Udink
06-07-2009, 09:19 PM
My wife was doing the Relay for Life this Saturday, so I was looking for something kid-friendly that my boys (ages 6 and 8) and I could do to keep ourselves busy. I decided on the San Rafael Desert, so we set out just after 8:00 am in the morning for a very long day of driving, hiking, and sightseeing. We clocked about 260 miles in the truck, 100 of which were on gravel and dirt roads, and a few miles on foot. Here's the start of the gravel road just south of Green River:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnbrgEOpI/AAAAAAAAEfU/N9tCLx4zk0c/s400/IMG_8433.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iE_QoATeq6Y3M0qayhxCYw)
Our first stop was near Horse Bench Reservoir, where the kids scrambled around on the Morrison Formation hills and sandstone while I found a geocache:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwneJmqkFI/AAAAAAAAEfg/nOS9uqSLoEY/s400/IMG_8442.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s3Jse3B_J3l-hHbb3GoXnQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnftaADQI/AAAAAAAAEfk/7VPzp04tT70/s400/IMG_8445.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ez5fjldNx5EF8_1QhvsAYA)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwngabK1kI/AAAAAAAAEfo/3pjA-WnJ0dQ/s400/IMG_8449.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/t_ZMDI1wh8t6o9IdLXpY8w)
In several places there is drifting sand across the road. Most of these places aren't too bad, but one of them could probably swallow a passenger car if the county didn't clear the sand frequently enough. This spot was one of the easy sand crossings:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnomeBLGI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/de8UA5fRhsI/s400/IMG_8477.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ma3pCPnRknO5BgiLUyMLdQ)
We stopped at Chaffin Ranch Geyser hoping to see it erupt, but after waiting 40 minutes we gave up and continued on our way. The boys had fun playing around in the shallow water near the geyser, and they brought home a couple of interesting travertine rocks.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnrxKunpI/AAAAAAAAEgc/-GxrxxisO5s/s400/IMG_8492.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-9GOifH4dalwQs05YwqhnA)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwntZaXTVI/AAAAAAAAEgg/TRPxZizTvd4/s400/IMG_8500.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/S9nUOijZ-zFU0hQYXW35DA)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnuUYWJ_I/AAAAAAAAEgk/QYOmAOd7ElU/s400/IMG_8502.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qtmatfc8y1NRSP8iNcG0Tg)
Between the San Rafael Bridge and the turnoff to Saucer Basin is probably the worst part of the main road between Green River and UT-24. This was one of the bad sections where the road crosses some bare sandstone, but there were a few worse sections that were just rough but not impassible for passenger cars:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnyK-d36I/AAAAAAAAEg0/vpNo3JbmYws/s400/IMG_8534.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UXJMWQhf-M3-8pIppdHS7A)
We left the main road and took a side-trip to Gruver's Mesa so we could hike to the Cone. I've seen this area in Google Earth/Maps (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=38.718867,-110.228105&spn=0.019722,0.028882&t=h&z=15) a lot, and it's always fascinated me. Now was my time to see it in person, and it didn't disappoint.
Saucer basin was surprisingly green:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnzYxITNI/AAAAAAAAEg8/E3MiaPBYZZ0/s400/IMG_8548.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0F2Gz-jcasqPgstyLbv9Iw)
There was one washout along the road to Gruver's Mesa, and I tried powering through it in 2WD but just dug myself into the sand. Locking in the hubs solved that problem quickly and we were on our way.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn0FcBukI/AAAAAAAAEhA/SlY3bwWMSIw/s400/IMG_8553.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DopvgnbPeHj6-UgLNH8Rug)
I don't suppose that the landing strip on Gruver's Mesa is often used for aircraft. It's so overgrown that the tracks from land-based vehicles are the only clear spots along the entire runway.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn1zXZGdI/AAAAAAAAEhI/jLlXCHrD-zQ/s400/IMG_8567.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SzXxWO7jZ9qdAoTOZDNf6g)
I expected my kids to balk at the hike down to the Cone and back up, but they did surprisingly well and without complaint. Here's the start of the hike down from Gruver's Mesa:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn7NTYtkI/AAAAAAAAEhg/xktVSOGmd2c/s400/IMG_8587.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mO08oQJD3QPHX1oZC3IWgg)
There were a few ledges near the bottom to negotiate, though some of them had sand piled up against them which made for an easy descent.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn_K0XS6I/AAAAAAAAEhw/x8heGdVs-tY/s400/IMG_8607.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zJIIPtA25pPHcbj_oK4ZTA)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoCG4No6I/AAAAAAAAEiA/ywIQyjFhylk/s400/IMG_8629.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yekwSJQ7at9ODH7_Ge08sw)
This 50-gallon plastic drum somehow found itself into this crack in the sandstone:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoEIkBd9I/AAAAAAAAEiM/1izDaVrA9MY/s400/IMG_8643.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A9HyNU2gpbemnV1karxtbQ)
Here, the boys are waiting patiently for me to place a geocache at the base of the Cone. Shortly after I took this photo, one of them threw a rock at the other and I had to break up a fight.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoJvOb1bI/AAAAAAAAEis/FbIpACX5EXU/s400/IMG_8679.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mdAaYepxpkU66Z7Tq4esng)
On our way back up Gruver's Mesa, we came across tons of chert arrowhead chippings:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoKwoUQ2I/AAAAAAAAEiw/q6nheRYhn58/s400/IMG_8690.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FFO1dCdRQ-FvU55gCF66Uw)
The kids were beat after the hike to the Cone, and they fell asleep in the truck for the drive to our next destination. While they were sleeping, I took the very short side trip to Lookout Point. It's just a small knoll in the desert, but the surrounding desert is flat enough that you can see a good distance.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoNsqdpAI/AAAAAAAAEjA/ipL3Zy4wsi8/s400/IMG_8715.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/thGQTYHObUEVZNX4rjnN8A)
Cactus at the Horseshoe Canyon turnoff:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoPH5ZSJI/AAAAAAAAEjI/MpD4aqlS3io/s400/IMG_8724.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MqEU7LBc85dyoo4xoyH4WA)
Our next destination was the huge sand dune near Middle Canyon. My boys had been looking forward to this place all day, and I let them play as long as they wanted to in the sand. After they got tired of the wind blowing sand in their eyes, we drove a short distance down the road and ate dinner.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoQkosDLI/AAAAAAAAEjQ/4ZnnMm2WoIk/s400/IMG_8750.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3u49IjpcBo7w5gHL-pYQew)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoRdRTK5I/AAAAAAAAEjU/Zja2gkF7GnU/s400/IMG_8753.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MM14AghQN_NkAopWe2TjSg)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoSbZOn6I/AAAAAAAAEjc/1Sc8TgFpVZ4/s400/IMG_8760.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n7yUQYk07i3wM4z8HdUXcQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoTSNd7gI/AAAAAAAAEjk/6OBQPyUfMAk/s400/IMG_8766.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xpd8HITx1A-Mr9wggH36hw)
Our final stop was at the igneous dike near the Big Flat Tops. I found out about this from the geologic map of the area, though they're plainly visible from the main road. I guess I either never noticed them the first couple of times I drove through this area, or just didn't recognize that they were volcanic in origin. It was about a quarter-mile hike from the road to the dike.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoVu6_p-I/AAAAAAAAEjw/b9UqpZFED0A/s400/IMG_8782.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/t7CuMmDJ4EUB0H31pVI27A)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoWYGGoKI/AAAAAAAAEj0/rgZS3m8EVpY/s400/IMG_8788.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/geBocjP44ovlIsTWe-9S4w)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoYRDEeqI/AAAAAAAAEj8/UdH7TIWuT3E/s400/IMG_8792.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KFKt7UJ3ufva5nyxCuiEYQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoZZaNOYI/AAAAAAAAEkA/SlFR3VxThfM/s400/IMG_8793.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aZ3ue9PqHP9vT2uTq1nsYw)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwoar8_xHI/AAAAAAAAEkE/sx0R6uzoEyI/s400/IMG_8798.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tY8zMFc9dWnqqbWy5jIMAQ)
The sun had set by the time we were finished hiking around the dike, and it got gradually darker during the drive back to UT-24. The full moon came up, and I caught glimpses of it in my rearview mirror all during the drive home. We didn't get home until 10:20 pm, just in time to shower and hit the sack.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwobh5GQFI/AAAAAAAAEkM/1ZcxoDUj-Vs/s400/IMG_8826.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8r17m_Vo15dP39r-w7qx4A)
It was such an awesome day, though I had to skip a lot of planned stops due to time constraints, so I'll be back for more as soon as I get the chance.
Below is a link to the full photo gallery from the trip. I took 400 photos total, and I whittled it down to 77 to post online.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/SanRafaelDesert
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnbrgEOpI/AAAAAAAAEfU/N9tCLx4zk0c/s400/IMG_8433.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iE_QoATeq6Y3M0qayhxCYw)
Our first stop was near Horse Bench Reservoir, where the kids scrambled around on the Morrison Formation hills and sandstone while I found a geocache:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwneJmqkFI/AAAAAAAAEfg/nOS9uqSLoEY/s400/IMG_8442.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s3Jse3B_J3l-hHbb3GoXnQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnftaADQI/AAAAAAAAEfk/7VPzp04tT70/s400/IMG_8445.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ez5fjldNx5EF8_1QhvsAYA)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwngabK1kI/AAAAAAAAEfo/3pjA-WnJ0dQ/s400/IMG_8449.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/t_ZMDI1wh8t6o9IdLXpY8w)
In several places there is drifting sand across the road. Most of these places aren't too bad, but one of them could probably swallow a passenger car if the county didn't clear the sand frequently enough. This spot was one of the easy sand crossings:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnomeBLGI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/de8UA5fRhsI/s400/IMG_8477.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ma3pCPnRknO5BgiLUyMLdQ)
We stopped at Chaffin Ranch Geyser hoping to see it erupt, but after waiting 40 minutes we gave up and continued on our way. The boys had fun playing around in the shallow water near the geyser, and they brought home a couple of interesting travertine rocks.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnrxKunpI/AAAAAAAAEgc/-GxrxxisO5s/s400/IMG_8492.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-9GOifH4dalwQs05YwqhnA)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwntZaXTVI/AAAAAAAAEgg/TRPxZizTvd4/s400/IMG_8500.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/S9nUOijZ-zFU0hQYXW35DA)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnuUYWJ_I/AAAAAAAAEgk/QYOmAOd7ElU/s400/IMG_8502.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qtmatfc8y1NRSP8iNcG0Tg)
Between the San Rafael Bridge and the turnoff to Saucer Basin is probably the worst part of the main road between Green River and UT-24. This was one of the bad sections where the road crosses some bare sandstone, but there were a few worse sections that were just rough but not impassible for passenger cars:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnyK-d36I/AAAAAAAAEg0/vpNo3JbmYws/s400/IMG_8534.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UXJMWQhf-M3-8pIppdHS7A)
We left the main road and took a side-trip to Gruver's Mesa so we could hike to the Cone. I've seen this area in Google Earth/Maps (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=38.718867,-110.228105&spn=0.019722,0.028882&t=h&z=15) a lot, and it's always fascinated me. Now was my time to see it in person, and it didn't disappoint.
Saucer basin was surprisingly green:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwnzYxITNI/AAAAAAAAEg8/E3MiaPBYZZ0/s400/IMG_8548.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0F2Gz-jcasqPgstyLbv9Iw)
There was one washout along the road to Gruver's Mesa, and I tried powering through it in 2WD but just dug myself into the sand. Locking in the hubs solved that problem quickly and we were on our way.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn0FcBukI/AAAAAAAAEhA/SlY3bwWMSIw/s400/IMG_8553.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DopvgnbPeHj6-UgLNH8Rug)
I don't suppose that the landing strip on Gruver's Mesa is often used for aircraft. It's so overgrown that the tracks from land-based vehicles are the only clear spots along the entire runway.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn1zXZGdI/AAAAAAAAEhI/jLlXCHrD-zQ/s400/IMG_8567.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SzXxWO7jZ9qdAoTOZDNf6g)
I expected my kids to balk at the hike down to the Cone and back up, but they did surprisingly well and without complaint. Here's the start of the hike down from Gruver's Mesa:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn7NTYtkI/AAAAAAAAEhg/xktVSOGmd2c/s400/IMG_8587.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mO08oQJD3QPHX1oZC3IWgg)
There were a few ledges near the bottom to negotiate, though some of them had sand piled up against them which made for an easy descent.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwn_K0XS6I/AAAAAAAAEhw/x8heGdVs-tY/s400/IMG_8607.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zJIIPtA25pPHcbj_oK4ZTA)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoCG4No6I/AAAAAAAAEiA/ywIQyjFhylk/s400/IMG_8629.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yekwSJQ7at9ODH7_Ge08sw)
This 50-gallon plastic drum somehow found itself into this crack in the sandstone:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoEIkBd9I/AAAAAAAAEiM/1izDaVrA9MY/s400/IMG_8643.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A9HyNU2gpbemnV1karxtbQ)
Here, the boys are waiting patiently for me to place a geocache at the base of the Cone. Shortly after I took this photo, one of them threw a rock at the other and I had to break up a fight.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoJvOb1bI/AAAAAAAAEis/FbIpACX5EXU/s400/IMG_8679.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mdAaYepxpkU66Z7Tq4esng)
On our way back up Gruver's Mesa, we came across tons of chert arrowhead chippings:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoKwoUQ2I/AAAAAAAAEiw/q6nheRYhn58/s400/IMG_8690.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FFO1dCdRQ-FvU55gCF66Uw)
The kids were beat after the hike to the Cone, and they fell asleep in the truck for the drive to our next destination. While they were sleeping, I took the very short side trip to Lookout Point. It's just a small knoll in the desert, but the surrounding desert is flat enough that you can see a good distance.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoNsqdpAI/AAAAAAAAEjA/ipL3Zy4wsi8/s400/IMG_8715.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/thGQTYHObUEVZNX4rjnN8A)
Cactus at the Horseshoe Canyon turnoff:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoPH5ZSJI/AAAAAAAAEjI/MpD4aqlS3io/s400/IMG_8724.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MqEU7LBc85dyoo4xoyH4WA)
Our next destination was the huge sand dune near Middle Canyon. My boys had been looking forward to this place all day, and I let them play as long as they wanted to in the sand. After they got tired of the wind blowing sand in their eyes, we drove a short distance down the road and ate dinner.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoQkosDLI/AAAAAAAAEjQ/4ZnnMm2WoIk/s400/IMG_8750.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3u49IjpcBo7w5gHL-pYQew)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoRdRTK5I/AAAAAAAAEjU/Zja2gkF7GnU/s400/IMG_8753.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MM14AghQN_NkAopWe2TjSg)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoSbZOn6I/AAAAAAAAEjc/1Sc8TgFpVZ4/s400/IMG_8760.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n7yUQYk07i3wM4z8HdUXcQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoTSNd7gI/AAAAAAAAEjk/6OBQPyUfMAk/s400/IMG_8766.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xpd8HITx1A-Mr9wggH36hw)
Our final stop was at the igneous dike near the Big Flat Tops. I found out about this from the geologic map of the area, though they're plainly visible from the main road. I guess I either never noticed them the first couple of times I drove through this area, or just didn't recognize that they were volcanic in origin. It was about a quarter-mile hike from the road to the dike.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoVu6_p-I/AAAAAAAAEjw/b9UqpZFED0A/s400/IMG_8782.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/t7CuMmDJ4EUB0H31pVI27A)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoWYGGoKI/AAAAAAAAEj0/rgZS3m8EVpY/s400/IMG_8788.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/geBocjP44ovlIsTWe-9S4w)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoYRDEeqI/AAAAAAAAEj8/UdH7TIWuT3E/s400/IMG_8792.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KFKt7UJ3ufva5nyxCuiEYQ)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/SiwoZZaNOYI/AAAAAAAAEkA/SlFR3VxThfM/s400/IMG_8793.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aZ3ue9PqHP9vT2uTq1nsYw)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwoar8_xHI/AAAAAAAAEkE/sx0R6uzoEyI/s400/IMG_8798.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tY8zMFc9dWnqqbWy5jIMAQ)
The sun had set by the time we were finished hiking around the dike, and it got gradually darker during the drive back to UT-24. The full moon came up, and I caught glimpses of it in my rearview mirror all during the drive home. We didn't get home until 10:20 pm, just in time to shower and hit the sack.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Siwobh5GQFI/AAAAAAAAEkM/1ZcxoDUj-Vs/s400/IMG_8826.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8r17m_Vo15dP39r-w7qx4A)
It was such an awesome day, though I had to skip a lot of planned stops due to time constraints, so I'll be back for more as soon as I get the chance.
Below is a link to the full photo gallery from the trip. I took 400 photos total, and I whittled it down to 77 to post online.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/SanRafaelDesert