Flaming Gorge-Uintas Scenic Byway

     Flaming Gorge Recreation Area is just a smidgeon north of the dinosaur quarry, so I headed in that direction. The drive on "Flaming Gorge-Uintas Scenic Byway" is beautiful of course!

The Flaming Gorge area is part of the eastern Uinta Mountains.

When the dam was finished in 1964, it created a 42,000 acre reservoir.

     The dam is on the Green River. And the reason it's named "Flaming Gorge" is because back in 1869 when John Wesley Powell and his crew of nine explored the Green River (and when they reached the confluence, the Colorado River also), they were stunned by the red rock canyon's reflection of the sun. 

The canyon looked like it was on fire. So the name "Flaming Gorge" was first penned.

     I spent the night on the eastern shoreline of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir at Antelope Flat Campground (see photo below).  I was the only camper there! One word of advice, don't camp here unless you want motor boat access (click here for map) because there are 22 other campgrounds to choose from which are probably better ones. Also there are 11 more campgrounds on the western shoreline which are probably more scenic.

I wasn't entirely alone; two pronghorns visited me.

Unfortunately there was a fire in 2015.

     The Route 44 section (on the western side of the reservoir, click here for map) of the Flaming Gorge-Uintas Scenic Byway was just as spectacular.

In fact, the further west I drove, the higher the Uintas Mountains rose.

Coming up next, snowy peaks of the Uintas Mountain Range.