Starvation Lake, UT

Our camp site

 This is what it's all about - vistas, peace and quiet, and surprises along the trail.

Steve randomly selected Starvation Lake as a stopover on our way south. 'Guess he just liked the name.

The lower campground

It's a few graveled miles off the highway, so away from any traffic noise, and since we selected the upper campground, with a better view, we had very little boat noise.

The campground itself is nice  but not luxurious - permanent table shelters with windbreaks, BBQs, showers, and water is available. We had excellent cell service, and though we didn't take time to explore the area this time, the nearby town of Duchesne looks interesting and is worth a return visit.

The name "Starvation Lake" definitely conjures up visions of pioneers and the tough times they faced.
 According to Wikipedia: "The unusual name has been explained in local folklore. The area around the lake, prior to being developed, was used primarily for hunting and trapping. It has been said that a hunter was setting traps near the water’s edge when he got trapped in one himself. Before help could arrive he had died from starvation. Another story is that criminals were hiding out in the area, there was a snow fall and couldn't make it to town so they were stranded there and died from starvation."

The Wagon Master does like a vista view, and this place met his criteria with a five star rating.

Regular visitors to this blog may have noticed a preoccupation with sunsets - we love to watch the changing light, the shifting shapes in the clouds, the "weather" as it hits the landscape in the distance.

Starvation Lake on this particular day made for excellent sky watching.

From the snowy peaks in the far distance that caught our attention when we first arrived, then clouds that shaded to pinks and purples in the distance . . .

. . .   to the last golden rays of sunset, we could hardly take our eyes of the sky for fear of missing something.

 

We took our time getting loaded up this morning, then followed hwy. 191 out of Duchesne into Indian Canyon. This is Butch Cassidy country - narrow canyons, rim rock, steep cliffs, and ranches both new and old scattered here and there up the side canyons. We're heading for Nine Mile Canyon Ranch, 24 miles into Nine Mile Canyon. This canyon is famous for some of the most outstanding petroglyphs in this part of the country, as well as containing pioneer sites.