Missed The Big Splash

We were pondering our options while camped at the San Rafael Swell, trying to decide what to do, when to move, and which direction, we knew that Goblin Valley was next, but then it occurred to me that it would only add about 45 miles if we stayed at Crystal Geyser for a day or two, hoping that we’d be able to catch it erupting. Initially, we were thinking of moving in the next day or two, but spontaneously, we packed up and hit the road within the hour.

Al went on ahead to scope it out, getting there about five miles ahead of me. He said there was plenty of space, but then the phone call died and we couldn’t communicate anymore. It was a rough, washboard gravel road the whole way, and when I got there with the motorhome, the space he had planned was far too unlevel for us to set up, so then began the friction of why moving day can be a royal pain in the butt. With every place I tried to move, he wouldn’t say what TO do, only what NOT to do, leaving me waiting for directions. I understand that I can look at a surface and see which way it slopes better than he can, but this time, it likely would have been easier and less frustrating if I would have been doing it without his assistance. After trying in three different spots, I gave up on having the windshield face east to keep it cooler inside, instead facing it south, which results in sun coming in every window and a very hot abode, but we were level and set up, and I needed a break.

We were set up at coordinates 38.93774, -110.13487 facing away from the geyser. Had we faced north, our slides would be deployed toward the road, and as we tried facing it east, we had more than three feet overhanging it. It was evident that some park right next to the geyser. We actually pulled into that spot as well, but we moved shortly after as I thought it unkind to the many visitors that stop by to have our monster motorhome as a backdrop for their every picture.

There is a slow constant flow coming from the rocks at the geyser base, trickling down the slope to the Green River. The travertine along the slope is contrastingly colorful when compared to the surrounding grounds. We had read quite varying numbers of heights and times between eruptions, deducing that if it blows 1-3 times per day, we’d likely catch it in action. The surroundings were rather dry, so we just went about our day, listening for some ruckus outside.

After a few hours, we decided we were tired of waiting and drove around the area for less than an hour, and wouldn’t you know, it had erupted during our departure and the entire area had been soakingly splattered. Betty said it was awesome and we should have known better than to leave.

About that drive... We basically ambled on dirt and rock roads, Little Valley Farms, Salt Wash, maybe the Orange Trail? We happened upon some odd pipe coming out of the ground with a bunch of valves on it. It’s probably just from aliens, or some secret Wonka factory might be hidden underground. We snapped a pic and kept going. The terrain from there seemed like the set of a 1970’s Star Trek episode on a desolate planet.

After beaming out of there, we explored New Area 51 nearby. Apparently the government built a missile installation, used it once for a test launch, then abandoned the whole thing in 1974. Along the way, there are power lines intermittently touching the ground, and some of the poles are snapped off, then we came upon a few old metal buildings, now mostly empty but riddled with graffiti. There was also some strange track or small covered conveyer running from building to building. Supposedly there is a launch pad or two, but we didn’t invest much time looking around. The buildings are far from salvageable. It makes me wonder why they don’t condemn their own buildings and be forced to tear them down.

The next morning, we set off for a day of adventure to Moab, getting back just before dark to find it currently in eruption. While we didn’t see it shooting more than a few feet in the air, that eruption lasted well into the night. It was around 7:00PM when we had gotten back, and at 1:00AM it was still burbling up to three feet from the pipe. It would have been neat to see it burst 10-60 feet into the air, but we were satisfied to see it like this as many who come to see it miss the eruption entirely.

This is a cold water geyser, not a geothermal one. Carbon dioxide builds up in the aquifer deep underground, and when the pressure builds up, it erupts similar to a geothermal geyser. Staying there, we had decent internet with T-Mobile, but the AT&T phone service was poor and spotty. We filled our fresh water and dumped the tanks at Maverik in Green River less than 10 miles away. Driving six miles of washboard gravel in a motorhome may not be ideal to see it, but it would beat waiting there for 12-16 hours in the hot sun for it to erupt.

Today, I contacted a dealer about trading in our Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. This vehicle would be light enough to tow behind our motorhome, of which the Ram is not. I got an estimate for equipping it to be flat-towed, and sent an email to my agent for an insurance quote. We planned out stops for the possible 600-mile route, which is actually only 10 miles from one of our intended destinations, just getting there much sooner. Now we await that quote, and another reply from the dealer. Should we wait here until after Saturday for the Annular Eclipse, or skedaddle and trade off the truck?

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