Flaming Gorge-2

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area straddles the border between Wyoming and Utah. Lake Flaming Gorge is bounded primarily by Red Canyon to the south and rolling hills and occasional abrupt cliffs and promontories to the north.  

There were several board signs outside the Flaming Gorge Visitor's Center. This was just one about the wildlife in and around the area.

The reservoir is part of the Colorado River Storage Project. This sign depicts all of the reservoirs in the system and provides information about each.  

This Mackinaw Trout is the Utah State Record weighing in at 51 lbs. 8 oz. and was caught locally.

The top of the bridge above the dam as we began out climb out of the canyon.

The area is considered "open range" which means not only do you need to keep your eyes open for wildlife roaming in and around the roads but also local ranchers cattle (as you can see).

Another information sign.

The wide-open territory.

The Ashley National Forest lies partially within the recreational area.

This is Red Canyon Lodge where we had heard was a nice place to have lunch so we decided to check it out.

Nice accommodations (not too busy at this time of the year).

The one side of the dining room is all glass and we had a table next to the window. Here this little hummer was able to find some food in what appears to be an empty hummingbird feeder.

One of several signs in the restaurant. This one is for our motorcycle friends.

More bird feeders were also located just outside the window. What a beautiful view while having lunch.

There was also a small fishpond with a nice walkway around it and benches and a swing where you could just and relax.

One of several hummingbirds that were outside the window.

They too were having lunch.

We don't get to see this very often but if you look close in the middle there is a hummingbird getting food the natural way from flowers (I sure felt privileged to not only see this but to get a photo of it).

In addition to all the bird activity, we were also entertained by two cliff chipmunks who were invading the bird feeders to get some seed which was on the ground.

They also ran around chasing each other but I wasn't able to get a good picture of them (they were too fast).

Look at this little one leaping in the air, cute don't you think?

Isn't he/she cute?

Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area

Flaming Gorge Nat. Rec. Area is managed by the US Forest Service, Ashley National Forest, and Bureau of Reclamation. There are over 600 camping and picnic units, two visitor centers, over 200 miles of trails for hiking, biking, etc.

There are year-round recreational opportunities centered around the 91-mile reservoir and the Green River.  Scenic drives are aplenty. The premier tour is the Flaming Gorge-Unitas National Scenic Byway and the Wyoming loop around the reservoir which offer many roadside exhibits and short nature trails.

The pictures don't truly show the beauty. You have to see it in person.

These were shot on our way down into Firehole Canyon.

We encountered this critter on our adventure. At first we thought it was a badger but the ranger (we showed her the picture) advised us that it was a Yellow-bellied Marmot. all we know it that it was on a mission, it shot across the road really fast and scurried up the hill. This was the only shot I could get.

As we continued down the byway you can see how steep the road was getting.

I missed the sign however it said that the down grade was "9%". Fortunately we were in the Jeep and not in the motorhome (although we have encountered a few of these hills with the RV).

We were heading down into the area called Anteloope Flat. Can you imagine how beautiful this would look when the sun starts to set (or sunrise too) and hits the side of the mountain?

Some pronghorn antelope were grazing on the side of the road as we passed.

Panorama of Antelope Flat.

Down near the water we encountered this Ospray family. There's Mom, Dad and two little ones (however the little ones were getting quite big and look like they were getting ready to leave the nest).

There's no shortage of gasoline in this country, however, one wouldn't know that by looking at the price. This gas station was down in the area called Dutch John. There was a store there with limited food service, gas/fuel/snacks, you could rent a kayak or raft, and of course souveniers too.

The Green River

The dam from above.

You can see the windy roads that you travel on throughout the area but it is truly a beautiful scenic drive and a must do if you are ever in the area.

The day we were here it was a hot one and there were several boats out on the water.

One of numerous informative sign boards that are located throughout the area.

Douglas to Rock Springs, WY

Here's a giant-size Jackalope atop the hill greeting folks along the highway to Douglas (Converse County), Wyoming which is the "Home of the Jackalope".

This giant-size Dinosaur is also greeting the highway travelers to town. There is a Dinosaur Museum in town also.

This statute we encountered as we were travelling along the highway. It is a tribute to the men who work/are working in the oil fields.

Just one of the drilling rigs and equipment complexes that we saw along the highway.

I bet it would be quite interesting to get a tour through one of these operations. Maybe sometime in the future??

 

As the sign says, this is Independence Rock State Historic Site. It has also been called "The Great Register of the Desert". It is a 193-foot-high granite boulder with a base that covers more than 27 acres. Members of an expedition led by Robert Stuart, credited with the discovery of the Oregon Trail, first visited the rock in 1812. Since then more than 5,000 explorers, adventurers, missionaries and soldiers have carved their names on it. It also houses a very welcome rest area for travelers along the route.  

This day one of the local organizations set up an exhibit at the rest area with coffee, juice and water for travelers, expecially welcoming the many motorcyclists that were traveling this road heading to Sturgis, South Dakota for the upcoming week-long events.

The "Rock". There is a path down to the rock where you can get up close, walk around the entire rock, climb on it, etc. We've been here before (a few years ago) so we decided to foregoing doing that again.

One of the exhibits at the rest area site.

A cover wagon on display. Sure does not look comfortable (especially since it was a very HOT day and it didn't have any AC).

Something else to read as you walk around and rest from travelling on the highway.

No one needs to warn me (Jo) about these things. I'm always on the lookout for them when we are out and about in areas like this.

More exhibits.

OK, so here we are in the middle of nowhere (actually I believe the town where Independence Rock is near is called Alcova), and we run into a portable stop light with a line of traffic.

Once we finally got going and continued down towards Alcova, low and behold is another portable stop light for the traffic coming the other way.

Why you ask (as we did). Here's the answer. They had a major paving project going on and it really tied up the traffic (even out here in the middle of nowhere).

Some of the bikers and other traffic stopped for the light.

Another drilling rig popping up along the road.