IntrepidXJ
06-19-2011, 05:35 PM
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Today Amanda and I went up on the Uncompahgre Plateau to do a little exploring. Last year I had driven across the plateau on it's main road (Divide Road) on my expedition across Colorado and Utah, so this time we started checking out some of the lesser travelled 4WD roads on the northeast corner of the plateau.
We accessed the plateau through Jacks Canyon on Divide Road, but quickly turned off the main road and headed towards Dominguez Canyon. We skirted around the canyon since it's a wilderness area and ended up on top of Dominguez Ridge. We were on some two tracks that didn't seem to be well travelled.....my favorite kind!
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121303-2/IMG_0016.JPG
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121324-2/IMG_0026.JPG
There were a number of wildflowers all over Dominguez Ridge
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121330-2/IMG_0029.JPG
From Dominguez Ridge we crossed over onto Brushy Ridge.
View towards Brush Mountain
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121350-2/IMG_0039.JPG
Brushy Ridge then led us down into Palmer Gulch
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121358-2/IMG_0043.JPG
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121372-2/IMG_0050.JPG
...and Palmer Gulch brought us down into Escalante Canyon.
Escalante Creek
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121376-2/IMG_0052.JPG
On our way down Escalante Canyon we came across a couple of historic cabins. The first one belonged to Captain Henry Smith and was built in 1907. This cabin was built against a large slab of sandstone and his bed area inside the cabin was carved out of that rock.
The cabin built up against the large rock
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121422-1/IMG_0075.JPG
Bed area carved out of the rock
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121386-1/IMG_0057.JPG
A little further down the road we came across the Walker Cabin which was built in 1911.
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121434-1/IMG_0081.JPG
After visiting the cabins we finally made our way back to US 50. We stopped in Delta for a late lunch and then headed back to Grand Junction in the 99 degree heat.
Today Amanda and I went up on the Uncompahgre Plateau to do a little exploring. Last year I had driven across the plateau on it's main road (Divide Road) on my expedition across Colorado and Utah, so this time we started checking out some of the lesser travelled 4WD roads on the northeast corner of the plateau.
We accessed the plateau through Jacks Canyon on Divide Road, but quickly turned off the main road and headed towards Dominguez Canyon. We skirted around the canyon since it's a wilderness area and ended up on top of Dominguez Ridge. We were on some two tracks that didn't seem to be well travelled.....my favorite kind!
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121303-2/IMG_0016.JPG
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121324-2/IMG_0026.JPG
There were a number of wildflowers all over Dominguez Ridge
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121330-2/IMG_0029.JPG
From Dominguez Ridge we crossed over onto Brushy Ridge.
View towards Brush Mountain
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121350-2/IMG_0039.JPG
Brushy Ridge then led us down into Palmer Gulch
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121358-2/IMG_0043.JPG
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121372-2/IMG_0050.JPG
...and Palmer Gulch brought us down into Escalante Canyon.
Escalante Creek
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121376-2/IMG_0052.JPG
On our way down Escalante Canyon we came across a couple of historic cabins. The first one belonged to Captain Henry Smith and was built in 1907. This cabin was built against a large slab of sandstone and his bed area inside the cabin was carved out of that rock.
The cabin built up against the large rock
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121422-1/IMG_0075.JPG
Bed area carved out of the rock
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121386-1/IMG_0057.JPG
A little further down the road we came across the Walker Cabin which was built in 1911.
http://myxj.net/g2/d/121434-1/IMG_0081.JPG
After visiting the cabins we finally made our way back to US 50. We stopped in Delta for a late lunch and then headed back to Grand Junction in the 99 degree heat.