This is the second half of STOP 13, the 40th, 41st and 42nd days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our the first half of our stop in Rock Springs, WY
Click on the photo slides to see them in full screen mode with a caption explaining what each photo is.
Overview of the area that this post convers
Exploring the Rocks Springs WY Area
Day 5 – North of Rock Springs Drive
As we settle down to eat our hot hotel breakfast, up walks Kelly & her husband Todd and they join us. We decide to have dinner together later that night and set the time and the place.
We head north into Wyoming today hoping the high winds over the past 2 days have helped to dry out some of the back country dirt roads. We head north on US 191 and about 10 miles south of Farson, we recognize a small park we stopped at for lunch in 2019. In Farson, we turn east on WY 28 reminding each other this road was closed do heavy snowfall just 3 days ago. Most of the snow has melted but we still see it from time to time.
Our first stop is Parting of the Ways, a point along the Oregon Trail where some folks went right to Oregon and others went left to Utah and California.
Not far from the Parting of the Ways is the overlook of South Pass. This part of the Oregon Trail had an enormous impact on the history of the United States as it provided a relatively easy grade passage through the mountains and without it, the entire settlement of the west might have been different.
Next we visit the ghost town of South Pass City and the sparsely populated mining town of Atlantic city. so we decide to brave our first dirt road since the recent precipitation. The road is in great condition (for a dirt road with a little snow on the edges) and we stop briefly for a few photos. Unfortunately the state park section of the ghost town is closed for the season so we continue on the dirt road past one of the old gold mines and on through to Atlantic City before heading back to WY 28 toward Lander.
As we near Lander Wyoming we pass by the Red Canyon overlook.
Red Canyon
In Lander, we take WY 131 south toward Sinks Canyon State Park – one of the main destinations for today. We only pass through Lander, but it looks like an interesting place to stop off for a few days on a future trip through this part of Wyoming.
Sinks Canyon State Park is situated in the Wind River Mountains on the middle fork of the Popo Agie River. It gets its name from the fact that the river disappears into a limestone cavern (aka “the sink”) and re-appears 1/4 mile later in a pool of water filled with large trout (“the rise”). The path of water was confirmed with dye test – but mysteriously, the dye took just over 2 hours to travel the quarter mile. We did not stop at “the rise” on the way up because we didn’t know of its significance. Unfortunately, we only stopped at “the sink” (that requires a short hike).
The other main destination for today is a back country scenic loop, Louis Lake Rd, also known as Forest Road 300 – and known by locals simply as “The Loop”.
Before heading up into “The Loop” and the mountains, we stop at a Bruce’s Picnic area which is at 7,150 feet in elevation. The picnic tables here all have snow still on them from the storm from a couple days ago so we flip the tail gate down on the truck and use it as a table for lunch.
Sinks Canyon – Lunch
The entire loop is 36.7 miles and while it is paved at both ends, the middle section along the higher elevations is still dirt. Oh yeah – and lots of hairpin turns to navigate the steep changes in elevation. The road is closed in “the winter” (date dependent on weather) and typically re-opens mid-June once road are cleared of downed trees, fallen rocks and repairs are complete. The paved road continues past Sinks Canyon, climbs uphill to an elevation of 9603 feet and then descends back down past Lake Louis to WY 28. The higher we climb, the more snow that is on the road. As we near the crest, we marvel that the road is still paved, however, the snow is about 12″ deep with just a few tire tracks through it. We reach the top only to discover that this is where the pavement ends. The road ahead looks too uncertain for us to continue, so we turn around and head down the mountain.
The good news is this means we can stop at “the rise” on the way back. The pool where the water comes out of the limestone cave is surprisingly calm…no bubbling as we anticipated. The real surprise is the size and number of trout. There must be 200 12″ – 18″ trout gathered in the pool (that is round with probably a 20′ diameter). There is a fish food dispenser where you can get some food for 25 cents. Nancy just scrapes up the nuggets from the bottom of the dispenser and tosses in a small handful. The fish go nuts fighting for the food.
On our way back we stop off on the outskirts of Rock Springs to see the wild horse corral. We learn the auction will be this weekend. So far the BLM has collected 162 stallions, 217 mares and 97 foals from the Red Desert area. The starting price is $125 and the average price is $185.
We continue our drive back to Rock Springs where we are meeting Kelly & Todd for dinner at Applebee’s. What a delightful couple! We have so much in common. We exchange contact information so someday we can reconnect again in person.
Day 6 – Flaming Gorge
Time for another back road adventure day in Flaming Gorge – and today’s travels will take us into Colorado on the Browns Park Scenic Backway! We have several things to see today and the first is John Jarvie Historical Ranch.
We once again head down the East Flaming Gorge Rd and then take a left onto Browns Park Rd.
The road down to the John Jarvie Ranch is scenic and we pass open range cattle and gas wells along the way. As we approach where the ranch is along the Colorado river we begin a decent into the valley below.
After 20 miles of driving on this dirt road, we see the Ranch (well-marked) and find it is officially closed for the season – but we can still walk around and do a self-tour.
There’s a home, a general store, a blacksmith shop, a corral and several other buildings to see. It was built in 1880 along the Green River as a place for Indians, Fur Traders and travelers to acquire store goods in this wild territory. It is a place where Butch Cassidy and his outlaws would often hide from the long arm of the law. It turns out Butch Cassidy got his nickname Butch, because he was one a Butcher in Rock Springs!
Now we get back on the road and head to Brown’s Park National Wildlife Refuge about 17 more miles down the same dirt road. Halfway down the road, we enter Colorado. The Refuge is 13,450 acres with the Green River flowing through it. It was created after the Flaming Gorge Dam was built to provide habitat for birds and mammals. We stop at the small visitor’s center that is closed, but the Beaver Creek Nature Trail is open – so we embark on a 1.5 mile round trip walk through meadow and grasslands. There are 68 species of mammals, 15 species of reptiles and amphibians, and at least 223 species of birds – but 99% of them are shy today. We pass through the ruins of an old homestead.
After our walk, we turn off Hwy 318 and embark on the 8 mile auto tour through the park – also known as the River’s Edge Wildlife Drive. It is all dirt road and slow going. The map doesn’t have route numbers on it, it just shows the path. We head south on the first road and Just before the turn-off east, we continue about 1/10 of a mile to the swinging bridge. At first glance, we think it is a pedestrian bridge, but as we start to notice signs like one-way traffic, speed limit 5mph and 20 ton limit – we realize it isn’t. It is 8′ wide and we walk across to read the sign on the other side. We remark to each other that we don’t think the Brown Beast would fit and we are glad we aren’t crossing it.
We go back to the turn-off and meander up and down hills and around curves, occasionally stopping to enjoy the quiet and the surroundings. We even stop and have a picnic lunch off our tail-gate. Reading signs, we learn they used to winter 100,000 cattle in this area and that this is yet another place that Butch Cassidy and the gang used to hide from the law.
It takes us about 1.5 hours to complete the drive, so now it is time for our final destination for the day – to drive through Crouse Canyon. The Flaming Gorge map isn’t very detailed (or accurate as we later learn) so we get back on Hwy 318 and head east. It looks like we have about 3 miles until we see Rt 83, but after about 6 miles, we turn around. We know we have to cross the Green River – and it finally dawn on us that we think Rt 83 is the one with that swinging bridge. Yikes! So we head back to the swinging bridge, measure the width of the Brown Beast with our arms, pull in our side view mirrors and slowly drive across. Phew! The sign after the bridge says 50 miles to Vernal, UT – high clearance, 4WD vehicles only. There is no mention of Crouse Canyon, we just trust the Gazetteer and park maps and head onward.
Once we reach the canyon, we are rewarded with amazing high red rock cliff on both sides of the road that goes on for several miles. There is little information about Crouse Canyon on the internet, but we agree it was more spectacular than Sheep Creek Canyon that we did earlier in the week. Once we leave the canyon, we need to leave Crouse Canyon Rd. The park map says to turn onto Diamond Mountain Rd and that it will take us back to US 191, but the Utah Gazetteer says differently. Yes, we turn on Diamond Mountain Rd – but about 10 miles onto that road, the Gazetteer says to turn onto Bull Shit Ridge Rd. (Yes, that is the name of the road). We decide to trust our Gazetteer and it serves us well. NOTE: We have a Gazetteer for every state we travel in – they show almost every backroad, trail, historical site, campground and more!
Now back on US 191, we head north toward Rock Springs, but make the obligatory stop at the Flaming Gorge Dam and the Flaming Gorge Overlook – snapping a picture that recreates our first stop here in 2019.
We spend the evening in our hotel suite, cooking dinner and watching a movie.
Day 7 – Rest, Relaxation and Catching up on our Posts…and karaoke
Time for another day of rest. With long trips like these, it is important to not “go-go” every single day. We spend the morning relaxing, catching up on our website posts, starting to pack up and paying bills.
Then we decide to have an early dinner back at Old Chicago. We have the same bartender, Alicia, and we meet the General Manager. We reached out to the folks we met that first night, Deb & Murray, and sure enough, they show up (along with their friends Tina and Rick). The early dinner stretches on while we enjoy conversation and baseball on TV.
We know there is karaoke next door at the Wolf’s Den and Murray is insistent that he gets to hear Nancy sing one song. And so we walk to Wolf’s Den – where karaoke hasn’t started, but there is a pool table so the four of us play pool for a while. This is a small mostly locals place – probably 6 bar seats and 6 tables. The Karaoke DJ is delayed and Deb has to work the next day, so Deb & Murray leave. Harrison continues to play pool – first with Marty, then with Dillon. Nancy takes a bar seat and talks with two older gentlemen, Kelly (transient construction worker) and Bob (a local also here for karaoke). Well, “older” is relative cuz it turns out we are all about the same age. Bartender Claudia is busier than a bee and DJ Jessica finally shows up. Only 4 people sing – Nancy, Jessica, Bob and another Bob. We keep rotating through the singers (about 8 songs each) until 1:30am. We are going to regret having this much fun with a long drive the next day.
Our Verdict
First, we really like Rock Springs. The town has a great place to stay and several great restaurants. The people are friendly. Second, we really like the whole Flaming Gorge area. We will return some year when the weather is drier and warmer so we can travel on more scenic dirt roads.
Next Up
Here is a link to our the first half of our stop in Rock Springs, WY
And so we now start the journey toward home, stopping in Torrey, Utah – yet another repeat stop from a past trip.
[…] This is STOP 14, the 43rd, 44th and 45th days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our previous stop in Rock Springs, WY. […]