THOMAS IN UTAH

>>Tomorrow at 17 minutes before 10 we start on another journey.  Today we finished off with various ice cream and or pie dishes in the town of Vernal, Ut.<<

Fred,

don't be late!

ken

Here are a couple of pics of our trip today.

And a couple more

Thanks for posting the pics Jim. Your and Fred's postings are making a lot of folks rethink next year's pre/post Moab plans.

Thanks for sharing the photos Jim.  That is beautiful country there.  We use to go to Scout Camps in that area when I was a kid.

Fred

>>The road runs through beautiful ranch lands and dips down to a low of 5300 feet.? It then climbs? Diamond Mountain for the next eight miles were it runs along a rim with steep canyons on either side.<<

Could Smoky drive his motorhome there?


Terry
At Clark Fork, ID

Terry A. Brewer said:

Could Smoky drive his motorhome there?

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Why not? I assume he bought the automatic altitude compensation option (?)

Terry:  I don't know anything about how Smoky drives but trucks hauling tons of fish and water haul over 100 trips out of the canyon each year.  The road is a major two lane blacktoped road.  Not much room down there for vehicle and no camping is allowed.  [I think I missed the discussion about Smoky and toweds!!!]

We went on another spectactular drive today.  Began on RT 121 [500 west] in Vernal.  Traveled northly to the first stop which is shown on some maps as "Remember the Maine."  High - very high on a perfectly smooth clif face is an American Flag painted.  First one was done in the 1896 and was redone in the '60's.  We cannot understand how the painters did it.  Must have stood on nothing but air.  Hope Jim posts a picture of it.  The canyon walls are huge, varied structures and composed of dozens of different rock types. 

We went on to view a group of petrocliff drawings on property owned by a family on their ranch.  This was on the Dry Fork Canyon Road and is a high cost living area.  Great ranches, beautiful houses and a fast running creek all nestled in the canyon with massive clifts and mountains as the back drop.  After that we went off on a well maintained dirt road [Deep Creek Road] which lead us up on to a high mesa which over looks a massive valley loaded with hay fields, cattle, horse ranches [including a horse race track].  We wound our way down passing through herds of cattle, small farms and beautiful flowered areas.  We found a ledge [bluff or what ever a high place is called that overlooks a hundred miles of valley, towns and mountains] to set our chairs and enjoy a lunch.  I even had a nap.  Just one great day that Johnsons, Daisy and I hope many of you will enjoy someday.  A sight to be seen. 

This is the mountain with the flag.

A couple of scenes along the Deep Creek Loop

This is a pano of the rock the flag is painted on.

Nice panorama Jim. Thanks for the photos. Keep them coming.

Great photos Jim thanks for sharing them with us.  I just can't imagine hanging there painting on the side of that rock.

Jim Johnson said:

A couple of scenes along the Deep Creek Loop

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Oh will you just please stop this!!  I am so jealous I could cry.  We will join you next time.  Take notes so we know  where to go.

Betty

Several nice things about the road trips in the Flaming Gorge Area and Vernal.  One: Each main trip is on a sheet with map and interesting places marked and described [Like the MilePost.]  Most are on excellent roads so the concentration is on the landscape not the next bump.  Each mile is different than the last one - each curve in the road is another breathtaking scene.  There are more challenging trails that lead off from the main routes for those who want to experiment.  And there are no people crowding any of the places.  Jim and I were alone on a tour of the Flaming George dam and power plant.  The roads are empty, the campgrounds empty - no crowding in the stores and ice cream parlors etc.

For those who have not seen it, this is a shot from above Flaming Gorge

That's quite a shot Jim.

Jim,

You and the Thomases have given us something to look forward to next spring.  Thanks for the photos.

Fred

>> [I think I missed the discussion about Smoky and toweds!!!]<<

Smoky doesn't think he will drive & put many miles on his toad, he will take the motorhome to places & only use the toad to go to the market...Of course it seems his favorite places to visit are Walmarts & towns that he can walk to the attractions. Too bad as he will be missing a lot of beautiful country.


Terry
At Clark Fork, ID

Betty Brewer said:

Oh will you just please stop this!!  I am so jealous I could cry.  We will join you next time.  Take notes so we know  where to go.

Betty

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Betty,

I agree completely. This just ain't fair!

Ken