Crystal Geyser

/ 28 March 2016 / 0 Comments

Last week, while driving to Monticello, I found myself kind of bored driving. This tends to happen after about 2 hours. I'm probably just as bad as any child, but I do try to contain my boredom for the sake of my husband. Luckily, we've used this phone app called Roadside America for years. We've seen many odd side road attractions because of this app.

We've seen a giant pyramid and a hundred foot Virgin Mary in the middle of Wyoming. We've used it in Michigan, Idaho and Portland. Why? Because who doesn't love seeing weird sculptures made out of mufflers and giant pyramids?

I. LOVE. IT.

I'll be sharing a few of my favorite Roadside Attractions in the next few weeks. Because there are some WINNERS!

Anyways, I found Crystal Geyser on this app.

I'm not quite sure Utah is ready for this gem.

Just think, Yellowstone in Utah, but this one you can actually play in! I've always found Yellowstone slightly upsetting. I'm a very hands on kind of gal and I feel like Yellowstone is for the eyes only.

So to find this place was pretty magical.

Luckily, it had slightly warmed up on the March day.

At first, only I braved the cold water. It actually wasn't that bad. In the summer it would be an amazingly refreshing stop. Or to camp right next to the river.

After some coaxing, they all took off their shoes.

Because there are just some things that need to be touched with your toes.

Aren't the colors amazing? The textures were unreal, plus watching the water roll over each bump was hypnotizing. I'll be sharing some video of the too.

How did the Geyser come to be? Well, some 80 years ago, someone tried drilling for oil but found a carbon dioxide deposit instead. Back then, the geyser would shoot 100 feet in the air! Can you imagine? A cold water geyser is apparently very rare.

Now, the geyser just fizzles and rarely erupts anymore. Apparently, people were throwing rocks rocks trying to get the geyser to erupt. The scientist think that too many rocks literally plugged up the geyser. You can look up more information and scientific studies on Wikipedia. I found it kind of fascinating.

Luckily for us, this man-made beauty was there for the looking and touching. (I didn't see any signs that said you couldn't touch but I could be wrong.)

I'm wondering if it had erupted not too long before we got there as there was quite a bit or water running off. I've read some reviews that people take their campers and sit and wait for it to erupt.

You can look into the pipe and see the water bubbling, but sadly we never saw it erupt. I'm sure it would have been quite the scene!

It's pretty cool to see the different types of mineral deposits. The colors were different shades of orange.

This was one of my favorite spots. The pebbles had been worn into little balls. Plus, check out the color differences above.

In another life, I would have liked to be a geologist. I kind of have a rock problem. (I was getting after my children for spending too long looking at rocks only to be chastised a few minutes later by my sister for doing the exact same thing.)

While this may not be for everyone, it's a place we'll be stopping again and again. Who knows, maybe we'll do a camping trip just to see the geyser! Kayaking and fishing down the river doesn't sound too bad either.