Highway 12 from Bryce Canyon north to Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey, Utah is designated an “All American Scenic Byway,” which is an understatement. Each turn of a corner on the somewhat winding road brought about a new vista of beauty we had not seen before, from box canyons to sharp outcroppings reaching to the sky; the pictures simply cannot do it justice, but they are still better than words can describe. The area called “Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument” is along this route, as is the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The walls here are multiple shades of red, from an intense dark brick color to tan and every hue in between. The striations in the rock walls are so precise they look as though they were machine-made, and giant, black balls of lava rock seem to be everywhere. The landscape along the route changes from red sand and rock canyons to desert to green pasture lands with grazing cattle followed by a pine and aspen forest rising from fields of small, yellow flowers. The scenery along this highway is an incredible sight to behold.
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Torrey, UT is a one mile strip of motels, cafes, a grocery store and a couple of gas stations, all of which service the tourists who come to see Capitol Reef National Monument. One of the areas in Capitol Reef rises up out of the valley and looks like a capitol building; the reef name came from the early pioneers who had to take their covered wagons around this area of jutting rock and limestone. The Navajo called this area “the land of the sleeping rainbow” – a strange, beautiful landscape of multi-hued rock in the heart of Utah’s canyon lands.
Connie and I drove to the end of a paved road in the park and continued on a dirt road to its end. We then hiked into a canyon that took us into an area filled with prehistoric history. Petro glyphs carved into the rock made me wonder about the people who took such time to make these curious figures that have lasted such a long time. They called these early people the Anastasie which when translated means “original people.” The Anastasie were here prior to all others. Other lasting remains of these people are their rock houses built under overhanging rock outcroppings, which we have seen on trips to other areas, including parts of Arizona.
After an extended stay near Capitol Reef National Park we traveled north through more of Utah’s differing geology, although a lot less colorful than what we had already driven through. Dinosaur National Monument was a total disappointment. The main visitor center was closed due to extensive structural damage. The ranger we talked to said it would be many years before funds were available to build another visitor center equal to the one that was originally built but is now damaged beyond repair. There were no dinosaur discovery sites to see unless we wanted to go on a lengthy and strenuous hike. We are still at the easy/slightly moderate hike stage, so we felt that our visit was a total bust.
Northern Utah and Southern Wyoming are home to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, which includes a lot of steep climbs and downhill grades at eight and ten percent. Grades like that are not a lot of fun when you have a motor home and tow vehicle at a combined 35,000 pounds wanting to do the exact opposite of what is required to keep life and limb safe. But our coach is sound and the beauty of the surrounding area is well worth the trip. We spent two days without hookups in one of many wooded campsites in Flaming Gorge.
Pushing further into Wyoming takes us through Rock Springs, famous only for the fact it has a new Wal-Mart and a Flying J truck stop. The next part of our journey took us through sagebrush and tumbleweed, but we were fortunate to see herds of antelope along the way. We did have one close encounter with a male antelope, but a combination of my good brakes and his quickness saved the day. Connie said she saw a Momma and two baby antelopes nearby. The antelope are magnificent animals and had us singing strains of “Home, Home on the Range . . .”
As we traversed the land, the Rocky Mountains started exposing their rugged, white snow-capped tops. The blackness of their barren rock is a striking backdrop to the green of the plains and the jagged edges rising vertically out of soft turf. This area is a land of extremes.
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The small town of Pinedale is home to the Museum of the Mountain Man. The size of the museum and the scope of its exhibits surprised us. This museum is a real gem and not to be missed. Would you believe the Mountain Men were brought about by fashion? At the beginning of the 19th century the beaver hat and men’s best suits made of beaver fur were supreme in the world of fashion, so popular in fact that the poor beaver’s skin became very sought after and expensive. As the supply of beaver in Europe dwindled, a group of frontiersmen, trappers and entrepreneurs set out to make their fortunes by traveling to the new frontier to find beaver and bring back their pelts. They brought with them skills learned in the East and adapted those skills to the rugged environment of the Rocky Mountain area and learned to survive in the harsh western environment.
What was known as the mountain man “rendezvous” grew out of necessity. Rather than having to travel the great distances required to bring their pelts to market, the mountain men would gather together and sell them to agents from the various fur traders. At first only a handful came to the rendezvous, but when somebody had the idea to bring liquor to the rendezvous, the number of attendees swelled into the hundreds. The Indians also came to these gatherings to trade what they had trapped.
Unfortunately, many of these men were never heard from again, but those who survived the weather, Indians, bears and other predators became known as Mountain Men. Their ability to hunt, trap and stay alive made these men into a legend, and they planted a firm American claim to much of the territory of the American West. Alas, another fashion whim – the silk hat and clothing – ended the demand for beaver in the 1840’s. Many of the Mountain Men subsequently became the scouts who led wagon trains to the West. The museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia of the Western fur trade, and chronicles the travels of such Mountain Men as Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, along with many others. The museum also chronicles John Jacob Astor’s formation of the Pacific Fur Company to conduct fur trade in the far West, and his plan to send ships around the horn to the mouth of the Columbia River to establish a trading post called Astoria, which we now know as Astoria, Oregon.
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Yellowstone National Park! Everyone the world over knows about this land set aside long ago as a place people can go to see what wilderness looked like before man left his mark. Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, established in 1872. It is one of the largest national parks in the United States at just over 2 million acres. A giant caldera, the entire park is alive with volcanic activity from “Old Faithful” to fumaroles to pots of bubbling mud, all smelling of sulfur. The park is also home to aqua blue lakes, thundering waterfalls, beautiful vistas, and one of the world’s foremost wildlife sanctuaries.
We discovered that Bill Joyce and Diane Melde, two of our full-time RVing friends, were also staying in West Yellowstone. Together we set out to see the sights, sounds and smells of this fantastic landscape. Of course the first thing we had to see is “Old Faithful.” Every 90 minutes or so this geothermal geyser erupts with plumes of steam and hot water about sixty to seventy feet in the air, and this show is the main event at Yellowstone. The Old Faithful Inn is almost as legendary as fascinating as the geyser. It is said to be the world’s largest log and wood structure, and inside it looks like a giant tree house. We ate lunch at the Inn; the food was very good and not too pricey.
Throughout the day we stopped and walked the many other geothermal areas of hot, bubbling, boiling water with the most brilliant colors imaginable coming from bacteria. These bacteria thrive in this most hostile environment. Steam is everywhere and adds to the mystical aura of this land of enchantment. We stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs to check out the visitor center and to see a couple of videos about the park and its inhabitants. We had planned to take a walk around the area, but black skies and raindrops quickly changed our plans.
The buffalo are everywhere in Yellowstone. Twice we have had a slow escort as these shaggy behemoths walk onto the roadway and proceed at their own pace which is always S-L-O-W, but who cares since we were not in a rush! Several herds wander here without a care in the world. Numerous elk roam the area also and they, too, seem unaware of our presence.
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