Flaming Gorge Getaway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 361

4. Red Canyon
Backtrack to Rte. 44 and join the traffic heading northwest to Manila. Traveling through
stands of ponderosa pines and aspens, you'll soon come to a well-marked forest road that
leads north to Red Canyon Overlook. The area has a visitor center and several hiking trails
and overlooks. One, perched on the edge of the canyon's rim, offers a bird's-eye view of
the reservoir, shimmering far below, and the imposing cliffs that shoot up along the oppos-
ite shore.
5. Dowd Mountain Overlook
It was explorer-geologist John Wesley Powell, one of the first white men to set eyes on
thisarea,whointhe1870snamedthisriver-carvedchasmFlamingGorge.Histhrillofdis-
covery can be relived by sightseers today at the Dowd Mountain Overlook, reached via an
unpaved access road (closed in winter). The view takes in a lengthy stretch of the reservoir
and the reddish walls of the gorge.
Paths wind through the nearby woods, where you may spot deer, elk, or sage grouse.
Onetrail,thoughfairlydifficult,threadsitswaytoHideoutCanyon,ahill-hiddennookthat
was so named because Butch Cassidy and other outlaws sought refuge there from pursuing
posses.
6. Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop
Millions of years ago the Earth's crust shifted here along a giant fault, forming mountains
10,000feethighandplungingravines.Mostofthesehighlandshavebeenwornawaysince
that time by the forces of erosion, and the towering slopes today are teeming with fossils.
Among the ancient creatures frozen in the stones are a variety of now-extinct marine
animals. The fossil finds also include other creatures, such as sea urchins, that have re-
mained virtually unchanged through the centuries, as well as the huge footprints of prehis-
toric reptiles.
The drive follows the same path as Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop, some 13
miles in length, which curves through the area. The road has been staked with markers that
point out many interesting geological points worth viewing. Be on the lookout for wildlife
as well, including—as the creek's name would suggest—bighorn sheep. Residents of the
region, they can often be seen grazing in the large tracts of grass, seemingly unbothered