From Wyoming's Unita County to Northern Utah

     Seems like I've been forever driving up and down, twisting around mountains and switchback roads. So when I got to a place I could pull over safely, it was at this beautiful spot (click here for map location of photo below). It's just over the Utah state line, in Wyoming. This is Uinta County, named after Utah's Uinta Mountains because these mountains are prominently visible everywhere in that little southwestern corner of Wyoming.

     I took a walk and came across this broken half-shell egg on a rock. I photo'd the shell to ID it later but when I saw this photo on my computer, I loved the artistry of the photo itself.

Utah's Uinta Mountains may loom large in this Wyoming county, but this little corner of Wyoming has its own identity.

Tremendously enjoyed the change of scenery.

An oil and gas company used to drill gas wells here.

Have no explanation for the bluish rock formation.

Evidence of former ranching operations.

Had this wide open space practically to myself. If my horse Topy was here with me . . . .

 A goat herd and the ever present Uinta Mountains of Utah.

 

Wyoming is cattle country.

I parked along the road to watch four cowboys with my binoculars for an hour.

     It was a lot of "hurry up and wait" tactics with a herd of mama cows and their babies. Go slow, don't panic them or they'll do crazy things! Cowhands need to be animal psychologists to control cattle herds and those few rogue calves. Helping the cowhands were four dogs but their knowledge of animal psychology didn't include "reverse psychology" so they resorted to biting the calf's leg. Some male calves stood their ground and kicked back; score was calf "three", dog "zero".

     After watching and chuckling at that comedy show for an hour, I was on my way again to the northern panhandle area of Utah. The Uinta Mountains were always guiding me!

Utah's Route 39 is very scenic.

This green valley follows Birch Creek which was near flood stage due to snow melt.

     When I've climbed out of the valley, there's snow at the top! In fact, the Monte Cristo Campground where I was going to camp, was closed and snowed-in. The snowplows hadn't even opened their main road.

     Spent the night surrounded by snow at a BLM spot just off the road. Next morning at sunrise (La Lair was 45 degrees inside), fired up the stove for coffee and hit the road again.

Arrived in Huntsville, Idaho which is definitely more scenic than Huntsville, Texas!!

Click here for another person's description of this wonderfully scenic drive from Huntsville to Woodruff, Utah.