I decided to take advantage of the pleasant weather (is this really winter?) to spend a day in the San Rafael Swell area of central Utah. I drove down to the Smith Camp Road which leaves Highway 6 about 4.75 miles before it joins I-70 interstate. The gravel road heads southwest for about 2.3 miles before splitting and heading northwest. The Smith Camp ruins are at the end of the road, a short distance from where the Cottonwood Wash Road intersects heading north and south.
From the camp ruins, I grabbed my drone and hiked west for about half a mile where I could situate myself on the rim of a hill with a good view to the west. That is the area that I wanted to explore via drone. I then proceeded to engage in several flights over the white sandstone hills between the eastern uplift of the San Rafael Swell and the sheer drop off into the San Rafael River, Spring Canyon and Nates Canyon near Mexican Mountain. This was one of those areas that I had yet to explore well.
After I had taken a good look at the country, I walked back to my truck and drove south down Tidwell Draw until I was approaching the I-70 freeway. Here I flew my drone one more time as the sun sat low on the horizon. At one point I could see the freeway nearly below me, with dinky little cars and trucks crawling along. The cliffs and canyons were much more interesting though.
After another perfect day in the hills, it was time to head for home again.