YouTube videos from my recent adventures...

It has been a busy ten days since I returned from Utah. First, the annular eclipse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Gis5nCgQU&list=UULq-6JrVItrjLnZtdfZa-2g&index=4&feature=plcp

then I did the Dinosaur Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Gis5nCgQU&list=UULq-6JrVItrjLnZtdfZa-2g&index=4&feature=plcp

This week, the colorful Flaming gorge video was completed  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ETEYO-VvM&list=UULq-6JrVItrjLnZtdfZa-2g&index=2&feature=plcp

Finally, yesterday I completed the video for Dinosaur National Monument  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajp-Ku3cJnY&list=UULq-6JrVItrjLnZtdfZa-2g&index=1&feature=plcp

I'll never forget the view from Harper's Corner!

With the tiny raft so far below--if you can see it, it's the little blue dot right where the curved swoosh of stone reaches the river.

The Gates of Lodore

Got out of Flaming Gorge at 6:45 A.M., which I figured would be plenty of time to beat the late-morning clouds.

Even from the parking area where the river rafters were gathering, the Gates are impressive.

Note the beautiful sky and ouffy clouds. Lovely. What I hadn't quite counted on was that the place is easy for rafters, butnot kind to ageing morons who want to walk the nearly two miles to get closer. Sigh. The 'trail' is unmarked or nonexistent, and I basically fought my way through the forest to finally reach a good  perch for photography.

My guardian angels were already there, sitting on the next rock.  "Boss! You're late! We've been trying to hold the !#!$!%!^! clouds back, but they are gaining on us. Oh, and we put some nice rafts on the river to help scale the scene."

Good girls. By now, the wind was coming up, the clouds were closing, and I still had to fight my way back to the parking lot. Ah, but first, a video!!

Note the rapidly-approaching clouds and their speed? A few minutes later, the whole place was entirely socked in. I didn't see the Sun again until I was back in Flaming Gorge at 3:30 P.M.

I won't dwell on the adventure getting through the woods. I did take a self-portrait with the little blood rivulets on both arms and both legs. Think of them as souvenirs...

The Gates are a one-trick pony, but it is a wonderful trick.

I should mention that I passed a magnificent overlook above the Flaming Gorge. The wind was howling at 40 miles per hour or so, but I managed to hold the camera still enough to get these:

You can see the back of the dam on the left.

Off today back to Jensen, near the entrance to Dinosaur National Monument.I have three more nights to do the fifty-mile dirt road atop the Yampa Bench and try somehow to get Harper's Corner without the clouds.

Another day of wonder...

The weather struggles seem to be generated by the 10,000-foot mountains. Early in the morning it tends to be sunny, the middle of the day is a horror, and the late afternoon clears. This is from yesterday, today only had rain and 40 mph wind.

I spent some time on the Sheep Creek Geologic Loop, a road through a museum of sandstone types. The pictures can't do justice to this place--the formations are huge!

When I first heard of this drive, I scoffed--but it was huge and impressive:

When the sun came out strongly, I raced back to Red Canyon to get another view:

This time, I happened to glance over at the next led just like the one I was on. Uh-oh.

When I mentioned the danger to a ranger, he shrugged philosophically and said, "We do tell people not to go outside the fence."

Oh, good.

To wrap up the day, a bit of contemplation on the banks of the 90-mile long reservoir.

Tomorrow, a trip to the completely remote Gates of Lodore.  can't wait!!!

SNOW?????????????

I suppose that is the final indignity when you come here just as their season opens. I overheard a conversation in which snow was mentioned in a town 30 miles away.
Sure enough, a few hours later I was in a flurry. Fortunately, the guardian angels did their thing and the skies cleared.

The 90-mile long Flaming Gorge reservoir was formed by building the Flaming Gorge Dam:

Behind the dam, the lake stretches its sinuous way North.

Driving North on a great sweeping road, I stopped (between snow flurries) at some sublime overlooks. One of the most impressive is that at Red Canyon:

There is a promontory between that view and this next one, so it won't all go in one big panorama. I hate falling from great heights.

Yes, a pair of speedboats were cruising down the Green River as it flows Southward toward where I was in my last post. After taking that shot, I headed North on the highway toward where the snow had been reported. I did take a couple of videos, but they are too depressing to show.

Instead, here's a view from a mountain about 30 miles North of Red Canyon:

As you see in some of these, I was really dodging clouds looking for any breaks to get some color in the images,

Just stepped outside to look at the new day, and saw--clouds. Sigh. At least there's no snow yet...