Flaming Gorge
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Our first stop in Flaming Gorge was the Red Canyon Visitor Center, where we watched a fascinating documentary about John Wesley Powell and his daring 1869 expedition. Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran, set out with nine men in wooden boats to chart the unmapped canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers, including the Grand Canyon, which no white man had successfully navigated before.
The expedition actually began on the Green River, floating through what is now Flaming Gorge. Along the way they battled raging rapids, lost boats, dwindling supplies, and near mutiny. Three men chose to climb out of the canyon before the final stretch and were never seen again. Against the odds, Powell made it through, and his journals helped open the American imagination to the wild canyon country of the Southwest.
After the film, we set out to explore the Sheep Creek Geological Loop, a ten mile scenic drive packed with dramatic rock formations. It is a place where you can literally see the earth folded and buckled during the uplift of the Uinta Mountains.
We also stopped at the Flaming Gorge Dam. The visitor center was still closed, which a park volunteer said is tied up in permits and government red tape. Even so, standing above the massive 500 foot wall holding back the river was impressive.
Later we walked a section of the Little Hole Trail, which follows the Green River. Fly fishers stood in the current casting their lines while trout drifted through the clear water below.
One of the more interesting stops was Swett Ranch, a homestead dating back to the early 1900s. Walking among the old buildings offered a glimpse of what life must have been like out here. It probably required a lot of resourcefulness, plenty of grit, and more than a little stubbornness. A marmot had even taken up residence under the house, its entrance partially hidden by a bush.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at Red Canyon Lodge, where we ordered rainbow trout. After watching them glide through the river earlier in the day, it felt like a fitting and very tasty way to end the evening.
After the film, we set out to explore the Sheep Creek Geological Loop, a ten mile scenic drive packed with dramatic rock formations. It is a place where you can literally see the earth folded and buckled during the uplift of the Uinta Mountains.
We also stopped at the Flaming Gorge Dam. The visitor center was still closed, which a park volunteer said is tied up in permits and government red tape. Even so, standing above the massive 500 foot wall holding back the river was impressive.
Later we walked a section of the Little Hole Trail, which follows the Green River. Fly fishers stood in the current casting their lines while trout drifted through the clear water below.
One of the more interesting stops was Swett Ranch, a homestead dating back to the early 1900s. Walking among the old buildings offered a glimpse of what life must have been like out here. It probably required a lot of resourcefulness, plenty of grit, and more than a little stubbornness. A marmot had even taken up residence under the house, its entrance partially hidden by a bush.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at Red Canyon Lodge, where we ordered rainbow trout. After watching them glide through the river earlier in the day, it felt like a fitting and very tasty way to end the evening.