{"id":21629,"date":"2023-12-12T14:40:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T03:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/?p=21629"},"modified":"2023-12-12T14:40:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T03:40:10","slug":"getting-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/?p=21629","title":{"rendered":"Getting closer…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our Follow the Sun journey was almost over and we were slowly inching our way to our start\/finish line at my mother\u2019s house in California. And as a special treat we’ll be there in time for Thanksgiving \u2013 the biggest family event in America.  Our trip across the States over the last month has had great purpose and intent, exploring as many new places on the way as possible.  Along the way we ended up spending four nights in Wyoming \u2013 and it could have been four weeks the place was that good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You wake up to scenes like this and say let’s stay a bit longer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That morning we had left our beaut camp on the banks of the Salt River and had plans to do another of these official Wyoming Scenic Backway drives through some of their more remote and beautiful countryside.  The drive proved worthy of it\u2019s title as we left civilisation behind and headed up into ranching country on BLM (Bureau of Land Management \u2013 basically, land the government owns and leases to ranchers) land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The farms and ranches in this area were in beautiful settings but have to be self sufficient<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I have a thing for picturesque old barns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The tracks started to get a bit obscure on this Scenic Backway track – which is mainly because we missed our turn and started heading into Wyoming’s version of oblivion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In fact the scenery was so good we missed our obscure turn and ventured further up one valley than intended. We eventually found the right track and followed it through narrow canyons up above the snow line with expansive views of Wyoming all around us.  But the road kept going up, the track had more and more snow and ice and we knew that four tonne Tramp performs poorly in slippery conditions.  We had lunch at a bend in the road at 8,530 feet (2,600 metres) and then retreated back to civilisation, exploring an elaborate beaver colony along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We climbed above the snow line which gave us great views but foreshadowed more challenges ahead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beautiful scenery but the roads got a bit slippery in places<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We ran out of time and inspiration to complete this scenic drive so opted for lunch at our turnaround point and then headed down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beavers are amazing critters and we found a large colony of them by the side of our track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We set our sights for the night at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (NRA), a deep gorge carved out by the mighty Green River and exposing beautiful striped colours and strata of rocks on the water\u2019s cliff line.  It was a fabulous place to spend the night, the water flat and still, not another person within miles, another perfect 10.  Wyoming has really spoiled us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area looked pretty good at sunset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our peaceful spot on the shores of the reservoir without another soul within miles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The master chef cooked up some steaks for our feed that night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dawn over the water the next morning was nothing short of stunning.  Flaming Gorge NRA protects and promotes this large water playground after the Flaming Gorge Dam was built in the 1960\u2019s and flooded this beautiful canyon.  Today people come from long distances with their boats and various water toys, and set up camp on the hundreds of little coves, flat areas, beaches and headlands to fish, swim, laze about and enjoy this beautiful setting.  That is, in the summer.  At this time of year we had the place all to ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunrise over our camp at Flaming Gorge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Some of the roads around Flaming Gorge were almost as good as the gorge itself<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We pulled into the closed but open campsite on the gorge and found no campers but quite a few pronghorn and white tail deer in residence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We explored a few more of the little coves and bays before rounding the waterway to the south, crossing into the state of Utah, a state known for it’s national parks and strong Mormon community, and heading up the mountains on the eastern side of the dam.  The views of the flaming gorge \u2013 the red rock canyon walls that mark a large part of the water\u2019s boundary \u2013 and the water below were just fabulous.  We continued onward, pulling in to explore Red Canyon, another section of the Green River\u2019s magical carving in these steep and deep red walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The scenery around the gorge in this section of northern Utah was fabulous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How good is this for a totally unexpected and random view of Flaming Gorge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We finally drug ourselves away from Flaming Gorge, absolutely overwhelmed by it\u2019s wonderous beauty and trying to figure out why this place doesn\u2019t have a higher profile in the list of America\u2019s top-rated outdoor playgrounds.  Really great stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another section of the gorge called Red Canyon deserves a national park in it’s own right<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The lookouts above Red Canyon gave helicopter views of wonderful unblemished scenes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We stopped for supplies in the town of Vernal and then drove through the impressive Indian Canyon and over the 9,114 foot (2,780 metres) pass before dropping down into the curiously named town of Helper where we splurged on an RV park so we could have showers and WIFI.  It had been a while for both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The empty RV park in the town of Helper where we helped ourselves to WIFI and hot showers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having been helped in Helper we had to make tracks as Tramp had an important appointment in California in less than three days\u2019 time.  We first had to negotiate more fun rural roads in central Utah, including a wonderful drive over a 9,655 foot (2,950 metres) pass complete with Alpine lakes, local ski runs and endless views on the road from Huntington to Fairview.  From there it was down to the town of Salina where we joined the legendary Highway 50 for our long and lonely drive across the rest of Utah and all of Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We could see the mountains we were going to climb looming ahead of us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Alpine lakes in the high desert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We had these panoramic high elevation views all to ourselves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Highway 50 is called America\u2019s Loneliest Road and it is easy to see why.  The highway features long arrow-straight stretches across sagebrush-covered open desert that crosses what is called the Great Basin, a vast area taking up most of Nevada and part of Utah that has no outlet to the sea.  Very few communities survive in these conditions and the land is mostly left to it\u2019s own remote existence, bar an occasional ranching or mining endevour.  But we love the wide-open spaces and were looking forward to crossing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We passed through the town of Manti and came upon one of the Mormon’s largest temples in Utah, built in the 1880’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We left Utah and passed into Nevada before making our way up to the Great Basin National Park where we camped for the night next to a noisy mountain stream surrounded by pine and aspen and bears if you believe the warnings. And as usual, we were completely by ourselves, not counting the invisible bears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our spot for the night in Great Basin National Park, high on the slopes of Mt. Wheeler, Nevada’s highest mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next morning we headed off across the loneliest road and the beautiful expansive spaces of the Nevada desert.  But it isn\u2019t all flat desert.  A series of substantial mountain ranges dissect this barren land such that you have to climb up a mountain pass, crest over the summit and start the long journey back down to the next desert valley.  There were rarely any signs of human life except the occasional sandy tracks heading off into the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tramp chomps at the bit to do the Loneliest Road in America<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An odd scene \u2013 this guy was crossing the desert in a home-built horse-drawn carriage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And of course everywhere you go, even petrol stations, you see the colourful and noisy slot machines as gambling is legal in Nevada\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We refueled in Ely, the only major town in the desert, and later passed through two almost-ghostly forgotten communities of Eureka and Austin. Otherwise, nothing.  We did stop at a few information boards at the ruins of Pony Express stations when back in the early 1860\u2019s hardy cowboys would ride a relay of horses from station to station, delivering mail across 2,000 miles in only a few weeks.  Man, those guys were tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We followed this sign for the better part of two days – The Loneliest Road in America<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There were a couple of very small communities on Hwy 50 but they seemed to be almost completely bereft of life – no surprise in this desert environment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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You have to like solitude and wide open spaces if you’re going to like the Great Basin in Nevada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also stopped at Sand Mountain, a giant Sahara-like sand dune formed in the desert which is now a recreation super-site for everyone with some sort of sand buggy or fat tyre vehicle.  With a sandy campsite that could probably handle many hundreds of campers and their toys it would truly be a cultural experience to be here on, say, Memorial Day long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The appropriately-named Sand Mountain, a very strange one-off thing in a vast desert without any sand dunes <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oh no! This large goose-neck trailer ventured too far into the soft sand at Sand Mountain but luckily his mate dragged him out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We pulled into the major town of Fallon on the western edge of the desert and headed for an area called Indian Lakes where we set up camp just before sunset and built a celebratory fire.  Celebratory because this would be our last camping night for our entire Follow the Sun journey \u2013 the following night we planned to stay at my sister\u2019s house in northern California before returning to my mother\u2019s house in Salinas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunset at our last campsite on Follow the Sun, tucked in behind these trees at Indian Lakes near Fallon, Nevada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we sat around the fire we talked about our journey and reminisced about all the wonderful experiences we had had over the last six and a half years.  Yes, it was very exciting to be finally finishing our journey but we had both invested much of our later-day lives into this major project, ended our careers early, packed up our house, said goodbye to our family and friends and headed off into an extraordinarily exciting but unknown future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Splitting wood for our last fire on Follow the Sun \u2013 a very sad\/happy moment for us\u2026but there will be more fires in the future<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And yet, sitting around the fire one more time also was very sad because we knew that even though we were planning more adventures with Tramp in future years they would never match the scale, complexity, risk and reward of our Follow the Sun around the world journey.  We had much to celebrate and much to be proud of, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Follow the Sun journey was almost over and we were slowly inching our way to our start\/finish line at my mother\u2019s house in California. And as a special treat we’ll be there in time for Thanksgiving \u2013 the biggest family event in America.  Our trip across the States over the last month has had great purpose and intent, exploring as many new places on the way as possible.  Along …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-states"],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20231115_204125608-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21629"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21747,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21629\/revisions\/21747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourpangaea.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}