Day 6 - Brown's Park/Flaming Gorge/Green River

Heading north into the valley called Brown's Park. It was known as Brown's Hole before that in the 1850s. The valley almost runs east to west. The eastern half is in Colorado, the western half is in Utah.

A woman named Ann Bassett (1878-1956) -- also known as Queen Ann Bassett -- wrote the following about Brown's Park: "We are told and we read extensively of the sufferings and struggles of the pioneers who first occupied the various parts of our West. Sometimes I wonder if some of this is not the product of sentimentalists and sobsters, who encourage their imaginations to embroider all pioneering experience with the dark colorings applicable to some. Certainly this band of first settlers enjoyhed their journeying into Brown's Park. There was green grass and thickly blooming wild flowers. They traveled on full stomachs, for there were buffalo, deer, antelope, and elk always to be had for the cost of a shot. Other good things filled their supply store. They were not poverty stricken nor were they obliged to push handcarts. They rode all the way in their Peter Shutler wagons."

Brown's park was a haven for outlaws and Ann Bassett was romantically involved with Butch Cassidy.

A little canyon about two miles long called Swallow Canyon. Early Green River travelers remarked upon it.

This was a nice place to live back in the day. Lots of wildlife. There used to be a lot of ranches here. It seems unpopulated now.

The ubiquitous cottonwoods line the river.

Approaching the Flaming Gorge area.

About to enter the Flaming Gorge.

Reminds me of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

And there's the Flaming Gorge Dam. Construction on it began in 1958 and it was completed in 1964.

The reservoir is the largest in Wyoming.

I was surprised when the reservoir narrowed into a tall canyon.

This picture makes you wonder, what lies beneath? It was probably one heck of a river run before the dam.

The canyon emerged into a more traditional reservoir area.

But this has to be the prettiest reservoir I've ever seen.

Looking south with the snow-capped Uinta mountains visible in the distance.

What can you say?

And then, just like that, I'm out of the mountains.

A very distinctive and unusual ridge. Perhaps a giant kicked part of it in with his foot.

Two years later, I still don't know what that wire thing across the reservoir is. (Note: thanks to a blog reader, I now know what this is. It is a Pipeline Bridge. As a matter of fact, Flaming Gorge Reservoir Pipeline Bridge is the highest pipeline bridge in the United States! Link

Now the reservoir ends and the Green River resumes.

Approaching Pinnacle Rock. I guess it is the one on the left.

This herd of antelope was hanging out on the sandbar.

I'm being followed by a stealth RV!

The river really narrows as I approach Green River, Wyoming.

And there is the town of Green River, Wyoming. This is where John Wesley Powell and his team started their Green River/Colorado River expedition on May 24, 1869. I recently learned that the very first transcontinental railroad train passed over the bridge here at Green River as Powell was loading his boats.

Ready for a break, I headed east for 15 milesd or so to Rock Springs Airport.

Approaching the good-sized town of Rock Springs. I had flown by here ten years ago in the Citabria and remember that ridge to the left. But I didn't land at Rock Springs at the time.

The airport is 5+ miles east of town; I was surprised at the size of the airport. It was two runways: one 10,000 feet and one 5,000 feet! (My home airport at Essex Skypark is 2,000 feet). Of course airport elevation is 6,764 feet so you need a longer runway. Still, 10,000 feet, that's C-17 or 747 territory.

The FBO attendants were very friendly. It seems like they get a lot of traffic here. I used the courtesy car to go into town for lunch. The speed limit on I-80 was 80 mph so it didn't take long to get into town!

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