Twisting North

It mystifies us how the temperatures can be in the 40s but the sun is so hot. It seems to be the norm in the high desert areas. It was a bit on the chilly side when we left, but it warmed up fast. It was warm enough that we could start the ride in our mesh jackets.

We left Vernal, UT on US Highway 191 and proceeded north. The morning's ride was most wonderful scenery-wise. We went almost immediately into twisties. The rock formations were very impressive. We went around a curve and WOW! A lake! It was Steinaker Dam and Resevoir. The lake was such a beautiful blue and a total surprise in all that dry and brown.


Many of the buttes and formations were red, like this one. The clutter in the foreground is a phosphate mining operation.


The state of Utah kindly offered good notice on the pullouts and even posted signs occasionally to tell us what era the rock formations were from. We passed one called the Navajo Formation. It was from the cretaceous era. The rock was multi-colored and swirled. Unfortunately there was no place for a picture. But the rest of the formations and monoliths were equally interesting. We think this one looks like the remains of a castle.


This was the highest point around the resevoir.


We continued on 191 and the road surface was wonderful. We wound higher and higher and drove thru vibrantly glowing stands of birch, their white trunks and golden crowns blazing like so many candles. It was an amazing sight.

The road continued to twist around and soon we came to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Highway 191 runs right thru it and over the dam. The gorge was full of pines and junipers and green as can be. Because of the dam, there was a lake. It's rather large and highway 191 does not follow along the length of it so there is still much to see for another trip.


Off we went, twisting around and going up, until we had reached 9 thousand and some feet. Our bikes were sluggish but they made it. We saw antelope alongside the road, a group of four. They were beautiful to us, but they did not seem to find us the same, as they fled in a panic at our approach. Of course, this being hunting season, they probably had good reason. The scenery continued to be astounding at every curve.




Here I am at an overlook. You may think I am making a rude gesture at the camera, but I'm simply rubbing my weary hand.


We really enjoyed this part of the day and nearly ran out of "Oh, Wow!"s. We didn't know whether to slow down and enjoy the scenery or speed up and enjoy the curves. Eventually the road wound down out of the mountains and buttes and deposited us at I-80. It being time for lunch, we lunched and rested up and I took advantage of very clean bathroom to remove my cuddle duds which were beginning to cuddle me a bit too diligently. Then we tackled the Interstate. It was infested with large rushing trucks. Ugh. We were on it only about 10 or so miles and then it was off on one of the chicken scratch roads, Wyoming 372.

Now, I know that I have said that we passed thru remote and desolate lands before, but the lands surrounding Wyoming 372 are even more so. I am trying to think of a word which signifies more desolate than desolate and I can't come up with one. Whatever it is, this area made desolate seem comfy and homey. No one lives here but free-ranging cattle and oil and gas wells. The low rolling hills are a dull brown and the cows are the tallest living things in sight. Not that we saw all that many cattle either. The brush is the scrubbiest imaginable and nothing resembling a tree grows here. It was exceedingly dreary riding. My right hand kept falling asleep and I wanted to join it until the drear was all past us. The road surface ranged from nice to cruddy and fairly quickly changed it's mind about what it would be. It was hot and dry and deserty and waaaaay out there. We endured this part of the ride. Just about the time we got bored to death, we picked up US 189. This road offered a good surface and some nice sweepers and some bigger hills. After a bit, things got more interesting and we began to see buttes again and some life around and fenced in cows and a bit of river. Around a curve and there's another lake!


That was our last picture of the day, because having passed Dry Piney Creek, South Piney Creek and Piney Lake, we came to the Town (300+ people and 6675 elevation) of Big Piney. Now, I would like to know how these creeks and the town came to have the name of Piney, since there is not and probably never has been a pine tree within a hundred miles of this place. Two hops and we were in Marbleton (300+ people and 6685 elevation), where we have taken refuge within the friendly confines of Room 123 at the Marbleton Inn.

We ventured down to Big Piney for dinner, as it has the one restaurant in the two towns that's open on Sundays, that being Los Cabos Family Mexican Restaurant. We ate well in that dinky place.

Tomorrow it's off up US 189 to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where our surroundings will be considerably posher and correspondingly pricier, location being all in the motel biz. And hopefully, a fair number of curves in the road on the way there. We'll have a rest day in Jackson Hole, mingle with the well-to-do and see how the other half lives.

Today we went 215 miles today. Not so far but well worth the time and effort.