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Old 01-25-2014, 05:00 PM   #1
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Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

I took a two-day 450 mile loop tour around the Uinta Mountains in Utah. I started in Evanston, Wyoming and drove through Manila, Flaming Gorge, Vernal, Duchesne, Heber City, Park City (to see the crowd at the Sundance festival), all in Utah, and then back to Evanston.

It was a gorgeous trip. My pictures don't do it justice. I wish I had a real camera (and knew how to use it) so I could have taken pictures of my boondock campsite at night. There was absolutely no one else around. I was at the top of the Uintas. The sky was perfectly clear with billions of stars shining brightly. There was no wind, no traffic and no airplanes flying overhead. It was perfectly silent. Although the temperature was 5 degrees, I sat outside in the dark enjoying the silence and solitude. Howling wolves woke me at 4:00 am. So I went out and looked at the starts some more until the sun came up.

The road from Manila to Flaming Gorge (Hwy 44) is beautiful. But I only took a few pictures. Since you are probably scrolling down, I will put the captions above the pictures.

This is at the entrance of the Sheep Creek Geological Area loop. If you are into geology, Hwys 44 and 191 are a geologist's paradise. More on that later. I wanted to take the loop but the road was iced over and snow packed. Since I don't have four wheel drive, and no one else was around, I didn't want to risk getting stuck.



Looking back toward the Sheep Creek Trail



The famous Sheep Creek Cove overlook



Pictures of Flaming Gorge











Pictures of Flaming Gorge Dam: The lake-side back of the dam, the empty parking lot with just me and two county sheriffs gabbing in the background, driving over the dam, the front of the dam and some information about the dam.












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Old 01-25-2014, 05:09 PM   #2
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Below the dam. The first pictures are where rafters put in just below the dam. The last two pictures in this group are at Little Hole about ten miles below the dam. Some rafters take out here. Some continue on down the river on several day trips through the Canyon of Lodore.













These next pictures are along Hwy 191 from Flaming Gorge to Vernal, Utah. The Highway has scores of geological signs like the ones shown here.









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Old 01-25-2014, 05:12 PM   #3
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Nice shots and thank you for sparring us the skinny dip photos.
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Old 01-25-2014, 05:20 PM   #4
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

These next pictures are at Red Fleet State park just North of Vernal. The lake was completely frozen over. Plenty of tire tracks, so people must drive on it for fun.







This is Starvation Reservoir. The ice on the lake was breaking up making loud, echoing, weird sounds. There were two nice campgrounds here; one with restrooms and showers, the other (which I would prefer) was primitive sites right on the lake.







Finally, these last pictures are from a beautiful dirt road called Strawberry Creek Pinnacles.







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Old 01-25-2014, 05:31 PM   #5
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 01-25-2014, 09:30 PM   #6
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Your pictures tell a great story Mac. Looks like a good time. I've never been to that part of Utah and it's not that far away. I'm going to have to explore the area sometime.
Thanks for the trip report.

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Old 01-25-2014, 09:56 PM   #7
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Awesome drive!

The blast of great weather the last week is making me want to get out so bad it hurts...
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Old 01-26-2014, 08:15 AM   #8
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

NV
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Old 01-26-2014, 09:04 AM   #9
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Good stuff Mac! We did a lot of the same route headed up to the Tetons Meet N Greet where we met you last summer. We stayed at Steinaker SP just down the road from Red Fleet SP. Looks like you made the better choice. I saw a lot of great little campgrounds along 191 just south of Flaming Gorge that looked really great as well.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

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Old 01-26-2014, 12:45 PM   #10
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Re: Uinta Mountains Tour (Utah) 1/24-25/2014

Nice report Mac. I'd love to drive that Strawberry Creek Pinnacles road. So you were sitting around in 5 degrees weather at night? I guess you've acclimated to the cold out there.
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