The drive from Jackson to Dinosaur, UT was very interesting from a topographic perspective. We started out with mountains to our left and endless plains to our right. The rockyountaims really stand out with nothing but flat all around them. We then transitioned to endless plains on both sides (so, so flat), but at least here the road is also very straight and very flat. Dad took the opportunity to take a nap while driving.
Next we drove through an alpine forest with all manner of stubby (relatively to the Pacific Northwest) conifers, and then finally descended into canyons and red rocks in Utah. Whew!
Our one big stop for the day was at the Flaming Gorge Dam where we got out and popped into the visitors center. It wasn't much more than a gift shop and Dad was slightly bummed to not get to learn more about the dam. We did get to take a nice walk on osprey island (no ospreys were sighted), and the view coming down the mountain toward the dam was spectacular.
Most of the drive took place above 7000 feet, but during the last 45 minutes or so we went on a long descent across several miles of switchbacks, hairpins turns, and 8% grade. We took out sweet time getting down but we made it safely so everything turned out okay.
Our campsite for the weekend is on the bank of the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument. The scenery here is reminiscent of our trips to Death Valley and our previous Utah trip, and it is a nice change from what was looking like endless scrub fields for a while during the drive. We walked along the river after dinner for a bit and plan on doing the full hike tomorrow. Dad said he was hoping to spot some real dinosaurs but Remy said he didn't want to talk to Dad if he was just going to say nonsense. Something something pot talking to a kettle.
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