Our Colorado Mountain Club friends departed on Sunday, but we had booked a pair of additional nights at Green River State Park, so we got to stay and enjoy two extra days of beautiful Utah weather without a fixed agenda.
Our first day was spent just enjoying the town. We drove out to where Dianne’s ancestors once owned a ranch at the base of Gunnison Butte.
Back in town, we learned about the Green River Lunch Site where Athena missiles like this were fired toward New Mexico.
At camp, we watched this little guy excavating a tunnel beneath the campground lawn.
On Monday, we topped up the truck’s tank and went for a drive out on backcountry roads, on which we had originally planned to take the Subaru.
Normally I’d be willing to disclose our route, but we encountered fewer than a half-dozen other vehicles out in this vast, empty landscape. We want to keep it that way.
Of course, those of you familiar with the area may recognize this cabin, which we drove near the start of our adventure.
The first part of our journey took us across some open, grassy lands, home to herds of wild horses.
The scenery changed a few miles later.
We passed several previously owned vehicles, this one perforated with more bullet holes than Bonnie & Clyde’s ’34 Ford.
This is not a road. Notice the windsock? This is actually an airfield runway near an old uranium mine site.
It’s still in use today, we’ve been told. Instead of the TSA, I suspect flights into here are more likely to be greeted by the DEA.
Backtracking, we came to a fork in the road and took it. We soon encountered a golden touch of autumn color…
…with a lofty, natural arch for a backdrop.
We passed the rusty remains of an old uranium mine…
…and plenty of towering natural splendor to admire and photograph.
With Dianne unable to hike, our backcountry drive proved to be a swell way to spend our last full day in the San Rafael Swell.
