This is the first half of STOP 13, the 36th, 37th, 38th, and 39th days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our previous stop in Glenwood Springs, CO
The Drive from Glenwood Springs, CO to Rock Springs, WY
Glenwood Springs CO to Rock Springs Co
We start our “jump” by going west on I-70 for a short time until we exit onto County 13 north at Rifle, Colorado. This turns into WY 789 and takes us to I-80 where we head west until we reach Rock Springs. We both love the scenery of the western US. This area is just another beautiful example.
Rifle Colorado
We exit I-70 west at Rifle Colorado and immediately see that Main Street where our GPS is taking us is closed. We veer off and eventually find our way back to Colorado 13 north.
Heading north on Colorado 13
The part of Colorado between Rifle and Wyoming is mostly isolated ranches with the exception of the town of Craig that we pass through.
I-80 West
The Union Pacific Railroad which built half of the first trans-continental railroad runs parallel to I-80 and we see massively long trains hauling freight east.
The Homewood Suites by Hilton
With a 7 day stay and 14 days since our last access to laundry – we choose the Homewood Suites by Hilton for our stay in Rock Springs. We need space – and this extended stay hotel offers the 3 room space we are looking for. We have a separate living room and bedroom plus a full kitchen and it is located within walking distance of several restaurants and in the heart of the areas we want to explore. The Flaming Gorge area is geared for outdoor activity and what sparse lodging that is available inside the actual gorge area is either camping or basic cabins. There is one “resort” – but that’s a very generous description and it doesn’t offer what we need. There are no decent AirBnBs either. Already here mid-October, half of the campgrounds are shut down and most everything closes down by the end of the month. It may be mid-October, but here in this high elevation, snow has already fallen.
Sunset at the Homewood suites where we are staying for a week
Dinner at Old Chicago Pizza
We walk across the street to the shopping center and settle into the Old Chicago Pizza. This is a great chain restaurant that we don’t have back home on the east coast. We grab 2 bar seats in front of 2 TVs and our delightful bartender, Alicia, greets us enthusiastically. We decide to order a Chicago 7 personal pan pizza as our appetizer and we meet our bar buddies Deb and Murray. Deb & Murray have been “BFFs” for over 20 years but are married to other people. Deb’s husband is off elk hunting and Murray’s wife wasn’t feeling well. Between Alicia, Deb & Murray – we are getting excellent intel about scenic drives and places to see in the area. Alicia even gets us a blank piece of register tape so we can take notes. After our appetizer, we split an Italian Melt sandwich and all is well with the world. We even get the low down on karaoke opportunities in town and exchange info with Deb so we can perhaps meet up with them again later this week.
Day 2 – Hanging in Rock Springs
Laundry is a priority today so after a hot hotel breakfast, it is a morning at the hotel. In between the wash cycle and the dry cycle, Nancy meets a woman ready to do her own laundry. They chat for a bit and while Nancy forgets to ask her name, she learns she is retired and travelling with her husband who is working in the area for 2 weeks. She’s already been here for a week and they chat more about places to explore in the area. When they meet again after our dryer cycle, she even brings me a brochure & map from a place she highly recommends. Since Nancy still forgot to ask her name, and so she gets the nickname: Laundry Lady.
After a morning of laundry, paying bills and catching up on our blogs, we head out to lunch and then for a scenic drive. We drive around the town of Rock Springs just to get our bearings and then stop at a dual restaurant on the other end of town – Marty’s/Bombers Sports Bar. Bombers half allows smoking and Marty’s is smoke-free. We sit at the bar in Marty’s and are delighted to learn they have $1 draft domestic beer at lunch. We order 2 great sandwiches and share more conversation with local folks having lunch.
The Wild Horse Loop
Our first scenic drive is the area is called the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Loop. Wild horses are a big problem in this area – in fact there are over 1500 wild horses just in this small area. They are currently in a cycle where they are rounding up the wild horses for a large auction. If unchecked, the populate will double every three to four years. We head north on US 191 for 14 miles to Fourteen Mile Road, then 2.5 miles to the turn off for the 24 mile dirt road (recommended high clearance 4WD – but not needed today). Although the afternoon is gray and overcast, we see some beautiful scenery and are fortunate enough to see five or six packs of wild horses grazing.
Twice we even pass by horses grazing right along the road and we slow down and they don’t scatter. They just look up at us so we have a photo opportunity and go back to eating. We see Pilot Butte off in the distance – a landmark we see many more times from a distance and understand how it was a guiding landmark for early pioneers. Since the wild horse loop is up on an elevated plain we can also see Rock Springs where are staying off in the distance.
We learn that the green River Valley is larger than the state of Massachusetts , how a giant inland sea once dominated this area when the climate was much warmer and discover a monument to a tragic accident.
The scenic drive descends off the plateau and down into the neighbor town of Green River.
Green River
The Green River Visitor Center is near the exit from the Wild Horse Scenic Loop. We stop to pickup information on the area and read a number of the displays. During the settlement of the west, the scenery of Green River is often painted and photographed. We are here on a gray overcast day but you can see how the area around one of the major landmarks in the town has changed over time.
Day 3 – East Flaming Gorge
We start our day with another hot hotel breakfast and VOILA, in walks Laundry Lady – so we invite her to join us and learn her name is Kelly. Her husband is Todd and they live in Grand Junction, CO. Since Kelly has already been here a week, she talks about where she has been and what she still wants to see. We learn of a few places from her and she learns of some from us.
Kelly and Nancy meet up again
It snowed north of us last night and rained here and to the south of us – and there’s still precipitation falling. WY 28 (to the north) is closed today because of the snowfall – so we are going to head south.
It is now time to begin exploring the Flaming Gorge Recreational Area which is located in the northeast corner of Utah and the southwest corner of Wyoming. The southern area includes part of the Uinta Mountains, one of the few east-west mountain ranges in the US. The construction of the Flaming Gorge Dam in the early 1960’s has propelled the area into a recreational wonder with its 91 mile long lake, the Green River and its deep canyons. John Wesley Powell gave this area its name during his 1860 expedition down the Green River because of the red sandstone cliffs that surround the river.
We head down US 191 south which is also known as East Flaming Gorge Rd. We stop at the pull-off as you enter the park to read about the drive. It rained last night so we are concerned about the condition of back country dirt roads, so we defer the 24 mile dirt road drive down to Firehole Canyon and opt to stay on the paved roads today (at least for now). Over a hill, into a valley, up another hill, around a curve – repeat.
We drive about 10 miles from the dam and head down a 5 mile dirt road to Antelope Flats. The winds have been strong today and we’re very pleased this dirt road is mostly dry. We head down to the shores of the water and walk the beach. We wish the sun was out so you could really see the colors of the surrounding cliffs but its just one of those days.
We skip lunch completely and drive back to Rock Springs hoping to have a late lunch and not need dinner. Along the route back the we even get a little bit of sun here and there as we pass through this beautiful country.
We decide to eat again at Old Chicago – we know the food is fantastic and it is so close to the hotel. We decide to order another 7″ personal pan pizza as an appetizer and then split a different sandwich than last time. While we’re eating and watching baseball, Kelly pops up to us and lets us know that she and Todd are here with some of his co-workers. We briefly exchange stories of our days exploring and she goes back to her table.
Day 4 – West Flaming Gorge & Sheep Creek Canyon
Today we are going to drive the West Flaming Gorge Rd (aka WY 530) so we can enjoy the 13 mile back country drive through Sheep Creek Canyon. We head west on I-80 for a few exits and then get onto WY 530 south. The road changes into UT 44 at the Utah border and we follow it about 6 miles past Manila, UT. Unlike the east drive, you can see the waters of the lake and the Green River on this side.
Along the way, we stop over at one of the Marinas and campgrounds to walk a little bit.
We almost miss the entrance to Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop – but we turn right and begin a truly spectacular drive. As we descend and wind through the canyon we are impressed by the steep canyon walls. We are blessed that some of the trees are still in fall color glory. We’ve packed some sandwiches so we can enjoy an outdoor picnic.
The road reconnects to UT 44 and we continue south to the Red Canyon Lodge and the Red Canyon Overlook. Before we get to the overlook we stop and have lunch by a small lake at the lodge area.
We then head back up to Rock Springs the way we came (except for the loop) so we can enjoy the beauty of the drive in the other direction. The sun is now out in its full glory and we experience some of the most spectacular scenery yet here in the Flaming Gorge area.
To wrap up the day as we proceed back into Rock Springs. We stop at Western Wyoming Community College to explore their dinosaur exhibit which is spread through out the buildings on campus. Its turns out to be a really nice and worthwhile stop. There is a big t-rex in the student center!
Today we cross the 6000 mile mark. We end up deciding to cook dinner in tonight and watch a movie. We also decide we will need to split this 7 day stop into two posts!
Here is a link to our previous stop in Glenwood Springs, CO
Here is a link to the second half of our stop in Rock Springs, WY
Great read! Thank you for the adventure share. The Rock Springs, Green River area is my home and I love everything about it.
I forgot to mention the college, congratulations to who ever had the honor. I will remember for all the future friends I make. Thank you Nancy and Harrison, it was my pleasure to meet you both!
Thank you Alicia for everything! See you down the road someday again!