the road and head to the Flaming Gorge Dam. Out of the campground we turned south to Manila, UT, which is only a mile or so from the campground, and then turned west on Utah highway 44. On the way to the dam we saw a sign to Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Area so we decided to check it out. We were sure glad we took this side trip because the scenery was spectacular.
After that awesome side trip we were back on Highway 44 heading west towards the dam. Along the way, climbing up a mountain we saw this view of Sheep Creek Bay.
Now we can continue on to the dam, OH NO - NOT YET. We came upon a sign to the Red Canyon Visitor Center. Of course we just had to check this out, we don't want to miss any scenery.
As you can see from the photos there are boaters having a ball in the canyon. I bet their view is fantastic.
Long before and through the Age of Dinosaurs, layers of sediments were deposited in ancient oceans, deserts, and lakes that once covered this land. Heat and pressure over the years compressed the sediments into rock layers called formations. Over millions of years the Green River carved through the rock layers. Then shifts in the earth's crust bent the formations upward to form the Uinta Mountains. As the gradual uplift of the mountains occurred, the Green River held its place, cutting down through 1,700 feet of Red Canyon.
The breaks you see in this cliff are part of nature's wrecking program. In winter, water seeps into cracks and freezes. The expanding ice splits the rock much as frozen milk bursts its container. As we stood on the edge of the cliff we were glad the rocks didn't split off sending us plunging down into the canyon.
As we left the Visitor Center we passed by these wild goats on the edge of the road.
Again, back onto Highway 44 west heading to the dam. We joined U.S. Highway 191 and headed north for a short distance to the dam. We finally made it to the Flaming Gorge Dam!
The Flaming Gorge Dam is a thin-arch concrete dam. From the stream bed, the dam stands 502 feet high and contains 987,000 cubic yards of concrete. Construction of the dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. The dam was dedicated in 1964 by former First Lady Mrs. Lyndon B. "Ladybird" Johnson. It was suppose to be dedicated by John F. Kennedy but as you know he was assassinated before it was completed.
Flaming Gorge Dam impounds waters of the Green River to form Flaming Gorge Reservoir which extends as far as 91 miles to the north. When the reservoir is full at elevation 6040 feet above sea level it has a capacity of 3,788,900 acre-feet and a surface area of 42,020 acres.
Flaming Gorge Dam is a water storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project. From Flaming Gorge Reservoir, water flows via the Green River to the Colorado River and eventually ends up in Lake Powell.
The total installed capacity of the three generating units in the flaming Gorge Power Plant is about 150 megawatts. Approximately 500,000 megawatt hours of energy a year is generated. This is enough power to serve about 150,000 homes. Power produced form Flaming gorge Power Plant goes to municipalities, public utilities, and governmental agencies in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
There are two distinct types of land in the reservoir area: a mountainous area in Utah composed of benches, canyons, and forests; and a desert area in Wyoming composed of low hills, shale badlands, and desert shrubs.
In the visitor center we signed up for a free guided tour of the dam. Free tours of the dam and power plant are offered most of the year at the flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center. Well that's enough words, time to see photos.
This is where the power from the dam gets distributed.
Now this is a long way down to the Green River. We walked along the side and top of the dam before heading down inside.
We are now inside looking at the power plant and interior.
This sign shows a section view of the dam.
We are now at the bottom of the dam hoping it doesn't burst while we are there.
Now what are they looking at?
Oh, Fish! Looking down into the water here you'll likely see several trout. Browns, Rainbows, Brook, and Cutthroat trout thrive in this portion of the river. If you look closely you may see some "lunkers" - huge trout that most anglers only dream about. Of course you can't fish here or a ways down the River.
These large pipes are where water is let out of the dam when needed. The water flows out quite violently and shoots out quite a ways.
Back on top this is a view of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir looking from the dam.
Well that was enough touring for the day. I'm pooped and ready to head back to the camper to prop up my feet in front of a campfire.
Back at the camper that's exactly what we did. I didn't last too long though, I was tired and went to bed early.
Wednesday July 24 was a sad day, we said good-by to Pam and Kent. They were continuing their trip south through the scenic part of Utah and Colorado on their way home. Bev and I enjoy their company so much we hated to see them go. We would have liked them to travel around with us for a while but they wanted to head on home.
With hugs all around they jumped into their car and was gone (Sad Face).
After they left we decided to tour some more so we headed down to Vernal, UT to see Dinosaur National Monument. This blog is long enough so I will save that for another day.
Friday July 26 we leave Flaming Gorge and head north to the Grand Tetons where we will spend a week touring around.
See you in the next blog.
