Nice rocky backdrops in this campground
Even though we cut our stay here down from two nights to one, it was still a very nice stop. It helped that the weather never got above 90º while we were there, because there were no hookups. The drive though was something I didn’t remember being so pretty. That is probably because the last time we came across this section of 70, we were traveling west to east. It is really a completely different show when you go the other direction.
The appearance of the San Rafael Swell on the horizon
The highway crosses over the San Rafael Swell in this part of the state and what we have learned about geologic anticlines is that they can look very different on the steep side than they do on the gentle slope side. When you come out of Green River, it doesn’t take long before you can see the “reef” appear rising out of the landscape. We stopped at several view points to take pictures and buy some gifts from the local artists.
Helping out some travelers from France
It was at one of these stops when a woman approached Richard asking if we had any gas. As it so happened, we always carry a gallon of gas for the generator and we had not needed to use that even once the entire trip. We were happy to help them out, but also really worried about them because a gallon was only going to get them about twenty miles and there was nowhere anywhere around there to get gas. They were visiting from France and had come all the way from Monument Valley, not realizing how long these stretches of No Services could be. After we left them, we both spent a lot of time worrying and trying to figure out where the next gas on the road was and how far. I think I might have tried to go back for them, or would just have continued to worry forever, except they later passed us on the road. And at that point, we knew they’d be able to coast to the next town. There were lots of happy highway waves, and a big sigh of relief, as they went by.
Beautiful geology all along the way
We took advantage of the Walmart Super Center in Ridgefield as a good place to restock and wait out an impending storm. What an excellent call that was. It dumped so hard while we were inside that it sounded like the roof was going to come down. No one looked alarmed so I guess that is just something that happens when you live in weather areas. I looked outside to see if golf ball hail was coming from the sky, but it was just sheets and sheets of water. By the time we were done, there was not even a drizzle and you would never know.
Hoodoos in the house
We arrived in the late afternoon and just chilled in the campsite with a bit of rain now and then. It is a very pretty campground up in a small hoodoo filled canyon to the south of the highway. You can’t hear any road noise at all and it makes for a scenic and quiet place to spend the night.
Hard to see, but there are petroglyphs up there
The next day, Richard rode down a bike trail that parallels Highway 89 south while I checked out the interpretive trail at the visitor center. There are lots and lots of nice examples of petroglyphs there. From there, I hit the highway with a pin to meet up with Richard at the Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead. It’s a beautiful area with lots to do and I would stop at this campground again.
Total miles: 149.6, 17.3 mpg. Site 16, no hookups. Sites were nice and big with trees for screening in between. Some are small though so be careful to look at the descriptions. ATT is less reliable than Verizon out there. Back at the intersection of 70 and 89, I had service, but then it disappeared. Nice newish bathrooms. No dump.
