Reminiscent ride over Elk Ridge

Left Blanding and drove back west towards Natural Bridges but turned north before Comb Ridge for a reminiscent ride over Elk Ridge in the Manti-La Sal National Forest where Bill once headed the fire crew from Gooseberry Guard Station.

By 8:30 we were driving up Cottonwood Canyon, at first paved then gravel.  Within 30 minutes we’d entered Ute Land where there’s a whole lot of NOs.  In 1923 an allotment was taken out of the Manti-La Sal for long time Paiute residents.  There land their rules.

This slightly maintained road provided some early fall color views.

Once back on the National Forest we went up, over and around Horse Mountain.  A beautiful drive through fall changing forest, across mostly dry washes and below towering red walls of sandstone.

Plus distant teasing views of southern Canyonlands.

Around 11 we stopped at Gooseberry Guard Station, located at the edge of a large golden meadow, two ‘cabins’, an outhouse, and a volunteer’s slide-in camper off its truck.

Bill worked here with three other guys in the 70s when the place was off grid.  They hauled water and used lanterns and an outhouse.  Fuel for their 2-wheel drive long-bed Chevy pickup truck came from the old fashioned glass-topped fuel pump.  After breakfast prepared on a wood cook stove they patrolled the many forest roads looking for fire.  Often they sat on the porch during lunch watching storms and then went looking for smokes.  Bill says it was one of the best six weeks of his life.  He worked fire four seasons and was available for at least another four years while later working for BLM (Bureau of Land Management).

The first Gooseberry Guard Station cabin was built in 1919 but replaced in 1934 with a smaller cabin where Bill stored the beer.  The larger cabin that they lived in was moved from Cortez, Colorado in 1967.  Now it has solar panels and although not permanently staffed is still used by Forest Service employees when needed.

From here we continued our drive through a forest of bumper crop pine nuts and people were taking advantage of the bounty gathering bags full of nuts.

Suddenly the views opened and below, yet far away, we could see the southern portion of Canyonlands’ Needles District.  But we were still many hours drive away.

Finally came down the dugway and to Dugout Ranch before hooking a left to Canyonlands National Park.

And of course arrived too late for a campsite in the park.

All stories about Bill were shared by Bill and only slightly edited by me because Bill also says that at least 95% of what he says is Bullshit.