After a quick breakfast and fueling the Jeep, Gavin met us in the Walmart parking lot. He had our day planned out with military-like precision. When we started, little did we know he would share some of the most magnificent sights the Uinta Mountains offered.
Generally, the route would take us north on US 191 into the Uinta Mountains. However, we would take many side trips on gravel roads. After driving about 45 minutes, we reached the high country where stands of pine and aspen are separated by open fields. The aspen was in full fall color and the bright yellow stood in contrast to the blue sky, red rocks, green pine and brown meadows. The pictures associated with this log entry doesn’t do it justice, but you’ll get the idea. It was perfect.
On one of our side trips, we came to one of the Green River tributaries and found the salmon were spawning. Gavin knew the salmon were in the middle of their spawning and arranged the route so we could see this. These are small fresh-water salmon from the Flaming Gorge Lake. We watched the salmon for a long time while keeping an eye on some Bighorn Sheep trying to beg food from us.
After lunch at a restaurant overlooking Flaming Gorge, we headed back via a 30 mile gravel road through some really remote country. We stopped several times to take pictures and explore the immediate area. Eventually, we dropped into the canyon where Gavin lives.
We said our goodbyes and conveyed our deep appreciation for the tour and insights he shared with us. We really had a great time. After our stay in Grand Junction, we may take the coach through Vernal and stay for a few days to re-visit the area.
We had already been driving all day and were not looking forward to another two and a half hour trip to Grand Junction. However, we sucked it up and made the drive. What a relief to reach the coach and flop into bed. We probably drove 1,000 miles in the past three days and a lot of it over gravel roads at 20 miles per hour.
The past three days gave us a lot to think about.