#2: [02-Nov-14]

#3: [08-Jul-14]

Note: This confluence was posted earlier, but due to an error the narrative was truncated.

05-Jun-2001 -- Nestled in a small box canyon, 41N/108W was the second goal of our Confluence Hat Trick. (See 40N/108W and 41N/109W).

Driving about twenty miles west on Moffat County Road 4 from Colorado Highway 13, approximately three miles south of the Wyoming border. Located on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, the area is open rangeland with oil and natural gas wells sprinkled about. Shortly after crossing the Little Snake River on County 4, we turned north onto County Road 21N. Following County 21N for roughly (sometimes literally) five miles, our GPS and detailed map indicated that a right turn onto County Road Y was in order. As we passed an old windmill, I wondered how productive it had been for whomever had homesteaded there. Hardy individuals need apply.

Two miles east on County Y and we encountered a fence line. We opened the gate and proceeded for about one quarter mile. At this point, we realized that our destination was near enough to access with a short walk to the east. At this point it was just us and the pronghorn antelopes.

With a light breeze out of the southwest and a temperature in the mid 60's under a partly cloudy sky, we set off. Sagebrush and the harvester anthill clearings marked the terrain until we encountered a deep gulch. Seeing no good reason to descend-ascend, we detoured around the gully. With the GPS to guide us, we weren't concerned with losing our heading. A few minutes later our electronic navigator indicated that we were close enough for the satellites to almost smell the Confluence. That's when we encountered the Hill. Steep and long.

We surveyed, so to speak, the situation and decided that with a little caution we could make it down the Hill. It was the return that concerned us. About halfway down the Hill, my attention was diverted to a sofa-sized boulder sporting a beautiful coat of multi-colored lichen. Time to stop and take a few pictures. As I did so and looked back up the Hill, I noticed a slice of rainbow lying horizontally in the sky. A perfect complement to the lichen. This was getting better by the minute.

Once we reached the bottom of the Hill, we crossed a dry riverbed, crawled through a barbed-wire fence, crossed another small arroyo and watched as the GPS struck 41N/108W at 12:30 pm MST. We were in the Net. Goal number 2.

We had approached the Confluence point from the south. The area was encompassed by low hills on all other sides. The larger dry riverbed ran along the southern border of the Confluence while the smaller one joined it from the north at a right angle.

Our second Confluence in as many days was as beautiful in its own fashion as our previous one. Numerous pictures were taken to witness our success and share the unique beauty of this sparse landscape. Eventually, we gathered our equipment and our thoughts for the hike back to the Jeep and up the Hill.