Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

Well here I sit all alone at the computer with a slow, I mean slow, Internet connection. We love the Lucerne Valley Campground, it is so great here I don't even mind sitting and swearing at the slow connection. (If you own a computer and go on-line you will learn to swear!)

The reason I sit here alone is because yesterday I drove Bev to the Salt Lake City International Airport for her flight home. She had to go back to Connecticut for Kevin's mom Phyllis's funeral. I wish I could have gone with her but I just didn't feel right leaving the camper alone in the wilderness. Bev will be returning Sunday so I will have to drive the 3 hour plus trip each way back to Salt Lake City to pick her up.

I just love this picture of Kevin and his mom at Kevin and Holly's wedding. I am so glad she was able to attend their wedding.

Felicia L. Edmiston and Kevin Edmiston

We all loved Phyllis from the bottom of our hearts and will miss here dearly. My heart goes out to Kevin, Holly, and the Edmiston family.

We did get a chance to check out Flaming Gorge but still have more to see. We didn't get to check out the Flaming Gorge Dam yet but will when Bev gets back from Connecticut. We also expect Pam and Kent to visit us for a couple of days next week and will drive around more then.

About a mile from the campground on WY-530 is the Wyoming/Utah line. In the distance you can see the little town of Manila, Utah.

I took the picture from this travel stop which is a gas station (extremely high prices), a restaurant, and small grocery store. We didn't buy gas or eat in the restaurant but you know we had to check out the grocery store. We only got a couple gallons of drinking water though.

This was on the porch.

This is the view we see from the campground road.

On the road to the campground we saw these critters. "Pronghorn"

Bev wanted to pick up some supplies at Walmart so Monday we headed back up WY-530 to Green River, picked up I-80 east for a couple of miles to Rock Springs, WY where there is a Walmart Super Center. It was a good hour ride but we wanted to see more of the scenery anyway.

View of WY-530 heading north to the town of Green River.

Entering the town of Green River, WY

View looking south from I-80 heading to Rock Springs. See the RR tracks.

When we left Walmart we were hungry so we stopped at Arby's for lunch (I guess I did mention that we like to eat out). It was still early in the day so we decided to take the long way home down U.S. highway 191 south though Flaming Gorge. It is over twice the distance back to the campground this way but the scenery was worth it.

We headed south on U.S. Highway 191, below Flaming Gorge in Utah we picked up UT highway 44 east to UT Highway 43 north which becomes WY-530 in Wyoming returning back to the campground.

Heading south on U.S. Highway 191 just outside Rock Springs

The pictures may look OK but the scenery we saw was so much more spectacular than the photos show. You really need to see this in person.

Major John Wesley Powell named the Flaming gorge and tributaries such as Little Fire Hole Canyon for the brilliant red sandstones exposed in the canyon walls. Embarking from what is now Green River, Wyoming in specially designed river dory boats, Powell completed two voyages down the Green and Colorado rivers through the Grand Canyon. The first, in 1869, was largely exploratory. The second, in 1871, collected scientific data and produced the first maps of the upper Colorado drainage system. Powell's work formed the basis for much of what geologists now know about the region.

Geologists believe that, when the last major regional erosion cycle began several million years ago. Erosion removed softer rock, cutting a precipitous canyon into the resistant core of the Uinta Mountains which dominated southern Wyoming. The result is the spectacular Red Canyon of the Green River.

Traveling down tributary canyons, such as Little Fire Hole, and continuing downstream towards Flaming Gorge Dam, older rock formations contain a wide variety of fossils, ranging from dinosaurs to primitive sea life. Near Flaming Gorge Dam, the dark red sandstones and shales form the near vertical canyon walls. These rocks are nearly 1.1 billion years old.

Although we drove passed the Flaming Gorge Dam we were tired from driving so we decided to explore it another day. I will save that for another blog.

We really enjoyed our drive through the Flaming Gorge but it was a long day and we were glad to get back to the Winnebago and relax.