A Woolly Mammoth a lake and a long ride

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Saturday we decided to take a trip to explore a new area for camping and boating and such . we loaded up the exploder with picnicking stuff . Shy laid quietly in the shade next to the fence watching  all the packing .. she new we were going on a journey .. her carful stare watched closely for any signal that would give her the go head to squeeze her big fluffiness into the back of the car .

As I finished packing in the Shy treats for the trip , I looked over at Shy and said ” come-on lets-go ” She hopped up and ran and jumped into the back of the exploder . I shut the hatch and we were off for the 84 mile ride . Destination… Joe’s Valley….

First pee brake was the rest area at the summit of Salina canyon . It was a pleasant day , blue skies and warm weather great conditions for traveling and a lot of travelers there were . the rest area was full of cars and people who had the same idea we did …  and it seemed every car there had a dog by it . Shy jumped out of the back as soon as I lifted the hatch … she went right into sniffin mode .  Her sniffer lead us up off the path  under the big pinion and cedar trees .. she wasn’t gonna do her business out were every dog could sniff her doings .

After a short walk we made it back to the parking lot then got on our way . Next stop .. Castle dale.. named that because of the castle shaped buttes that rise up out of the desert like they were constructed on purpose buy some unknown forgotten society . The gray and yellow hues of the buttes setting in the red weed less dirt is truly a sight to see .

The town hosts the ” San Rafael ”  Museum a place we learned about by the store clerk at the local service station were we stopped to purchase a lighter (that I had forgot)  to start the cookin coals   . I said to the gal .. One of those lighters and how do we get to the lake from here ? .. she said go right past the museum …. wait ! Museum ? … Yes .. what’s in the museum ? … well we got the Woolly Mammoth they found while building the dam at Joes Valley … Really ! .. a Mammoth … yep ..and some dinosaurs and Freemont Indian stuff as well .. Ok how do I get to the Museum ?

I walk back outside and talk to the girls .. Mamma asks what did you find out ? .. neat stuff , they got a Mammoth across the street .. really I’d like to see that  … Ok lets go .

What we learned about the Mammoth..  December 8 1988 a backhoe operator clearing out a bog for the foundation for the new dam , pulls up what he thought was an odd looking log.. after closer inspection from the boss man it turned out to be a massive leg bone . they called out the eggheads to do a dig which shut down the construction for 2 weeks . turns out this was not the run of the mill Woolly critter .. it was even bigger it was what they call a “Columbian Woolly Mammoth”  Pretty cool and rare . seems they figure the Woolly guy had a broken leg and had got stuck in the bog and died . the cool water and mud had preserved it . they also found a skull of a “Short Face Bear”

After real close inspection of all the fossils we watered our “white face bear”  Shilo . and headed up the canyon toward the lake with a stop along the river so Shy could take a wade . this was a popular place for the Yuppies. What few pull offs there was had yuppie cars packed in them and people pulling out climbing gear for the famous bouldering activity’s in the river . Shy did her best at sniffin around for ancient woolly critter and giant lizard bones but none was to be found . So we loaded up once again and drove the five more miles to the lake .

As we crested the dam , the canyon walls opened up and we found ourselves looking at one of the prettiest lakes in the state . The water was a cross between emerald green and aqua blue the shores slopped gently up to the Ponderosa and pinion pine covered ridgeline . we drove the narrow road around the lake and soon started to notice there was something odd about this place . first clue was a wooden rail pole fence that ran around the whole lake . we drove to the west side of the lake to check out the marina it was closed . We figured we’d try to find a place for future camping but every place we tried to pull off had signs that said no camping day use only ..well this sucks ! I said … lets try the marina .. it was like a goat town which is fine by me less people the better ..

We parked the car and let shy out She gave the place the once over then headed down the boat ramp to check out the water  When Shy got thru with her swim we got to back to the car I told Shy this place sucks girl look at that sign .. it says you got to be locked up all the time and that one says not to eat the fish cause there full of mercury .. what kind of place is this mamma says .. I don’t know but that leash your dog sign just turned me off . Lets go check out the other lake and cook up some burgers .

A short drive later we found our spot . A little place called ” Mill site ” with no restrictions and beautiful views . And Best of all it was Shy approved .

After flippin a few burgers and some chicken for Our Shy girl  , the sun started it’s low glowing slip down to the western horizon so we loaded up the car and shy Jumped in for the ride home .Thanks for reading ! And Please rate comment and Share