Flaming Gorge

We absolutely loved our campground last night.  It was very quiet.  We were surrounded by beautiful sagebrush covered hills.   Each campsite had a nice shade tree to enjoy.  Looking out the front window, we had a view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  This morning we were greeted by rabbits and a small herd of deer stopped by our campsite to browse on some green shoots.

Morning visitors.

When we got on the road later in the morning, we nearly hit an antelope.  They had crossed the road ahead of us.  Just as we approached them, one little guy decided to run back across the road in front of us.  It was nearly his last dash across the road.  It would have made a mess of the front of the motor home too.  They are difficult to see in the low brush along the road.  They blend right in.

We went from this.......

To this......

To this higher up.....

To this on top of the mountain.....

And finally to this.  All in just five miles!   Utah has a very diverse scenic landscape.

If you ever visit Flaming Gorge, the most scenic route is Rt 530 to Rt 44.  You climb some steep mountains with fantastic views.  Going down the other side of the mountain into Vernal, UT is quite exciting too.  There are 10 switch backs in 10 miles and the grade is up to 10%.  We went down in first and second gear.  It was no problem.   They have guardrails along the road, which is a big plus.  Some places out west have no guardrails at all.  You are crawling along a ledge that drops hundreds if not thousands of feet.  Not that guardrails would do much good but they do give you a sense of where the edge of the road is.

Descending to Vernal, UT

Very low humidity gives the sky a crisp blue color.

Vernal is a small village in northeastern Utah.  The main street was lined both sides with beautiful hanging baskets of flowers.  It looked like they were decorated up for the 4th of July with red and white flowers.

Buddy enjoyed the view of the Gorge from the shade of a juniper tree.

We spent the rest of the day on Rt 40 across western Colorado.  It is pretty barren land but still quite scenic.  We stopped in the town of Craig to pick up some things at the store.  Darlie wanted to go out to eat tonight but all that was open were fast food joints.  We opted to continue on to Yampa State Park where we are camped for the night.  It is a very neat and spacious park.  Since I couldn't take Darlie to dinner, I rustled up some grub for us while she lie down for a while.

This stone is more yellow than Yellowstone.  This was taken in a rock cut near the Gorge.