Having had quite a few fun but hectic weeks exploring southwestern Utah and northern Arizona, we moved our kit and kaboodle about 200 miles from the Bryce Canyon region to southeastern Utah. We decided to ’take a week off’ at a quiet KOA campground in Green River, which is an unimpressive little town at the intersection of Interstate 70 and the Green River in the Utah desert. We needed a holiday from our vacation!
Well, it seemed to be a pretty dismal place at first, with lots of abandoned buildings downtown, but once we stopped in the visitors centre and got some local hiking maps, we realized there was lots to do around Green River if you like seeing natural wonders without the crowds found at higher profile tourist destinations. Yippee! And there are many national parks within an hours drive of Green River.
The photos below show the landscape of the San Rafael Swell, which is a huge dome formed by pressure from beneath the earth’s crust. This caused great ridges to form on the surface as it cracked from the pressure, and then erosion created amazing, colourful canyons in the Navajo Sandstone. We drove through the Swell as we approached Green River from the west. John especially got a kick out of the roadsign in the second photo. Love those switchbacks when towing!
July 7th, 2009 at 3:32 pm Rocks everywhere you go!