Flaming Gorge Dam

Crystal and I started off our day with some hot chocolate again.  All we needed to do was boil water since we’d decided to eat oatmeal for breakfast.  We threw in some frozen berries for added flavor and nutrition.  The frozen berries were all thawed by then and we decided to eat the whole package.

After breakfast, we drove to the Flaming Gorge Dam and took a tour of the facility.  It’s an impressive structure.  After the tour, we decided to go on a hike on a nearby trail that led down to the river.  It was a relatively pleasant hike on the way down but turned hellish when we were confronted with the steep stairway back up to the parking lot.  We arrived red-faced and covered in sweat at the car.

Having worked up an appetite, we set out to find a location for lunch.  We finally settled on Mustang Ridge which overlooked a lake.  We dug into our cooler and food box again to make sandwiches with turkey, ham, cheddar, mayo and mustard.  We also had salt and pepper Boulder kettle chips, baby carrots, and chocolate chip cookies that my mom made for our trip.

We went shopping in some of the tiny surrounding towns after lunch.  We drove back to the campsite but eventually ventured out again to find a washing machine.  Crystal had spilled her drink on her jeans and I still had a mustard-y shirt that I’d planned on wearing again.  After asking around, we were told that there might perhaps be a Laundromat in Manila.  On our way into Manila, we stopped at the general store and got ice cream.  Crystal got raspberry cheesecake and I got pralines and cream.  We washed our clothes and then headed back to camp.  It was dark by the time we arrived so we did a fast and easy dinner.  We boiled some water on the stove and ate chicken Cup O Noodles, slices of cheese, trail mix and oyster crackers.  We’d mixed the trail mix up ourselves and it was packed with delicious things.  We put in: almonds, honey roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, chocolate chips, dried cherries, M&Ms, and dark chocolate covered blueberry and acai balls. 

The previous night we’d had to wait for the pitiful fire to die out.  It had taken a long time for it to finally burn out.  This night I was too tired to wait for a fire again so we didn’t start one.  We stargazed until it was time for bed.