Went on a road trip with Dan T. today and he had never been to the San Rafael Swell - The Wedge. We were headed to Monticello to play a round of golf at the Hideout Golf Club. When he said he had never been there I felt it an obligation to enlighten him on the beauty of Utah. We traveled south out Price to Castle Dale and took the Green River cutoff road to the trail head of the Wedge Rd and turned south. I so enjoy the reactions of people when we drive up on the Wedge. They are always awe struck that there is such a sight so close to home. Within 2 hours you can be overlooking the Wedge and the Little Grand Canyon of Utah.
From there we went into Buckhorn Wash and traveled to the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph rock art panel. Dan had not ever seen any of this. I will admit today was good, there was cloud cover and the panel was showing parts I had not seen before. Still very faded but some of the drawings were showing through the years of fading and weathering.
We continued on down the wash and met up with the San Rafael River Bridge. The original still standing, but not passable, Dan was again awe struck at the beauty of the area. We ventured along the wash road and came to I-70. I was not done showing him other parts of the north end of the swell. We went from there over to the Head of Sinbad and Dutchman's Arch.
These two areas are in full view of I-70 on the north side of the freeway. We wondered how many people per day passed by there never knowing what they were missing. We spent a little time at Dutchman's stretching our legs and relaxing before getting back on the trail. We headed back to the freeway and went to Green River UT.
Along the way we passed a trucker that had broken down, his engine blew-up. He was walking down the road and we watched as car after car just drove by him as he walked, so we stopped and asked if we could help. He said he was, "just going to walk to the next exit and get some food and drinks." We explained the next exit, 3 miles away, was an access exit to Lake Powell and no amenities were there and the next available store was 15 miles away, could we give you a ride. He said, "No, that he needed to stay and wait for the tow truck, but did we have anything to drink or eat?" We had a half full water bottle and Dan had a 3/4 full diet drink which he gladly accepted and turned around and walked back toward his truck.
We made it to Green River where we stopped for lunch at the "Tamarisk Restaurant" right on the Green River, great view and good food! After lunch we headed for Monticello and golf. The Hideout Golf Club is a small place in Monticello but a great course. Tight and laid right into the foot hills of the Blue Mountains just west of Monticello. The course is a ball eating machine for those of us with wicked slices, calling it golf when I play is really a stretch of the true sport, the fairways are tight and blind to almost every hole on the course. We put in 9 holes thinking we would put in another 9 in the morning, after 8 hours in the seat of the truck, we were tired. Morning came and I needed to go to my next destination which happened to be Moab. We didn't get to play our 2nd round, but we got comp passes for them and will have to return and play later....big sad face. Can't wait to return. We stayed the night at the "Inn at the Canyons" a nice hotel in Monticello, with a nice indoor pool and spa for relaxing, continental breakfast, clean rooms and comfortable beds. Morning came and we left for Moab.
Be sure to check out Dan's reaction to seeing the Wedge and Little Grand Canyon on Misty Mtn Adventures You tube channel. To see video click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment