Lava Hot Springs, ID to Steinaker State Park, Vernal, UT-July 20

This was mostly a day of traveling. We drove around Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming and Utah. We were there 40+ years ago with David's sister, Joann, when she and her family lived in Vernal. I wish we had time to find the hike that she had taken us on back then. I remember the wonderful scents of the conifer forest and the view of the water from the end of the hike.

We both remember Vernal as being an ugly little town back in about 1975. It is several times bigger and has the MOST beautiful pots of flowers of any town that we've ever visited! There were miles of them both along the sides of the street about every 30 ft. or so as well as hanging from the lamp posts. There were from one to five or six pots together. The pictures don't do them justice, but they were spectacular! A big part of Vernal's growth was because of the oil boom, but true to the "feast or famine" nature of the oil field, the town is now in the famine stage. We were talking with a gal who told us that the town went from a population of 30,000 to 10,000 in just three months when the bottom dropped out of the oil prices!

After supper, we drove out of town a ways to see some petroglyphs. It was an interesting spot and climb to see them and the lighting wasn't be best for taking pictures, but I've added a couple.

Flaming Gorge

"Tiny" front-end loader at a phosphate mine north of Vernal

Flag atop a cliff on our way to the pertoglyphs.

Lizard posing on a rock.

You can't tell from this angle, but this whole rock is free from the cliff except at the very base where the rock is dark again.

A few of the flower baskets in Vernal

And our sunset, back at camp.