Roaming Map, Right.....

Thursday, July 28, 2016

After doing general maintenance at Rock Springs, WY and resupplied via Walmart, I headed down to the
Flaming Gorge area.




Its a large dammed up lake/reservoir with boating allowed in a canyon.  Desert like, warm, sagebrush,  and rock formations..

Firehole
First stop, apx 40 min from Rock Springs KOA and turn off is the same.



Nice drive through the area, winding 2 lane road eventually came to the site.



A little hard to back in and the sites are "Shared" as in, I'm told, there are older 'Tent Camping' sites so shared parking with walled picnic tables.



Luckily, not crowded so getting a close neighbor would be rare.  Road is narrow and again, not really suit for RV or my rig with a trailer.



Tried one spot, but trees a little too low and dented the DISH antenna bubble as it was just grinding when the antenna was turned on.  Well, Krap.. hehheh.   So I climbed up with a rubber hammer and screwdriver to take it off and pound the Krap out of it.  Once up there, no easy task, little awkward, got up there and discovered the bubble dome was a stiff pliable vinyl-plastic and I was able to "Pop it out" with hand.  kewl... now working well..  Lessoned learned.  Whew...



Rock formations are sorta kewl... and with the water there makes it nice.  A little windy and warm, current temp is showing 95F but not correct, more like 80 right now, morning.  Will explore it in a bit, has a beach and a marina near by.



While rattlesnake warnings were posted, I didn't see/hear any while walking down the middle of the roads.. heheh, eyes sharp...



Short trail down to the water front.  There were posting saying "NO ATV riding" so didn't bother to off load buggy.  However, another camper was saying it was OK to ride... dunno... just didn't offload, no real need to.  So, hiking down to the "Local's Beach" nearer to campsite, peeps had their jet skis in the water.



Hot and sunny out, walked long the shoreline to the "regular beach" which was nice.



Along the waterfront to the main beach area, road gets you there.



Regular Beach, one-holers available,



smooth water.. when wind isn't blowing that is.



water was fairly clear, at low tide...
(jk - no tide, but water level under those 'Dam' Controls... adjusts accordingly as to the waves)



easy directions.. but of course, "I don't need no Stink'n Directions"... I'm a pro at getting lost, don't need no help...



More at the Gallery Pics but leave it to say, the views were pretty kewl.



Sunsets,  were nice too..



More Gallery Pics

Next stop, Buckboard Crossing, West side of lake.

Buck Board Crossing:



I'm here now, as I post this.  Not impressed, basically a weeded campground, hot and no "Room with a View"...



I do see some "Boonie" camping across the inlet and will be checking it out tomorrow.



Buck Board was a bust.. as noted, not much here unless you're launching a boat.



 I was surprised that they were charging some $20 for dry camping and an additional $6-10? bucks for a dump n fill... with a credit card kiosk no less.


While convenient, not used to it.

Seems like the NFS is turning the parks over to the commercial side, American Leisure and they're kicking up prices along with add-ons..



Then down to Lucerne campground

I wanted to do Lucerne for at least one night just to get a feel for it.



A fairly new park with power but didn't see any water at the loop, A, I was in.. big park and dry loops at the back.



Biggest "Issue" was that you had to go down, find your spot and then walk/drive back to the front station to pay.



From the A-loop, it'a about 1/2 mile...  they should have pay posts at each loop, just doesn't make sense.



I lucked out and got a nice spot, actually, Primo-spot, overlooking the water although at a distance.  There was a path leading down to the beach... not sandy, but small rocks...  water looked clear.



Stayed one night and then moved on towards Manila, UT.. heheh, where'd that come from...



and on up the hill to the Canyon Rim campsite in the Red Canyon complex.




Red Canyon, UT/CO

Leaving Lucerne, I went through Manila, UT and started the climb to the Red Canyon, still part of the Flaming Gorge area.



This was really nice and the view were "Like Awesome Dude"



It's quite a drop off, 1700ft, and the color were very nice.



Visitor center was closed, no biggie, but the little trail leading to the edge provided some great views. (Parents, watch the kids heheh, it's long way down)



There is a campsite right at the visitor's center, but appears a little rough and mainly for tent/small trailer camping.



I stayed over, apx 3 mi, at the Canyon Rim campgrounds with limited big rig sites.  Found one and very nice.



Walking distance to the "Rim with a View"



There's a little trail running along the Rim




With several look-out stations.



It's quite a drop, hate to have  to pick up the morning newspaper.



Time to leave, heading towards Craig and eventually to Taylor Park for the SxS Rally.




Gallery Pics here


Flaming Gorge, WY

After doing general maintenance at Rock Springs, WY and resupplied via Walmart, I headed down to the
Flaming Gorge area.




Its a large dammed up lake/reservoir with boating allowed in a canyon.  Desert like, warm, sagebrush,  and rock formations..

Firehole
First stop, apx 40 min from Rock Springs KOA and turn off is the same.



Nice drive through the area, winding 2 lane road eventually came to the site.



A little hard to back in and the sites are "Shared" as in, I'm told, there are older 'Tent Camping' sites so shared parking with walled picnic tables.



Luckily, not crowded so getting a close neighbor would be rare.  Road is narrow and again, not really suit for RV or my rig with a trailer.



Tried one spot, but trees a little too low and dented the DISH antenna bubble as it was just grinding when the antenna was turned on.  Well, Krap.. hehheh.   So I climbed up with a rubber hammer and screwdriver to take it off and pound the Krap out of it.  Once up there, no easy task, little awkward, got up there and discovered the bubble dome was a stiff pliable vinyl-plastic and I was able to "Pop it out" with hand.  kewl... now working well..  Lessoned learned.  Whew...



Rock formations are sorta kewl... and with the water there makes it nice.  A little windy and warm, current temp is showing 95F but not correct, more like 80 right now, morning.  Will explore it in a bit, has a beach and a marina near by.



While rattlesnake warnings were posted, I didn't see/hear any while walking down the middle of the roads.. heheh, eyes sharp...



Short trail down to the water front.  There were posting saying "NO ATV riding" so didn't bother to off load buggy.  However, another camper was saying it was OK to ride... dunno... just didn't offload, no real need to.  So, hiking down to the "Local's Beach" nearer to campsite, peeps had their jet skis in the water.



Hot and sunny out, walked long the shoreline to the "regular beach" which was nice.



Along the waterfront to the main beach area, road gets you there.



Regular Beach, one-holers available,



smooth water.. when wind isn't blowing that is.



water was fairly clear, at low tide...
(jk - no tide, but water level under those 'Dam' Controls... adjusts accordingly as to the waves)



easy directions.. but of course, "I don't need no Stink'n Directions"... I'm a pro at getting lost, don't need no help...



More at the Gallery Pics but leave it to say, the views were pretty kewl.



Sunsets,  were nice too..



More Gallery Pics

Next stop, Buckboard Crossing, West side of lake.

Buck Board Crossing:



I'm here now, as I post this.  Not impressed, basically a weeded campground, hot and no "Room with a View"...



I do see some "Boonie" camping across the inlet and will be checking it out tomorrow.



Buck Board was a bust.. as noted, not much here unless you're launching a boat.



 I was surprised that they were charging some $20 for dry camping and an additional $6-10? bucks for a dump n fill... with a credit card kiosk no less.


While convenient, not used to it.

Seems like the NFS is turning the parks over to the commercial side, American Leisure and they're kicking up prices along with add-ons..



Then down to Lucerne campground

I wanted to do Lucerne for at least one night just to get a feel for it.



A fairly new park with power but didn't see any water at the loop, A, I was in.. big park and dry loops at the back.



Biggest "Issue" was that you had to go down, find your spot and then walk/drive back to the front station to pay.



From the A-loop, it'a about 1/2 mile...  they should have pay posts at each loop, just doesn't make sense.



I lucked out and got a nice spot, actually, Primo-spot, overlooking the water although at a distance.  There was a path leading down to the beach... not sandy, but small rocks...  water looked clear.



Stayed one night and then moved on towards Manila, UT.. heheh, where'd that come from...



and on up the hill to the Canyon Rim campsite in the Red Canyon complex.




Red Canyon, UT/CO

Leaving Lucerne, I went through Manila, UT and started the climb to the Red Canyon, still part of the Flaming Gorge area.



This was really nice and the view were "Like Awesome Dude"



It's quite a drop off, 1700ft, and the color were very nice.



Visitor center was closed, no biggie, but the little trail leading to the edge provided some great views. (Parents, watch the kids heheh, it's long way down)



There is a campsite right at the visitor's center, but appears a little rough and mainly for tent/small trailer camping.



I stayed over, apx 3 mi, at the Canyon Rim campgrounds with limited big rig sites.  Found one and very nice.



Walking distance to the "Rim with a View"



There's a little trail running along the Rim




With several look-out stations.



It's quite a drop, hate to have  to pick up the morning newspaper.



Time to leave, heading towards Craig and eventually to Taylor Park for the SxS Rally.




Gallery Pics here


Divide Bridge, MT to St Anthony's to Rock Springs, WY

Head'n South, eventually to Taylor Park, Colorado, via Steamboat Springs, CO.
This is the first leg.



So I'm sitting here (as I wrote this) in Divide Bridge NFS campground, near the river,



but not able to see it, wondering if the world has come to an end. heheh, i.e. meaning no cell phone, no internet which I don't like to be without, internet at least. DISH works ok, limited to no use when storms move in.



I keep forgetting what day the days are, so arriving on a weekend, Sat, campground was full, to be expected, Duh!!.. went into the "Overflow" area.  I like the open spaces for Solar and DISH so it wasn't too much of a problem, but a little dry and not much of a view.



I've been carrying around Baby Back Ribs I was hoping to have a BBQ with Robin back in Missoula, but didn't work out, so needed to cook'em up;...



 Last BBQ with ribs, Phil and Linda at Deschutes River, OR happened to have turned out well.



These?...
Ummm not so well.
Mosquitoes were out, so I stayed inside and not really able to monitor the temps on the BBQ.  It was flaring up, temps from 250 to 750f, think Charred Ribs...

Pretty much like charred burnt toast.  You an scrape off the the charred part, but it's just not the same... threw'em out and luckily no "Guests" to see/eat them.
Lessons learned, clean BBQ and put foll underneath... with Water spray bottle just in case.  (I wish I had taken photos, but...)



Now just sitting waiting to get back to wifi range and get updated in the Race in Columbus or head on down to St Anthony's, NOT on  a weekend.

The campsite itself is ok.



Greener side is better but a little busy on the weekends.

(River side, apx 3 sites on the river, sorta)

River side, sorta, 3 spots? was filled and guessing for long term.  Just have to be lucky I would guess.

Race in Columbus didn't appear to be working out, so made a Bee-line to St Anthony's Sand Dunes, St Anthony, ID



St Anthony's was more of a "Fam trip" (Familiarization Check out).



Riding out there by self can create some unnecessary problems, like getting stuck in sand, going down a dune 'Cliff' and other hazards that only happen when one is 'Solo' driving, so just cruised around to get a general idea of what it's all about..  It's just a PITA to walk out.



I can see why it's so popular, and of course, I got the wrong campsite, but the Egin Lake was crowded so maybe not so bad.



I thought I had a  pic, I couldn't have planned it better to get under the adjacent farm's irrigation sprinkler... nice car wash at 5-am and it's not a "Light Drizzle" under those sprinklers.  I did consider turning around for the other side the next day..

I try to go down backroad or routes not taken in the past and while it may take a little longer, it can be a better drive than down some multi laned highway.



The other side is that usually it's a two laned road, buppy and slower.  In this case I was heading for Jackson, WY.



and along the river... fergit which one



Went through Teton and was amazed at the growth.  Most smaller towns are turning into ghost towns and it's really sad to go through them, but Teton has newer huge log cabins, shopping stores, an revitalized community it appears.  Old money I guess... nice to see.


I skipped doing Yellowstone and the Teton parks due to Summer BKTs.  Went through Jackson and jammed.  My route was to head over to Pinedale, WY.



 While I no longer "Trust" my "Arch Nemesis Garmin" I now make a list of main cities and the HWY # I should be on.  Coming out out Jackson, WY, I saw some signs saying HWY 191 closed.



It looked like an older sign and couldn't believe, heheh, I'm a guy, right?, it should be opened, right?, and proceeded down the 'Yellow Brick Road" toward Pinedale. 10 miles down it, another sign, "ROAD CLOSED"... pulled off to try to find an alternative, but seeing cars/trucks going past me and coming out of there, so wondering WTF?? should I go on?? or turn around and reroute a lot longer way.



Just as I was about to turn around a yellow state utility truck was pulling up.  Road is just NOW OPEN... heheh, whew... lucky on that one.



Drove on as planned, tried to get some pics, they, fire fighters, have their work cut out for them.




On main section burning, but then driving a few miles on you could see small individual smoke plumes and truck observing.




Finally got down to the KOA at Rock Springs, WY for a "Dump N Fill, Laundry day"  2 nights, weak wifi and jammed in parking.  Good spot for an Overnighter which is what it's for.  Walmart a mile down the way.

Once everything was done, next day headed out to "Firehole" in the "Flaming Gorge" Nat'l Rec area. on the water.  (heheh, Gawd, the Map-Maker-Namer was probably smiling on that one, funny)



I intend to hit several of the numerous parks along the "Flaming Gorge", heheh sorry, but I laugh every time,  apx 2-3 days each spot with pics to follow.

Unfortunately, no internet so not sure when all this will go up.  Heading over to Steamboat Springs area and then down to Taylor Park for the SxS Rally..

I'll do a separate post on the "Flaming Gorge"..

Divide Bridge Campsite - Pics
St Anthony's Sand Dunes, ID - Pics

All Gallery Pics





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