Friday 9-9 Deer Run Campground at Flaming Gorge

 

Camping at Deer Run Campground

A short drive today, only 36 miles. 

Larry got up at his usual time and I joined him at 7:00. I made frozen pancakes in the microwave. It's nice to have power, just pop two frozen pancakes in the microwave for 45 seconds, very fast. This time I followed directions, I didn't thaw the pancakes. After breakfast I went over and took a shower. When I got back I started putting things away. Then I read a bit. We left Steinaker about 9:15.

Steinaker State Park was a very nice place for an overnight stay. We like going hiking and the park didn't have any trails. It has a lake for people who have a boat or want to swim. It's very low.

Our drive was up a mountain pass. As we were driving we stopped at a Scenic View of Vernal and Ashley Valley. It actually wasn't very scenic, just a view of the Simplot Phosphates mine and some signs about the process to mine and produce phosphates. Yesterday when we were coming into town we thought it looked like smoke off it the distance but today we realize it was the dust from the mining operation. We watched the mining trucks at work. One of the trucks Larry made out of paper. The trucks were huge. I bet they are hard to drive. After taking pictures we continued on our way.

A mining tractor spreading a load of dirt

 

The mining truck Larry made

 

Mining truck dumping a load

 

Mining the mountainside

We arrived at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area about 10:30. We were here about the same time in 2012 and stayed at Fireman's Campground. This time we decided to stay at Deer Run. Deer Run has showers and bathrooms with running water along with vault toilets. There's no hiking trails from the campground but down the street there is an old road open for hiking. Some of the sites are first come first serve and others are reservation. We didn't have any problem finding a site. Our site was first come. It's a great site, large, private and has a lot of trees. It was level so Larry didn't have to use his blocks. We're very close to a bathroom. And we have trees to provide shade, not much shade for the Minnie but plenty of shade for us and our chairs.

Camping at Deer Run

 

Our picnic table

Once we setup the Minnie I walked down and paid. It cost $28 a night but for us with the senior pass it was half price. When I got back I made a salad for lunch. Then I setup our chairs. 

About 2:00 we went for a 40 minute walk. We decided to see how far we had to go to get the trail. It's about a half a mile from the campground. We walked part of the road. It was warm so we didn't hike too far before going back to the campground. In order to get to the road you had to walk the park road and part of the highway.

When we got back we spent the afternoon reading outside in the shade. 

After dinner I walked around the campground for an hour which was 3 miles. When I got back to the Minnie I finished doing my 27,000 steps. This put me in 4th place in my group.

We had a wonderful day.