Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Our trip north from Grand Lake was uneventful, but beautiful.  

The first 50 or so miles were via US Hwy 125.  I was amazed at some of the rock formations running along the tops of the ridges.  This one wasn't much more than a car's length wide, but showed no signs of toppling over.  

The road wound up and over some smaller ridges, and alongside beautiful streams. 

I was wishing for an excuse to stop and try to catch a trout or two for supper, but we had places to go and pressed on to Rawlins, Wyoming, where we spent the night at the KOA beside Interstate 80.  Not the most scenic…in fact, not at all scenic, but it had full hookups and good power, plus an acceptable dog park.  For some reason, the park was designed so that all the sites faced west.  Clearly, whoever laid it out didn’t understand that the sun sets in the west and that in this part of the world it is brutal.  Everyone who wanted to sit outside had to do so on the “wrong” side of their RV, nestled up against the water and sewer hookups but at least in the shade!

On Tuesday, we rolled into Rock Springs in the early afternoon and had our pick of campsites at the Sweetwater Events Center.  Fortunately, there were no horse races, stock car races or rodeo events scheduled and there were only a half-dozen or so of us in the immense RV area.  We found a great site with a fence along the back and views of the hills in all directions.  It was a wonderful base camp for our ramblings in the area.

Wednesday morning we drove the Wild Horse Scenic Loop north and west of town.  A sign along the road informed us that the carrying capacity of this particular area is about 250 horses.  When the population exceeds that number, a roundup is held and the wild horses are put up for adoption.  Other literature gives the number of wild horses as around 1,500 head.  I assume that means for the entire state.  I can't imagine that many in this area.  

There were only a few horses visible on Wednesday, but they had left their "calling cards" an many places.  

We were told that the wild stallions roam the territory they claim, leaving their mark to warn off other studs who might be passing by.  Since the stallions visit these places often, the piles of horse dung can be quite large, sometimes 2-3 feet high.  Kota posed by this one to give you an idea of its size, no doubt she was planning to have a little snack once our backs were turned.

We did see plenty of pronghorns, almost invisible against the grass and sagebrush,

and spectacular views of Rock Springs and Green River in the valley.

The large mesa on the horizon and in the second photo is known as “Pilot Butte.”  It was an important marker for early-day travelers, as well as for pilots carrying mail.  There is a well-used route to the top for ATV vehicles, but we weren't interested in trying it.

We had a lovely picnic lunch in the city park in Green River, and the dogs took the opportunity for a dip in the crystal-clear Green River.

In the afternoon our wanderings took us back north of town for a close-up look at the “Boar’s Tusk” rock formation, the stem or core of an ancient volcano that erupted some 2 million years ago.  It rises from the valley floor to a height of some 400 feet. 

We had planned to drive to the base, but recent rains had turned the dirt track into serious ruts.   We opted to go on to our next destination, the White Mountain Petroglyphs.  After a couple of false starts, we found the right road and traveled some 3 miles to a line of bluffs to the west.  A hike of a quarter-mile brought us to the base of the formation, and hundreds of images etched into the surface of the sandstone cliffs.  This is one of Wyoming’s premier rock art sites.  The figures date back as far as 1,000 years ago, and perhaps up until as late as the1800’s.  

There are human figures, along with a number of animals, bixon, elk,bear, deer, beaver, fish and birds, many with spiritual significance to the early peoples.  

Can you see the bull elk in this one, with perhaps a beaver beneath his neck?

John liked this deer, or maybe it's an elk.

Any guesses on this one?  It could be a horse, but it has toes.

John found a human figure, plus a bison, a horse and a couple of teepees.

Here's a close-up.

Riders on horseback.

Here's another elk.

Bird, human/stick figures, footprint

There are also horses and battle scenes, as well as what appeared to be feather motifs and stylized hand and foot prints.  Unfortunately, some more recent visitors found it necessary to carve their initials, Greek fraternity letters and other graffiti, but there are plenty of unspoiled carvings to enjoy.

The dogs explored the shallow caves, nosing into every nook and cranny in search of something to chase.  We found petroglyphs there, too.  It was a great afternoon, and the petroglyphs were an unexpected treasure.  

Thursday we embarked on a day-long trip south through the Flaming Gorge area of southwestern Wyoming and northern Utah.  It is one of the area's lesser-known attractions, a little off the beaten path but well worth a visit.  The scenery is high desert, but with views of the 91-mile long Flaming Gorge Reservoir and its beautiful cliffs.

The Geological Loop to the south and west of the reservoir offered breathtaking views of the sheer red and white cliffs, spires and hoodoos.  At the entrance was this sign resembling others we have seen warning of free-roaming livestock. 

This one looked more like a musk ox or some other exotic creature.  However, we didn't see livestock of any kind, so we'll never know what it was intended to represent.

This curious magpie kept a close watch on us when we stopped to take photos.

At noon we picnicked in the Woodruff-Swenson Memorial Grove, dedicated to the memory of Keith and Lavon Woodruff, their three children and two nephews who lost their lives in a flash flood in 1965 while camped in the Palisades Campground in Ashley National Forest.  It was a lovely site, but a sobering reminder of how swiftly nature can turn deadly.

We had hoped to tour the dam constructed to hold back the waters of the Green River and which formed Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  Unfortunately, the elevators leading down into the dam were “not in service,” which we took to mean that after 9/11 tours were canceled.  We opted to view the dam from the downstream side, which was impressive in itself.

A drive home along the top of the mesas to the east of the reservoir proved spectacular in spite of the smoke from fires in Montana, Utah and California which have become a fact of life here during the fire season.  

We loved our time in the area and look forward to returning.