8 August – Day 17
Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Vernal, Utah
Distance: 458kms
It seems that as we head south and the days get shorter, the mornings get longer! Or at least later… we have definitely transitioned into holiday mode, with slower starts and leisurely breakfasts in town before hitting the road… like this morning!
We finally got going about 11am… and essentially rode until about 6.30pm, with stops only for lunch, to check out (and just gaze in wonder at) the Flaming Gorge, and also have a look at the massive Flaming Gorge dam. Our journey took us from Montana into Idaho, Wyoming and finally Utah. We passed kilometre after kilometre of farmland, of bleak desert moonscape, of state forest, of mountains, canyons and of course the Flaming Gorge. The day’s route also included a descent of over 700m, a rain shower, a phosphorous mine, a meeting with a couple who have just spent 14 years sailing around the world, and another who just motorbiked Africa.
Tomorrow we’re off to Moab, where we’ll spend a couple of days… Adrian hopefully mountain biking and me hopefully yoga and cafeing!
Jackson’s Hole was where all the outlaws went…Kid Curry, Butch Cassidy and the like or am I confused with a separate “Hole in the wall” place? Did the locals look wild?
There were so many tourists it was hard to pick the locals! It could have been Monument Valley though; I think that’s where most of the movies have been filmed…