Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

He really is that stupid.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road – Origuy – Road Trip 2006 Part One

On The Road – Origuy – Road Trip 2006 Part One

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Origuy

In August 2006, I took a road trip through some of the Western US to go to orienteering events near Laramie, WY and Buena Vista, CO, and to see some sights along the way. My first stop was at Timpanogos Cave National Monument, in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. Timpanogos is actually three caves, connected by man-made tunnels. It’s a bit of a hike from the parking up to the cave entrance, but once you’re there the cave tour isn’t too strenuous, although a bit of a squeeze in a few places.
All photos taken with an HP PhotoSmart R707.

On The Road - Origuy - Road Trip 2006 Part One 7
Timpanogos Cave National MonumentAugust 8, 2006

The view from along the trail up to the cave entrance. The caves penetrate Mount Timpanogos, the second-highest peak in the Wasatch at 11,700 feet.

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Timpanogos Cave National Monument

The first cave, Hanson’s Cave, has been damaged by onyx mining and private collection. Some of the delicate formations further in are in better shape.

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Timpanogos Cave National Monument

This formation is called the Great Heart of Timpanogos. There are legends about two Indian lovers which end sadly, but whether these stories originate with the Ute people of the area, or with imaginative tour guides, I’m not sure. The NPS website has more on these.

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Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Being a limestone cave, Timpanogos has a wide variety of formations. These are called helictites.

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Timpanogos Cave National Monument

One of the more interesting and colorful formations.

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Vedauwoo Climbing Area

Continuing on to Wyoming. The orienteering events were the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, between Laramie and Cheyanne. At the eastern end of the area is the Vedauwoo Climbing Area, which draws rock climbers from all over. Some of the climbs are suitable for beginners, while others can be very technical.

On The Road - Origuy - Road Trip 2006 Part One 1
Laramie, WY

One of the things to do on a day off is visit the Laramie Plains Museum at the Iverson Mansion. This large Victorian was built in 1892.

On The Road - Origuy - Road Trip 2006 Part One
Near Laramie, Wy

Pronghorns in a prairie south of Laramie. It’s hard to get a picture of them because they move so fast. They aren’t really antelope; their closest living relatives are giraffes and okapi.

Reader Interactions

16Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    I’m pretty sure the Natives who hunted the pronghorn just called them food. They are beautiful animals tho.

  3. 3.

    JanieM

    The cave formations are strange and fascinating, and the Vedauwoo Climbing Area is interesting in a different way — it’s not an area I’ve ever visited, or a landscape I’ve see in pictures. We get taken on so many cool journeys around here!

  4. 4.

    Amir Khalid

    Those pinkish stalagmites have a look about them that’s kind of, well, suggestive and maybe NSFW.

  5. 5.

    Wag

    Pronghorns are the fastest mammals in the Americas, and the second fastest land animal in the world, after the cheetah.  They can run at speeds of 55 mph for a half mile, and can sustain speeds of 35 mph for four miles.  Amazing animals.

  7. 7.

    Mary G

    Love the pronghorns, but the caves will not be going even my hypothetical bucket list. Too dark and creepy.

  8. 8.

    Origuy

    @Yutsano: You got me curious about what the Native people called them. I found that they had a wide variation in cultural significance. 

    Native Americans had many names for the pronghorn. The Cree called pronghorn “small caribou;” the Yankton Sioux named it “small deer.” To the Ogallala Sioux, pronghorn were “pale deer.” But for a long time Europeans didn’t know what to make of this strange animal, usually describing it as a kind of goat.

    …

    The Hopi have a pronghorn kachina, called Chop. This kachina is thougtht to make the rains come and the grass grow.

    Many native americans believed animals with forked horns or antlers, such as the pronghorn and deer, represented a forked or double nature. Thus, they could be either a good or bad omen.

  11. 11.

    Dan B

    I believe we saw Pronhorns in Nevada north  of Winnemucca.

     

    Pleased to be able to use the name Winnemucca!   (Covid stir crazy?)

    The pictures are intriguing western terrain, thanks!

  14. 14.

    StringOnAStick

    I used to live a few hours from Vedauwoo and did a lot of rock climbing there; the area has a lot of what are called “off width” climbs, meaning wide enough that you have to shove your whole body into a wide crack and struggle up inside it.  It’s kind of a specialized subgenre of rock climbing.  Lots of other good routes there and excellent rock quality too.

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