Touring of Flaming Gorge,Utah

Mom Moose and Baby

Well yesterday, Tuesday was interesting, since the water isn't working here at the CG they brought us water, but didn't have a pump, so 4 or 5 people are trying to run a hose in the correct position that already is.  Back out of Little Hole, then we headed to the Spillway Launch area, where we will be working.  WOW, what a ride down that road.  We passed the booth where I'll be stationed, then down another grade with a hair pin turn to where Brad will be (how they navigate boats down here, phew).  We were heading back to camp when we decided to stop at the Swett Ranch and check that out.  Now the fun thing is having a key to open all the gates and go see what ever you want :-).  We walked around the for a while, then on the ride out, Brad spied a large set of ears up the hill, it ended up being a mom and baby Moose, what a site.  After that, it was just a couple of Mule Deer and then home to walk Rudy.  A quick meal on the grill, a walk for Brad and Rudy, then all of us are off to bed by 10:00 - 10:30 gravity will fill the tanks, took for ever to get 1/3 of a tank of water.  Back down for more water, back to the CG with a pump this time, in about 5 min. we were filled and in 10 min. more so were both of the other campers.  Now that it is 12:30, we headed out, stopped at the Flaming Gorge Resort restaurant for lunch then down to the office to meet Nan, sign some paper work, get our job assignment and our uniforms, yes I said uniforms.  What a treat that was, about 45 min. for trying on pants, shorts and shirts, but we finished and back out to Nan's office, name tags and Volunteer pins, lots of pamphlets and we are finally on our way.  After that a little tour of Dutch John, UT, not much here, then down the road about 3-4 miles to the Little Hole Boat Ramp area, stopping at the overlook on our way.  It really is a beautiful area, and we are both surprised at how busy it

 

Today was a cool, nice morning, so Brad made breakfast on the grill, eating sausage and French toast at the picnic table.  A quick shower then off to the dam for the tour, which of course we missed by about 5 min. and had to wait another hour.  We walked around the picnic area and the loading docks, killing that hour in no time.  The tour was well worth the time, the guide was very informative, and the fact that the elevator takes you down to the bottom of the dam, it made our ears popped.  What a site, the difference from top to bottom and the information was definitely 'information overload'.

Looking up from the
bottom of the Dam,
WOW

  After that we had lunch, stopped to pick up Rudy then headed back out, headed to the recommended 'Sheep Creek Geological Loop', wow what a drive.  We stopped and took lots of pictures, which of course never look anywhere as nice as it is to see it in real life.  We then drove into Manila, nothing there, then headed home stopping at a couple of the pullover stops on our way, actually meeting Don and Jan, other volunteers at one of the overviews.  Almost home we pulled into the Moose Pond area, finding that it has a nice hike trail around it, saving that for another day, we head home, a few more mule deer and then as we pull into the camping area (4 sites for volunteers) the long horned sheep are napping in our drive way and Jim (volunteer) is sitting at the picnic table area taking pictures.  We drove in to the cg using the normal exit road and the sheep never moved, with Don and Jan following about 5 min. behind us, and they still didn't moved.  I guess after the 5 of us stood outside talking long enough, they finally moved on.  After about 1/2 an hour Brad and Rudy headed out for a stroll while I prepped lunch for tomorrow and got dinner ready for tonight.  They weren't gone long when they came home with a little huffing and puffing, seems they stumbled upon the sheep one more time and the sheep decided to follow after them.  YIKES.  Glad I wasn't along.  A meal of chicken corn soup, brought with us from Penn., delicious, a little walk for the 3 of us, back home, ready for bed.  Tomorrow is our first day on the job......wish us luck.

Sheep Creek Geological Loop Pics:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/SheepCreekGeologicalArea?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMDW3Ierl9jPHQ&feat=directlink

Diane and Brad