Utah Vacation-Green River

Today, Andrew wasn’t feeling good, so we decided to stay close to home. I started with a short morning walk that led me to the city park where I found information about two rocket programs that once called Green River home. In the 1960s, the Air Force launched Athena missiles at New Mexico to test their missile defense systems. In the 1970s, the Army tested Pershing missiles in the area.

Athena rocket in the city park

After my walk, Mom and I drove to see the Green River Geyser. The word ‘geyser’ conjures up images of Old Faithful and Yellowstone National Park. This geyser was not like that at all. Apparently, they were drilling for oil in the area and discovered a water spring that was under pressure. The geyser occasionally sprays out cold water, but it is a rare site. The area around the geyser, however, is very colorful from all the minerals that are forced up.

Mom standing near the Cascade Geyser

While Mom and I explored the area, a small group floated up to shore from the river. We started talking about the geyser and the river. Turns out they were floating the Green River all the way down to just outside Canyonlands.

After seeing the geyser, we drove back out of the canyon to the abandoned missile location. Spread out over a few miles in the desert, we saw remnants of the operations. The site we stopped at was a little creepy, so I was in a hurry to get my picture and move on. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and see how things were in their heyday.

Mom taking a picture at an old missile facility

While planning the trip, Andrew and I found the railroad bridge crossing the Green River and thought it would be a great spot to fly the drone. On our first day, we went to the park near the bridge, but couldn’t get close. Today, Mom and I drove around until we found a street that went right past the bridge. Unfortunately, there were no trains crossing at this time. I’m sure I'll come back here later when Andrew is feeling better.

Railroad bridge crossing the Green River in Green River

By now, it was getting close to lunch time. Mom and I drove past the library and Amtrak station, then back to the house. The library was suffering from lack of care, like most old buildings in Green River. The missile programs provided a lot of jobs to the town. When they left, the town clearly suffered.

After lunch, Mom and I drove out to the Green River Municipal Airport. It was surprisingly far out of town, but the road was in great shape. Most roads that go out in the desert are dirt or unmaintained paved roads. The airport was small and had a couple planes parked on the tarmac. We stayed for a few minutes, then returned back to the house.

Andrew was feeling better, so we decided to do some more exploring together. We drove north out of town on Long Street and followed it to the end. Along the way, we passed a dam that diverts water into irrigation ditches. We also saw a small group of Sand Hill Cranes. They looked almost identical to those we see in Florida.

We returned to Green River, then went north on the east side of the river. We passed Swaseys Beach and continued to the end of the road. We stopped near the Nefertiti viewpoint, got out, walked around for a little bit, then started back to town.

David standing beside the Green River

On the drive back, Andrew wanted to fly the drone. The road was narrow with few pullouts, but we found a safe spot to stop. There was a family camping nearby, so I asked the father if he minded us flying a drone near his family. He was OK with the idea, so Andrew flew the drone over the river and along the canyon walls. He had to rush a little because the sun was quickly dropping behind the canyon walls.

On the way back to Green River, I decided to take a back road east towards Floy. I was hoping that we’d see the westbound California Zephyr. This back road was once the US route through this area before the interstate was built. Unfortunately, it was not maintained, so although it looked smooth, there were large, randomly spaced holes to detect and avoid. We reached Floy before the Amtrak, so we found a good spot and waited. The train came around a turn, blew past us, and continued into the sunset. We decided to take I-70 back to Green River.

Back in Green River, we wanted to try something local for dinner. Across Main Street from the road leading to our house is a place called Chow Hound. They have just about everything you might want, from breakfast donuts to burgers to ice cream to pizza. We ordered a pizza and picked it up before returning to the house.

The last time we were in Utah, we went out at night to see the stars. This time, we did the same thing. We found what looked like a good spot by looking at the maps on the dark sky web site. We drove miles down dirt roads before stopping. Andrew set up the tripod and snapped some long exposure shots. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see what we saw from Kanab. It was just not dark enough, or perhaps a little to cloudy.

Click the image below to see all pictures from the trip.