Utah West Desert Wonders and Beauty

[Martinjmpr]

Very nice.
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I took the old Pony Express Route/Lincoln Highway back in 2009 and went on some of those roads. Very isolated and unpopulated. Had to skirt around underneath Dugway Proving Grounds and then North and West around the mountains there.
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I was in a hurry to get someplace so I didn't spend much time exploring. I wish I'd spent a little more time looking around.
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Did you go through the strange little town of Ibapah and the Goshute Indian Reservation? I passed through there during a heavy spring thunderstorm, it was kind of eerie. Not sure why but places in the desert often are.

 

[roverrocks]

Very nice.
.
I took the old Pony Express Route/Lincoln Highway back in 2009 and went on some of those roads. Very isolated and unpopulated. Had to skirt around underneath Dugway Proving Grounds and then North and West around the mountains there.
.
I was in a hurry to get someplace so I didn't spend much time exploring. I wish I'd spent a little more time looking around.
.
Did you go through the strange little town of Ibapah and the Goshute Indian Reservation? I passed through there during a heavy spring thunderstorm, it was kind of eerie. Not sure why but places in the desert often are.

No, I did not go thru Ibapah or the Goshute Reservation. I spent my time farther south and SE in the West Desert. I agree that there is a definite sense of the eerie in many places out in the West Desert. It's like going into a land that time forgot.

 

[roverrocks]

A few more pictures from the lonely, eerie Utah West Desert. A land that time forgot or is just frozen in ancient antiquity.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

We plan to start doing more exploring in that area.

 

[newhue]

nice work Roverrocks. I like a good desert myself. The ones I have been in have a good breeze all day that infringes on the silence, but 4pm comes and the wind stops, then there is real silence. Defining really if you focus on it for too long. Hey over your 5 days or so did you camp out there or return to a town.

 

[roverrocks]

nice work Roverrocks. I like a good desert myself. The ones I have been in have a good breeze all day that infringes on the silence, but 4pm comes and the wind stops, then there is real silence. Defining really if you focus on it for too long. Hey over your 5 days or so did you camp out there or return to a town.

I am getting older and more infirm plus with the long nights of November I stayed in towns rather than camp. There would be many many interesting places to camp out there. I stayed one night in the town of Scipio, two nights in Delta, one at the Nevada/Utah Hy 50 border at the Border Inn, and one night in Milford. I'm not much of an camping expeditioner any more. Rather just a tourist but one does what his body/spirit allows him to do as he ages.

 

[newhue]

Good on you for just getting out there. Far better than the ones who sit at home writing letters to politicians because they hear something annoying on the radio.
Hey whats the go with Rattle snakes and the desert. I'm guessing they are going into hibernating that time of year. But do they always rattle first before striking? Do they chase? Or are they like most snakes and prefer to slink away rather than stand their ground.
We plan to camp with kids when we are there, so they are noisy but can move quick as well. Over hear people get quite upity with Death Adders as they lie still like a rock or under foliage; and Brown Snakes which will pursue if startled. Both can be very dangerous or kill the young or elderly easily. We have been lucky I guess and have seen no trace of them in our travels. Our kids like and respect wildlife, but sometime forget things can be harmful in nature.

 

[roverrocks]

Good on you for just getting out there. Far better than the ones who sit at home writing letters to politicians because they hear something annoying on the radio.
Hey whats the go with Rattle snakes and the desert. I'm guessing they are going into hibernating that time of year. But do they always rattle first before striking? Do they chase? Or are they like most snakes and prefer to slink away rather than stand their ground.
We plan to camp with kids when we are there, so they are noisy but can move quick as well. Over hear people get quite upity with Death Adders as they lie still like a rock or under foliage; and Brown Snakes which will pursue if startled. Both can be very dangerous or kill the young or elderly easily. We have been lucky I guess and have seen no trace of them in our travels. Our kids like and respect wildlife, but sometime forget things can be harmful in nature.

One does not see rattlers very often at all at least that has been my experience. I've not seen all that many over the years in all my travels either in the Great Plains or the Great Basin. I've seen more in the Great Plains though I came across a fair number in thick sagebrush areas of southern Wyoming. Much much more common to come upon bullsnakes which will curl up, triangulate their heads, and shake the tip of their tails. Rattlers and bullsnakes that I have encountered much prefer to slink away but if startled or trapped will act more aggressively and snap out or move forward a bit. If one backs off when one hears a rattle then almost always the snake will try to move away as they are just as scared of us as we are of them. Rattlers don't see well (they are pit vipers and hunt more by body heat of small mammals especially at night) so they can be easily startled and curl up and rattle even if you can't see them in the vegetation. I've only had my boots struck once and that was as a teenager in Nebraska when I startled a prairie rattler curled up at a fence post I was checking. He ended up running one direction and me in the other. If one just watches where one puts his feet and is careful not to just go sticking one's hands into holes/around rocks unexpectedly one should be fine. Most of the "rattlers" one sees on back roads or highways turn out to be bullsnakes which are much more common in my estimation. The only aggressive snakes I have ever been around are blue racers or some old large red striped garter snakes and they may chase one a bit but then they turn and slip away as rapidly as possible. I'm not familiar with poisonous snakes of other species (copperheads, etc.) or diamondback rattlers which are much larger than the rattlers I have been around. One in the American West just has to be aware of ones surroundings and watch ahead on the ground or near rocky areas and one should be fine. Be careful in thick sagebrush. Best to wear high ankle boots. Watch where your kids are at and have them follow in your footsteps is often a good thing. Rattlers are not as poisonous as some of your Aussie snakes but one still has to be watchful especially with kids in tow. I don't worry about snakes I just enjoy seeing them as I have always enjoyed snakes since I was a kid. Sometimes I have heard rattlers rattle when wheeling on back trails slowly as they can be startled if near vehicle movement. I usually get out and look for them as I enjoy snakes.

 

[Willman]

Very detailed report.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[SRN]

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. I love heading out into the West Desert. One of my favorite parts of the state.

 

[the wasp]

Nice pics and beautiful pictures .Thanks for sharing an reference maps.(Scale 1/70000?).

That's exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[roverrocks]

Nice pics and beautiful pictures .Thanks for sharing an reference maps.(Scale 1/70000?).

That's exactly what I'm looking for.

The scale is 1:250,000 in the Benchmark Utah Road and Recreation Atlas which is the better of the two I used. National Geographic Trails Illustrated also makes many excellent detailed road/4x4trail/hiking trail maps for many areas of Utah and many other U.S. states though they cover little of the Utah West Desert area, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=ITkLEMGWMpVPR_-RWuQbjQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...NATfbTDNb8KGYKw&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw&cad=rja

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...1iR_uqjRozOtqqQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw&cad=rja

 

[the wasp]

The scale is 1:250,000 in the Benchmark Utah Road and Recreation Atlas which is the better of the two I used. National Geographic Trails Illustrated also makes many excellent detailed road/4x4trail/hiking trail maps for many areas of Utah and many other U.S. states though they cover little of the Utah West Desert area, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=ITkLEMGWMpVPR_-RWuQbjQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...NATfbTDNb8KGYKw&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw&cad=rja

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...1iR_uqjRozOtqqQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.aWw&cad=rja

great!!!
thank you for your search

 

[rallygabe]

There are also some really neat maps available via USGS now. They have most of their historical maps online so you can view topo maps from ages ago. I can't find the link on my tablet right now but if you dig around their website you will find them! And they are downloadable pdf's so you can take them with when you are out of service!

 

[Overland Hadley]

Thanks for sharing. I have looked at doing some routes out through that area, nice to see some photos of the specific roads.