Bear Lake, Utah

Kerri, Sean, Peter and I went to Bear Lake for some summer camping. I had never been there and didn't know what to expect. The drive through the Cache Valley was gorgeous:

The lake was nice, however the campsites are right next to eachother and apparently this is a favorite destination of boy scout troops and large families.... Also, there were mosquitos, lots of them. You can see them in the picture below, they are the white blurry spots behind Mr. Jack Daniels:

The lake had beaches :

The campsite:

Logan Canyon was also beautiful and we stopped to see this spring on the side of the road:

And there you have it. I went there, saw the shit, don't know that I necessarily need to go again.

Flaming Gorge, Brown's Park, Dinosaur National Monument

I decided to add a few stops on this year's Dinosaur National Monument trip. We drove through Wyoming to get to Flaming Gorge. The drive through Wyoming was nice with interesting scenery; Flaming Gorge was beautiful, of course:

Flaming Gorge Dam:

There was a butterfly:

We went to the visitor center and the retired couple working there were from Yuma (which explained why they were not stuffy and aloof) so we chatted for a while; it was nice.

Next, we drove to Brown's Park in Daggett County on the Utah, Colorado, Wyoming border. This area was the old stomping ground of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch. Locals of Brown's Park would hide the outlaws on their property when the marshals would come looking for them. This area was home to some of the West's most famous cattle rustlers including Josie and Ann Bassett, the Queens of Cattle Rustling. Ann Bassett was a girlfriend of Butch Cassidy and Josie was involved with Elzy Lay, Cassidy's closest friend; Josie also dated Cassidy for a period of time. Josie and Ann Bassett were two of only five women who were ever allowed into the outlaw hideout called "Robbers Roost".

Brown's Park:

We visited the Jarvie Historic Ranch in Brown's Park. In the 1880's John Jarvie opened a general store on the north bank of the Green River. The store, with its ferry across the river, served as a way station for travelers. Jarvie pursued mining ventures and raised cattle and horses. He was murdered while he was alone at his store on 6 July 1909 by a transient.

After visiting the ranch I wanted desperately to move to Brown's Park and live by the river; it was serene.

Jarvie's first home on the property was a dugout, but after building a log cabin he used the dugout for storage. The dugout was also used by Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch gang as a hideout. I got to go into a place that these famous outlaws had used numerous times. I got to sit on the same chair as Butch Cassidy (which I found extremely exciting).

Artsy photo ops from around the Jarvie property:

And then onto Dinosaur National Monument, one of my favorite places on earth:

Some rare orchids that grow in Northeastern Utah that go on and off the endangered list (they can be found in Hog Canyon, pictured above, by Josie's cabin):

The famous Freemont petroglyphs found on cliff sides throughout Dinosaur Monument:

By the Green River:

Just goddamned stunning my friends.

Interesting Links:

http://www.utah.com/nationalsites/dinosaur.htm

http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/b/BROWNSPARK.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie_Bassett