CoVid Road Trip 2020

We set out on a stormy Saturday driving down I-84 to Boise. We had just escaped the pall of September wildfires that left us with yellow skies and the worst air quality in the US. Wildfires continued to flare in Oregon and California. We packed up our Toyota Forerunner with provisions to cook for ourselves..our handy InstaPot was the star. We brought along some accessories such as a spare instapot liner and a glass bowl for use when we had a microwave/ Traveling through Eastern Oregon we saw a rainy sunset. We arrived in Boise and stayed with our friend, Sandra Hufsmith...we had all been following mask and handwashing protocols. Sunday we had brunch with Lon Stewart and Krista Shellie at their log home in Eagle...lots of work on the property renovating a pond with an arsenal of Kubota tractor and other tools. Monday we set out with Sandra(separate cars) to Bear Lake Idaho which is known for its brilliant blue color due to various dissolved minerals. It is a popular summer destination due to sandy beaches but was pretty much shut down for the winter when we arrived. We stayed at Blue Bird Inn B&B where we had a wonderful fritatta breakfast...with good social distancing at our tables. There were two other guests. We drove out towards Logan and did a hike at White Pine/Tony Grove. The aspen has peaked a week or so before and high winds had blown away most of the leaves except in isolated pockets where brilliant yellow color mixed with reds from oaks and maples was still visible.

Aspens fall color

White Pine Hike

Logan Utah is a charming college town...Utah State...with a restored downtown and many interesting brick facade buildings on its main street. It is next to a canyon with nice walking trails. The whole town is very neat and orderly, perhaps reflecting its Mormon heritage. Demographics of Utah are in flux...now major cities are getting an influx of outsiders...overall Utah is still 60% Mormon but less so in urban areas. Its LDS Temple built in 1860s is 2nd oldest in Utah. Got lots of great tourist info from the helpful visitors center on Main Street.

We decided against going to Vernal/Flaming Gorge and instead headed down the east side of SLC to take the Alpine Scenic drive via Sundance and Provo Canyon. We stopped at Timanogos Cave National Monument...the cave and visitor center were closed due to CoVid but we did take the steep trail for a wonderful view of American Fork Canyon and 11,750 foot Mount Timanogos.

Hike to Timpanogos Cave

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At the top of the Alpine Loop we did find some groves of brilliant yellow aspen with backlighting quite spectacular. A detour on Cascade Springs Byway took us to a more arid overlook. We turned back and continued down the narrow road to Sundance Resort...which was really pretty shut down too. The drive continued down Provo Canyon and through Provo, home of BYU. We opted to stay in a Best Western in Springville which was the gateway to the Spanish Fork turnoff to Price. We could have stocked up on supplies had we noticed the Costco in Springville but we left before it was open.

Price again had a wonderful Visitor Center and also a fabulous Prehistoric Museum. By the entry was a sculpture of two fighting allosaurus dinos. We had decided to substitute this drive for the original plan of going to Dinosaur NM and Fossil Buttes which would have taken us on a backtrack up into Vernal and Wyoming. The museum at Price was a treasure trove of dino info specifically around the Jurassic Period with skeletons unearthed in the regions coal mines. The drive between Price and Green River is labeled the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric -National Scenic Byway. There is a huge collection of mounted dino skeletons plus info on Ice Age Mammals and the Prehistoric Fremont Indian Culture.

Prehistoric Museum

Prehistoric Museum

Prehistoric Museum

Cleveland Lloyd Dino Quarry

Cleveland Lloyd Dino Quarry

Nearby is Cleveland Lloyd Dino Quarry, renamed as Jurassic NM. In this site 100s of allosaurus skeletons were found...the reason for such a cache still unknown. The quarry also displays fossils and dig sites. The Utahraptor, featured in Jurassic Park, was discovered here. We could have spent hours at the museum but we wanted to get out to The Wedge Overlook in the San Rafael Swell.

The Wedge Overlook

The Wedge Overlook

The Wedge Overlook

This is a deep sandstone canyon carved by the San Rafael River...known as the Little Grand Canyon." This was an area we had not appreciated before but offers fantastic scenery, hiking, rock art, slot canyons...all not mobbed with the crowds of the National Parks. On the way out of the Wedge we stopped at Buckhorn Wash where there are easily accesible petro and pictoglyphs of the Barrier Canyon style featuring tall long limbed figures with hollow eyes and heads.

Buckhorn Wash Petroglyphs

Buckhorn Wash Petroglyphs

We stayed two nights at Green River Inn where none of the cleaning crew wore masks...a little scarey! We sanitized our own room or B&B at every stop with our array of alcohol wipes and sanitizer sprays and ate in unless outdoor dining was an option. The weather was still nice enough to eat out during the day and we had picnics at outdoor sites. We sampled a local brew Polygamy Porter.The second day we spent touring Nine Mile Canyon which is billed as a outdoor rock art museum spanning 8000 years of Indian Culture from the Fremont through to Ute/Shoshone and then the Mormon settlers and Pony Express.

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The Great Hunt Panel

There were other interesting things to explore that we just did not have time for ...Coal Mining and Railroad Museums, John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River. This area definitely will be on a return itinerary!

We headed out towards Hanksville with am stops at Goblin Valley SP and Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon. This area was extremely popular with campers..every rock alcove had a camper. Many seemed to park outside of the park limits to avoid the camp fees. Utah really seems to have a outdoor culture. At Goblin Valley we passed by eroded red sandstone...one formation looked like dachschunds. There was a valley of fantastic shapes with kids clambering all over the rocks. We opted for a hike to Goblin's Lair and explored a cave. Later we drove a short distance to Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon and hiked half of the loop. We continued on through badlands along the Fremont River