HI All,
First off I would like to thank Mellissa for her story for the May newsletter. What a scary situation that could have been. But since no one got hurt makes for a fantastic story. Going on the civil war history hunt is on my bucket list to do one of these days. And the Jordan Valley excursion that Danny led last month was AWESOME!! I finally got my brother Randy, talked into becoming a member so he could go on this outing with me. We had a great time.
The area is not at all what I was expecting. Beautiful rolling hills and big canyons and valleys with green oasis thrown in. There are tons of things and places to explore, but like Danny said it takes one day for each one. They are in all different directions and many miles away. Most of the roads are still like you were in the horse and buggy days. So slow traveling, but that is not all bad either. It allows you to see more of the country, not to mention the Antelope that want to have a drag race with you. Also hot springs everywhere.
Randy and I spent the day detecting with the club at one of Danny’s sites. He told us if we stayed on the road straight instead of turning left to head back to camp we could drive to where we could see the hot springs on the other side of the river. We, being adventurous and wanting to see as much as we could in the short time we were going to be there, decided to go have a look see.
Now Danny gave good directions, he told us we would cross a bridge then the road would get a bit more rough. No worries we were in my jeep. What he didn’t tell us was that there was a small stream we had to cross before climbing straight up a mountain road littered with small boulders. That tiny stream was not so tiny because we all forgot to factor in that it had been raining there pretty good before we got there. The tires of my jeep were completely covered in the water as we forged this water crossing that was at least two lengths of my jeep wide. Good thing I had my brother there to dig out my tire’s if needed, but we didn’t get stuck. Made it to the top of the hill where we could look across the river to see this creek and waterfall only to realize that that was the hot springs. It was absolutely beautiful.
Randy is already planning another trip where we will take our rafts so we can float across the river and really check them out. Also he is sure that the stargazing in the canyon we were in was going to give us the best view ever of the stars. Then we turned around and went back down the same way we went up and back through the river. Drove for 30 miles that seemed like 100 to get back to the highway and on to camp. That was day one and a full day it was.
Day two, Danny had heard of a possible site that used to be a stage stop. Randy and I were actually going to go try to find a place we had heard of where we might find geodes. But when we heard adventure we were like, We’re in.
So the next morning we started driving south forever. Turn into the desert to head to our destination. We get to said spot and try to locate anything that might show there had been something there. We did find some signs but not in the way we had thought there should be for it to be a busy stage stop. So we decided to drive on a bit more.
As we were driving ( I think it was Melisa) someone spotted rocks piled up. Turned out it was an old rock foundation from a cabin. We stopped and detected that until lunch time. Then we continued up the road heading for the top of the mountains that were near us. My brother kept telling me he thought we were pretty close to the same place we had been the day before. After passing through a few gates and traveling some fun roads we made it to the top. As we looked towards the direction we had just come from we would see where we had had lunch. I also checked my maps on my phone and could also see that my brother had been correct. We were actually only about 25 miles (as the crow flies) from where we had been the day before, crazy.
So while we are gazing back down the mountain and trying to decide where to go next, My brother asks if we are going back the way we had just come. After weighing out options it was concluded that yes we were heading back down. So he says hey Nick pick me up at the bottom, I’m going to hike it down there. And he did. I actually did wait to pick him up as well.
Then on the way back to camp we decided we were not done with the day. Just before getting to Jordan Valley where we were camped is a Place called Rome. Off the highway from there not too far are the Pillars of Rome. So we diverted a bit to go see them. And then between Rome and Jordan Valley there is a Sign pointing to the Charbonneau grave site. This is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sacajawea's baby whom she carried as she helped Lewis and Clark on their journey.
We did make it back to camp before dark that day but barely. We both had so much fun and can not wait to get back there. The history is so rich in this area I believe you could spend a lifetime exploring and enjoying the things the area has to offer. Thank you Danny for inviting us!! Hope to see you at the next meeting. So until next time, Keep digging, Enjoy the hunt, and Fill in your holes.
Nick