Mountain Travels, Part 1. Petroglyphs, Wild horses and Dunes

We were headed north from New Mexico into the fantastic geology, history and wildlife of the mountainous regions of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.  Summer in these regions is near to paradise.

Kelly’s thoughts…

Our first day led us north through western Colorado and into Wyoming.  Our first leg was a drive we have done many times through northwestern New Mexico to Durango and over the San Juan passes to Montrose.  This high country is so much a part of my history and who I am, it feels like an old friend.  I’ve seen it when it wasn’t so friendly, though, through blizzards and winds and deep snows.  We arrived at my brother’s (Keith’s) and his wife’s (Lori’s) home in Montrose, where my dear Mom also has a house on the property.  All of Keith’s and Lori’s kids and grandkids were there, which was quite a treat to see.  Riki had not met many of them, and I’d not met the grandkids.  It was a lot of busy, so we hadn’t planned to stay.  Instead we went north over Grand Mesa and stayed in a hotel for the night.

The next day took us through a fascinating region of Colorado, Sand Wash.  Here we found a site with 45 million year old stromatolite fossils from the shores of ancient Lake Gosiute.  Stromatolites represent some of the very oldest fossil evidence of life on Earth from about 1.8 billion years ago, or more.

Here we also found abundant wild horses and were able to get quite close to them.  The area is well known for these bands of horses which have lived in the area for many decades.  There are several hundred horses in this basin.

Our route took us to the top of Lookout Mountain where on one side one can see all of Sand Wash and off in the distance the Bears Ears and other uplands.  In the other direction is the massive Vermillion Basin with Cold Spring Mountain, Brown’s Hole, and the wilderness of Dinosaur National Monument in the distance with the incredible Gates of Lodore visible as its entrance.

From here we moved north into the incredible, rich history of western Wyoming.  North of Rock Springs we turned off to see the White Mountain Petroglyph site.  Here the petroglyphs are weathered, but a fantastic stone where countless individuals have run their hands over the surface and made deep handprints into the sandstone.

Nearby we visited the amazing volcanic neck, the Boar’s Tusk, which rises out of the middle of a sagebrush flat, testimony of an old volcano from 2.5 million years ago.  Also nearby are the amazing Killpecker Dunes.  This huge dune field (over 100,000 acres) is derived from sands produced from glacial advances from the Wind River Mountains and melting nearby.

This area saw considerable westward movement of people along what was the Oregon / Mormon / California trail (and later Pony Express Route).  The trail can still be easily seen in many places along the route.  We visited a site along the trail where the first actual act of civil war occurred, Simpson’s Hollow.  The US was sending the Army to Utah to establish federal law in the territory.  Several of Brigham Young’s Mormons objected and sent militia to confront the supply trains approaching along the Mormon Trail.  At Simpson’s Hollow they burned some 26 supply wagons and scattered the mules.

We stayed in a small hotel in Boulder near these places for the night.  To the east rise the amazing Wind River Mountains where last summer Rango and I trekked about 40 miles together.  This is the land of John Colter, Jim Bridger and Bill Sublette.  I dreamed of being a mountain man as a kid, and sometimes those dreams are still close to hand.

Riki’s thoughts…

Segment one of our Montana adventure (Sandia Park, NM to Boulder, WY) was a good start to a great trip. Our first stop was in Montrose, CO, where we met some family for the first time. Great Uncle Kelly and Great Aunt Riki think that Alethia, Elijah, and Enoch are the bee’s knees. Kelly hadn’t yet met the lovely Emma, bride to his nephew Micah. Riki hadn’t yet met any of the boys except Micah and Emma. After a good afternoon visit, we made our way to Parachute for the evening. In the morning, we headed north, retracing a trail we took last year. Once again, I delighted to hear Kelly reminisce about rabbit hunting in the area. We didn’t see rabbits. We saw wild horses, dozens and dozens of them! We made such good time that we were able to fit in a spontaneous visit to an area in Wyoming full of wonders.

The petroglyph area was amazing. Running our fingers in the ridges made by many before us was thrilling. The petroglyphs were super cool, many animals were carved into the soft sandstone.

Our second stop was a tour around the Boar’s Tusk, a volcanic neck protected by the government due to sacred significance to the native people in the area. It reminded me a bit of the Julia Arch in the Ennedi Plateau, as it seemed to change as we drove around its base, looking noticeably different from every angle.

Although there are cool sand dunes in both Colorado and New Mexico, I haven’t yet gotten to visit any. So, seeing the Killpecker Sand Dunes was a real treat. I loved them, but I did regret the decision to make a sand angel on the side of one of them, as well as regretting the fact that I had forgotten my belt. I got sand in uncomfortable places.

The little lodge in Boulder was super cute. Boulder, we figured out, is a wide spot in the road where everyone in the community either works in the 10-room lodge, the convenience store, or the restaurant and bar. Most people that stay there are toting trailers loaded with vehicles for shredding up the sand dunes.

Time with family and a great day of exploring northern Colorado and Wyoming was a fabulous way to start our adventure.