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| Headed up Boulder Mtn; See the snow? (Enlarge all photos for larger pictures!) |
Continuing our journey north on Scenic Highway 12 in Utah (note map above), after we left the town of Boulder (which the locals call Boulder Town), we had no idea we were headed up a STEEP mountain... The name Boulder Mountain is commonly used to refer to the high plateau area between Boulder and Torrey, Utah.
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| See the beautiful Aspens? Would love to see them in the Fall!!!! |
Boulder Mountain is the highest timbered plateau in North America, and is part of the Dixie National Forest. Most of their trees are Aspens and Conifers. (I personally was thrilled to see Aspens --since I had heard so much about them.) The highest point is Bluebell Knoll (known by the locals as Boulder Top) and is 11, 313 feet. There was still snow on the tops of the mountain. The largest lake is Blind Lake which covers 52 acres with a maximum depth of 52 feet.
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| The views were incredible. The lake is called Blind Lake. |
Boulder Mountain is one of two major high-elevation lake areas in Utah; the other is the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah. (I know about this area from blog friend,
JANIE.) On Boulder Mountain, there are approximately 80 lakes (although some are pretty small). Most waters are managed as fisheries. For this reason, people flock here to fish from April to November. According to local lore, Boulder Mountain was confused with nearby Thousand Lakes Mountain, which actually has very few lakes, and the name just stuck!
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| It was wonderful to see this along the route up Boulder Mtn. This is the Pleasant Creek Cascades. |
Camping and hiking and horseback riding are popular on Boulder Mountain. However, most of the dirt roads can only be traveled by high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles... (I guess our Prius wouldn't qualify, huh?). We were lucky to pass by a creek (Pleasant Creek) which made a gorgeous cascade down the mountain. Of course, we had to stop and take pictures of the Pleasant Creek Cascades.
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| More of the beauty along the way up Boulder Mtn. Interesting to see desert at the bottom and Aspens at the top! |
The main road across Boulder Mountain is Scenic Highway 12 (the road we were on). The views from Boulder Mountain are spectacular in every direction, overlooking Capitol Reef National Park from the east slope, the Escalante River from the south slope, Box Death Hollow wilderness area to the south, and Powell Point (near the town of Escalante) to the southwest.
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| Not a good picture, but these are just a couple of the cattle we saw crossing the road in front of us!!! |
There were three major overlooks: Homestead, Larb and Steep Creek. We stopped at all three. The views were fabulous!!!! One funny thing which surprised me on that mountain was coming upon cattle crossing the road in front of us. Of course, we stopped and let them meander across. Apparently, the mountain is a good area for livestock grazing ---and they have something I had never heard of (since I'm not a farm gal, and have never lived in the wide-open-spaces) --and that is "Open Range"... After seeing the grids on the roads (cattle gates), I learned about "open range", and was fascinated with it the remainder of the trip. See how much this ole gal is learning in her OLD age????? ha
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| We met a nice couple at this overlook--who took our picture. This was the Larb Hollow Overlook. We were at 8,882 feet here. |
Boulder Mountain is an interesting place --and I'd love to go back and see the yellow Aspens in Fall. Wouldn't that be awesome????? WELL---we continued on to Torrey, and this ends our journey on Scenic Highway 12 in Utah. Not counting the Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon (blogs I haven't done yet), I have done 3 posts along Scenic Highway 12. If you want to see the other two posts, go to my sidebar, scroll down to labels and click on Scenic Highway 12 in Utah.
Hope you enjoyed this little journey along one of the back roads of Utah!!! Have a great Labor Day weekend, and I will see you on Tuesday.
Hugs,
Betsy
64 comments:
Have a great weekend!
Yes the photos are really awesome seeing the Aspens and waterfalls, of course! Have a nice weekend!
Hi Betsy, Wouldn't the Aspens be gorgeous in the fall? Thanks for sharing the magnificent views. Great photo of you and George. Enjoy your weekend.
Betsy, you and George really found all the great spots in Utah (I am making notes for future trips!). Aren't the aspens beautiful?
I was the same way when I learned about "open range". Life is different in the great wide open.
Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
I so rarely travel, Betsy, so I am really glad that you post the pictures of your adventures so I can "tag" along. :-)
Beautiful scenes and photos. I hope you have a great weekend!
Utah seems like such a scenic place. I've never been there but I was lucky enough to see the aspens in Colorado one fall and it is a sight I will never forget. You definitely need to plan on another trip just for that reason.
We hope to be out that way in 7 days!
Thanks for this fascinating trip. That area would be gorgeous in fall.You may just have to go back there, LOL
such beautiful scenery! breathtaking! thanks for sharing it with us today!
WOW! Great pics! You two really get around! That cascade was gorgeous!
How bout them Titans?
Have a great weekend! We may finally get rain coming off storm in the Gulf!! XO
Beautiful pictures, Betsy! We missed that mountain! I love all those mountains!
What gorgeous scenery! Have a blessed weekend.
Thanks for the pictures. I have been thinking of a leaf peeper tour this fall and that was an area I was interested in.
Just beautiful. Love that there is still open range somewhere in the US. I remember as a child our having to be careful of cows when traveling through Georgia. I loved it--Dad not so much.
Really amazing views you captured!
blind lake is stunning. i like that last photo of you and george, it looks like the light was perfect that day. beauty behind you is amazing
That water looks cold. Take a dip?
I agree...those views are fantastic Betsy.
I laughed at the cattle butt shot. :)
Have a great weekend!!!
xoxo
Fabulous views? Yes. But even more enjoyable is your obvious pleasure as you describe these lovely places. You always write the most interesting and un-expected things about your tavels. I love reading your blog.
Great pic of you and your hubby! I also loved the one of the cascades. So much beauty all around!
Wishing you and George a happy weekend Betsy! xo Catherine
I enjoyed the trip! Have a good weekend!
Such great spaces. Open range can be found in many states. There is a little near us. I too find it interesting that major roads have cattle guards. Great photo of the two of you. So nice when you find those sweet people along the way. We have a tripod and I've mastered the timer on our camera. Once we hiked a trail seeing only two rangers headed off the course but came back with tons of photos of us together in the scenery. My best friend was like, "wow you did good always finding someone to take your photo." I said, "no, just us out there smiling and posing in the forest." Ha!
Thanks for sharing.
How was the highway driving through this beautiful area, Betsy? It certainly would be worth the drive to see the beautiful scenery. The cascades are fabulous. Great photo of you and George with the scene behind you! Have a wonderful weekend, we'll be traveling to Branson tomorrow for a week's stay. See you when we get back!
As usual the photos are great and the post very informative. I must put Scenic 12 on my bucket list. have a wonderful weekend. peace
So different to what we are used to, but still so beautiful!
It has been fun traveling along with you and seeing parts of Utah we missed going through. I am amazed at all the extra information you have to share.
Hope you have a great holiday weekend.
I just love touring through your beautiful country with you, Betsy. I'm amazed at the photo with the desert below and the aspens growing on top. Have a wonderful weekend. (We're flying out to South Africa - home - for our short break, this weekend) Blessings. Jo
A very lovely area,it would be pretty in the fall.
More great photos!
Enjoy your weekend. : )
Beautiful country isn't it Betsy. Seems that there's always cows to cross the road. I think they take them off the Bighorns the 1st of Sept. Diane
Wonderful photos. The waterfall is amazing. That couple are a handsome pair!! I think all mountains are majestically beautiful and am always awed by them.
Best,
Bonnie
The air looks so fresh and clean. Love it. I love the waterfall. You always seem to find good ones.
Kay
What beautiful photos. I love the moutains, the trees, the waterfall, all of the nature scenes. What lovely land. I would love to visit there. Thanks for the trip out West. Have a great Labor Day.
Very eye catching Betsy.
Did I say how lovely your header is?
I'm wondering now if I've ever seen an Aspen? I would LOVE to see a Cedar, too. We have those cattle grids all over the place here. Such a great shot of you and George!! With that scenery behind you, you could be standing on my overlook on Rt. 64
I really appreciated the beautiful pictures and the narrative. You captured a lovely shot of that cascade.
Betsy, this is just beautiful country. Jim and I will have to take this trip sometime. Maybe we will next spring. Thanks for the photos.
Beautiful pictures. Have a wonderful week-end...hugs...m...
Hello Betsy, your photos from Utah are gorgeous. Love the view of the mountains and lakes. What a wonderful trip and photos.
Hello Betsy, your photos from Utah are gorgeous. Love the view of the mountains and lakes. What a wonderful trip and photos.
It looks like a really pretty drive! Oh, the aspens in the fall as spectacular! You must go back in the fall sometime!
Thanks for the ride through Utah. Very pretty scenery.
Enjoy your long weekend.
As Always!!! Beautiful photos! I especially love the one of the Cascades and of you and your hubby. Continued safe and happy travels!
Blessings & Aloha!
Thank you for stopping over & for your sweet comment. I am not selling on NOVICA, although that would be really cool! I was just contacted by Ricky of NOVICA to share their site and giveaway with one of my blog friends. :o)
How in the world did you get all that done in one trip. I have never been to Utah and would love to go - the pictures are beautiful. Have a nice weekend.
We have range cattle up here. The dogs, for whatever reason, love to roll in fresh cow poop. We must be on the alert if we don't want to clean stinky dogs!
Love that roaring water.
If you were ti record the days you are at home, how many days would that be?
You are lucky to be able to take more time in these places than we could. You could also stop when you wanted to take a photo. That is the problem with a bus tour. Love the back road scenery. Did you find it hard to breathe at 13,000 ft?
Another marvelous tour Betsy. Those photos are awesome and loved the one of you and George.
That's another great shot of the two of you Betsy!! That part of the country is just so amazing! We, too, love the Aspen in the fall - a golden treasure!
The back roads are beautiful! Utah is really pretty and I did not realize that til now
Stunning beauty. I didn't expect that in Utal, for some reason.
Glad as always for the info behind it all, but I did know about free-range, but I'm not a farm girl. However, I am fascinated with ranches.
Ahh...summer! How I miss thee! Fall is here. I had to close up part of the house last night about 3 in the morning...it was cold. It's now 8:30 and just starting to warm up past 52*.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Hi Betsy, These photos are gorgeous. I especially like Blind Lake. Since I have only seen Aspens in the Fall in Colorado, I can tell you there is a difference. However, each season has its own beauty. Thank you for the beautiful words on my anniversary post today. Thought it was a bit "wordy" but because I know Terry reads it every day I wanted to say that, and more, lol and let him know I really do tell the world how wonderful he is. Have a great weekend. Blessings,
Lynn
Amazing Gorgeous views! That cascade of water is so pristine clear! Do you ever carry a tripod and set the timer on your camera? We just had some friends who went to Oregon. They flew. He paid extra to have a large enough bag for his tripod - - - - took about one thousand pictures - - that's what his wife said.
The scenery is amazing!
Haha very cute couple indeed! I'm glad you had a great time (the pics sure look lovely) and i hope you have a great weekend!
Leontien
In seeing your pictures of your vacation it hit me today that with all the crowded cities we have it is nice to know there is still so much wide open land to be loved and cherished.
Beautiful shots Betsy!
great post
+follow
Wonderful images, and id love to have a new log cabin right on top of one of those mountains. Happy labor day everyone. Richard
Wonderful photo memories. What an undertaking! I used to love longer road trips but now they have been replaced with flying to a place. Still travel is such a fun thing, right??
As always, Betsy lovely. This is beautiful country out there, we've so enjoyed our travels thru there.
Have a beautiful day ~
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
I don't remember that place...not sure we went there. Like you, I would love to see it in the fall.
Oh my goodness - those falls at Pleasant Creek are superb! You are a great photographer!!
I especially love the one of you and George. I know, that one's priceless!!!
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Going back to see aspens? Well why not? Happy trails to you...
I enjoy all your trips and photos Betsy. I also particularly like that water cascade by George. Now you know i love waterfalls too, haha! By the way, i wonder which rocky mountain in Utah contains the Mormon's big library? I heard about it but haven't searched on it.
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