Dinosaur National Monument

 

Note bidet to left of wash basins. We may be poor, but no-one can say we're not civilized.

Dinosaur National Monument (DNM)

The fog that now covers the Southwest provides some respite from the heat. But it's no longer a dry heat.



The Yampa River doing its thang....

When the fog clears (there's still a hint), the ability to create shade comes into play.

Phoebe - 230,000+ miles (370,149 km)

Goodyear Wrangler Trail Runner AT tires*

The yellow and black checkered, flannel-lined sleeping bag was a $10.00 find at the Animal Humane Thrift Store in Sun Valley, Idaho.  It looked brand new and though it takes up as much room as a cat (well, maybe not quite that much), it's a superb insulator.






* When Eggbert  retired he was running Cooper Weathermaster ST/2 snow tires. They worked well, but with 4wd I wanted something a little more substantial. I'm mainly in and around rock and these have performed well. I have yet to test them in sand, but last year I was surprised to learn how much deeper you can get yourself in when you "air down."

Blue Mountain Ascension

If you're in the Vernal area, I recommend The McConkie Ranch petroglyphs. The trail is a bit rougher than yer average dimensionally-challenged may want to undertake, but I thot it worth it. That said, I wasn't motivated to see The Three Kings. They ask a donation of $5.00 per group.

The ascension of Blue Mountain Road offered, to me, a more satisfying experience. Starting about half way it's 4wd low and in 1st gear with an occasional bit allowing an upshift to 2nd.

I stopped around 5:00 p.m. to just watch. That's Split Mountain in the center. The Green River flows through it.

No doubt there're (vernacular: there's) millions of better photos online.

Canyon Camp

I avoid camping in canyons. The high-water mark on the tree at right is above my sleeping platform.

But the location!!!

The Scouts' protective fence, installed in '95, correlates with the dates of some New Zealander's inscriptions. One can surmise the defacements stem from the same mentality that leaves Bud cans & bottles lying about.

A Lefty, no doubt.

A proclivity for mutton.

Eagles' Effort

The Full Monty

Shrimpy lizard?

Well-endowed

And finally, back at camp...

The Illumination of the Tool

Dinosaur National Monument (DNM)

The Heat!

Escape was a mere 20 miles north. But there, the altitude of 8400+' soon had me barely able to get up. No WAY could I perform my galumphing "sprint" of 300 feet. (I really should be an advert for White Boots. Weighing in (each) somewhere around 5 pounds, they keep my legs in superb condition.)

Descending, the view is dominated by the red wall of Split Mountain. Looming behind its equally dramatic ramparts, it prompted a fierce attack of: MUST locate on GPS!

(Split Mountain vies with Dinosaur National Monument (DNM). More prosaic, we get: Split Mtn Lodge, Split Mtn Eatery, Split Mtn Hair & Nails.)

Safely sequestered with their generators...

It sat on the wire above the Green River, giving the hairy eyeball as I maneuvered forth and back.

 On the 2nd click it flew off 200 feet...and I, tail tucked in embarrassment, drove on. But you don't see cummerbunds like that every day!

Yampa Bench Road - Dinosaur National Monument

Yampa Bench Road, also known as County Road 14N, continues the experience of being indescribable (see prev post). 

That said...

There's one wet spot near the Echo Park junction that looks much worse than it is; the sides are soft but the middle is rock solid. That, of course, was determined after careful assessment. (I once spent an afternoon extricating us from a creek that LiED to me about its passability. Fortunately, it was a nice day and we had no other commitments.)


Unbeknownst, Nadja & Bruno (link to their photos) were documenting my risk-analysis. 

And though speed was unnecessary, the windshield splatters leant drama to the moment.

Photo Courtesy of Nadja Krebs - Bern, Switzerland

Bruno took the video while Nadja captured stills from their vehicle. (The date on the vid is incorrect. I left it that way as proof of something.) 

It's 42 miles from the junction of the Echo Park turnoff to Elk Springs, Colorado, with 15% grades on the switchbacks, some ruts and an occasional large rock. Top speed is 15mph. The views of the Yampa River from the overlooks are (lest you arrived with lingering skepticism) worth it.

LAND spreddin' out far & wide!! 

The switchbacks are steep and tight. Perhaps, as you began the descent to Echo Park, you noticed the cautionary note about trailers over 25 feet.

I got water at Echo Park Campground before setting out. The first day a young woman in a Jeep stopped to discuss the location of the trails. Later, in the afternoon, a guy went by going the other way.

Still Life with Sunglasses

The day after -- 9/23/15 -- was busy....four cars. The 3rd day, which included the 15 miles from the Monument Boundary to Elk Springs, I had it to myself. 

Echo Park - Dinosaur Nat'l Monument

This is Canyon Country non-pareil....words don't exist to describe it. Suffice to say there's water (during the summer) at Echo Park C.G.


Somewhere not far from the Yampa's convergence with the Green.

(I'm a Buster Keaton fan and when asked of my whereabouts frequently have to answer, "Damfino.")

Rafts landing.

Now you can see...

A short vid of river reflections. 

The kind of thing that makes bein' out there diff from bein' in town.

The old Chew place. Homesteaded in the late 1800s...

The Chew's RV (aluminum siding was de rigueur in the mid-1800s)...

A lite cleaning and it'd be ready to go... 

Somebody coulda been killed!!!!!

After fording...sorta like post-coital, but diff. ; - )