On our first full day in the gorge we headed over to Manila, Utah to have stuffed French toast at the “Hubb”. Then we drove the Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop marveling at the many fantastic features unfolding and folding before our eyes. There were huge thrust faults, towering pinnacles, rushing water, folded rock formations in a collage of colors, and the steep drop offs located, of course, on Kiki’s side.
At one stop we were serenaded by dozens of warbling Vireos in the aspen trees. It was the location of a family tragedy marked by a memorial to their ill-fated camping and fishing outing in 1965. The entire group perished in a flash flood. The campground has been closed and turned into a wonderful picnic area.
We then drove over to the dam visitor center and had lunch at the “Snag Bar & Grill” at the marina. Talking with our server about taking a boat tour of the lake he said, “That’s John the marina owner right over there, I’ll get him to stop by.” John called one of his boat captains and just like that we were zipping along the lake in “Dan-O’s” boat.
He took us up the lake to a point just below our campground and the Red Canyon Visitor Center overlooks. Then we went further along into a side canyon and finally up to the impressive formations of “the hideout” where history records it to be an area where folks lived that needed a place to …. hideout.
Then our next stop was a huge osprey nest on top of a rock column in the lake. Once stopped the osprey flew out of the nest and over to one tree top and then went around our boat to a tree on the other side just as Dan told us it would do prior to our stop.
The final stop was all the way down the lake to the dam. Dan explained the features, workings, and other aspects of the dam before we went back to the dock.
We returned to our campsite to ruminate on a remarkable day.