Flaming Gorge, - Wy & Utah
Waking up to this morning's view was a real treat. Last night's rainstorm was over and what was left were puffy clouds, calm waters and warm weather. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, several of the overland trails (Mormon, California, Pioneer & Oregon) all passed through this way. Close by are what still remains as evidence, wagon trail tracks etched into the sandstone, located at the historic site aptly named Oregon Ruts and Register Cliffs. Taking the short hike up the trail we encountered deep gouges into the sandstone. These deep ruts result from years of wagon wear and from intentional cutting by emigrants attempting to ease the steep passage up from the level river bottom to the High Plains. I took some goofy pictures of Ned standing in them (for perspective) and showing they were indeed about arm's width. (Ned is ALWAYS such a good sport!)
Driving from Eastern Wyoming to Western Wyoming there aren't many options for taking the backroads. We found an alternate route through a pass at 7000 ft. until finally ending up at Rawlings. This stretch of land was stunningly beautiful with the colors of the prairie grass, wild flowers and cool rock formations. At one point we came across a little town, barely hanging on, called Medicine Bow. In it's heyday it was a main stop on the Old Lincoln Highway. Today we saw just a few building with names such as "The Lincoln Highway Garage" and "Miss Molly's Washhouse" which does indeed look like it still takes in laundry. The town's other claim to fame is the book, "The Virginians" by Owen Wister. It describes the life of a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, just outside of Medicine Bow. We were hoping to visit the small museum, but it was closed.
There are not a lot of options to camp along this stretch of Highway 80 and we decided to drop down to Flaming Gorge. It's about 30 minutes south of Green River, Wyoming. With a name like "Flaming Gorge", we had somewhat high expectations. As we drove for the next 30 miles along parched desert we reset those expectations. The most interesting thing about this campground is that the peninsula juts out into the river just far enough to technically be in Utah. As we entered the campground we were still in Wyoming and it wasn't until we turned into this particular campground that we entered Utah. Weird. It was damn cold and somewhat rainy. We secured a site right along the river, but don't get your hopes up for any breathtaking pictures. The only thing I can say is that it's pretty in a bleak sort of way.
The weather finally cleared up enough for us to take a bike ride, but the winds were blowing over 30 mph. Let's just say it was a short ride. Tomorrow we drive a mile back into Wyoming and then head for Salt Lake City. Yes, we'll really be in Utah. We can feel the pull of Nevada City calling to us. I understand it's going to be in the 90's this weekend in Nevada City. Dang, after all the Nova Scotia and cool Canadian weather we've experienced I hope we don't perish.
