South to Utah

We followed 191 south out of Jackson into a beautiful drive along the Snake River into the Teton National Forest. It's a deserted area so we needed to top off our tanks and take extra water (just in case). There is no mobile phone service.

This poor fellow wasn't prepared.

But the beauty is worth the risk. The old highway took into Pinedale, WY where the cowboy bars all have signs that warn troublemakers to behave. Even the little diner where we had lunch featured a sign that read, "Anyone involved in a physical altercation in this establishment will be immediately charged $100 cash and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

But next door in this rough old west town sat the peaceful, gentle hippy hangout named The Rock Rabbit.

The place smelled of patchouli and flowers. The staff wore clothing from the 1970s. Walls were covered with paraphernalia from those bygone days. Most amazing were the original five gold and platinum awards to John Perry Barlow who was a lyricist for the Greatful Dead. He is now a nearby cattle rancher and frequently stops in the Rabbit for a jam session.

191 took us south into Utah where the scenery changed dramatically from forests and streams to canyons and reservoirs.

We stopped for the night in Vernal, Utah where US 191 intersects US 40. In the morning we drove east into Dinosaur National Park where the fossil record of many of these ancient critters are still being discovered. I can't show you pictures because that portion of the park is closed for renovation. I can, however, show you pictures of the frontier home of Josie Bassett Morris who built her own cabin, raised her own pigs, ranched her own cattle, and raised her own crops. She lived to age 90, having been born just after the civil war. In an era where divorce was almost unheard of, Josie married five times. She lived alone most of the time but her adult children and grandchildren came to visit in the summer months. The winters in this area are to harsh for visitors to travel in the area.

 Josie's chicken coup. Why does a chicken coup have two doors? Because if it had four doors it would be a chicken sedan.

Even after electricity and plumbing became available, Josie never installed it.

The mountainous scenery in the park is hard to capture in the photos below.

Eastern Utah, south of Dinosaur National Park, is quite mountainous and is also home to the Ute Reservation. No decent roads pass through this area so we left the park and drove further east into Colorado. At the tiny town of Dinosaur (Its real name) we turned south and drove to Rangely, Colorado. There we set up camp in the town's campground and dropped into the town watering hole where we met Tommy, a super sized hunter and gas worker. He works in the gas mines in the area. I don't know what he does down there but most of the locals here work in the natural gas industry, drilling, driving truck, and laying pipeline. Tommy's ambition is to go to Africa and shoot the 'big five', the Cape Buffalo, Bush Elephant, Black Rhino, Lion, and Leopard. They are the most difficult game to track and kill.