After kayaking in Sheep's Creek Bay, I moved to another campground up on the rim of Red Canyon in Flaming Gorge Recreational Area.
There was a long hiking trail along the rim, and Thistle and I hiked part of it every day.
Some information about Red Canyon. This sign was at the Visitor's Center, which closed on Labor Day for the season, so I did not get to see inside.
Some views from the Rim Trail...
Ponderosa Pine grow up here. This one lost its top half at some point.
Another group of Big Horn Sheep roam along the rim too.
A Red-tailed hawk and another, smaller raptor were sparring above me. I was not able to identify the smaller bird.
One of the overlooks above Red Canyon. The rest of the trail is not fenced.
Thistle on the Rim Trail.
These small aspens have not started turning yet.
Big Horn sheep wandering through the campground.
There are several lakes and ponds on the rim which attract wildlife...including moose and elk, although I did not see those.
I took a drive to Flaming Gorge Dam. This overlook was on the way.
Here I learned about early homesteaders who had a ranch below. The homestead now belongs to the National Forest Service and is open for self-guided tours. I did a separate blog post about the Swett Ranch Historic Site.
This is a map of the area I had been touring. On the left is Sheep Creek Canyon where I did the scenic loop tour and kayaked. In the middle is Red Canyon, and on the right is the dam.
This overlook is just before you descend to the dam.
The dam is just a little beyond the bridge.
Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center
View of Osprey Island where osprey's nest in season.
The dam.
Deer in the campground...
And more sheep...
Evening on the rim.
This guy was fussing at us.
Moose Pond. Thistle was tasting the water.
Fall colors on the mountainside.
We drove 4 miles up a dirt road to Dowd Mountain Overlook.
It was the best view of Flaming Gorge that I found while here.
There is a trail that leads from here called Hideout Canyon Trail. You may remember the grave of Cleophas Dowd, a homesteader in the Sheep Creek Canyon area who was known for selling horses to various outlaw gangs of the era.
The Hideout Canyon trail leads down a series of switchbacks from the top of Dowd Mountain to a secluded cove on the flaming gorge reservoir that was once the location of a hideout for Butch Cassidy and his gang.
View of Flaming Gorge from Dowd Mountain, Hideout Canyon Trail.
We only hiked along the top until we could see the hideout location below. There is now a boat or hike-in only campground located there. Of course, the dam and reservoir were not here when Butch Cassidy and his gang were active.
View from the trail.
I turned into another dirt road to another trail on the way back to the campground. Couldn't find the trailhead, but I was rewarded for my effort by this flock of wild turkeys.
