Sunday my brother, sister-in-law, their corgi, Ellie, and I all went on a road trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in southwest Wyoming. It is 3 1/2 hours and 200 miles from Lander. I am posting photos in three parts, the Dowds Mountain Overlook, the Red Canyon Visitor Center and an unnamed overlook – all on the south side of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The bulk of the Reservoir is in Wyoming but the three areas mentioned above are actually in Utah.
I don’t know why this beautiful place wasn’t on my radar when I was out here four years ago but it has been on the top of my to-do list since I learned about it, and was the first thing I mentioned when asked what weekend road-trips I’d like to take while based in Lander.
To get there we drove southwest on Highway 28 to Farson, then south on Highway 191 to Interstate 80. We went west on 80 for a few miles then south on Highway 530 to the little town of Washam WY before crossing into Utah. We then drove around the southern end of the reservoir before getting to the town of Dutch John and heading north back home.
First stop – the Dowds Mountain Overlook, elevation about 7,700 feet – and what a view we had!
The photo above was taken with my iPhone camera. Here is a photo from almost the identical spot taken with my digital camera:
While the digital is great for close-ups with the zoom lens I have to say the iPhone wins this particular comparison, hands down.
This is a look back at the road we took to get up to the overlook, a series of photos looking left-to-right, followed by a panorama shot of the whole scene:
And here is a photo my sister-in-law, Jen, took, of your host JohnBoy (on the left), my brother Steve and their corgi Eleanor Roosevelt (aka Ellie):
Next stop – a little further up the road at the Red Canyon Visitor Center.
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