Flaming Gorge
Cody, WY to Vernal Utah 400 miles
We had our final breakfast in the Irma Hotel this morning. Mac and I left early, wearing our electric gear. It was sunny but cold. We rode through rolling range. A kind of semi-arid land where some stock grazes but crops are uncommon. It was pleasantly peaceful for the first 85 miles. Then I noticed a rent in the landscape. We were approaching a dark slit in the otherwise serene prairie. When we got there we started falling down into the biggest, steepest gorge there ever was. The road curved down between massive, vertical stone walls for nearly 7000 feet. It as a most unexpected surprise. I'd heard of the Wind River Gorge before but couldn't remember why. I believe the word gorgeous must have come from this gorge. The Wind River has been cutting this gash for 65 million years and is still at it. Huge boulders form the side walls. They are fragmented and sometimes topple into the crevasse. Over the 65 million tears of erosion, and conflagration, many giant pieces that were at the top are now at the bottom. One such stone landed in the river and diverted its flow completely. When I saw this enormous, cube-shaped stone planted in the river I wished I could have been there to hear it the day it fell. It is the size and shape of a new Walmart store. I couldn't tell if it fell during my lifetime or twenty million years ago. If it were in our Earth's orbit it would be big enough to colonize should mankind need to escape our atmosphere.
The scale of the Wind River Gorge is nearly impossible to relate. I'll try. The gap we initially entered got wider as it got deeper. I realized that we had been riding up a high plateau for 85 miles. We got to about 8,000 feet and then descended all 8,000 feet to the bottom of the Gorge. Once we had goon down about 1,000 feet in elevation,the sides were then wide enough apart that I believe two 747's could have safely flown abreast for the remaining 7, 000 feet of descent. You don't know what Jumbo means until you've ridden through this gash in the earth. The hell of it is that I have no photos. I was so transfixed that I didn't even think about a photo until 30 miles later. Sorry.
We had our final breakfast in the Irma Hotel this morning. Mac and I left early, wearing our electric gear. It was sunny but cold. We rode through rolling range. A kind of semi-arid land where some stock grazes but crops are uncommon. It was pleasantly peaceful for the first 85 miles. Then I noticed a rent in the landscape. We were approaching a dark slit in the otherwise serene prairie. When we got there we started falling down into the biggest, steepest gorge there ever was. The road curved down between massive, vertical stone walls for nearly 7000 feet. It as a most unexpected surprise. I'd heard of the Wind River Gorge before but couldn't remember why. I believe the word gorgeous must have come from this gorge. The Wind River has been cutting this gash for 65 million years and is still at it. Huge boulders form the side walls. They are fragmented and sometimes topple into the crevasse. Over the 65 million tears of erosion, and conflagration, many giant pieces that were at the top are now at the bottom. One such stone landed in the river and diverted its flow completely. When I saw this enormous, cube-shaped stone planted in the river I wished I could have been there to hear it the day it fell. It is the size and shape of a new Walmart store. I couldn't tell if it fell during my lifetime or twenty million years ago. If it were in our Earth's orbit it would be big enough to colonize should mankind need to escape our atmosphere.
The scale of the Wind River Gorge is nearly impossible to relate. I'll try. The gap we initially entered got wider as it got deeper. I realized that we had been riding up a high plateau for 85 miles. We got to about 8,000 feet and then descended all 8,000 feet to the bottom of the Gorge. Once we had goon down about 1,000 feet in elevation,the sides were then wide enough apart that I believe two 747's could have safely flown abreast for the remaining 7, 000 feet of descent. You don't know what Jumbo means until you've ridden through this gash in the earth. The hell of it is that I have no photos. I was so transfixed that I didn't even think about a photo until 30 miles later. Sorry.
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