Down In Flames --- Kind of

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Location: USFS Mustang Ridge Campground, Flaming Gorge, Utah. Sites D and 39, lake view, vault toilets, showers available, $11.50 per night with geezer card

We were up and had breakfast at Bitter Creek Rest Area on I-80, where we had spent the night. We headed west for a fuel stop at the Flying J in Rock Springs, then on to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items for the rolling cave occupants. We turned south on route 191 toward Flaming Gorge and immediately ran into construction. We bounced along over the bridge crossing the interstate, a railroad bridge and another bridge that were being rebuilt and in various stages of being torn up. Fortunately that was the only construction we encountered between Rock Springs and the Flaming Gorge Dam.

We went through the dam visitor’s center and believe it or not got 2 stamps for the passports. The Flaming Gorge Dam was started in 1958 and completed in 1964 as part the Colorado River Storage Project which was initiated in 1956 to store irrigation water, provide flood control and recreation for the Colorado River and its tributaries. The dam powerhouse has 3 generators with an output of about 500,000 megawatts per year.

We drove back north on route 191 past the town of Dutch John to Mustang Ridge Campground where we had a late lunch, made use of the showers, watched the glorious sunset, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over an open fire, and have retired to the rolling caves for the night. We have had an enjoyable day and we hope you have too. We’ll chip some more on the slab tomorrow.