Dinosaurs and Flaming Gorge

Route description

Vernal, in Utah’s Uinta Basin, is dinosaur country, with a natural history museum in town. Drive east to Dinosaur National Monument, where the Quarry Exhibit Hall shows a wall of about 1,500 bones still in the rock.

Back in Vernal, US-191 climbs north in switchbacks, with roadside signs dating the rock layers as you pass through them. At the top, forest and meadows lead to Flaming Gorge Dam, which holds back the Green River in a deep red canyon.

West of the dam, UT-44 passes Red Canyon Overlook, where the reservoir lies far below the rim, and the Sheep Creek geological loop, with folded rock and bighorn sheep. There are many campgrounds in the national recreation area; the Sheep Creek loop is not suitable for large RVs.

From Manila, WY-530 runs north along the west shore through open sagebrush to Green River, Wyoming, where John Wesley Powell launched his 1869 expedition down the river. Summer is the season; the high roads can see snow from October.