The Flaming Gorge

Today is a day off from touring.  Garry's bike has several issues that need to be dealt with before we move on to Salt Lake City.  His 'Check Engine' light was on for most of the ride yesterday and needs to be checked, he has a shimmy from 40-45 kph, and his left fork seal has to be replaced.  He took his bike in this morning and with any luck it should be fixed by the end of the day so we should be off tomorrow morning.

I, on the other hand, have a day when I can do what I want and today I wanted to ride to the Flaming Gorge Dam and do the circuit back to Green River.  The day started out  overcast and there was  a threat of isolated thunder showers for the Rock Springs area in the afternoon, so I left before 10 a.m.

The view from the highway.

The haze obscures the view.

One of the rock cuts along the highway.

Heading south on Highway 191 the road quickly climbed from about 6200 feet in altitude to more than 7000 feet.  The road frequently runs along the top of a ridge and it was possible to see for miles to the left and to the right.  And as I have gone on for days about, the colours are striking although there was a haze that muted them somewhat.  Further on, the road climbed to over 8100 feet and the temperature was quite cool and a bit of a relief when compared to the sweltering heat we have had for almost the past two weeks.  The vegetation is minimal with scattered grasses and sagebrush that stretch to the horizon.  In some places there are some stunted evergreen trees that look like cedars but they are no more than ten feet high.

The stunted evergreens above 7500 feet.

Some of the high altitude ground vegetation.

Big Red resting along the highway. (Not that she needs a rest, Jim.)

The rocks here are layered and it is easy to see that here, at 8000 feet altitude, a sea or lake floor existed tens of millions of years ago.  For a geologist, this place must be a real fantasyland, an open book of the earth's history for the past 300 million years or so.  How anyone who lives here cannot have some kind of interest in geology is beyond me. 

How could anyone not want to know what caused this?

Ancient coastal dunes turned to rock.

First view of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

The highway began to descend after again rising to almost 8100 feet and curved along the sides of the hills down until it reached the area of the Flaming Gorge Dam.  I took a side trip to a viewpoint to see the dam from high above.  During the time I was there I saw not another driver or rider who stopped to see what I had seen.
 

The Flaming Gorge Bridge

Red bike, red rocks. Priceless!

Flaming Gorge Dam.

Flaming Gorge Dam, again.

Descending through a series of curves I rode across the dam and stopped at the visitor centre where I saw three red UltraGlides parked together.  I pulled in beside them and took photos of the four red Ultras together before heading to the Flaming Gorge Bridge.  The lake is a real contrast in this semi-desert with blue water contrasting with the the muted colours of the surrounding hills.

Anybody remember Rolf Harris' song 'Four Red Ultras'?

The dam from water level.

The Flaming Gorge Bridge not particularly high but it is pleasing to the eye and of course I had to stop and take photos of the bridge with my bike in the foreground.  Several miles down the road the three guys on red Ultras passed me when I pulled over to let them by and at the junction of 191 and Utah Route 44 they turned south to Vernal while I headed north to Green River. 

Big Red at the Flaming Gorge Bridge.

The Bridge

At the bridge again.

I was surprised to see that there was road construction on this lightly used highway.  I waited until the pilot truck arrived to lead us through the construction..The bane of every road rider and the two words that strike fear into all of us, 'Loose Gravel' showed up again for the third time on this ride.  For more than two miles I white knuckled it at 30 kph as the cars and trucks pulled away from me.  I HATE loose gravel, and even though it was on a base of asphalt my bike was squirming like a snake in parts of that section.  Later, I spoke to a guy and his wife who were riding a burgundy Gold Wing and who had come through with the group following the pilot truck.  He had found out that there was 20 more miles of loose gravel south of the 191/44 junction so he turned around and rode back north to avoid it.  They were from Sacramento and were spending time staging out of Green River doing day rides in the area.

For quite a few miles the highway snaked through widely spaced pine trees but farther north as it approached the reservoir it opened up to some of the most striking views I have seen even in this country.  I could immediately see why the explorer Capt. Powell named it Flaming Gorge during his 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers.

The reason for the name.

The Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

 

I stopped many times to take photos of the rock formations and the highway began to lose altitude from over 7900 feet to about 6500 feet in a series of tight curves and switchbacks.  It is imperative to keep your eyes on the road on these highways but it was hard not to keep looking up to see the gorgeous colours on the rock face across the valley.  I videoed most of the ride down to the river and through some of the most jumbled colourful rocks I have seen even in this country of brilliantly coloured rocks.
 

Big Red & more rocks.

Flaming Gorge

The highway clings to the side of the mountain.

Switchbacks that eat up altitude.

160 million year old Entrada sandstone formation at the edge of the park.

The landscape levelled out at around 7200 feet and I carried on toward Green River.  About 20 miles south of the town I pulled over, took some photos, stashed my jacket in my tourpak and drank the rest of my water because it was more than 85 degrees F.  While I was standing there a guy in a maroon coloured car pulled over to see if I was OK.  I assured him I was just fine when he got out of his car.  He started a conversation about bike riding and mentioned that he would like to do some riding because every old geezer like me that he saw riding seemed to really be enjoying it.

Twenty minutes later after talking about golfing which he loves, and his youthful cruise which he took courtesy of Uncle Sam in the early 70s, and a lot of other things, he introduced himself as 'Tom Burke from Green River'.  If I ever have any mechanical problem when I'm on my way through this area again, I'm welcome to call him for help.  After twenty minutes this guy, whom I'd never seen before, offered me any help he could provide if I was ever back this way.  That's one of the things I love about so many Americans.  They are open and friendly and often willing to help people who are in trouble even if they've never met them before.

I carried on to Green River and then on to I-80 for the eleven miles back to Rock Springs.  Shortly after entering the highway I was passed by a gravel truck with an open box and was pelted by a storn of large sand grains.  I was close to blinded and had to hit my brakes to escape this deluge of sand.  The sky was getting black but except for a few drops of rain, I escaped the possibility of getting wet.  After stoppoing at the H-D shop I returned to the hotel to find Garry who was still waiting to have his bike fixed. 

Garry left at about 4:00 p.m. and returned just before 6:00 p.m. with his newly repaired bike ready  to hit the road tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be great, the road is open and the ride to Salt Lake City should be a smooth 170 miles.
 

Seen at an intersection in Rock Springs, WY, today.

Finally, over the past two weeks I have been amazed at the amount of road kill here.  I have seen several coyotes, multiple deer, a pronghorn antelope, raccoons, skunks too numerou to count, flat rabbits, a fox, and even a wild turkey on the roads.  and it doesn't seem to matter whether it's the Interstate or state roads, but with a 75 mph speed limit on the Interstate and a 65 mph speed limit on state highways, it's probably not a surprise that so many animals are killed.  It's a pity but a price to be paid for the freedom to moved around the country so easily and smoothly. 

Today was Day 14 of our journey and it's looking like we'll head down to northern Nevada before we start north on the way back to Vancouver Island.  Still, there are lots of things to see before we get home and we're looking forward to seeing most of them.