Green River, Utah

03 Sep 2014

Green River is now a very run-down town, with lots of boarded-up and empty buildings.
Some rather substantial buildings tell of more prosperous times, and several ups and downs.....

This was an impressive bank building in it's day.

Lastly a T-shirt shop, but it's also since folded (pun intended)

It was a very active railway town until the focus moved to Helper in 1892......
Uranium mining nearby was active in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, but is all moth-balled these days.....
From 1964 to 1973 the US air Force tested 141 nuclear capable missiles from a nearby launching area, but all deserted now.....
Now the town is a fuel and rest stop for traffic on the long I-70 interstate highway.
Tourists in motorhomes, campers, motorcycles and even bicycles stop to refuel and a cool drink.
Foreign languages heard in the Subway....

But it's an ideal base for me to fly to the San Rafael Swell just to the west of here. 

Be prepared for lots and lots of photos of rocks for awhile now.

But they are spectacular rocks!

The eastern edge of the Swell

So many layers showing totally different drainage when they were laid down
over millions of years.
Who can imagine that this is only 6000 yrs old, and all happened during Noah's flood??.....

I-70 interstate cutting through the Swell

Some of it is pure art work.

I wanted to hike one of those narrow canyons, and at gate off the highway,
someone coming out said there'd be plenty space to turn this rig around.
But there sure wasn't.....
I shouldn't have been so lazy, and unhooked the trailer out there....
It took quite an effort to turn it around, assisted by Eddy and his dog Sabre from Albuquerque.......

Free at last.


This is the canyon that I wanted to hike.
Really needed a fish-eye lens to do it justice....

Petroglyphs from  Indian gatherings here long ago.

I like to fly my shadow along a road, and surprise motorists....

A cattle watering point, water trucked in.
This is even more barren than most of Australia......

The view from my little aircraft.
Flying the Green River canyon.

 Green River airfield.

There's only this small factory on the airfield,
but they sure use a lot of carbon monoxide.....
Quite strange.....
It seems that they plate nickel onto carbon fibre,
sounds like a very delicate and high tech process.....
One night they worked all night,
accompanied by loud, fast pounding, rock music....