Daggett County, Utah.

The Green River, winding its way for 730 miles (1,170 km) through Wyoming, Utah, and a brief stretch of Colorado, carves out a vast watershed known as the Green River Basin. The headwaters of the Green River lie in the majestic Wind River Mountains of Wyoming where it flows into Utah a few miles south of the town of Green River, Wyoming.

The dam took six years to build and was completed in 1964. It created the Flaming Gorge Reservoir as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The reservoir fills irrigation, residential, and industrial water needs across several states. Additionally, a hydroelectric power plant generates enough electricity to power about 120,000 homes. The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area was born out of the dam and reservoir where thousands of visitors enjoy boating, fishing, camping, hiking, and scenic beauty.

The dam itself is a marvel of engineering, the designers used a thin-arch design that optimizes strength and minimizes material usage. It’s constructed from over 987,000 cubic yards of concrete and features a crest length of 1,285 feet (392 m). U.S. Highway 191 carries traffic across the top of the dam which is located near Dutch John, Utah.

Adjacent to the dam is a visitor center where you can take in breathtaking views of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the surrounding mountains. Although tours inside the dam are currently unavailable due to safety precautions, you can still enjoy learning about the dam’s history, construction, and its role in the region.

On U.S. 191 just east side of the dam, a Forest Service Road (219) provides access to a spillway boat launch on the Green River. There is plenty of room to stop and take in a view of the dam. In fact, if you want to get even closer than we did, you can follow the road along the river to the dam. As we didn’t take that road, I can’t vouch for whether or not there would be good photo opportunities along the way, but if you have time, follow the road to the launch and check it out.

About the photo: I took two photos with my Samsung S23U and kept the wide angle view as the 10x zoom lens cut off the edges of the dam. I used the camera’s Pro mode and processed the DNG version of the image. I’ve found that when you import the files into Adobe Lightroom Classic, it ignores the JPG files that the camera also creates. I’ve taken to keeping them both on my hard drives and letting Lightroom manage the catalog. There was a minimal adjustment to the image. I adjusted the photo to fix a slight tilt and sent it off to Luminar Neo for final tweaks using my favorite tool, Enhance AI. To view the image in 2K HD via my Flickr site, click on the photo.

On the day this was published, we are just arriving back in New Orleans from a cruise. We will be driving much of the day. I apologize for having a delayed response to your comments and posts.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, and, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

Daggett County, Utah.

If you drive to Flaming Gorge, you’ll find yourself on U.S. Highway 191, and at some point on your way to the dam and reservoir, you’ll cross the Cart Creek Bridge. Fortunately, there is a large area near the bridge for you to capture photos of the graceful steel arch-designed bridge.

Constructed in 1962, the bridge was originally used for workers to cross Cart Creek on their way to work on the Flaming Gorge Dam. Once the dam was completed, the reservoir backed up into Cart Creek, so the bridge crossed the creek for only two years. Since the dam’s completion, it crosses Cart Creek Bay.

The image above was captured shortly after the completion of the bridge in September 1963. At that time, the dam was not yet completed Cart Creek still flowed naturally into the Snake River instead of the reservoir. More details on the photo and history of the bridge can be found here.

The Cart Creek Bridge is a steel arch suspension bridge, known for its elegant and eye-catching design. It features a single 550-foot span, making it the longest single-span bridge in Utah at the time of its construction. Its beauty earned it an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Steel Construction. Unfortunately, there is no walking path on the bridge.

The bridge’s design is similar to two other bridges in Utah: the Cisco Bridge and the Moab Rim Trail Bridge. The bridge was built by the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel for USD 810,000. Using an online inflation calculator, the cost in 2023 U.S. dollars would be over $8 million. But no matter the cost, the beauty of this bridge is undeniable.

John Steiner

Temple Square, home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is probably the most visited site in Utah. The square houses historical buildings and places of worship for the Mormons. One of the oldest buildings on the site is the Assembly Hall on the southwest corner of the square. Its 24 spires are unmistakable to visitors.

The building was constructed started in 1877 on the site of the first Tabernacle that was torn down after the completion of the new, larger place of worship. Completed in 1880, the gothic Victorian-style building was constructed from stones not needed in the construction of the nearby Salt Lake Temple. For about a century and a half, the Assembly Hall has served to house smaller gatherings than can be housed in the larger temple and provides an overflow area when the temple has a gathering too large to house all in one building.

About the photo: My Samsung S20U captured several photos inside Temple Square. On the day we visited, there were construction areas, and access to some of the visitor areas was closed. The Assembly Hall with its beautiful spires bathed in the early morning sun presented a photo opportunity of the historic house of worship. I exported the images from my cell phone into Adobe Lightroom, cropped and straightened the image, and then sent it off to Luminar Neo. There, I did a very minor adjustment to the image, tweaking only the Structure AI and Enhance AI sliders to bring out more details in the building. You can take a closer look in 2K HD on my Flickr site by simply clicking on the image above. Once you are on Flickr, click on the image there to zoom in and check out the detailed view of the gardens in front of the building.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, and, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

Great Salt Lake State Park, Utah.

A few miles outside Salt Lake City, a state park on the shore of the Great Salt Lake invites people to visit and learn about the lake and why it is so salty. In late December, we visited the Great Basin National Park and learned that much of the western desert region is in a series of low-lying areas collectively known as the Great Basin. Salt Lake is in one of those basins and is the largest saltwater lake in the Western United States.

The Great Salt Lake is actually a remnant of Lake Bonneville which existed some 75,000 years ago. Back then the areas where I stood to take these photos were over 1,000 feet (304 m) below the surface of the lake. When we were there in the fall of 2021, I was amazed at how low the water level was at that time. You’ll note that some of the beach images have large areas of sand that in recent years were covered in water. I put two and two together to realize that the test track at Bonneville Salt Flats must be nearby and that they are on the dry lake bed of Lake Bonneville.

An article from NBC news and posted on the Yahoo News site dated December 7, 2022 points out that water levels are at the lowest levels on record and are creating a toxic dust hazard for the residents of nearby Salt Lake City. Once active marinas are now abandoned as there isn’t enough water to float the boats in those areas. The article goes on to say that the low lake levels aren’t simply caused by global warming. The lake’s several source rivers are being depleted by the consumption of river waters for agriculture, industrial, and residential use. The article can be found here.

The image above is taken at the entrance to the marina at the Great Salt Lake State Park and Marina. There were a few boats in the marina on the day we visited, but they were not of any size. The water level at the entrance to the marina precludes all but smaller boats from entering there.

The state park is quite small, but it has several viewpoint areas where you can take photos of the lake which is as much as seven times saltier than the ocean. The high salt content is due to the fact that the lake has no outflowing rivers. Natural evaporation in the desert environment leaves mineral deposits from the many rivers that flow into the lake. The map above describes views of the nearby islands so you can identify them as you look out over the water.

There is a small entrance fee to enter the park and you can self-pay if you have cash with you or you can pay your admission online in advance. On the day we arrived, we met a friendly park employee who collected our fee and directed us to the parking area.

At one point, there is a trail down to the beach level from the slightly higher level of the state park property. From here, we could see plenty of people walking the beach to the edge of the water. There were several school buses that arrived while we were there and most of the visitors were students from those buses.

The park is open winter and summer but you should check their website here for details. Yet again, I wish I’d checked the website before showing up at the park. Drone use is allowed with the payment of a fee. I’m not sure why I didn’t ask the attendant. Certainly, an opportunity was missed.

Looking out over the beach, I could see this unusual building and wondered what it might be. On our way out of the park, we went by it to see signage that might indicate its function. There are no outward indications as to the function of the Moorish-style architectural building.

Google maps, however, lists the building as a music venue. The Great Saltair was a resort and amusement park and the first building was built in 1893. Lost in fires, the first and second buildings were replaced by the building in the photos above. This third building was built in the 1980s. The resort and amusement park are both gone, but concerts are still held in the facility.

Be sure to click on any of the images above to get a better view in 2K HD on my Flickr site. Or you can visit the entire album here and scroll through the images.

John Steiner

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Starting at Vernal Utah, we drove northerly on US Highway 191 and then onto Utah Highway 44 turning off 191 to go by Red Canyon and then along the west side of the gorge, some 70 miles (112 km) or so. Most of the views in this gallery are from this drive, however, I’d also recommend staying on 191 toward Dutch John and then into Wyoming. Then backtrack to highway 44 to finish your journey on the byway. You’ll get to cross over the dam and reservoir near Dutch John and can take a look at the eastern side of the gorge from Wyoming. Admittedly, the view of the gorge is from quite a distance, but the terrain there is entirely different than on the west side where there are views of the Ashley National Forest. That side trip will add maybe 40 minutes or so to your trip unless you spend extra time at the visitor center.

At a way stop just north of the Wyoming border, you will find this view of a grassy plain and a large enough parking area to turn around to head back to the west and continue on the scenic byway. There is a large visitor center at the dam which we didn’t get to see as it was Sunday in Utah, and the facility was closed for the day.

Along the byway, you’ll find some beautiful country, but the number of pull-offs is lacking. It’s not completely the fault of the highway designers. There are some narrow roadways with little space to provide pull-offs from the highway. Passengers can enjoy the views, but be nice to your driver and let him or her take a turn as passenger. So backtrack a little and give the driver a break.

I don’t mean to imply that the road is one of those high, winding mountain roads that are difficult for some drivers and passengers. The road is plenty wide and far enough from cliff edges, there just isn’t much room for pull-offs to enjoy the views. One of the most interesting features of the highway is the state’s inclusion of signage that describes the geographic history of the region.

There are several interpretive sites and four nature trails to explore along the way. Technically, the scenic drive ends at Manila, but take that “T” to the right toward Wyoming and State Highway 530 which goes all the way to Green River and Interstate 80. The highway parallels the gorge and the Green River for several miles. From there, you can head west to Salt Lake City or east to Medicine Bow, Wyoming.

OK, I’m not usually one to feature what are not views of the natural environments on my posts. I found, however, the scenic viewpoint directing us to a higher elevation to contain this large plant where some kind of mining operation is going on. Compare the size of those large vehicles with the cars in the parking lot.

Specific details about the scenic drive and a small map can be found here or more information on the highway is available here. I have many more images on my Flickr site where you can pixel-peep at the entire collection here.

John Steiner

The Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area is known for its outdoor activities. The reservoir is on the Green River in Utah a few miles from the Wyoming border. Fishing, boating, camping, and backpacking are all major attractions. For me, however, the Red Canyon with its colorful rock walls is a photographer’s dream.

Regular readers know of my penchant for creating panoramic views via Lightroom’s toolbox. You’ll find a few of them here and in my Flickr album. The majority of the images in this post were captured at the Red Canyon not too far from the Red Canyon (Flaming Gorge) Visitor Center.

For those who like to Google search information, note that there is another Red Canyon Visitor Center in Utah, near Bryce Canyon in the Dixie National Forest. The Red Canyon Visitor Center at Flaming Gorge is on the southern rim of the Red Canyon on the Green River. The view from the top of the 1631-foot (497 m) cliffs provides a commanding view of the Green River.

The national recreation area stretches into the southwest corner of Wyoming on the dam’s east side (downriver) side. We approached the area from Vernal Utah and at a Y in the road, you can head toward the reservoir’s western side and views shown above.

Or, veer to the east and stop at the visitor center at the dam. Continue on that road and in a few moments, you’ll be in Wyoming. In an upcoming post, stay tuned and follow us as we travel the scenic byway from Wyoming, through Manila and Dutch John, Utah, small communities near the reservoir, and then through the Uintas Mountains on our way to Green River, Wyoming.

There are over forty campgrounds and hundreds of group and individual campsites to choose from. There are even river camps for those who would like to travel the river for more than a single day. To view any of these images in 2K HD, click on it. Or click here to visit the album on my Flickr gallery where you will find a few extra images captured that day.

John Steiner

Vernal, Utah.

Straddling the border between Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument provides some up close and personal views of fossilized remains of the dinosaurs that once roamed the region in large numbers. We arrived in the area late in the afternoon, driving through part of the monument grounds. It was too late for us to visit the nearby Quarry Visitor Center, so we decided we would head to Vernal, stay overnight and then backtrack back to the park when the center is open.

Built on the side of a ridge that contains over 1500 fossils embedded in the rock, there you can marvel at the 150-million-year-old history that is laid bare before you. There are even areas where you can actually touch some of the fossilized remains, and rangers are nearby for answers to your questions.

There are several scenic drives through the area, and two visitor centers, the Quarry Visitor Center in Utah, and the Canyon Visitor Center near Dinosaur, Colorado. If you want to see fossils, you need to head to the center in Utah. The national monument isn’t all about dinosaurs, so be sure to check out the scenic drives, the Green River at the Gates of Lodore, and maybe even river raft down the Canyon of Lodore. Our focus for this trip, however, found us at the Utah site visitor center, then at the Quarry Building. Last week, we shared our story at the visitor center. This week we check out the fossils made visible at the side of a ridge and protected by a large building.

Inside the building, the ridge slope is laid bare before you and in the sediment, you will see hundreds of fossilized remains. One of the first questions I had was how did these remains come to be here, all jumbled together. A park brochure provides the details. “Dinosaur National Monument includes one of Earth’s richest known dinosaur fossil beds. These remains are from the Jurassic period 150 million years ago. During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river’s edge. When rains returned, flood waters carried the jumbled bones of over 500 dinosaurs, representing ten species, here.“

The article continues, “Ancient river sediments, now called Morrison sandstone, entombed the dinosaur bones. Minerals then filled the bones (though some organic material survived) and cast them in stone. Erosion eventually exposed the fossils…”

The glass walls of the building made photography challenging in the bright morning sunshine, but suffice it to say there was plenty of light for the visitors to take a close look at the ancient quarry.

Plaques and diagrams point out some of the remains to help visitors identify the fossils they are viewing. Though the bones are truly a jumble, there are several different identifiable species in the quarry.

On the western edge of the rock, most of the visible remains are at the top of the wall. At the western edge of the walkway below, this is a view with my zoom lens set to 26 mm and cropped only slightly.

There are so many partial remains, but a plaque nearby helps to identify what visitors are seeing in this section.

According to the National Park Service website here, “The Quarry Exhibit Hall allows visitors to view the wall of approximately 1,500 dinosaur bones in a refurbished, comfortable space. Here, you can gaze upon the remains of numerous different species of dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus along with several others. Exhibits, including an 80-foot long mural, reveal the story of these animals and many others that lived in the Morrison environment during the late Jurassic.”

Large dioramas help to identify the common species found in the quarry. This display tells the story of an almost complete allosaurus skeleton found there. Though the species was common throughout the region, it was only here where an almost complete and intact skeleton was discovered.

Between the visitor center and quarry building, you can expect to spend between one and two hours, more if you are intensely interested in these fossilized remains. Be sure to check the hours of operation on the website for summer and winter hours and days of holiday closure. You will find that information here.

Feel free to click on any of the images above to pixel peep in 2K HD, or you can view the entire album on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner

Vernal, Utah.

After a day’s sightseeing in Utah, we headed toward Dinosaur National Monument expecting to see fossils. Our timing didn’t quite work out and as we pulled into the parking area, we discovered that the center was about to close and the Quarry Building had already closed. We opted to spend the night in Vernal as we wanted to see those dinosaur fossils we’d read about in the literature at the park.

After a short visit with the park ranger getting ready to close, we captured a few more photos of the beautiful Utah scenery and headed to nearby Vernal.

Inside the center, both that late afternoon and the following day when we returned, we got some idea of the region’s geology and some of the scientific facts that made this area so rich in fossilized dinosaur remains.

Just a short distance from the center, a long ridge juts above the general terrain elevation. As I captured a few images, I wondered what secrets were buried with the dinosaurs within.

Near the visitor center, a 1.2-mile (2 km) trail invites visitors to get up close to that ridge. The trail is one-way, so if you walk to its end, you’ll end up hiking 2.4 miles (4 km) total. Along the way, there are three fossil areas to explore. Not all the fossils are buried within the ridge. These areas all contain exposed dinosaur fossils.

Prior to the pandemic, a shuttle transported people between the Quarry Building and the visitor center. Shuttles were shut down during our visit so guests were allowed to drive to the Quarry Building. When shuttles are running, no other vehicle traffic is allowed. As of this writing, I don’t know if the shuttle service has returned. The trail has trailheads at the visitor center and Quarry Building so many people opt to hike one way and take the shuttle on the return trip.

Bikes and pets are not allowed on the trail, service animals excepted. In the summer, it can be well over 100 degrees F. so proper desert hiking precautions should be taken. The trail is not even friendly to strollers and can be slippery when wet.

As you arrive or leave the area, the ridge can be seen for some distance. The images captured near the visitor center don’t show the length of the ridge. Next week we visit the Quarry Building and see the results of the excavation of a section of the ridge. All of the images in this post are available to view in 2K HD on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner

Sheep Creek Overlook, Utah.

Out of Vernal, Utah, we headed north on U.S. 191, then came to a junction. On our first trip to the Flaming Gorge area, we took the right fork of that junction (staying on 191) and it led us east to the dam and reservoir at the town of Dutch John and then into Wyoming and our eastbound trek home.

On our second trip, at the junction, we proceeded westerly onto State Highway 44. Turning north, this highway parallels much of the reservoir on the western side. Hwy 44 veers left and then follows ridge lines above Flaming Gorge. It provides access to Red Canyon Visitor Center and overlook, Sheep Creek, the town of Manila, and then Lucerne Valley Marina. A more detailed look at these scenic drives is coming in a Travel Tuesday post. This Cellpic Sunday features a view of Flaming Gorge from the Sheep Creek Overlook.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S20U in 108 MP mode, I had lots of pixels to play with as I found the best crop for the image in Adobe Lightroom. Moving over to Luminar Neo, I made the final tweaks to the image and uploaded it here and to my Flickr site where you can view the image in 2K HD.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

Note: If all goes well, we’ll be on a cruise ship when this journey is published on September 11, 2022. I have found Internet connections to be less than stellar, so I didn’t even buy an Internet access package for the week. It’s been a long time since I’ve “unplugged” for a week. Who knows what the withdrawal will be like. >grin<

John Steiner

Bryce Canyon, Utah.

In 2013, my cellphone of choice was a Samsung S3. It was my first Smart Phone. I had to decide whether or not I wanted an iPhone or 4G. At that time, 4G was newly available but the iPhone wasn’t yet being sold with the technology. I opted for the 4G and have been a Samsung cellphone user ever since.

In late October that year, we stopped at Bryce Canyon expecting to view the park. Regular readers may recall that we arrived in the area late one afternoon in fog and rain, and by the next morning, when we left our hotel to capture sunrise images in the park, we found a world of white with at least a foot of snow covering our car. Bryce only had two viewpoints open that day, but the snow-covered peaks were spectacular.

About the photo: The previous afternoon, with its fog and rain, took a back seat in my mind to the beauty of the freshly fallen snow the next day, and there were a few foggy images that I didn’t process, or if I did, they were processed with my photo tools of the day, Lightroom and Photoshop Elements.

Eager to explore the tools in Luminar Neo, I happened upon this image and decided to experiment. After loading the original JPEG into Lightroom, I sent it off to Neo to see what I might be able to do with it.

The truth is that Luminar Neo is still a work in progress. I could have completed every edit in Luminar AI except one. I used the Relight AI tool in Neo to adjust the lighting and the line it defines between foreground and background brightness. You can view the image in 2K HD on my Flickr site here.

As this is being written in late February, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is well underway. Skylum Software, the developer of the Luminar series and other photo processing software has a base of operations in Kyiv. Whether or not the recent events have an effect on their operations, I hope for the safety of their workers, and indeed for all of the people in Ukraine.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge-response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

John Steiner