How Swell

The San Rafael Swell revealed new features and sights as we continued our drive. We ventured into the areas further south and west, and at times wondered if we got in too deep would we make it back out. What we saw ranged from buildings and abandoned vehicles to mines and stunning rock formations, all in a few hours time.

We made our way to the Swasey Cabin on the edge of Eagle Canyon. It was a simple one room cabin built out of Douglas Fir logs by the Swasey Brothers in 1921. It was used by them and others who had livestock operations in the area. There is a small cave with a spring nearby that they called the Icebox. The temperature inside the cave is remarkably colder than the rest of the canyon, and was used to store perishables, just like an icebox.

From there we entered Eagle Canyon Road, and it got more aggressive than we thought it would be, but with Tom’s skills, and me getting out to spot a couple of times, the truck pulled through unscathed. It really is a beautiful drive, albeit a rough and rocky one. The Eagle Canyon Arch was clearly a highlight of my day. It was about the halfway point and soared high above the canyon floor. Continuing up the canyon, we made our way to the pass under Interstate 70. The twin metal arch bridges were stunning against the blue sky. I was impressed seeing them anchored into the rock walls of the canyon. After the bridges, we began the most stressful part of the drive: the long and rocky climb over rocks and ledges to the top of the canyon. We made it, and luckily in one piece. Afterwards, we learned that this trail is rated a 5 out of 10 for difficulty, and had we known that beforehand, we might not have taken it and would have missed out on all that it offered. We don’t have skid plates on the truck, but fortunately we did not bottom out or scrape any of the underbody.

Next on the list was a few abandoned mines nearby. Along the way we took a short detour and saw a unique corral down Tan Seep Road. It does not look like it had been used in awhile, but the upright pickets built from the surrounding trees seems to stand the test of time. We saw many plateaus and buttes rise up around us as we drove further down the wash. One of them was called the Family Butte, and you can easily imagine the rock spires as members of a family peering down on us.

Arriving at Lucky Strike Mine, we found a few of the old building still standing, including cabins, a powder storage shed, and a loading structure along with several old appliances strewn about. This was a uranium mine and was active for many years during the cold war era. It has been dormant for many years now. The tailing piles can still be seen below the mine entrances that have been sealed up. We also saw an old Rambler car abandoned in the wash. It was neat to see, but a shame that it is riddled with bullet holes and has been vandalized so much. We tried driving further up the wash to find the old truck of which we had seen pictured on the signs. All the maps showed it as a road, but around one corner we encountered several boulders in the way and a ledge about 4 feet tall that we would have needed a lift to get up, so Tom backed out. Driving further down the main road, we did find the old truck cab. We found it strange that the engine is sitting on the ground several feet away, but it made for some interesting photography.

We had one last stop planned for the day: the Tomsich Uranium Mine. There is a large vent cover at the lower level of the mine, and the chute from which they dumped the ore at the mine openings remains. There are places that you can walk up the slopes to peer into the windows of the sealed mine entrances and see the abandoned mine seal implanted into the concrete wall. Some of the red rocks in this area had white polka dots on them. I’m unsure if it part of the stone itself or something growing on it. Just down the road from this mine, we saw a keyhole arch high up in the cliffs. This one has the name The Hondoo and is considered to be one of the largest ones in the Swell.

That’s it for this chapter. Watch for #3 coming soon!

Today went pretty well. We were up late last night dealing with the tension between us and ended up sleeping in this morning. We still managed to get out for another drive and saw several interesting things before coming back to the RV to relax a little this evening. I made burgers and roasted vegetables for dinner, which hit the spot for all of us. Mason was with today, and we all enjoyed his company, especially Cassie and Suki, who both snuggled up with him on the drive. Betty is still not a fan of his intrusion into HER motorhome and hides in protest until he departs for the evening. He will be heading out in the morning, but as always, we are grateful that he spent some time with us geezers.

That’s it for this chapter. Watch for #3 coming soon!

Today went pretty well. We were up late last night dealing with the tension between us and ended up sleeping in this morning. We still managed to get out for another drive and saw several interesting things before coming back to the RV to relax a little this evening. I made burgers and roasted vegetables for dinner, which hit the spot for all of us. Mason was with today, and we all enjoyed his company, especially Cassie and Suki, who both snuggled up with him on the drive. Betty is still not a fan of his intrusion into HER motorhome and hides in protest until he departs for the evening. He will be heading out in the morning, but as always, we are grateful that he spent some time with us geezers.

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