Flaming Gorge

Firehole Canyon

I have been to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area before and found the contrast of the deep red rock against the deep blue water to be spell-binding. So, of course, I wanted to show it to Caty. Which I did -- kind of. Perhaps research over memory next time would be a good idea.

A dramatic view

The Flaming Gorge Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Wyoming, is on the Green River on the Utah-Wyoming border. It has "scenic highways" on both sides and we planned to come into the bottom from the west, drive up the west side, which is closer to the river gorge, and then drive back down to the east on our way to Vernal, Utah, where we were staying for the night.

It was a good plan, but too ambitious for the amount of time we had after visiting Fossil Butte. We started our tour of Flaming Gorge at the Red Canyon area in Utah. The view from the Visitor Center of the river winding through the steep red sandstone canyon is spectacular.

The Green River in Red Canyon

We walked around a bit, enjoying the scenery and then stopped at the Red Canyon Lodge for a delicious lunch -- I had yummy smoked trout with capers, feta cheese spread and a baguette. Caty had a club sandwich.

Red Canyon

The lunch was quite interesting, however, for another reason. Outside the large picture window at the end of the restaurant where we sat, there were several very populated bird feeders ...

House Finch

... and some hummingbird feeders.

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds

We were enjoying watching the birds (peering around the several decals on the glass) when, BOOM, a bird hit the window and dropped dead to the flower bed below. As we looked at it, we noticed one ... then two ... then three ... four ... five other dead birds. Right after we ordered, there was another BOOM and another bird (a house wren, I think) dropped to the ground, stunned, but not dead. We watched it loll its head around and try to gain consciousness as we ate. I am not sure if it ever recovered. But, a third bird did smack the window and then flew off quickly. And, a fourth, met with an instant death.  

Not attracted to the windows

The Hummingbirds were very active, but none ever hit the window. Nor did any of the Blue Jays or Goldfinches we saw -- just the Finches. So, I guess we know which birds are smarter. Just when we thought we were finished with the carnage (as we were finishing our lunch), a Red-tailed Hawk swept down, grabbed a bird (probably a Finch) from the feeder and landed a few feet away, where he handily decapitated the little bird and flew off. Just like a National Geographic episode.

So, following that adventure, we were set to leave when we saw a Calliope Hummingbird. We have them in Colorado, but I never got a picture of one. So, we ventured out on the lawn (littered with more dead birds) to grab some shots. All I got was females, but I was pretty happy.

The smallest Hummingbird in the U.S.

So, finally it was time to explore. We started with a drive past the Moose Ponds area. We were surprised that Moose live in this environment, but they allegedly do. We didn't see any. Then, we drove through Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Area. We seemed to be the only ones there, so we spent quite a bit of time ...

A new place to explore

... admiring the stunning rock faces, hills and formations. 

Dramatic

The 13-mile loop winds past the Uinta Fault, which runs for more than 100 miles along the north slope of the Uinta Mountains and is clearly visible in the extremely twisted rock layers along the upper part of the loop.

Looking for, but not finding, animals

We had hoped to get a glimpse of some bighorn sheep while in the canyon -- we didn't. And, for a moment, we thought we had found an occupied raptor's nest. We are pretty sure it was a nest up in a cleft in the cliff. We are even more certain it wasn't occupied.

Interesting peaks

It was late afternoon already, so the light was good, but the prognosis for completing our trip in daylight was poor. We hadn't really calculated on how long it would take to get there or how long we would spend photographing the birds and the beautiful canyon.

Some of the "flame" peeks through here

So, we took a few more pictures and skedaddled.

Time to move on

The drive up the west side wasn't quite what I had envisioned. The road was fairly far from the gorge and the area was more arid than I remembered -- mainly because I was remembering the dam area, which is on the east side very near Red Canyon. But, there were a few stunning views along the way.

Distant but magnificent

... including the iconic Chimney Rock ...

How many Chimney Rocks are there?

The view from the west made us want to hurry to the east before sunset.

Gotta keep moving

So, we drove around the top and down a winding road to the Firehole Canyon Campground, which has a spectacular view of the Chimney Rocks formation ...

This reminded me of Monument Valley

... but with a part of the Green River in front that serves as a reflecting pool.

This was worth the drive

Fortunately, we made it in time to watch the light change on the formations as the sun went down. 

I imagine the stars would be fantastic

As the afternoon progressed, the light changed. It was beautiful and made me want to go back and camp there.

This is a photographer's paradise

But, it is so remote

We stayed until full sunset

We overstayed

Unfortunately, because we stayed so late, we didn't get to see anything else on the east side. That's a shame because, even though most of the east road is pretty far away from the gorge, the section near the dam is gorgeous. I don't know if it is as pretty as the Red Canyon area, but it is worth going back to.

Of course, by the time we made it to the dam it was pitch black -- a bit scary on the winding mountain roads (I couldn't see, so I don't know how steep the sides are). We saw a Great Horned Owl right after we crossed of the dam (it was too dark to photograph), but nothing else.

What we didn't see

Just as we left the gorge, we encountered road construction -- full-stop, pilot-card, wait-at-least-40-minutes road construction. So, we had to wait and then wind through lots of barrels and unlined roads -- including a section that has 10 sharp switchbacks in less than nine miles. It was a wheel-gripping drive that I would prefer not to do again. We even passed a herd of 30 elk that we never even saw (the flagwoman told up about them).

It's a part of the country that is best visited in the daylight. But, it is worth visiting. 

Trip date: July 30-August 5, 2016