Vamoose Utah Fall/Winter 2018

VOL.4 NO.5 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018

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YOUR

‛BUCK IT’ LIST EXPLORE THE WILD WEST A WINNING

WEEKEND

in Wendover

Adventure GREAT BASIN

NATIONAL PARK

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 1

VOL. 2 NO. 2 • FALL 2016

C I T Y W E E K LY. N E T M A R C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 | V O L . 3 4 N 0 . 4 4

VOL. 4 NO. 5 • MAY 2018 • CHEF

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CITY GUIDE CITY WEEKLY’S 16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF ALL THINGS SLC

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COCKTAILS FOR MOM P. 56

THE

Best Fall Road Trip

SPRING SALAD P. 42

How one local Native Americanled activist group is giving a voice to their missing and murdered Indigenous sisters.

Biking to Lava Hot Springs

ISSUE

10

WHO'S MISSING?

Trout for Dinner

Five spots close to town where you can sink a line

40

Desolate Beauty Exploring Utah’s Cedar Mesa

32

By Sarah Arnoff

Devour Utah • May 2018 1

Shooting the Stars

20

MEET THE SPECIAL UTAH MEN AND WOMEN WHO MAKE UTAH GREAT CITY GUIDE 2018

1

WINNERSUTAH.COM | MAY / JUNE 2018 | VOL. 2 N0. 2

THE LOCAL SCOREBOARD

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JACKSON HOLE’S ALTERNATIVE VOICE | PLANETJH.COM | APRIL 25 - MAY 1 , 2018

THE

Mountain Bike Tech Tricks p. 20

THE AMAZING ‘SPIDA’-MAN

Utah Volleyball Finds a Beach p. 32

THE

Led by rookie Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz are on the rise p. 12

UGLY

2 3 I D E AS T O R E D U C E G U N V I O L E N C E A N D SAV E L I V E S May I June 2018 • Winners Utah | 1

A Utah Family Business Offering media solutions for your digital, print and event endeavours.

The mining community of Copperfield was set in world famous Bingham Canyon, high in the Oquirrh Mountains. In 1906, the Saltas family joined those Copperfield residents in the steep hillside, shanty area, called Greek Camp.

Copperfield was home to thousands of melting pot immigrants including Greeks, Japanese, Mexicans, Germans, Swedes, Brits and many other ethnicities all bound to common American values of family, faith, education, hard work and community. They shared many good times, often tempered by the frequent bad times derived of dangerous mining work.

Copperfield is now gone, scraped away by mining. But the Copperfield spirit remains alive in everything we do, from newspapers and magazines to events and digital services. We work hard for each other

and for the large communities of readers—online and in print—who value honesty and stories told well.

We will keep telling stories—your stories--as long as people keep reading. And wouldn’t it be a shame if they didn’t read? We don’t think that will happen, so meanwhile, turn a page, or many pages, in one of Copperfield Publishing’s growing catalog of Utah (and Jackson Hole, Wyoming) award-winning publications.

We bring you the Best of Utah every day, every week, every month, including our newest product, the one you are reading now, We Are Utah. With this issue, discover that behind every great Utahn or super business is a beating heart that is connected in some way to all the rest of us. Their stories are your stories. We are all the community of Utah.

Enjoy.  John Saltas Founder

2 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

HEIDEN ORTHOPEDICS

Gold Medal Orthopedic Care Cyclists repaired here 435-615-8822

• Team physician for BMC cycling • Tour de France rider with 7-Eleven cycling team • 5-time olympic gold medalists

ELBOW

FOOT & ANKLE

HAND & WRIST

HIP

KNEE

SHOULDER

SPINE

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 3

World of Speed 2017

INSIDE

VAMOOSE OCT. - NOV. 2018

RON CHRISTENSEN

8 24 32

AUSTERE ESCAPADE

How to always win big in Wendover?

See the land that surrounds it.

BY GEOFF GRIFFIN & KATHLEEN CURRY

18

PEAK COLORS

Exploring shades of autumn in the Stansbury Mountains

BY LEVI ROGERS

YOUR ‘BUCK IT’ LIST

26

Day-tripping through the wild horse country of Skull Valley

BY ROBERT HAMMER

35

LONELY BYWAYS

No traffic jams at Great Basin National Park, just magnificent solitude

PHOTO BY ROBERT HAMMER

BY GEOFF GRIFFIN & KATHLEEN CURRY

20

WAIT UNTIL DARK

Stansbury Park star parties offer a glimpse into the final frontier

BY KATHERINE PIOLI

30

BACKCOUNTRY CHEF

Savory meat pies are made all the more delicious with wild game

BY DARBY DOYLE

THE TREE AND ME

Iconic desert sculpture stands tall despite neglect

BY CHRIS VANOCUR

4 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

LAST LOOK

Wild horses in the snow-dusted Cedar Mountains

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 5

VOL.4 NO.5 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018

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EDITOR COPY EDITOR PROOFREADER CONTRIBUTORS

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John Saltas

Jerre Wroble Sarah Arnoff Lance Gudmundsen Kathleen Curry, Darby Doyle, Geoff Griffin, Robert Hammer, Katherine Pioli, Levi Rogers, Chris Vanocur Rodger C. Fry , Robert Hammer, Chris Vanocur

An avid outdoor adventurer and amateur stargazer, Katherine Pioli (recognized by the local Society of Professional Journalists for her “Hello Darkness, My Old Friend” feature in the August 2017 Vamoose) looks forward to the return of long winter nights. She works as assistant editor for Catalyst magazine and teaches adults through the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning program.

Sofia Cifuentes Chelsea Neider, Sean Hair

Paula Saltas David Adamson, Anna Kaser Bryan Mannos

Geoff Griffin and Kathleen Curry travel the world looking for material for their award-winning podcast, Travel Brigade.

Find more of their work at TravelBrigade. com and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @TravelBrigade.

Samantha Smith

Eric Granato

Jennifer Van Grevenhof Pete Saltas Anna Papadakis Doug Kruithof, Kathy Mueller Alex Markham, Mieka Sawatzki, Jeremiah Smith

Cover image: Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah

By Owen Theilen Distributed free of charge throughout the Wasatch Front while supplies last.

Additional copies of Vamoose are available at the Vamoose offices: 248 S. Main, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, 801-575-7003

Editorial contact: Editor@vamooseutah.com Advertising contact: Sales@vamooseutah.com COPPERFIELD PUBLISHING, INC • COPYRIGHT 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED @vamooseutah

6 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

@vamooseutah

@vamooseutah

Levi Rogers is a writer and coffee roaster

in Salt Lake City. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in English and has an MFA from Antioch University.

He lives with his pets; his wife, Cat; and his daughter Evangeline.

COURTESY BLM

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

T

DARE YOU TO LOOK

he lands of Utah’s West Desert almost defy exploration. Not only does the U.S. military use much of the parched acreage for bombing practice (Utah Test and Training Range), for testing biological and chemical weapons (Dugway Proving Ground) and for incinerating obsolete bombs and weapons (Tooele Army Depot), but a number of Utah industries located in or near the West Desert have had a field day (and lax pollution enforcement) when it comes to extracting resources from the land.

In the midst of it all, stretching across the Utah/Nevada border, lies a reservation that’s home to the Skull Valley Goshute Indians, a small tribe whose gripping tale can’t help but leave one with a heavy heart. It’s all the more reason to travel these lonely and still breathtaking byways, to learn about places where outsiders are not much wanted, where—due to a lack of amenities and a preponderance of industrial and military concerns—it almost says, “keep out.” For true explorers, it is

all the more inviting.

Notice we didn’t mention Wendover’s five casinos, because they are a given: The gambling town is one spot in the West Desert where visitors are truly in hot demand. Add side trips to the Bonneville Salt Flats and Nancy Holt’s “Sun Tunnels” sculpture, and you’ve got a decent West Desert 101 experience. Travel Brigade writers Geoff Griffin and Kathleen Curry detail how to spend four days in the Utah/Nevada border town, weaving in outdoor adventure with the ring-ading of slot machines.

But, Griffin and Curry ask, why stop there?

Head south of Wendover to experience the engrossing solitude of Great Basin National Park—one of the least visited parks in the NPS system. With planning and curiosity, you can experience a Utah road trip unlike any other.

A journey into Utah’s quirky West Desert rewards you with a race track that attracts international car races, ghost towns and

cemeteries, boarded up mine shafts, a star observatory (see Katherine Pioli’s “Wait Until Dark”), remnants of the historical Pony Express trail and glimpses of wild horses (see Robert Hammer’s “Buck It List”), forgotten art beside the interstate (see Chris Vanocur’s “The Tree and Me”), mountain summits worthy of a climb (see Levi Rogers’ “Peak Colors” feature), red beryl crystals and a salt-water hot springs filled with tropical fish, designed for SCUBA diving. A strange land, indeed!

Word to the wise: bring drinking water, and lots of it. We’re in a desert, after all. UFO sightings are more common than watering holes. Don’t forget a road atlas (in print) because cell service here isn’t 100 percent.

Above all, carry a love of solitude. If you want to feel like the last person on earth, you might find it here—just be sure you’re outside the bombing range.

Jerre Wroble Editor October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 7

WEEKEND WARRIOR Bonneville Salt Flats

8 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

AUSTERE ESCAPADE A winning weekend in Wendover

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

BY GEOFF GRIFFIN & KATHLEEN CURRY

he border town of West Wendover, Nev., is a casual getaway where Utahns enjoy gambling, lax liquor laws and colossal buffets. From an outdoor-recreation perspective, the lands surrounding the gateway community of 5,000 or so souls are sometimes unseen against the bright lights of casinos and evening entertainment. With its high desert vistas and spectacular sunsets, Wendover’s landscape might seem like it belongs to a different planet.

Here, you’ll find two North American desert habitats: the Mojave (home to gila monsters, desert tortoises, sidewinders, scorpions, roadrunners and bobcats—all living side by side in the shade of Joshua trees) and the Great Basin (home to sage grouse, harvester ants, Great Basin rattlesnakes, badgers, kit foxes, antelope and coyotes).

Follow our weekend itinerary to get the most out of a few days on the state line.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 9

Bonneville Salt Flats

BLM

••••

Thursday

Jump on Interstate 80 and head west for the Nevada state line. About 10 miles east of Wendover, or 90 minutes into the drive, pull off at Exit 4 to visit the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats (BLM.gov/ visit/bonneville-salt-flats) a 5-by-12-mile expanse of salt that’s so flat, numerous land-speed records have been set there. The racing tradition continues with the annual World of Speed event (SaltFlats. com) every September. Speed Week (SCTA-bni. org) is another event that is held at the flats in August. You’ll find those beset with “Salt Fever” driving hot rods, roadsters, belly tankers, lakesters, motorcycles, streamliners and even diesel trucks.

There’s a rest area where you can pull off and see the flats, or you can even venture onto them by car or foot. If you go, avoid standing water and know that temperatures can be extreme; the sun bouncing off a white surface can lead to sunburn. Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. If you plan to do any serious exploring, it’s wise to check in with the local BLM office at 801-977-4300 for details on conditions.

A more reliable option might be to take a tour with Intermountain Guide Service (877-882-4386, ATVToursInWestWendover.com), which offers a Salt Flats experience as one of its multiple tours in the Wendover area.

10 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

BLM

SLC to Bonneville Salt Flats

Speed Week

In hopes of a land-speed record at the salt flats

BLM

AFTERNOON

Wendover Will welcomes you

WILL RICHARDS

W

NIGHT

West Wendover After leaving the Salt Flats, keep the theme going by getting back on I-80 and continuing west to Exit 1—the very last exit before the border—to have dinner at Salt Flats Cafe (85 Skyhawk Drive, Wendover, 435-665-7550), a casual restaurant featuring land-speed racing paraphernalia paired with a menu of Mexican and American food.

You’re still in Utah, just outside Wendover, but you’ve only got about a quarter-mile to Nevada and West Wendover.

Once you’re over the line, at some point during the weekend, you’ll want to pay homage to Wendover Will (WestWendoverCity.com). After all, the 63-foot-tall neon cowboy is the most recognized symbol of the town, and is a Guiness Book of World Record holder to boot (he’s the world’s largest mechanical neon-lit cowboy). Will stood just off I-80 from 1952-2004, hailing Utahns to stop and gamble. In 2005, he was moved to an island in the middle of Wendover Boulevard with enough space for visitors to walk around him and take selfies.

Another increasingly popular stop in West Wendover is the new giant Lee’s Discount Liquor (1355 W. Wendover Blvd, 775-299-3033, LeesLiquorLV.com), a draw for Utahns who yearn to experience a privately operated liquor store.

CASINO LIFE

est Wendover casinos and hotels include three Peppermill resorts boasting more than 1,300 rooms (book through 800-217-0049, WendoverFun.com): Rainbow (1045 Wendover Blvd.,), Peppermill (680 Wendover Blvd.), and Montego Bay (100 Wendover Blvd.). Two other casinos owned

by Wendover Resorts offer 600-plus rooms (booked through WendoverResorts.com): Wendover Nugget Hotel & Casino (101 Wendover Blvd., 800-8487300) and The Red Garter Hotel & Casino (1225 Wendover Blvd., 800-982-2111).

The recently updated Peppermill features a new façade, remodeled rooms and dining at Café Milano, open 24 hours a day, or Pancho and Willie’s serving upscale Mexican cuisine and $3 house margaritas.

Montego Bay’s Oceano Buffet is open weekdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($14.95), and Sunday through Thursday, 4-9 p.m. ($17.95). They also serve weekend brunch ($17.95), a Friday seafood buffet, 4-10:30 p.m. ($29.95); and the Saturday Spectacular from 4-10:30 p.m. ($24.95). Montego Bay’s Paradise Grill is open 24 hours a day, and Romanza serves Tuscan-inspired Italian cuisine along with fire-grilled steaks.

The Rainbow’s Bimini Buffet serves lunch on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($13.95); dinner Sunday through Thursday, 4-9 p.m. ($16.95); Friday seafood, 4-10:30 p.m. ($27.95); and the Saturday Spectacular, 4-10:30 p.m. ($23.95). Its weekend brunch is served 9 a.m.-3 p.m. ($16.95). Primo is open 24 hours a day, while the 2nd Street Deli offers sandwiches and hot dogs. The Steak House is the Rainbow’s fine-dining option, serving up steaks and seafood.

The Nugget Buffet is open for lunch Thursday and Friday ($12.95), seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday, 4-11 p.m. ($27.95); weekend brunch, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. ($16.95); and a dinner buffet Sunday and Thursday ($16.95). Enjoy fine dining at the Nugget Steakhouse Thursday through Sunday as well as a martini bar, cigar bar and billiards bar. Other options include the 24-hour Golden Harvest Café, Trino’s Tacos and a Starbucks.

The Red Garter features the 24-hour Prospector Café and a Beans & Brews coffee shop along with a sports bar and a stage bar.

The three Peppermill-owned casinos offer roughly 2,500 slot machines total plus a live poker room, three race and sports books and more than 100 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, three-card poker, pai gow poker and Let It Ride. Montego Bay’s fitness center, outdoor pool (open seasonally) and hot tubs (open year-round) give guests a place to unwind; the Rainbow’s indoor pool is open year-round. Peppermill also operates a $21 million concert venue with about 1,000 tiered seats.

A skywalk across Wendover Boulevard connects Montego Bay casino with the Nugget casino. The Nugget features an atrium, outdoor pool and Wendover’s only arcade (on the basement level). The Nugget’s pits feature blackjack, royal match, roulette, craps, Let It Ride, three-card poker and pai gow poker.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 11

SOFIA CIFUENTES

••••

Friday

West Wendover adventures The Nevada casino experience is renowned for its weekend breakfast buffets. On a budget? Try the Prospector Café at the Red Garter, which offers a $3.99 special of two eggs, choice of meat, hash browns and toast.

Reserve a morning tee time at Toana Vista Golf Club (2319 Pueblo Blvd., 775-664-4300, ToanaVistaGolf.com), an 18-hole championship Homer Flint golf course that features both links-style and desert-style golf. The course is surrounded by black-top mountains and native desert terrain. The casinos offer packages and transfers to the course.

Alternatively, head off-road on an ATV tour with the previously mentioned Intermountain Guide Service and explore over 50 miles of backcountry.

Don’t worry if you’re a newbie—their all-terrain vehicles are automatic so you don’t have to worry about shifting gears. Pack a lunch and take it along for a full day of the adventure, from exploring caves, waterfalls and mountains to wildlife viewing and fishing.

Tee off at Toana Vista Golf Club

FREEPIK

MORNING

DENISE GLEESON

Peppermill Concert Hall

NIGHT For dinner, your options at Wendover casinos range from casual café fare to a seafood buffet to fine dining (see “Casino Life,” p. 11). Later in the evening, enjoy a live music or a comedy performance at the Peppermill Concert Hall (680 Wendover Blvd., 800-217-0049, WendoverFun. com), where every seat is within 88 feet of the stage.

12 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 13

••••

Saturday

MORNING

Wendover

WENDY WYN

Start the day at the Historic Wendover Airfield Museum (345 Airport Way, 801-541-8723, WendoverAirbase.com), which takes you back over the state line into Utah. This site was used during World War II as a training base for bomber crews. That included the crew of the B-29 that carried out the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The museum gives visitors a chance to reflect on a difficult period in history.

While still in Utah, grab lunch at the Copper Kettle Cafe (600 Wendover Blvd., 435-665-7990, Facebook. com/Copper-Kettle-Cafe) where you’ll find burgers, sandwiches, salads and a special called Mr. Huevos Rancheros: two shredded beef burritos served enchilada-style along with eggs and hash browns.

AFTERNOON

A Blue Lake dive

FREEPIK

Blue Lake, Utah

14 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

Blue Lake is in Utah, but you’ll need to cross back into Nevada to get there. Head west on Wendover Boulevard back across the state line, then get on Nevada Highway 93 heading south. Stay on it for about 15 miles. You’ll see a sign for Blue Lake, which requires you to turn left onto a dirt road. Stay on that for five miles until you arrive at Blue Lake Wildlife Management Area.

While Blue Lake is known for bass and bluegill fishing, bird watching, hiking and mountain biking, what makes this spot unique is the fact that it’s an inland spot for scuba diving. The combination of relatively warm, spring-fed waters and a depth of 60 feet means that it’s a rare landlocked lake that divers can enjoy year-round. Various scuba-instruction companies often conduct lessons there.

JIM PETERSEN

Historic Wendover Airfield Museum

NIGHT

West Wendover

SOFIA CIFUENTES

Dinner options abound at the local casinos (see “Casino Life,” p. 11). If you want to make a late night of it, check out Carmen’s Black and White Bar (100 Scobie Drive, 775-664-4238, Facebook.com/theblackandwhite), a dive bar that’s a favorite haunt of Salt Flats drivers in town for racing events. If you find yourself driving through a trailer park to get there, don’t worry—that’s where it’s located. Carmen runs the place, and one of the greatest souvenirs you’ll ever find in your travels is one of her shot glasses. When we called to ask how late the place stays open, Carmen herself answered and said, “Depends on if anybody’s here.”

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 15

••••

Sunday

MORNING

West Wendover to Utah Take a 90-minute drive to the Sun Tunnels. (Check out UMFA.utah.edu/land-art/sun-tunnels for a guide to visiting the site.) Head west on I-80 for six miles before turning on Nevada Highway 233 and traveling back in a northeasterly direction for 70 miles. During that time, you’ll go back into Utah, where the road becomes Utah Highway 30. Next, turn right onto Grouse Creek Road, which turns into Pilot Mountain Road.

Your last turn is a left onto Little Pigeon Road. The Sun Tunnels were created in the 1970s by American artist Nancy Holt. You’ll see four concrete tunnels that are 18 feet long and 9 feet in diameter, with holes drilled in the sides in the shapes of various constellations. The tunnels are arranged so that they align with the sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices.

As a side trip en route to the Sun Tunnels, look for Lucin, an abandoned railroad community that served as a stop for the Lucin Cutoff. Abandoned in 1936, Lucin was later resettled by a group of retired railroad workers—but the last retiree moved away in the past decade.

PIXABAY PHOTO

Sun Tunnels align with summer and winter solstices

16 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

ENTER TO WIN

PIXABAY PHOTO

Nancy Holt’s “Sun Tunnels” sculpture

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

$100 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO BIKRAM YOGA $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE BAR METHOD

AFTERNOON The road back to West Wendover takes you through the Nevada town of Montello. You’ll undoubtedly see the Cowboy Bar and Cafe (443 Front St., Montello, 775-776-2466). Stop by for a chance to chat with the locals and eat a huge Cowboy Burger with hand-cut fries.

Cold beer is also available.

Once you leave Montello, it’s about 50 minutes back to West Wendover, and from there, just under two hours to the Wasatch Front.

After all of the other-worldly sites you’ve taken in this weekend, returning home might seem like a much longer journey.

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October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 17

E N L O Y L

BYWAYS

You won’t find traffic jams at Great Basin National Park, just magnificent solitude

DAVID HAYNES

BY GEOFF GRIFFIN & KATHLEEN CURRY

18 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

DAVID HAYNES

Lehman Caves

Wheeler Peak bristlecone pine grove

DAVID HAYNES

T

his serene national park is only a four-hour drive from Salt Lake City—it’s also one of the least visited in the entire parks system.

More’s the pity, because the austere beauty of Great Basin National Park contains the majesty of snowcapped Wheeler Peak, marble caves and ancient bristlecone pine trees. When the sun sets, you can drink in some of the darkest night skies in America.

To get to the park from Salt Lake, you’ll travel through Utah’s West Desert to the state line. Whether you take Interstate 15 south to Nephi and then Utah Highway 132 to Delta, or travel south from Tooele along Utah Highway 36, you’ll eventually end up on Utah Highway 6 passing through Delta. That stretch soon turns into Highway 50, known as The Loneliest Highway in America, so cruise along and enjoy the solitude.

About 230 miles southwest from Salt Lake City, just after crossing the Nevada state line, you’ll arrive at Great Basin National Park (775-2347331, NPS.gov/grba). This remote gem has a variety of recreation options.

Millions of years of geology are contained in the park’s four cave systems made up of 40 caves. The lone group of caves that can be explored are the Lehman Caves, and they’re only accessible on a guided tour. Tickets can be purchased at the park, but since they often sell out, it’s recommended that you reserve tickets in advance (visit Recreation.gov or NPS.gov/grba). Tours range from 60 to 90 minutes.

Great Basin is also home to bristlecone pine trees, the world’s longest living trees. Some are believed to be more than 5,000 years old. The easiest bristlecone pine grove to reach is at Wheeler Peak on a threemile round trip hike that, at 10,000 feet above sea level, is moderately difficult. Interpretive walks on the trail are available during the summer.

To get an idea of the area’s diverse life, take the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The 12-mile paved road rises from 6,000 feet elevation to over 10,000 feet at the peak, and takes the viewer through numerous ecological zones.

When darkness rolls in, it’s time to watch the stars come out because the International Dark Sky Society has recognized Great Basin as an International Dark Sky Park. The combination of high altitude and low light pollution means that on a clear, moonless night, sky-watchers can see five planets, numerous meteors and vast expanses of stars. The park is also the site of the three-day Great Basin Astronomy Festival every September.

If you want to spend the night under starlight, Great Basin has a number of primitive campgrounds along Snake Creek and Strawberry Creek as well as five developed campgrounds with vaulted toilets, picnic tables, tent pads and campfire grills.

If you prefer a warm bed and shower, you’re an hour away from Ely, Nevada, and the historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall. (501 Aultman St., Ely, 888-406-3055, HotelNevada.com). The six-story building was the Silver State’s tallest when it was built in 1929, and it still has 64 fully modernized rooms along with a complete casino and fullservice bar. Hungry at 3 a.m.? The Hotel Nevada has its own 24-hour Denny’s right on site.

For something to eat during more conventional hours, the restaurant at All Aboard Cafe and Inn (220 11th St. E, Ely, 775-289-3959, NevadaBAndB.com) is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They’re noted for their stuffed burgers.

If you’re looking for something to do in the evening, Ely Central Theatre (145 W. 15th St., Ely, 775-289-2202, ElyCentralTheatre.com) is an art-deco style movie house, complete with marquee, that opened in 1941. The historic venue still shows recently released movies nightly at 7 p.m. and provides an old-fashioned experience right down to the popcorn and snack bar.

For outdoor adventures outside of Great Basin National Park, head 15 miles out of Ely to Cave Lake State Park (775-296-1505, Parks.Nv.gov/ parks/cave-lake). The 32-acre reservoir offers water activities and hiking.

Utahns are used to visiting West Wendover, via I-80 and Mesquite, Nevada, via I-15. Taking Highway 50 through central Utah is the least conventional way to find yourself in Nevada, but it might be the most interesting in terms of recreation and natural wonders.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 19

THE TREE AND ME

Iconic desert sculpture stands tall despite neglect

BY CHRIS VANOCUR

I

think that I shall never see a poem as lonely as “The Tree of Utah.”

This nearly 90-foot, 900-ton sculpture stands alone, yet proudly, in Utah’s West Desert (about an hour and a half from Salt Lake City). It was conceived and crafted in the 1980s by Karl Momen, a Swedish architect, painter and sculptor.

Momen loved deserts. While on a road trip passing by the Bonneville Salt Flats, he was inspired to “plant” a gigantic concrete tree there. This is what he told me when the Tree was just a sapling.

More than 30 years ago, I was a very green, very young Salt Lake TV reporter. I was lucky enough to cover Momen on his tree odyssey.

Although there have been tree critics and even protesters over the years, I never considered Momen’s creation to be outlandish.

The artist’s passion for his project easily won me over.

Given my decades-long penchant for the tree, I decided recently it was time for this old man to go west. So, in early August, I headed toward Wendover to see how the tree was holding up. But paying homage to this work of art wasn’t so easy.

20 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

Discover Teton Valley Stay, Play and Experience Eastern Idaho

SOFIA CIFUENTES

www.discovertetonvalley.com

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 21

CHRIS VANOCUR

First of all, there are no signs letting motorists know when they’re getting close to the Tree. If you’re not familiar with the terrain, you can zoom right by before even knowing it’s there. In fact, the only highway sign near the Tree warns drivers that only emergency stopping is allowed.

The second, bigger problem is that there’s no pull-off at the Tree, nor is there a parking lot or visitors center. This makes me both sad and angry. Utah has one of the tallest and most interesting sculptures in the country, and there’s no place for people to stop and admire it.

What I found at the Tree made me even more glum. It’s surrounded by a fence, not unlike a caged animal at the zoo. I wondered if this was to keep vandals at bay. After all, Momen’s two concrete acorns near the Tree (and outside the fence) have both been defaced with graffiti. I find it heartbreaking that such a unique work of art has been treated so callously.

While researching this article, I stumbled upon some old YouTube clips of my 1980s reporting on the tree. Besides noting how much

SOFIA CIFUENTES

dark hair I had then and how bad my early reporting was, I was also struck by something Momen said during the interview as he stood just a few feet from his work: “It’s going to be a landmark for Utah,” he said. “It’s no doubt. I am absolutely sure.”

Momen was right. His artistic vision, paid for reportedly with $1 million of his own money, is a nationally recognized roadside attraction. But I worry this landmark is being forgotten and neglected. The biggest proof of indifference is the fact that cars still have to pull over onto the shoulder just to get a good look at it. Not only does the lack of a pull-out create a dangerous situation for those on the roadway but it disrespects the artist’s work.

The Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management oversees The Tree of Utah but has only a small fund for basic maintenance. While Momen and other Tree lovers would like to see a visitors center, paying for it and an expensive turnout would likely cost millions of dollars. Needless to say, that kind of money doesn’t grow on trees.

While it’s official name is Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, it’s also referred to as the Tree of Life. I thought about this during my August visit. While the tree is clearly 22 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

SOFIA CIFUENTES

not alive in the same way other trees are, it’s life-affirming. It lives on inside people like me, even though my once dark and youthful hair now more closely resembles the white tinge of the Salt Flats. I would also like to think the tree inspires the drivers who pass it every day. It’s a reminder, perhaps, that the world is still full of extraordinary things.

I reached out to Karl Momen when I started writing this article, but my email went unanswered. Therefore, it seems only fitting and proper to end with a Momen quote from long-ago days when the branches of his art and my journalism were intertwined. His timeless words are written on a plaque that now adorns the trunk, which says poetically that The Tree of Utah is, “A hymn to our universe, whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination.”

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 23

PEAK COLORS Exploring shades of autumn in the Stansbury Mountains

Getting There

H

BY LEVI ROGERS

ere you’ll find beautiful hiking, camping, fishing, climbing and even skiing. The crowds are sparse, and the terrain is as inviting as anything you’ll find in the Wasatch canyons. Camping with friends and family here is always a memorable experience.

The Stansbury Mountains extend 28 miles in eastern Tooele County, offering trails, mountain climbing and camping. To get there, take I-80 west from Salt Lake City to Exit 99 for Tooele/Stansbury. Drive south for 3½ miles along SR-36 until you get to UT-138. Take a right and head the 11 miles or so to Grantsville. Turn left on West Street at the end of town, which becomes Mormon Trail Road (follow the street signs). Drive approximately 3½ miles south to get to North Willow Canyon or 5 miles to South Willow Canyon. Turn right, or west, and head up the canyon.

24 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

Canyons to Explore

The two main canyons of this mountain range are South Willow and North Willow. North Willow is available for dispersed camping in the summer, while South Willow is more developed and has the main campground and picnic sites. In the fall and summer, there are some beautiful hikes up each canyon and even some backcountry skiing in the winter. A prime group site is called the Upper Narrows Campground—it’s a walk-in site with a capacity for over 50 people and is reached by crossing a bridge over the river. The canyon’s last campground is Loop Campground, which is also the trailhead for Deseret Peak.

Rock Climbing

In the spring, summer and fall, there’s some hard-ass rock climbing in a section of the Stansbury Mountains called the Narrows. Located in South Willow Canyon alongside a gentle river, it features some four-star 5.12 and 5.13 climbs. There are a couple 5.9s but, mostly, you’ll encounter challenging sport climbs on limestone. It’s helpful to bring a stick clip as most of the climbs are directly above the river. It’s hot in the summer but somewhat shady and cool in the fall and spring.

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

They’re hard to see from the Salt Lake Valley, obscured as they are by the more immediate Oquirrh Mountains, but the Stansbury Mountains are a tucked-away little jewel of a mountain range an hour’s drive west of Salt Lake just outside Tooele and Grantsville.

A must-do for those trying to bag all the high peaks in Utah, Deseret Peak is an 11,031-foot-tall peak in the Stansbury Mountains, the highest in the range, and the area’s prime attraction. While the hike is only 7.4 miles round trip, the trail is steeper and longer than you think, like many hikes in the Wasatch. You gain 3,613 feet in elevation. Rated moderate to difficult, it took a group of four of us nearly eight hours to hike to the summit and return to camp at the Upper Narrows. However, others have been known to run the trail in a few hours.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. The trail starts in some dense trees before spitting you out into wide open meadows full of wildflowers. Eventually, you ascend a small ridge and begin making your way along the mountain’s rocky spine toward the summit. Summer and fall are the best times to hike.

Summer offers vistas of wildflowers and fall offers colorful trees. From the top of Deseret Peak, you can see Utah’s entire West Desert stretching all the way to Wendover and Wendover Air Force Range.

How to get there: The Deseret Peak Trailhead is located at Loop Campground at the top of South Willow Canyon. To reach South Willow Canyon Road from Grantsville’s Main Street (UT-138), head south on Mormon Trail Road for 5.2 miles. Follow the signs and turn right onto South Willow Canyon Road and proceed west up into South Willow Canyon. Loop Campground is 8 miles ahead. You’ll pass several campgrounds along the way.

There are multiple variations and hikes on Deseret Peak to ensure that you won’t get bored.

TAMMY HARRISON

Deseret Peak/Fall Colors

Backcountry Skiing

Visit TooeleCountyTrails.com for trail maps, trail updates and more.

ISTOCK

Those looking for more adventure can hike up the trail in the winter if you have experience (although it would be best to wear crampons and carry an ice axe if you plan to go all the way to the top of the peak). You can also ski down the Twin Couloirs near the top of the ridge. You might need to park farther away in the winter as the road is not quite plowed all the way to the trailhead, but it also means it’s a great place for snowmobilers.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 25

WAIT UNTIL DARK Stansbury Park star parties offer a glimpse into the final frontier

BY KATHERINE PIOLI

26 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

W

hen I arrive at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (also known as SPOC), near Tooele, Denise Larsen and Leslie Fowler, secretary-treasurer and vice-president of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society (SLAS), respectively, are sitting on a plush red couch, big enough to comfortably seat four. The red couch on wheels has been rolled out to the end of a cement platform—soon joined by an equally large and comfortable beige couch—and for awhile, the outdoor lounge seems to be the focal point of social activity among the regulars at this star-gazing party.

Of course, the clubhouse couches are only part of the attraction at the star party. A few feet from the portable sofas a gargantuan black steel structure that looks like a jungle gym dreamt up by Tim Burton points toward open sky. This is the Clements Telescope, named after its inventor and creator, SLAS member Mike Clements. It’s the newest of four telescopes that make up the observatory complex, and it’s a big draw for the bimonthly parties.

The Salt Lake Astronomical Society began in 1972 with a group of astronomy enthusiasts who met on occasion to share their love of telescopes (and celestial objects) and kept in touch through a monthly newsletter. The club has grown in a lot of ways since its analog days (they now use Facebook and their website to stay connected). Membership is increasing, as is the society’s number of telescopes, and star parties attract more of the general public and a new crop of young enthusiasts.

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

Stansbury Park Observatory Complex

PATRICK WIGGINS

The original telescope at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex was housed in a classic white observatory dome with a sliding door on the rotating roof that pulled back to allow the telescope to extend out through the opening. When the society began constructing the complex’s new modern buildings in the early 2000s, they opted for a more practical design where the entire roof slides off on runners—leaving the telescope essentially inside of a four-walled cement box. The dome, with constant mechanical malfunctions that made it difficult to use, would have been scrapped except for a request from Tooele County.

“After so many years, they considered it a landmark,” Observatory director Rodger Fry says. “They offered us grant money for the new building if we promised to keep it.” The dome remains part of the slideoff roof over the Donna Pease Wiggins Refractory House (named in honor of the mother of SLAS board member Patrick Wiggins), and it’s still the beacon for newcomers. “Most people go straight for the dome and mistake the other buildings for park bathrooms,” Fry says.

By 8:15, a good hour before dark, a dozen or so trucks, one motorcycle and one extremely classy red Tesla are parked on the lawn next to the cluster of SPOC buildings. Back trunk hatches are up and gate hitches down. Families are pulling out lawn chairs and fixing picnic dinners.

Dads, mostly, are setting up tripods for the array of telescopes that are soon planted around the grass. One man is already seated in his lawn chair with binoculars in hand (you don’t always need to get fancy to have a good look at the stars), while his neighbor adjusts a telescope

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 27

Party Season Ends in October The Salt Lake Astronomic Society (SLAS) hosts free public star parties from sunset until 11 p.m. every first, third and fifth Saturday at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex. For detailed driving instructions, go to the SLAS website event calendar and click the details link on the Saturday Star Party event page.

There are also Friday night star parties at Wheeler Historic Farm in Murray, and at Harmons grocery stores around the Salt Lake Valley (check the website events calendar for details on exact locations). The star parties are seasonal events that run April through October. The final party for this year will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Stansbury Park Complex (in the Halloween spirit guests are invited to come to this final party in costume).

If stars and telescopes really get you going, consider becoming a member of the Salt Lake Astronomic Society. A yearly membership costs $20.

It’s easy to purchase online at the SLAS website.

The biggest perk for members is private access to the telescopes. Members who are interested can receive training on how to operate the equipment at the observatory and then, once trained, sign out any of the four telescopes for personal use.

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

Stansbury Park Observatory Complex 20 Plaza Stansbury Park 801-554-5849 SLAS.us

28 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

the blueprints for his telescope, a modified altazimuth-style Newtonian telescope (he altered the angle of the secondary mirror so that the viewer’s eyepiece is lower and easier to use), while on the open road. After testing the design with a prototype made of popsicle sticks, Clements, who never bothered to write down his blueprints, launched into construction.

The resulting instrument is impressive.

The metal skeleton of the Clements scope stands over 12 feet off the ground at its highest point and stretches almost 20 feet from end to end. A reflector telescope, it uses a main mirror nearly six feet in diameter and a smaller secondary mirror to magnify objects by 150 times. The main mirror was manufactured for the federal government in the mid-1980s and valued at $1.5 million. It was originally intended to be part of a “space reconnaissance scope” designed to spy on Russia, but was decommissioned after developing a slight crack, which Clements says does not affect the functioning of the telescope. The magnification power is so strong

Clements Telescope in front of the Kolob Observatory Building

RODGER C. FRY

that looks like the astronomical equivalent of an Uzi—it’s got to be 8 feet long and, held up on a simple tripod, seems to be balancing on a wish and a prayer.

Fry explains that when the club was first looking for a place to have public events, Stansbury Park, a winding yarn of residential streets along the western flank of the Oquirrh Mountains, was appealing both for its dark skies and its proximity to the Salt Lake Valley. “People don’t want to travel more than 30 minutes for something like this,” he says. Tonight’s event has drawn a good 30 to 40 people, but it’s a slow night according to the regulars (they guess that the wildfire smoke is keeping people away).

Larsen says there are usually enough people wanting to look through the new Clements’ telescope that they have to rope off the area and hand out numbered tickets to make sure that everyone gets their turn. When he built the scope in 2016, Mike Clements never imagined that his creation would be a main attraction at the star parties. A truck driver professionally, Clements thought up

RODGER C. FRY

Grim 32-inch Telescope

that when Clements first looked at the moon and saw a blurry gray circle, he thought he’d made a design error. He soon realized, however, that instead of looking at the entire moon, he had zoomed in on one of its craters.

Daylight has dimmed and red glow-in-the-dark lettering on marker boards outside the observatory houses announce each telescope’s object of interest. Clements’ telescope is trained on Jupiter. The image is so crisp that you can see the stripes of rising gas on the planet’s surface (“speed stripes,” Clements jokes). People are still rotating through the lounge couches. In the nearby garage, where Clements’ telescope now lives, ’80s pop music is playing from a portable boom box and Larsen and Fowler have set up a table with free chocolate cupcakes to celebrate their birthdays.

As I pass the Wiggins observatory house on my way back to my car, I notice that a weather sign has recently changed. It now shows clouds and a frowny face. But even though the weather has moved, in no one seems in a hurry to pack up and leave. Carpe noctem.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 29

BACKCOUNTRY

TASTE OF AUTUMN

Savory meat pies are all the more delicious with wild game (and stout) STORY BY DARBY DOYLE

A

utumn is a pretty magical time in Utah.

As the temperatures drop and the leaves change, the air itself seems to invigorate the senses. It’s my favorite time of year to go camping and fly fishing in the mountains, with fewer people on the trails and rivers— plus those nasty mosquitos are zapped after a good, hard frost. Our family weekends are often spent wearing blaze orange, trudging quietly over the mountains with a game tag in our pocket, looking for mule deer, elk or antelope to fill our freezer and jerky jars through the year.

One of our family’s favorite places to experience the wonders of fall is at Tavaputs Ranch in central Utah on the West Tavaputs Plateau. Situated above Desolation Canyon at almost 10,000 feet elevation, the private cattle ranch is owned and operated by Butch and Jeanie Jensen and is the oldest familyrun guest ranch in Utah. Access to the plateau is only allowed June through early October by booking lodging or activities with Tavaputs Ranch in advance. The graded dirt road up to the plateau climbs over 1,000 feet and requires a high-clearance vehicle and some tricky driving on muddy or snowy days.

Even in good weather, it takes over an hour to reach the ranch from nearby Sunnyside.

In the early 1980s, Butch and Jeanie’s fathers coordinated a Rocky Mountain elk relocation program on the plateau, with great results. An award-winning rangeland conservationist, Butch Jensen emphasizes that by keeping native vegetation healthy and avoiding over-grazing, a healthy ecosystem can support abundant wildlife and cattle.

The elk herd now exceeds 1,600 head, and we’ve been fortunate to see mule deer and 30 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

sage grouse. Jeanie maintains dozens of hummingbird feeders to attract what seems like dozens of the hummers zipping around the ranch patio. The plateau is also home to black bears, mountain lions, wild turkeys and even a few “problem” moose that have been relocated to Tavaputs from golf courses along the Wasatch Front.

In the fall of 2013, my family visited the ranch for the first time, and my sons (who were already experienced small-game and waterfowl hunters) were thrilled to see the huge record-breaking elk and mule deer brought in by hunters visiting Tavaputs from all over the country.

Last fall, our youngest son, Garrett, was thrilled when we gifted him with a guided Tavaputs cow-elk hunt to commemorate his 13th birthday. After hiking 12 miles over two days, Garrett harvested his elk with a 258yard shot.

When we returned home, I butchered the elk into primal cuts, grinds and sausages, stocking our freezer with delicious bounty to enjoy over the winter. With the dehydrator and smoker going seemingly nonstop for days, I put up jerky, pastrami and charcuterie, then roasted the bones with herbs and veggies to make rich stock for pho or onion soup on a snowy day. It’s exhausting work, but elementally satisfying, knowing that very little goes to waste when I do it myself.

One of our family’s favorite ways to enjoy game meats of any kind is in a hearty singlecrust pot pie, which can easily be assembled as a one-pot-meal in a large cast-iron Dutch oven. It’s very good with elk, deer or antelope, but can be prepared with lamb or beef from your grocer.

Guinness & Game Pot Pie Makes 6 generous servings

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup flour 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper 1 ½ tablespoons bacon fat (or vegetable oil) 1 ½ pounds elk, venison or beef cut into ½-inch cubes 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons flour (reserved from dredge) 1 14.9-ounce can Guinness Stout (or other dark beer) 1 medium onion, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 8 ounces brown mushrooms, cleaned and quartered 2 cups small yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut in ½-inch cubes 1 cup green beans, cut in 2-inch lengths (fresh or frozen) 3 cups strong game or beef stock 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet green peas 1 prepared pie crust (homemade or pre-packaged) 1 egg, slightly beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon water

METHOD

DREAMSTIME PHOTO

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge meat in the flour mixture.

Meanwhile, melt bacon fat in a cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, shake excess flour off of about ½ pound of the meat and add to the hot pan, making sure there is room between pieces. Turn meat a few times to ensure all sides are completely browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, then repeat two more times with the remaining meat, adding more bacon fat if needed to prevent sticking.

After all meat is browned and removed from the Dutch oven, reduce heat to medium-low. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of remaining flour-salt-pepper dredge over the hot oil. Use a wire whisk to combine the roux.

Cook over very low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking frequently to prevent burning, until the roux mixture smells nutty and is a pecan-brown color.

Turn off the heat. In a slow steady stream (keep back and watch your eyebrows!) pour in the beer while steadily whisking the roux to avoid lumps; whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Return heat to medium. Add the browned meat, stock and all veggies except for the peas (they’ll get mushy if you add them too early) to the Dutch oven.

Bring to a low boil, then immediately reduce to low heat. Simmer for at least 1 hour, with the lid slightly cracked, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The filling should become quite thick.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add peas to the Dutch oven, stir well to combine. Layer the entire pie crust over the top of the filling, crimp edges, and cut a vent hole for steam to escape. If desired, add an egg wash for extra glossy crust.

Set the Dutch oven on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake on the center rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 31

YOUR

’ T I K C U B ‘

ROBERT HAMMER

LIST

Wild horses roughhousing

Daytripping through the wild horse country of Skull Valley.

BY ROBERT HAMMER

32 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

O

ne Sunday morning in late June, three parched and weary men staggered eastward across a sage-covered valley some 40 miles south of the Great Salt Lake. What little water they had found the previous day proved undrinkable, leaving one of their party unable to continue as the sun arced murderously toward noontime. A steady diet of hot saline dust was beginning to cloud their faculties, but their fundamental options still loomed in perfect clarity: find a potable water source to slake their life-threatening thirst or succumb to the broiling playa and wait for the turkey vultures to arrive.

This nearly tragic culmination of Jedediah Smith’s 1827 trek across the Great Basin marked the first appearance of European Americans in Skull Valley. Smith found water and returned to his companions in time to deny the vultures that day, and the trio continued safely to the trappers’ summer rendezvous at Bear Lake.

Thirty-two years later, Capt. James H. Simpson set westward from Camp Floyd to establish a direct military route to California, paralleling Smith’s path through Skull Valley and across Nevada. Simpson’s relatively well-watered Central Overland Route was immediately adopted by the nascent Pony Express Service and would remain the preferred path to northern California until the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. Sir Richard Burton, Samuel Clemens and just about everyone else traveling to Carson City or San Francisco through the 1860s would have passed along this ingress to a forbidding region that early cartographers dubbed The Great American Desert.

Today, the Pony Express Trail National Backcountry Byway includes this storied path through Utah’s West Desert, providing ready access to a variety of historical sights and wilderness activities. You can begin a daytrip along this route much as Mark Twain

ROBERT HAMMER

Onaqui band near Simpson Springs

might have in 1861, with a visit to the Stagecoach Inn at Fairfield, now part of the Camp Floyd Stagecoach Inn State Park (StateParks.utah.gov/parks/camp-floyd ).

From Camp Floyd, the byway follows Utah Highway 73 for about five miles before veering left onto the gravel road toward Faust. A short, paved jaunt south from Faust along Highway 36 picks up the gravel trail again, westward toward the Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge. Rising ahead, the Onaqui (AH-nuh-kee) Mountains mark the eastern border of the physical heart and essential soul of this excursion: the Onaqui Mountains wild horse herd area.

Stone-and-mortar obelisks appear at roughly 10-mile intervals along this trail, marking the locations of remount stations, where Pony Express riders would mount fresh steeds to carry them to the next post. The U.S. Cavalry and overland stage services likewise maintained remount stations, ensuring fresh horses at reliable intervals all the way to California. The Onaqui herd, along with their Cedar Mountain cousins to the north and numerous herds across central Nevada, undoubt-

WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Camp Floyd Stagecoach Inn

WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge

edly descend from horses that either escaped or were released from those military and commercial outposts.

These living monuments to the opening of the American West are protected by the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. Onaqui is one of over two dozen designated herd areas throughout Utah administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Although not uncommon within the eastern foothills, mustang sightings grow increasingly likely as you proceed westward beyond Lookout Pass and descend into Skull Valley. You’ll know you’re entering prime mustangviewing country when you begin to see pyramidal droppings, or “stud piles,” along the well-groomed gravel road.

Large groups, sometimes exceeding 100 horses, favor the areas surrounding Simpson Springs, situated a few miles south of the Dugway Proving Ground.

Standing midway between Camp Floyd and the Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge, the Simpson Springs Recreation Area offers the perfect opportunity to stretch your legs, answer nature’s call and learn more about the trail you are following. Named after the man who surveyed the Central Overland Trail, this site includes a replica of the October/November 2018 • Vamoose Utah | 33

ROBERT HAMMER

Skull Valley golden eagle

Cedar Mountains locals

ROBERT HAMMER

way station that stood on this location, where Pony Express riders would pass their packets on to the next rider, spending the night before returning to their home station. The spring-fed pond a half-mile northwest of the parking lot is a popular watering hole among the 500 horses calling this area home. Camping is also available on improved lots in the foothills southeast of the main road at $15 per night (NPS.gov/poex/ planyourvisit/site8.htm).

Mustang country straddles the road for 30 miles southwest from Simpson Springs, so keep your camera and binoculars handy as you proceed to Fish Springs. A genuine desert oasis for waterfowl and raptors, the Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge includes a self-guided automobile tour and picnic areas. (FWS.

gov/refuge/fish_springs) With Simpson Springs conveniently located halfway between Fairfield and Fish Springs, this enjoyable 180mile roundtrip drive can be completed in four easy legs of 60 to 90 minutes.

For more information on Utah’s wild horse herd areas and free travel guides, visit WildHorseTourist.com.

ROBERT HAMMER

Simpson Springs

34 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018

Robert Hammer administrates WildHorseTourist.com and is the author of the recently published Salt Desert Mustangs: Discovering wild horses and historic trails in Tooele County, Utah. He lives in Syracuse.

LAST

LOOK

ROBERT HAMMER

Wild horses along snow-dusted Cedar Mountains

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36 | Vamoose Utah • October/November 2018