8/21 - 8/27/06 Homeward bound – Last leg of the Continental Divide Odyssey

Utah Wanderings Photo Gallery

West Yellowstone was as far as we made it into Montana. From there it’s a very short climb up Targhee Pass to the Idaho border where US20 turns south. We soon passed landmarks like Henry’s Lake, Mack’s Inn & Island Park, all familiar from family fishing & camping trips of nearly 50 years ago. The area still has a wildness about it, but it was much more settled than I remembered. We stopped at the Mack’s Inn Post Office to pick up a package for Liz. As I was walking Timmy, 2 large black labs charged him from across the street. He probably would have tried to take them on (Timmy can be a little macho at times), but I yanked him back just as the owner of the other dogs ran out to call them back.

The rest of the drive down US20 to my home town of Idaho Falls was much as I remembered it. In town we stopped by the namesake falls on the Snake River. I no longer have family in IF & my friends are all dispersed, so we continued on after a short rest. We took US26 east up the middle fork of the Snake, eventually stopping for the night at Indian Creek campground on the shore of Palisades Reservoir.

Next day we took US89 south through the beautiful Star Valley, connected via WY89 to US30, then continued east through the mining area around Kemmerer. US30 merges into I-80 a little farther along, but we were only on the Interstate for a few miles, turning south again just past Green River on US191.

What a scenic road US191 is! We had already traveled it from Farson north to Yellowstone (see the Western Wyoming adventure) & now we followed it south almost all the way to Arizona, passing some of Utah’s grandest wonders.

The first leg climbs mile after mile on the east side of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is mostly desert country until near the summit, with few views into the Flaming Gorge area. After crossing Arch Dam, 191 climbs higher into the forested Uinta mountains before dropping steeply down to Vernal. It’s so steep that warning signs are posted counting down each of the 10 major switchbacks on the grade! We headed east to Dinosaur National Park, where we camped along the Green River, now resembling murky green milk -- quite a contrast to the clear mountain stream near the head waters.

At the Park, we were disappointed to find out that the major attraction, the huge dinosaur quarry was closed to visitors indefinitely because the visitor center was sinking. But the drive through the park is still very interesting with vistas of the austere terrain & petroglyphs etched into red rock walls.

The first leg climbs mile after mile on the east side of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is mostly desert country until near the summit, with

US191 heads southwest from Vernal to Price, again climbing high into forested mountains descending steeply. Then the route swings southeast to Green River, Utah, & merges briefly with I-70 before turning south again. Just east of that junction is the small dilapidated town of Thompson Springs. We drove through the village & up into Thompson Canyon where we stayed for 2 nights. There’s a small BLM site there preserving some fascinating pictographs & just beyond there is an unofficial camping area.

Next day we took a daytrip south to the desert area north of Arches National Park, where we rockhounded for a variety of stones, including a large trove of red & yellow agate. We also visited Moab, my first time there. What an awesome natural location for a city: Red cliffs all around, Arches & Canyonlands National Parks nearby plus the Colorado River Canyon.

The last leg of our homeward journey continued through the red rock country of eastern Utah, past Church Rock, then turning westward on US163 to Mexican Hat Rock, Valley of the Gods & Monument Valley. After Kayenta & Tuba City in Arizona, we headed south on US89, pulling off for the night in Kaibab National Forest north of Flagstaff.  From there it was a short pull down I-17 into the Phoenix area.

Our epic journey took just over 4 months & we traveled 10,500 miles though some of the grandest country in the world. Liz was very disappointed that she was able to walk only limited sections of the CDT, but the half ton of beautiful & fascinating rocks we hauled home from all over the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming & Utah helped to make up for it.

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