Thursday, Sep 16
A very hazy/smoky day today and late yesterday! The smoke from the wildfires out west is seeming to get thicker these days.
Wednesday's Sunset
Thursday's Sunrise
Today's riding was to find the Flaming Gorge's National Recreation Area's namesake....the actual rock formation named Flaming Gorge by famed explorer John Powell.
To get at the right angle, it would be a 46 mile ride from the campsite but well worth the time and gas. You can't see the gorge from the western side of the reservoir you see. You have to travel to Antelope Flats on the SE end of the reservoir, a few miles north of the dam which created said reservoir.
Soon I was back in Utah, on UT 44, passing familiar sights but with more haziness in the air. I hoped that it wouldn't be too bad if I got close enough to the rock formation in question.
The Cart Creek Bridge
A few miles after the Dam's visitor center on northbound US 191, I arrived at the Antelope Flats campground area. You can see the rock formation from almost the start of the road to the campground off of US 191, but it's much clearer the closer you get!
Thanks goodness for the Dehaze feature of Lightroom and the Autofix feature of Pixlr Autodesk....two products I normally use to try and replicate what the eye sees and the camera usually fails to render without some post-processing!
Flaming Gorge
Quite the beautifully colorful rock isn't it? No wonder Powell named it as such.
Retracing my way back to the Flaming Gorge Dam overlooks:
The northern overlook provided a wider view that includes
the Cart Creek Bridge to give you some context.
At the main Dam overlook
I've never really given it much thought that a dam would move over time....perhaps its just this type of dam?
A little further on, I was parked at the Dam's Visitor Center parking lot where I got UDF'ed after this picture:
The rest off the ride back towards Manila, UT went without incident in light traffic. I did stop near the Sheep Creek Bay Overlook area for another shot of it.
Note, I think the right-most rock formation is the "backside" of Flaming Gorge Rock formation.
At the NW entry point for the recreational area, the rocks are sandstone and there's a sign naming the place Entrada Sandstone. Entrance Sandstone, indeed!
Stopped for gas at the station in Manila, Fiona got 27 MPG for this tankful and did the whole trip from the campsite and back to Manila using 3.66 gallons.....much better than the 20-24 MPG I'd been getting before this trip.
Got back to camp, and rested outside in the shade under hazy sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s. Very comfortable. It hasn't been very windy at all, so not sure when the hazy conditions will go away.
6 comments:
The second pic looks like you are camping on Mars.
What a mighty and amazing rock formation.
Thanks SonjaM, I’m almost wishing the winds would pick up to blow all the smoke and haze clear.
Rode across that Dam several years ago on the way to the USCA Idaho sidecar rally. Was surprised that all the employees there carried sidearms. That was when most roadways across Dams were closed to traffic for security reasons.
Thank you for finding the right spot to capture the Flaming Gorge. It is impressive.
So how was the dip on the water there? Would expect it to be a bit chilly at this time of the year.
The water was a bit cold but felt great once I caught my breath....
The red colors are so pretty and I love the bridge. I bet that water was cold!
Thanks Oz, it’s an impressive looking gorge. The water was supposedly 68 F average....it was refreshing!
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