This morning, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. There is no wind and it looks like it is shaping up to be another great day.
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| Leaving camp |
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| Note the green rock on the hills |
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| More modified jeeps |
We travelled to Green River which is the nearest town to the San Rafael Swell. Hopefully we will find an awesome campsite in the Swell as we are planning on taking in some of this incredible scenery on the quads.
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| Shelby Cobra |
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| The start of the "Swell" |
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| More Cobras. Must be a show somewhere!! |
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| Some of the San Rafael Swell |
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| I-70 cuts the swell into North and South sections |
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| Amazing Scenery |
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| Attempting to find tonight's camping spot |
The San Rafael Swell, is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah. It measures 121 kms x 64kms. It was formed 40 - 60 million years ago when tremendous geologic upheavals formed a giant dome of rock - a "swell" on the earth's surface. Over the years, the wind and water carved this jumble of rock into incredible formations as buttes, canyons, pinnacles and mesas, making it one of the most ruggedly beautiful area in North America/
The Swell is home to Utah's largest herd of desert bighorn sheep. If you are lucky enough, you might even see peregrine falcons, golden eagles, wild horses and burros, coyotes, mountain lions, mule deer and pronghorn antelope.
In this dry, high altitude, vegetation is sparse except in the areas around the river. Cottonwoods thrive in this moisture but for the most part, pinyon pine and juniper dot the rocky soils of the benchlands. It is only the high desert plants that survive in this environment. It is truly something to see.
After travelling for several miles along the road, we backtracked and found a most wonderful spot to camp. It is nestled in the junipers and is well protected from the wind which seems to be the norm around here!! Tomorrow, we will do some site seeing on the quads.
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| Found one, nestled in amongst the juniper |
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