Brown's Park Loop Tour in Sweetwater County
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If you want a taste of Western adventure and are ready to spend a day doing it, drive the Brown's Park Loop. You'll drive past the Diamond Fields from the 1872 Great Diamond Hoax, the Irish Canyon petroglyphs, the Gates of Lodore, and the John Jarvie Historic Site. First, the Diamond Hoax. Take Wyoming Highway 430 from Rock Springs and head south about 55 miles to the Colorado border. About one mile before you get to the border, look to the west and you'll see a large plateau coming off the mountains. In 1871 and 1872, two prospectors "salted" the area with thousands of small diamonds, rubies and emeralds they had bought in England and France. Next, they sold out their interests to rich investors. The prospectors made $1 million in profit. A few miles south of the state line in Colorado, you'll come to the Irish Canyon petroglyphs. These ancient rock carvings were made approximately 800 years ago by Native Americans (sometimes called the Fremont People). This portion of the drive was a trade route used by the Fremont people in Colorado and Utah when they traveled north to trade with the Shoshone people in southwest Wyoming. Once you reach the Colorado border, the road is improved gravel. Twenty-two miles south is the junction of Colorado 318, a paved road. Turn east and go about three miles to the junction of another graveled road, which leads northwest about eight miles to a National Park service campground and the Gates of Lodore. The Green River flows between 2,500 foot walls to enter the Canyon of Lodore. The two walls are called the Gates of Lodore, a tremendous work of nature. Head back to Colorado 318 and turn left (west) and drive about 20 miles to the Utah border. Here, the road turns to gravel again, but a short five-mile trip takes you to the John Jarvie Historic Site, staffed year-round by the bureau of Land Management. There are two small campgrounds near the site. The Jarvie site has a historic store, ferry, and homestead where Jarvie lived and worked until he was murdered and robbed in 1909. His killers were never captured. Situated halfway on the Outlaw Trail, Butch Cassidy and members of the Wild Bunch often stopped at Jarvie's while on their way to and from various activities. The shortest way back to Rock Springs is to continue on the gravel road up Jessie Ewing Canyon 17 miles to the junction with Highway 191 (about 50 miles south of Rock Springs). The road through Jessie Ewing is very steep (14% grade) and can be difficult in rainy periods. If the weather is bad, you may want to return using the same route you came on.
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