Sunday, 17 October 2021
 |
| today's route |
Last night's campground was on Old Highway 91, which isn't shown on the map but is a road paralleling the interstate south of Leeds and before Hwy 9. Across that old road from the campground was the turn for the Red Cliffs Conservation Area, which I wanted to visit. It was created to protect the desert tortoise, estimated to have lived 15 or 20 million years but now on the "threatened" list of endangered species. And incidentally, the area is stunningly beautiful. But there was a snag.
The access included 2 tunnels under the interstate, with the first labeled 11' 9" clearance. I figured no problem, I can do an 11' clearance, but when I got up to it, I realized the height was okay but the tunnel wasn't wide enough for my RV. I only eyeballed it, but it sure looked like even pulling in both my mirrors I might scrape one of the sides. It just wasn't worth it to me so I turned around.
But Google says that also on the other side, I'd find a T, with the conservation area on the left but, on the right, a parking area for a hiking trail and the location for filming the old movie They Came To Cordura, with Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth. I haven't seen it and it's gotten mixed reviews, but it sounds interesting and the landscape seems worth seeing the movie for.
When I couldn't get across, I tried to take pictures of the cliffs, but that old highway was very narrow with hills and blind curves and I had few options for pullouts.
Both these photos don't show just how red the cliffs were, and they only show the top part of the cliffs, because that barbed wire fence runs next to an embankment for the interstate, and that cuts off the view of the full grandeur.
The dogs needed a walk, though, so I went back north to the small town of Leeds, where we found the town park and walked around a bit on actual grass.
Driving through town, I saw a sign directing me to the Leeds Historic CCC Camp. I didn't go but I was curious, so I looked it up and here's the historical marker. https://www.hmdb.org/leeds-ccc It sounds like the sort of thing that would be more meaningful to a Utahn, than to an average tourist. However, close by that sign is another that I think is meaningful to us all. https://www.hmdb.org/they-were-poor-hungry-and-built-to-last
Driving back past the Red Cliffs, I saw a sign for the Silver Reef Historic Site. I figured it must have something to do with silver mining, and it does. Silver Reef was a mining town in the late 1800s, with people searching for silver embedded in sandstone which, per the internet, is rare geologically. These days, the historic site is apparently a museum and ghost town.
Google took me on one of its shortcuts, but it turned out better than they usually do because this one was on a state highway that ran right beside Quail Creek State Park and its reservoir. Water sports was high on everybody's list today, as far as I could see - the place was packed, due to the beautiful weather, I guess.
Tonight's campground, also a state park, was only a few miles away. Sand Hollow State Park also has a large reservoir that was also being heavily patronized. It's Utah's newest state park, formed mostly on BLM land around the water and the red sandstone cliffs.
 |
| view from the reservoir parking lot |
The State of Utah touts the park as "renowned for its red sandy beaches [and] visually stunning red rock formations." That photo above doesn't show just how red those mountains are, so you can't get the full impact.
 |
| These aren't mountains but instead piles of sand. I guess erosion of the red sandstone hills created the red sandy beaches. |
 |
| very large red sandy beaches |
 |
| really red red sandy beaches |
As you can tell from my photos, I had a hard time getting over all this red color. I didn't see any ordinary sand color anywhere here, just all red.
These photos are of huge deserted beaches, but there were others that were being heavily used, including by people lying on beach towels enjoying the sun.
On the other side of the road, not far from those huge mounds of sand in one of my photos (above), were a dozen or more OHVs or ATVs (I don't know the difference). I understand access to the Sand Mountain OHV trail begins there, which may be where all those buzzing vehicles were going. On one website I learned that this state park includes access to 62,000 acres of "technical trails and sand dunes" for the OHV enthusiast.
And I found this explanation for what an OHV is, for anyone who's interested. https://www.liveabout.com/definition-ohv
Sand Hollow State Park has 2 campgrounds - one that's likely for more establishment folks that come here to boat and fish mostly, as it has full hookups and barbecue pits and so forth; the other that caters primarily to OHVers and has a few sites with partial hookups but most with picnic tables but no other amenities. That's the one I stayed in. It's called Sand Pit Campground, and there's a reason for the name.
I got one of the sites with electric and water connections, but I didn't bother hooking up the water because there was sand everywhere. It was just like being at an ocean beach, only without the ocean. I'd intended to take a shower and had gotten a campsite close to the shower house for that reason. But once I got a good look at the situation, I didn't bother. It looked like I'd come out with more sand than I'd gone in with. Several of the OHV folks took showers, but they were so covered in dirt when they came in that even nice clean sand would be an improvement.
I'm certain I saw prairie dogs, though I didn't see them doing anything but scampering from one hole to another so I couldn't be positive. None of the state park pages mentions them, but I found an article about Utah prairie dogs, which turn out to be a separate species from any of the others. They're found in southern Utah, which is where I am, and they've been on the threatened list since 1984, when they managed to get off the endangered list. But they haven't been doing well lately, and state biologists think it's due to the continuing drought. Here's an article about them if you're interested. https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/threatened-utah-prairie-dog Fortunately, Dexter never saw them, for which I was grateful as I didn't want to be dragged through the sand or have my arm re-dislocated (still a little painful from July but definitely improving).
It was a strange place.
No comments:
Post a Comment