Home
Site Map
Photo Albums and Movies


2001 - Mount Rushmore
2002 - Desert Ghost Towns
2003 - Eastern & Southern USA
2005 - Western Road Trip
2006 - Death Valley
2007 - New Orleans
2008 - Route 66 & Tombstone
2009 - Family, Friends & Foliage
2010 - Destination Unknown
2011 - St. Augustine
2012 - Guernsey Ancestry Tour
2013 - Western Giants
2014 - Every Which Way
2015 - Mystery Tour
2016 - Double Trouble
2017 - North to Alaska
2020-22 - Trail of the Ancients

Been There Did That
2006 - Vegas Connection
2009 - Glacier National Park
2009 - Kelowna
2011 - Patched
2011 - Sprng Breakout
2012 - Spring Breakout
2014 - Las Vegas
2014 - Summer Sizzler
2014 - Fall Fling
2015 - Winter Shop Hop
2015 - Quilt Away
2016 - Quilt Away
2017 - Quilt Away
2017 - Temple Square
2018 - Quilt Away
2019 - Quilt Away


Ghost Towns
Hwy 261
Monument Valley
National Parks
Oatman
Valley of the Gods
Vegas


Favourite Links
Highway Collection
Miss Kitty
Miss Snoop
Row by Row™
Travel Plates


Sign my Guestbook
Read my Guestbook


Route 66 &
Tombstone - 2008

Page 2 - Mexican Border to Calgary


2008 - Route 66 and Tombstone Photo Album
To Page 1 - Calgary to Mexican Border

Highway 191 - The Devil's Highway
We backtracked from the Mexican Border and headed north on Highway 191. Karen had searched the internet and mapquest to find new and interesting roads for us to explore. What she found was highway 191.

We have travelled the northern part of highway 191 and, although it is quit a scenic and enjoyable drive, it was not really remarkable or unique. Not to be said, however, for it's southern end. It was an absolutely incredible drive. The twists, turns, hills, switchbacks, and valleys totally thrilled us.

When the road was first proposed in 1916, an old cowboy said "There ain' t even a good horse trail."

Highway 191 is the only road that had its name changed by the Bible. US 191 was US 666 and nicknamed "The Devil's Highway." Over the years, U.S. 666 has sometimes been the object of controversy because "666" is the "number of the beast" (or Antichrist) in the Bible. Revelation 13:18 states:

Let him who has understanding calculate the number of
the beast, or it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Jonathan D. Rosenblum wrote "Route 666 rides the rugged eastern seam of Arizona from the Petrified Forest, south, across the Zuni River, through the Apache National Forest, and into the mountain mining towns of Clifton and Morenci. Unlike the straightforward, gentle passage of retired Route 66 ("America's Highway"), U.S. 666, its descendant, is tortuous, wild, and as strange as its name. In little more than one hundred miles, the surrounding altitude ranges from twenty-nine hundred feet to more than eleven thousand feet. With some four hundred twisting curves in one sixty-mile stretch, the road has sent more than its share of travelers crashing off cliffs. If, as Nat King Cole sang, drivers get their kicks on Route 66, they take their risks on 666."

On May 31, 2003, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved a new number "191" for the remaining segments of U.S. 666 in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Clifton, Arizona

Clifton is the county seat of Greenlee County. The Town of Clifton is set in a rugged mountain canyon, which has been formed by the San Francisco River. The date of 1873, is set as the founding of Clifton.

The Town of Clifton is a strange contrast of disaster, decay, old town, and modernization all wrapped up in one very picturesque Town. There was a long street of older building that appeared to destroyed by fire or perhaps claimed by the elements with buildings in between that have been restored housing small boutique shops, pubs and social clubs and beautiful parks.

Coronado Trail - Clifton to Eager

The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway is an adventure of over 400 switchbacks, steep grades, and hairpin turns. In some parts, you cannot travel at more than 10 to 15 miles an hour. The road reaches elevations over 9,000 feet and lacks guardrails. It was fantastic!!!

Seeking the riches of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's 1540 route ran close to this scenic Byway. Coronado looked in vain for cities of gold as he traveled past Morenci in 1540. Prospectors 340 years later found veins of copper, silver, turquoise and gold.

The Phelps Dodge Morenci Mine is now the largest mine and copper producer in North America. We have never seen mines of that magnitude and were quite amazed. Most of the mines we've run across are quite small or totally deserted.

Morneci Mine Slideshow
Along the road there is a cemetery. We almost missed it as it is on the side of a mountain and blends right into it. The cemetery is almost hidden by overgrown vegetation and brush.

Apache National Forest

As we approached a meadow we noticed herd of Elk in a frantic run. Before I could stop the car and Karen could get her camera focused on them, it became apparent why they were running. A bear was chasing them.

Although the Elk were obviously in a panic, it really didn't appear that the bear was doing anything more than "having fun" or perhaps he knew he'd never be able to catch them.

Apparently, I would prefer the bushes over a smelly outhouse!!  Picture compliments of Karen!!

Egar, Arizona

We finished our highway 191 experience at Eager and spent the night.

Madonna of the Trail

This 10 foot high, 5 ton statue, cast by St Louis sculptor August Leimbach is on of 12 identical monuments to the bold spirit of the pioneers, erected in 1928-29 along the national old trails road from Maryland to California.

N.S.D.A.R MEMORIAL
TO THE
PIONEER MOTHERS
OF THE
COVERED WAGON DAYS

A tribute to the pioneers of Arizona and the Southwest, who trod this ground and braved the dangers of the Apaches and other warrior tribes.


Petrified Forest National Park

The Petrified Forest was set aside as a national monument in 1906 to preserve and protect the petrified wood for its scientific value.

It is one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of over 200-million-year-old fossils.

The Petrified Forest was discovered thousands of years ago by American Indians and was inhabited by groups of them for varying lengths of time. More than 650 American Indian sites have been found in the park.

We were a bit disappointed in the Park. I'm not sure whether it was because we didn't spend enough time there, or that we prefer to discover spectacular out of the way site's on our own, or that we had to pay to travel through it, but driving through the park was just that - a means to get to the other side. We can say "we saw it" and that's good enough for us.

We followed the highway up to I 40 and passed another short section of Route 66 we'd seen on another return trip.

We picked up highway 40, then west through the Hopi Indian Reservation to Tuba City.

At Kayenta, we visited the hospital on the chance that the nurse that took care of Karen in 2003 was there. No such luck and Karen was a bit disappointed. She has wanted to stop and visit him since that fateful night.

Also, no luck on a hotel room in Kayenta so we headed north on highway 163 to Monument Valley. We phoned ahead for a reservation at Bluff and managed to get one of the cabins at the Desert Rose hotel - one of our favourite places to stay.


Bluff - Side Trips
Now all we had to do was simply relax and tour around the area. For many years we have been saying we wanted to come back to the Bluff area, and spend a few days just touring around. This was the year. Nights in Bluff are incredibly peaceful. We just sat outside taking in the "still of the night".

Painted Desert

The next morning we decided to head to Monument Valley. On route Karen was thrilled to discover a "painted desert" formation - something we had never noticed before. We were travelling in the area in the morning rather than afternoon and evening and things looked quite different. With the sun being in the east instead of the west, the monuments looked quite different.

Highway 163

Monument Pass

There was a morning haze giving everything a completely different look. With Karen hanging out the sun roof and Willie riding shotgun, we travelled on the "most photographed road" highway - 163 heading into Monument Valley Pass.

Bypassing Valley of the Gods and highway 261 was a difficult thing to do but we knew we would be back. We made a short detour on a side road then moved on to our Monument Valley day.

Monument Valley - June 22nd

Although we have been to Monument Valley many times, we have never toured through the Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park. This year - true to our fill in the gaps theme - we decided to take the time to tour through the park. There is a new hotel in the park, the View Hotel. We will have to keep this hotel in mind for another trip.

As soon as we entered, we knew we were in for a treat. The parking lot was humming with tour guides in vehicles that made us wonder what the heck we were heading into. It appeared that we needed some sort of all terrain vehicle or at least a beat up truck. However, brave as we are, we struck out unguided in the Murano and hit the first wild, bumpy, rutted, steep and (maybe we shouldn't be doing this) road. Of course, we loved every minute of it. It wasn't long before everything smoothed out and we toured on the park's 17 mile road for several hours.

We stopped at Goulding on our way out to eat supper. After visiting John Wayne's cabin we said good-bye to Monument Valley and headed down the road to Mexican Hat.

Monument Valley Slideshow

Having Karen's new camera with us again this year made all the difference in the quality of the pictures we took. It's a great camera and all Karen did was point and click. The pictures turned out so great we can only imagine what she could do with the camera if she had some lessons for it. Or, maybe, no knowledge is better - just let the camera do the work!!

Both our favorite pictures capture the feeling of the area. In my favorite, you feel the coolness under the trees with the monuments baking in the heat beyond. In Karen's, the background almost doesn't look real - more like a painting or mural of the monuments as a backdrop behind the wagon.

Doreen's Favorite Picture - Full Size
Karen's Favorite Picture - Full Size

Mexican Hat

Mexican Hat is actually a tiny town on the San Juan River just outside the northern boundary of the Navajo Nation and Monument Valley on highway 163. The name "Mexican Hat" comes from a curiously sombrero-shaped, 60-foot wide by 12-foot thick, rock outcropping on the northeast edge of town.

We have passed this rock many times. This year, we visited.  We took a bouncy dirt road leading to the rock. Although there are two paths to climb the rock, we opted for viewing from the bottom. Just a short walk from the base of the rock, there is a terrific view of the winding San Juan River.

Goosenecks State Park

We have passed the turnoff for Goosenecks State Park many times over the years while going to or from Moki Dugway and Valley of the Gods. We have always been curious about the Park and this year we travelled the short four miles to it from highway 261.

Goosenecks State Park overlooks a deep meander of the San Juan River. Millions of years ago, the Monument Upwarp forced the river to carve incised meanders over 1,000 feet deep as the surrounding landscape slowly rose in elevation.

Eroded by water, wind, frost, and gravity, this is a classic location for observing incised meanders. The river meanders back and forth, flowing for more than five miles while progressing only one linear mile toward the Colorado River and Lake Powell.

Today, we seemed to save the best for last. The anticipation grew. It was now finally time to head back to our favourite road - highway 261 and the Moki Dugway.

Highway 261 - Day 1

Moki Dugway is part of the 116 miles federally designated National Scenic Byway known as The Trail of the Ancients.

Highway 261 makes you feel like you are on top of the world - and you are!! We never tire of it.

The Trail, in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, circles through the ancient Puebloan (Anasazi) Country. It includes Hovenweep National Monument, Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum, Butler Wash and Mule Canyon Indian ruins, Natural Bridges National Monument, Grand Gulch Primitive Area, Valley of the Gods, Gooseneck State Park, Monument Valley, Historic Bluff, Three Kiva Pueblo and Four Corners Monument.

Arriving back on highway 261 is a good feeling for us. As much as it never seems to change - it really never stays the same. Karen even notices when some rocks have moved or a part of the road is changed - sometimes made wider and sometimes missing a shoulder.

This year we noticed a wreck over the cliff and we are absolutely sure we never saw that before. Whether it was a prop or an actual accident, it reminds us that although the road is stimulating, exciting and fun to drive - it can also be very dangerous.

Because it was early evening there was very little traffic on the road.  We could stop and view from just about anywhere.  After driving up and down a couple of times the sun was starting to set and it was time to call it a day. We planned to visit highway 261 again before we left the area. 

Painted Desert

As we headed back to Bluff we noticed that the painted desert looked completely different now with the sun setting than it had that morning.

Church Rock

Church Rock

We headed out the next morning to the Canyonlands area. Of course we had to stop so Karen could get a picture of Church Rock. I don't know why this rock fascinates her. I think she just wants to know what is in that hole at it's base.

Surfing I found some information about Church Rock. "The opening to Church Rock is approximately 16 feet high and 24 feet across. It was cut by Marie Ogden's religious cult to make a church. They had plans to hollow out the entire center. These plans were never finished."

Who knows?  This may or may not be true, but the story of Marie Ogden is certainly very interesting.

Hole in the Rock
Wilson Arch

Canyonlands

After visiting Wilson Arch and Hole in the rock, we headed into Canyonlands. In 2005 we took a quick trip into Canyonlands on our way home. This was the year to finally tour and see the sites.

Needles Overlook Slideshow

Needles Overlook

The half hour drive into the Needles Overlook was really worth it. There was no one else around and Karen and I spent the next half hour just viewing and relaxing. We were not really sure what the Needles were and what we were supposed to be looking at, but just being at the top of the overlook was more than enough to thrill us.

Karen stood as close to the edge as possible. She may "look" like an angel in the sky but don't be fooled. I sat safely about 15 feet away.

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument

We left the overlook with the intention of taking the lower road into Needles. We stopped at Newspaper Rock, and headed up the road to Needles but it was too late in the day. We turned back toward highway 191 and stopped at Newspaper Rock again.

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument is located 25 miles north and west of Monticello in eastern Utah. The Monument features a flat rock with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs. The petroglyphs were carved by Native Americans during both the prehistoric and historic periods. Dating the rock carvings is difficult. The reason for the large concentration of the petroglyphs is unclear, making the rock somewhat of a mystery.

Manti-La Sal National Forest

Karen found a forestry road for us to take back to Monticello. It was getting late in the day and we were heading deeper into the forest. I had visions of getting lost, spending the night in the bush, and meeting face to face with Bigfoot himself. We have never seen so many deer anywhere we have travelled. There were thousands of them and not just in the trees. They were grazing at the side of the road pretty well oblivious to us. Karen was standing out of the sunroof taking picture after picture. Soon it became to dark for the camera to catch them without a flash.

Verdure Ghost Town

It was nearly dark by the time we reached highway 191. We noticed a historical marker for the ghost town of Verdure. We never noticed this before and stopped to read it. Verdure, originally named South Montezuma and settled in March, 1887, is the oldest Mormon settlement in the Blue Mountain Region. Settlers set up camp at Verdure to prepare for a permanent settlement at Monticello.

Valley of the Gods Slideshow

Valley of the Gods

In the morning of June 24th we left Bluff and travelled a couple of miles west to the SE entrance of Valley of the Gods. The last time the Murano had travelled this road was in August the year before, just after a rainstorm and a couple of the runoff areas had been washed out and muddy.  This year, the sun was shining, no other tourists invaded our space and for an hour and a half we had the world to ourselves. We took a multitude of photos and then drove out onto Hwy 261 at the base of the butte.

Nightmare on Hwy 261 Slideshow

Highway 261 Nightmare - June 24th

At the bottom of the Moki Dugway on Hwy261 there is a turnaround where those less adventurous can about-face instead of climbing the butte. A fully loaded tractor trailer with a secondary pup full of sheep was pulling back onto the road from the turnout so we pulled into turnout to give him room to pass - assuming he had mistakenly taken a wrong road.

Half way up the butte - we came upon two cars of women and kids, one of which was attempting to back down the treacherous gravel road. A glance to the right gave us the explanation why someone would back up at this point and saw another fully loaded tractor trailer rounding the narrow bend heading in our direction. We were stunned as there was no doubt the clearly marked road restriction signs posted were intended for this type of vehicle. We suddenly realized that the first truck we'd seen at the bottom had not been turning around but had also just come down the butte.

Lake Powell
Lake Powell Slideshow

Following our little adventure on the butte, we continued north on Hwy 261 to the junction of Hwy 95 and a short jaunt into Natural Bridges National Monument.   We found out from the gatekeeper that the ferry over Lake Powell closed earlier than realized and we would have to hustle to make it that day. So off we went, skipping the Natural Bridges for another time.

We followed Hwy 276 to Hall's Crossing and pretty much drove right onto the ferry with a scant few seconds to spare.  The captain of the ferry recognized our license plate and came over to chat, as it turned out his mother was raised in Cardston, Alberta, a small town just south of Calgary. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing boat ride, soaking up the sun and snapping pictures of the sparkling water and surrounding landscapes.  When we reached the other side at Bullfrog, we had to make a decision - follow Hwy 276 up to 95 again into Hanksville or take the mountain pass up the Burr Trail over to Boulder.  We were told the Burr Trail might be difficult because it had snowed the day before.  "Might" was good enough for us. Undeterred, we hit the Burr Trail.


Burr Trail

The Burr Trail is a backcountry route connecting Bullfrog and Boulder. It passes through the painted rock country of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Capitol Reef National Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument land.

The route is named after John Atlantic Burr born in 1846. He and his family lived in Salt Lake City, then later moved south and established the town of Burrville, Utah in 1876. John Burr soon developed a trail to move cattle back and forth between winter and summer ranges and to market. This cattle trail through the rough, nearly impassable country around the Waterpocket Fold, Burr Canyon, and Muley Twist Canyon came to be known as the Burr Trail.


Highway 12

Torrey

Torrey, with a population of under 200, is eight miles from Capitol Reel National Park.  The town was established in the 1880s by Mormon settlers, and was initially known as Youngtown, after John Willard Young. It is generally held to be named after Jay L. Torrey from Pittsfield, Illinois, who, upon the advent of the Spanish-American War, achieved national attention by proposing the creation of what became three volunteer cavalry regiments, made up of cowboys and stockmen.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of one square kilometer (0.4 square mile), none of which is covered with water.

Torrey Log School and Church

On September 18th, 1898, the meeting house for the Torrey saints was started. This one room log structure was constructed on the Torrey LDS lot, with the local settlers furnishing labor, cash, or materials. A school was also opened in this building on December 19th, 1898. It was used for meetings and voting until the 1970’s.

In 1991, the old log building was moved.  Local farmers, loggers, and contractors donated the labor and equipment. During the summer of 1994, with a grant from the Utah State Historical Society, the building was moved again to its final resting place.

We stayed at the Chuck Wagon motel again but sadly not in one of the cabins.  Nevertheless, the peaceful surrounding were the same, the weather was perfect, and our tour of Torrey in the morning was well worth it.

We drove around the town taking in the feel of the history behind it.  Many original buildings are still being used.

Karen found a house for sale and for some reason she fell in love with it. It was just an old house, nothing special but I'm sure if she had the money the sale would have been sealed before we left Torrey. 

Maybe some day we will be rich enough to satisfy our silly whims.

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park, called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s, comprises 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 miles of the long up-thrust called the Waterpocket Fold, extending like a rugged spine from Thousand Lake Plateau southward to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park boundary.

Capitol Reef is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular part of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River.

In the early 1880s, settlers moved into Capitol Reef country. Tiny communities sprung up along the life-sustaining Fremont River. Junction (later renamed Fruita), Caineville and Aldridge were created. Fruita prospered. Caineville barely survived and Aldridge died.

Goosenecks Point

Gooseneck Point is in Capitol Reef National Park about a mile down the road just west of the visitor center. It's amazing that we can take in these sites and be virtually the only people there.

Fruita

We took the short side trip to Fruit before heading to the Grande Staircase - Esclalante.  For some reason I remembered the school house on the main highway so I knew we had been there before but we didn't stop that time.  Karen didn't remember travelling down this road. We toured around Fruita for a short time taking in the sites.  Fruita is really well maintained and quite scenic - an unlikely lush oasis in the middle of the hot desert sun.

Fruita, located at the confluence of Fremont River and Sulphur Creek, was established in 1880 by Mormons under the name "Junction". In 1900 Fruita was named The Eden of Wayne County for its large orchards. It became know as Fruita in 1902 or 1904.

Of all the places in Utah for Mormons to create a community, Fruita might be one of the most difficult. Fronted by tens of thousands of square miles of desert, along a wild river prone to serious flooding, and in an area so remote that paved roads did not arrive until the 1960s, it is perhaps of little wonder Fruita, for most of its life, was home to no more than eight to 10 families. Today few buildings remain, except for the restored schoolhouse and the Gifford house and barn. The one-room schoolhouse was built and opened in 1896. It was also used for balls and religious services. It was renovated in 1966 by the National Park Service.

Fruita today is the heart and administrative center of Capitol Reef National Park.

Fruita School
Gifford Barn

The orchards remain, now under the ownership of the National Park Service, and have about 2,500 trees. The orchards are preserved by the NPS as a "historic landscape" and a small crew takes care of them, pruning, irrigating, replanting, and spraying.

Karen wanted to pick fruit but my picker days from the orchards in Penticton said "NO - NO WAY".  I suppose putting aside my memories of the hot, itchy, grueling, back breaking, bug bitten job of picking would have been easy but "NO - NO WAY". I certainly would have waited though in the comfort on the air conditioned car while she did the picking. 

Grand Staircase - Escalante

We backtracked to Torrey and headed west on Highway 12 toward Bolder.  We were on this road in 2005 and wanted to drive it again.

This 1.9 million acre geologic wonder consists of three major sections; Escalante Canyons, Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Grand Staircase. It is a geological formation of multicolored cliffs, plateaus, mesas, buttes, pinnacles, and canyons.

Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument was designated in September of 1996 by President Clinton. This high, rugged, remote region was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped.

Hogsback

Specifically though, what we wanted to see was the Hogsback a short strip of about two blocks, that is a real heart stopper. The information sign reads "Take a Deep Breath. As you drive over the narrow ridge of the Hogsback, it is easy to imagine that you are walking on a circus high wire". Exactly!!

In preparation for this two block drive, Karen was hanging out the sunroof camera in hand. Try as we might, it's just not easy to get the feel of the road on camera. Coming up to it you wonder what all the hype is about. Then suddenly, you are maneuvering twists and turns on a narrow highway with relatively no shoulder - and the edges on both sides go straight down! It really does feel like you are on the high wire. And we love it! Sometimes I think listening to Karen is as much fun as the road itself.

Boynton Overlook

It's not very often that I get to be right. This was one of those rare moments. (I think the last one was back in 2006 in Death Valley - but that is another story.)

I told Karen I remembered stopping at this lookout the last time we were on this road. She insisted we didn't and I insisted that the picture we had was exactly right here.  It wasn't until we pulled over that it all came back to her.

Of course I just had to take another picture of her in case I wanted to rub in the "I was right" later on - like right now. The view from the overlook is breathtaking.  Willie was really impressed and I was, quite simply, feeling pretty smug.

Highway 153

We left highway 12 and headed west on the Old Escalante Road (NF-17) over the mountain through the Dixie National Forest to Widtsoe. Widtsoe is a ghost town in located in Johns Valley northeast of Bryce Canyon and along the Sevier River at the mouth of Sweetwater Creek. The town existed about 1908–1936.

Then we headed north on highway 22 (Johns Valley Road) to Antimony (sounds like matrimony). Antimony is a town in Garfield County, Utah, United States. The population was 122 at the 2000 census, a small increase over the 1990 population of 83. From there we drove west on highway 62 to highway 89 and north to Junction.  Along the way we came across a ghost town.
At Junction we stopped at the gas station and asked the locals about the mountain pass to Beaver.  They advised that it had snowed the night before but it should be clear and with a four wheel drive we would have no problem.  Good enough for us!. We connected with highway 153 and headed out through Fishlake National Forest to Beaver. It wasn't long before we hit the gravel and uphill. We were happy!

After long climb uphill the roads flatten out at Gun Site Flat where the deer were again in abundance. They couldn't have cared less that we were there.

Just after the summit (10,000 feet), we came across Puffer Lake a tranquil oasis at the top of the mountain.

We arrived at Beaver early evening and stayed at the Butch Cassidy Best Western. We toured around the town and got our bearings for next morning.

Beaver to Jackpot

Frisco

In the morning we crossed under I-15 on our way towards Ely on highway 21. Shortly after Milford we came across a historical marker for Old Frisco Mining Town. We drove where we were allowed but the warning signs stopped us from investigating closer.

We noticed an old homestead along the road and stopped to take some pictures.  There was an open tap with water pumping out into some kind of ditch - possibly irrigation.  To see all the water pumping in this totally barren, dry abandoned area was perplexing. We can only guess that it was pulling water from an underground river.

Jackpot

We connected with hwy 6/50 into Ely and north on highway 93 to Jackpot, Nevada.  We stayed at Cactus Petes (our usual favorite haunt).

After a swim and supper we relaxed in our room and Karen dyed my hair on the patio.  Good thing.  I didn't want to be on my holidays with grey hair.


Salmon River Scenic ByWay

Galena Summit

We were on the homeward stretch now. We headed north on highway 75 over the Galena Summit. We stopped at the Overlook for the pause that refreshes. Galena Summit marks the divide between the Big Wood River and Salmon River drainage areas and gives a breathtaking view of the valley and Sawtooth range.

Salmon River

We then continued north on the Salmon River Scenic Byway to the Montana border at the Lost Trail Pass. Lewis and Clark were forced to come this way in 1805 when their native guide lost the trail. The route follows the Salmon River, dubbed "the River of No Return" through the Salmon-Challis National Forest.

This area was incredibly beautiful. The spring runoff was forcing the water over the rapids at a thundering speed. It was a spectacular sight. We came across several brave rafters - not something I would want to do.
We were able to take our time travelling and stopped to read several historical markers and investigate some of the small towns and ghost villages scattered along the route.

We stopped at the Salmon-Challis National Forest sign at the Lost Trail Pass to capture some pictures. The last time we were through this area, we encountered a blizzard.

We finally bunked down in Missoula for the night as we wanted to go through Glacier National Park and see the Logan Pass on our final leg home.


Logan Pass - Glacier National Park

We planned our route and timing so that we could end up in Glacier National Park and finally make it over the Logan Pass. After all the years we tried, we fully expected to be able to see it this year as we were now into the end of June. Much to our disappointment, the pass was once again closed.

We got right to the gates only to be greeted by a line up of cars and closed sign. With much disappointment we turned around and headed home.


Homeward Bound

We left highway 2 and turned north on to hwy 49 to connect to hwy 89 at Kiowa travelling along Lower St. Mary Lake.

We crossed into Canada at Port of Piegan/Carway. We were pushing now to get home to go to a friend's birthday party. Since we didn't use up our day in Glacier National Park we were on time for good food, good friends and good to be home.


To Page 1 - Calgary to Mexican Border
Next - 2009 Family, Friends & Foliage

 

©Jumpy 2008 - 2022