Drove another 50 miles today. This is tough work. Beautiful morning. Left Buckboard, which is pretty much at lake level, and headed through Manila (Utah, that is) and climbed 1700 feet above the lake. Great vistas of Flaming Gorge. Settled in at Greens Lake (National Forest again), about 1 mile from the photo on the right.
No sooner got set up than the camp host came around, an "older" guy (it's all relative, don'tcha know!) and was exceedingly helpful - in a good way, again. He knew all about me. It seems Bill, from Buckboard, called him and mentioned that we'd probably be stopping at his campground. Bill had suggested this spot as scenic, remote, quiet and with few people. He was right. So after chatting for 45 minutes about the area, what there was to do, etc., etc., etc., we finally got going. Notice a pattern here? I'm not sure if it was us, the caravan or that these guys are just lonesome, but news of the entourage traveled quicker than we did! And ---- timing is everything. Monday they roll up the sidewalks and close a bunch of these delightful campgrounds for the year. We finally headed out to the Sheep Creek Geologic Loop.
Flaming Gorge. Once again, photos cannot even come close to showing the magnitude and beauty of this place.
The Geologic Loop was awesome - hundreds of millions of years of the earth's history exposed in a 15 mile drive. A fire tower was on the agenda, so headed up and noticed a barrel of "fire sand." Fire sand? Huh? I'm missing something - but that's not new. Well, hell, at least I thought this was entertaining in an odd sort of way!
Speaking of entertaining in an odd sort of way: Went to back Manila for fuel (gas stations are a LONG ways apart out here.) Found this apparatus in the parking lot. This is a gigantic diesel engine on a platform with pumps and who knows what else. It's used in the oil fields around Vernal. They were hauling this behemoth via tractor-trailer down the highway. The pilot cars close both lanes as this 'apparatus' is the width of both lanes. It's a 50-wheeler with the 24 rear wheels remotely steerable from the tractor. This was seriously impressive (if you're a geek.)
Frost
on the Jeep last night - a heavy layer of frost was on the Jeep cover
I put on at the last minute. It appears autumn is officially here.
While there are a lot of mighty interesting roads to travel here, we unfortunately had to move on. But before leaving, I had to see the damn dam. Homeland security was there protecting the damn from terrorists. There were police at both ends of the dam, actively patrolling. They would not allow one to walk across the dam due to "security reasons," but you could drive a car, truck, RV or any other vehicle across it. Homeland Security - another oxymoron - and obviously run by morons. At any rate, here's photo of the front of the impressive dam.
And here's a photo of the rear of the impressive dam. So at the Visitor Center, the old guy (relatively speaking) was telling some folks that all the power produced here goes to the Republik of Kalifornia. I started to mumble something derogatory about Kalifornians when one of the folks spoke up and thanked the old guy (relatively speaking, and who, by the way, has absolutely no control as to where the power goes) for sending power to their Republik so it would "keep our air conditioners running." No comment.
Next was the grueling 35 mile drive to Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT. This is a very nice park with outstanding scenery. Of course, it would be nicer with electricity, but all of that is apparently going to the Republik of Kalifornia. Push the button, start the generator, and irritate the people who pulled in after the generator was running and camped next to us in the 40 unit campground apparently filled to capacity with 3 units.
The welcome sign into Vernal.
The sunset tonight wasn't that great but somewhat unusual as it peeked through a big-ass dark cloud on the horizon with a fluorescent pink glow. And yes, the photo sucks. Time to open a bottle of Chianti that was smuggled into Utah. I'll be drinking this in Utah on a Sunday of all things, so as the Electric Amish say, "He will surely burn in hell."
Here's the Zion bank of Vernal. The dude that built it in the late 1800s wanted red brick but at that time there was none of that here, only near Salt Lake City. If the bricks were brought from SLC, the cost would have been prohibitive. Let it not be said Utahans are not ingenious. The dude found it would be cost efficient to mail each brick, all 70,000 of them, via US postal mail - at that time, 7 cents per brick. After the 70,000 were received, the Post Office decided to change some of their regulations. Outstanding !
Ashley National Forest in the Eastern Uinta Mountains is an ATV paradise. Even after Labor Day there were many campers set up - some 30 miles on a dirt road. Trailers, truck campers, motorhomes and ATVs. No Jeep trails, but it's great they had so many trails open for ATVs. This was a great drive and met several locals who were up seriously enjoying the mountain ATV trails.
From there, headed back for hot dogs and beer. Changed a tire on the Jeep that had a slice clear through to the steel tread - and even the steel treads were pretty well sliced. Must have happened while on the sharp agate field a few days ago.
Also, need to upload this crap. Noticed in town several motels advertise "wireless internet" so when we leave, will park on the street next to some of the motels and see what can be "acquired." But for this evening, the sun has gone down, the moon has gone up and it's watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade while finishing the room temperature Chianti. I love roughing it.
30 miles later, came upon Bonanza, population 7.
The bridge to nowhere. The old bridge over the White River.
Up and at 'em at 6:30. Couldn't sleep. Crank up the heat, fire up the inverter (no commercial AC don'tcha know) and randomly hit enough keys on the keyboard until something makes sense (obviously I missed that goal also!) Tried to get some train photos but the damn digital is really screwed today. I'm getting closer and closer to seeing how far I can drop-kick the POS.
Today will be a short drive in the last of the Uinta Mountains up to Strawberry Reservoir and back. Plan to be up and back and then head out by noon with the caravan and meander over to Little Sahara Recreation Area north of Delta. Will document the trip upon successful return.
Well........plans change! The short 2 hour drive turned into a delightful 6 hour drive. Followed a number of streams up into the mountains. Made a number of wrong turns (surprise) but these little side trips were awesome. Finally made it to Strawberry at 1:30 and had a great bowl of chili at the marina's restaurant. From there, the trip back was much faster. On the way, discovered a number of NFS campgrounds they were just building - some easily accessible with the motor home. Next year!
Strawberry is a good size lake and is a primary water source for towns south of Salt Lake City.
Now you may ask, what did you mean earlier about "the former town of Thistle?" In 1982 a mudslide, pictured above, slid down, as mudslides oft do. It wiped out highways 6 and 50 as well as Utah Railway's double track. After covering some houses, it then filled in the canyon and blocked Soldier Creek. The water rose behind the slide and inundated the town. It took months to re-route the roads and the tracks. The town was never rebuilt.
So here's another photo that doesn't do justice. The campground is at the lower right. The coach is circled. The mudslide, now a dam, is in the canyon to the right. The notch through the mountain is for highways 6 and 50. Utah Railway's tracks are at the lower left. There are a couple tunnels for the trains and it's pretty cool to see them working their way up the steep grade. A nice end to a nice day.
After 4 beers and a long, but good day, I feel very fine. So where the hell are we? We're at the BLM's Little Sahara Recreation Area, 60,000 acres of OHV area 40 miles from the nearest real town, that's where the hell we are. The sun has set and I don't know if it's the beer or this place, perhaps a little of both, but on a scale of 1 to 10 this is pretty damn close to a 10 and "there ain't no tens!"
The evening is perfect. The sun went down in a blaze of oranges and reds over the mountains (to the west, duh!) without a cloud in the sky to enhance the colors. At the same time the Harvest Moon, almost full, is rising over the sand hills (to the east, double duh!) and over the thousands of Junipers in the campground. I wish I could put into words the incredible sights, fresh smells, cool breeze, and bright moon that graces the Great Basin tonight.
Given this is an OHV area, and most of the people here are on dirt bikes or ATVs, it's pretty awesome to look off into the distance and see their headlights and hear the roar of their engines in the sand dunes 1/2 mile or more away. Sure, it's not the most peaceful and quiet place, but in it's own way and with proper expectations, it's an awesome experience. And - as an added bonus, in this 100+ site campground, there are only 3 people - none of whom are near us !!! Oh, did I mention the camping fee is a whopping $4? KOA - go screw yourself!
I just went for a walk. The moon is so bright, one can see just fine. The shadows of the Junipers on the road are so cool. Off to the west is Venus, shining brighter than anything in the sky, save the moon. After a few minutes staring upward (fortunately without falling over), I counted 2 satellites and 3 shooting stars. The air is so fresh, so clean. The sky so clear. The moon so bright. So many stars!
Too bad that this experience can't be bottled and opened when back home and needed so much - sometimes so very much. Also too bad I have to come back to the coach to type this blather and listen to the TV blaring away and drawing precious electrons from the batteries that could better be used elsewhere.
Spent a little time in the defunct town of Eureka. There were 3 or 4 stores still open. Towards the late afternoon headed to the ghost towns of Silver City and Mammoth, again in search of the elusive JAFR - alas, none of which were found. Got back to camp about 30 minutes before the aforementioned sunset. Tomorrow I suppose we'll have to move on to Delta. Off to the west of Delta, 60 or more miles away, are more JAFRs. But that's OK, we probably need a day at a commercial campground to restock and to wash clothes.
Morning came early - 6:30. Lots to do and see. First was the obligatory four wheel drive up to Black Mountain in 2WD low, just because. It turns out most of the trails are ATV trails and very narrow. In a few places the Junipers, loaded with berries, needed to be coaxed out of the way. In return the Junipers, loaded with berries, made ample deposits in the Jeep, under my shirt, in my pants, and so on. These ATV trails were like the ones Doc and I took a few years ago except these were on the slightly more side of legal.
Around noonish, on the way back, stopped at Sand Mountain for the show. It was a real kick to watch the ATVs and dirt bikes make the climb to the top. This sand is soft - there's no way I'd even try with the Jeep - but what fun to watch. There was even someone in an airplane swooping down and around the sand hills.
But, for me, sand is like mud, not my thing. Rocks, on the other hand, have much more character and are more interesting to attempt to negotiate.
So with that - left Little Sahara - but who knows, maybe I'll come back again with an ATV!
A few fascinating facts about the Great Basin and some great quotes from the West Central Utah travel brochure:
The Great Basin covers 190,000 square miles from the Salton Sea in Southern California, up the east side of Sierra Nevadas, southeast Oregon, a little chunk of Wyoming and Idaho, most of Utah that's west of the Wasatch and almost all of Nevada, except for the southeast corner. It's the largest of the American deserts and called the Great Basin as no water drains into the seas, it all evaporates or disappears into the ground. Many lakes were here over the last few millions of years. The latest was 20,000 square mile Lake Bonneville 18,000 years ago. The Great Salt Lake is all that remains of that huge lake. "This is the part of Utah to visit if you want to get away from it all. The Great Basin desert alternates with arid mountain ranges, and only a few paved road even cross this forlorn landscape. .....The Pony Express crossed this lonely stretch of desert, and remnants of old stations and inns can still be seen." "There are dozens and dozens of rivers and streams that have no outlet to the sea - instead, they sink into underground rivers or evaporate into the atmosphere." "Some say there are more ghost towns in the Great Basin than living towns...." "It is one of the few places left with the welcome mat out to off-road enthusiasts and would be explorers. . . .There are very few "stay on the trail" signs here." YES ! ! ! |
The tiny speck is an ATV 3/4 of the way up. Later there were a half dozen ATVs and bikes all racing each other to the top. It was quite a sight and the noise made it even more impressive.
People get their toys out here however they can, even in 18 wheelers!
Delta's communication center.
Got back to camp and remembered why commercial campgrounds are on the shit list. 70 open sites and the next person that arrives pulls up right beside us. ARG! Then they put out their slide and there's maybe 3 feet between them and us. I even had to move the Jeep because they were bitching about it being in their way.
They were not terribly nice people. Looking at their license plates, they were from Flori-duh. Figures. He was an old fart. Why is it these exceedingly old guys are traveling with these chicks that look like they're 40 years younger? Hmmmm. Oh yeah, he hooked up his water and it leaked all night creating a lake under our coach that had more water than dry bed Lake Sevier.
It's time to go into the
desert. F**k 'em all! And what a shame - for a commercial campground
this is a very nice place. Delta didn't get a great write up in any of
the travel books, but it's quite a clean town and people are surprisingly
friendly. This is a really nice place - except for the tourists. 
So went to have a crappy pizza (no beer, remember, this is Utah.) While there, a woman comes over and says "Nice Jeep out front, do you have lockers?" Now that's an intruiging question and also a question that was loaded with much information! Of course the answer was "You bet!" after which she immediately asked "Do you two want to go wheelin' with us tomorrow?" One can only imagine the gleam in my eyes as, again, the immediate response was "You bet!"
So plans were made and tomorrow, 7 AM, we'll meet Keith (him) and Jerry (her) and see what adventure will unfold 50 miles west of here in the alleged desert.
