Vamoose Utah October 2019

VOL.5 NO.8 • OCTOBER 2019

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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

2 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

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 award-winning publications.

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

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October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 3

INSIDE 8 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Head west to discover lonely remnants of Utah’s past

BY KATHLEEN CURRY AND GEOFF GRIFFIN

14 GHOST BUSTERS

Spine-tingling ghost tours of supernatural delight’

BY KATHLEEN CURRY AND GEOFF GRIFFIN

20 STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND

26 ZIPPER IT

BY REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

BY NICOLE MCNULTY

Learning the hard lessons of Topaz

24 BACKCOUNTRY CHEF

Meaty Matters: Never take the bounty on your table for granted

BY ARI LEVAUX

Hand Out Gloves answers the call for functional gloves

28 SOLITUDE & STARS

Cisco’s casual re-emergence as an artists’ haunt in the desert

BY JARED BLACKLEY

18 THE END OF THE LINE

Forces of nature have reduced Thistle to a memory

BY CHRIS VANOCUR

© MICHAEL GÄBLER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY-SA 3.0

Frisco, Utah

4 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 5

VOL.5 NO.8 • OCTOBER 2019

CONTRIBUTORS

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PUBLISHER DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

EDITORIAL

EDITOR PROOFREADERS CONTRIBUTORS

PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR GRAPHIC ARTIST

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ASSOCIATE BUSINESS MANAGER OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

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John Saltas Pete Saltas

Jerre Wroble Lance Gudmundsen, Megan Wagstaff Jared Blackley, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kathleen Curry, Geoff Griffin, Ari LeVaux, Nicole McNulty, Chris Vanocur

When Jared Blackley is not fulfilling the tasks of a loving husband and father, you can find him with his dog on a trail a number of miles from the nearest road. He is also involved in long-distance love affair with France. You can follow his exploits on Instagram @jredwblack

Sofia Cifuentes Sean Hair, Chelsea Neider

Paula Saltas David Adamson, Samantha Herzog Bryan Mannos

Samantha Smith Anna Kaser

Eric Granato

Kyle Kennedy Anna Papadakis Doug Kruithof, Kathy Mueller Kelly Boyce

Nicole McNulty is a freelance journalist and photographer who’s interested in the outdoors, action sports, politics and community activism. Hailing from Colorado, she has a penchant for board sports, hiking and yoga. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her outside exploring and petting the nearest dog.

On the cover: Kanab Movie Fort Photo by Ted Hesser Photography Courtesy of the Utah Office of Tourism Distributed free of charge throughout the Wasatch Front while supplies last.

Additional copies of Vamoose Utah are available at the Vamoose offices: 248 S. Main, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, 801-716-1777

Editorial contact: Editor@vamooseutah.com Advertising contact: Sales@vamooseutah.com COPPERFIELD PUBLISHING, INC • COPYRIGHT 2019 • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED @vamooseutah

6 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

@vamooseutah

@vamooseutah

Ari LeVaux writes Flash in the Pan, a syndicated weekly food column that appears in more than 100 newspapers nationally. He lives in Missoula, Mont., where he hunts, skis, hunts on skis and skis while hunting—among other pursuits.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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Dreams Change

hen focusing an entire issue on ghost towns, we can’t help but wonder: Just what is it about the past that grabs our imagination? Whose memories are we celebrating? What about the tales of those who were oppressed, disenfranchised or overpowered? Are those bygone impressions woven into the present-day landscape?

Ghost towns speak to the alienation and difficulties a community has endured but they also impart a myth, the loss of dreams and a mournfulness.

Some towns lack even a relic or remnant to mourn. Stephen Dark wrote a story in a June 2016 issue of City Weekly about the lost towns of Utah’s Bingham Canyon, once home to more than 15,000 miners and their families.

“The community’s main artery was a 5-mile, 20-foot-wide Main Street that snaked up the canyon,” Dark wrote. “At the Bingham Mercantile store at Carr Fork, the street split. To the left was a one-way tunnel that led to the hamlets of Copperfield and Dinkeyville and to the right led to Highland Boy. ... Throughout the canyon were small communities bearing such now-politically incorrect names as Frog Town, Jap Camp and Greek Camp, each reflecting, to some degree, its residents’ ethnic make-up.

“With Salt Lake City 30 miles away,” Dark continued, “Bingham had every amenity you could want, be it neighborhood grocery stores, cafés and bars like Pasttime and Copper King, and even its own movie theater. Local, retired advertising executive Bill Nicholls lived in Frog Town as a child and remembers paying 45 cents at the Princess Theater to watch Flash Gordon

serials, eat popcorn and drink malted milk.”

In order for the mine to expand, the melting pot of hard-working miners were driven out of the canyon, where they dispersed to the winds. “Since the late 1990s, the foundations of Bingham City have been buried beneath a mound of waste rock so high it all but eclipses the snow-capped mountains behind it,” Dark wrote. “Lark, meanwhile, is a wasteland.”

Now, dispossessed Bingham residents find each other through social media, blogs, books and annual picnics. They cling to their faded photos and shared memories lest their history become dust on the wind.

With this issue, Vamoose visits a bevy of the Beehive’s abandoned townsites, camps and villages. Geoff Griffin and Kathleen Curry highlighted a wide swath of haunted and hallowed grounds in the west desert, while Rebecca Chavez-Houck explored what once was an internment camp at Topaz. Chris Vanocur searches for but finds little left of Thistle, a town submerged after a 1983 landslide dammed the Spanish Fork River. Near the Colorado border, Jared Blackley checked out the ghost town of Cisco, which surprisingly is experiencing a second life as an artists’ community. Flash in the Pan columnist Ari LeVaux writes about the beef with beef, while Nicole McNulty gives a high five to the local manufacturer of Hand Out Gloves.

After reading these tales, and then visiting the sites, you might well ponder: What would your ghost town look like? What memories will you leave behind?

—Jerre Wroble

Main Street in Bingham, Utah

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 7

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN WEEKEND WARRIOR

Head west to discover lonely remnants of Utah’s past

BY KATHLEEN CURRY AND GEOFF GRIFFIN

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hy do we use the term “ghost town” to refer to what is really a collection of abandoned buildings in the middle of nowhere? Part of the answer lies in imagining the souls who once lived there.

We call them ghost towns because, whether or not we believe in ghosts, we can still imagine the residents who lived there and feel a connection to their history.

To get a sense of Utah’s past, consider this itinerary that touches on several ghost towns mainly in Utah’s west desert.

Keep in mind that, for some of these towns, there may still be residents who live there. Use common sense and good manners.

8 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

•••

Monument at Iosepa, Utah

IKEOSAURUS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Head west out of Salt Lake on Interstate 80. In about 40 miles, take Exit 77, leading to State Route 196.

From there, it’s 15 miles south to Iosepa Cemetery in Skull Valley.

Iosepa means “Joseph” in the native Hawaiian language, named in honor of Joseph F. Smith, one of the first Hawaiian missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as for his uncle, church prophet Joseph Smith. When these early converts came to Salt Lake City from Hawaii, however, they were not warmly received but rather discriminated against. So, in 1889, with the help of church leaders, a group of about 50 residents established a Polynesian colony in the west desert. Through farming and other enterprises, the colony gradually grew to more than 200 residents in the early 20th century.

In 1917, however, church leaders announced they would build a temple in Hawaii. Many Iosepa residents chose to return to the islands to support the temple building there, and it’s said the church offered to pay boat fare for those couldn’t afford it.

The town is all but gone, plowed under by subsequent ranchers. What remains is the graveyard pavilion and 88 or so well-tended graves. There’s even a bronze bust of a Polynesian warrior dedicated in 1989 by church President Gordon B. Hinckley during Iosepa’s centennial commemoration.

Each Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of descendants and members of Utah’s Polynesian community gather for a luau at the graveyard pavilion, paying homage to the Mormon pioneers who left the islands of their birth to settle in this inhospitable stretch of Utah desert.

They made the desert bloom by diverting five Stansbury mountain streams to create a pressurized irrigation system that included fire hydrants, remnants of which can still be seen. There is also a fish pond called Kanaka Lake, where it’s believed that carp planted by Hawaiians in the warm, brackish waters can still be seen. In the Stansbury Mountain foothills above the cemetery, explorers have found images scratched into rock of sea turtles, palm trees and island life.

The land is now private, belonging to Ensign Group, so be considerate while sightseeing. But do take time to appreciate the Aloha spirit, which blows on the wind.

After leaving Iosepa, continue south on UT-196 for 16 miles, then turn left onto Lincoln Highway. In about 6 miles, it becomes State Route 199 which you’ll travel for about 19 miles before joining up with State Route 73. Once on UT-73, continue east, where you’ll find no less than five historical mining towns within a few miles of each other. Ophir, Mercur, West Dip, Sunshine and Topliff were all associated with mining or smelting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Thursday

Iosepa’s welcome sign

IKEOSAURUS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Thursday Morning SLC to Iosepa to Ophir

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 9

The Lawrence Brothers and Co. Store in Ophir

10 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

Thursday Night Ophir to Eureka to Delta After checking out one or more mining towns, head back the way you came on UT73 to reach State Route 36. Head south for about 40 miles to meet up with U.S. Route 6 and drive toward Eureka.

The next “ghost” you will meet is Porter Rockwell, one of the most colorful characters in Utah history. Nicknamed “The Destroying Angel,” he was a bodyguard to both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Learn more about Rockwell and dig into a 100% range-fed bison burger or bison tenderloin at Porter’s Place (321 W. Main, Eureka, 435-433-2290, PorterRockwellUtah.com), a restaurant that was in Lehi for nearly 50 years before relocating in 2018. You’ll find historical items such as a bar built in 1881 and a 1912 clock designed for Hotel Utah.

The menu also features ice cream sundaes and scones with honey butter.

After dinner, get back on U.S. 6 and drive 50 miles southwest to Delta, where you’ll find a number of national hotel chains, or if you’re looking for something local, try the Budget Motel (75 S. 350 East, Delta, 435864-4533, BudgetHotelDeltaUt.com).

Porter Rockwell

CHARLES ROSCOE SAVAGE (1832 - 1909) VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

In the 1860s, soldiers from Fort Douglas had noticed the Goshute tribe’s use of silver bullets. They asked where the silver ore had come from. That tip brought these soldiers on their off-duty hours to prospect in the Oquirrh Mountains, 22 miles south of Tooele.

By the 1870s, Ophir had grown to a thriving mining town of 6,000, named for the nearby canyon and mining district where gold had been discovered in the 1860s.

During its heyday, Ophir had 125 businesses including drugstores, general stores, theaters, schools and a post office. Even after the silver claims played out and the railroad shut down, smaller-scale mining continued, undertaken by small partnerships and family members.

Today, there are a few dozen residents who call Ophir home.

Some own century-old weekend houses while others have modern homes that they live in yearround. Some locals even have mines in their back yards.

Thanks to the hard work and donations of local volunteers, Ophir’s historic district is being restored and so far includes furnished miners’ cabins, a schoolhouse, shoe shop, etc.

Historical buildings are open for self-guided tours on Saturdays during summer months or by appointment. Keep in mind that cell-phone service in the canyon can be spotty.

As most of the canyon is private property, always ask permission before entering residences and driveways.

To get there, take SR-36 south from Tooele to SR-73. Turn left and in about 5 miles, you’ll see signing pointing to Ophir. Take a left and follow the canyon road for 3 miles.

TRICIA SIMPSON VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Ophir: Not giving up the ghost

Morning Delta Your first stop for the day is Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant (360 E. Main, Delta, 435-864-4777), where you can enjoy a breakfast burrito or a freshly made fruit smoothie—or why not both?

Delta is home to the Topaz Museum (55 W. Main, Delta 435-864-2514, TopazMuseum.org), which sheds light on a grim

Friday

• ••

settlement. From 1942-1945, the Topaz relocation camp, located about 16 miles northwest of Delta, housed more than 11,000 people of Japanese ancestry (for more on this, see p. 20) Visit the museum, and consider taking a guided tour to see the Topaz Historic Site where the camp was located.

Night Delta to Milford chocolate-marshmallow milkshake.

After dinner, check in at Hudson Inn (485 S. 100 West, Milford, 435-387-2481, HudsonInnMilford.com), a classic mid-20th-century motor inn that’s been updated with all the modern amenities.

A view from West Center Street in Milford

BILL GOLLADAY VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Leaving Delta, head south on to State Route 257 for 70 miles.

When you come to the town of Milford, grab dinner at Station Restaurant (425 S. 100 West, Milford, 435-387-2804), also known as Joe Yee’s Station. While noted for their Chinese food, the Station also prepares a number of American dishes. This may be the only restaurant where you can pair chop suey with a

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 11

Saturday

Charcoal kilns in Frisco

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (HABS)-(HAER)-(HALS) VIA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

•• •

Saturday Morning Milford-Frisco-Gold Hill In the morning, head west out of Milford on State Route 21. Just outside of town, stop for breakfast at Penny’s Diner (777 W. Utah-21, Milford, 435-387-5266), open 24/7. Order from their full breakfast menu, but since they advertise: “Your favorites served all day,” there’s no law against burgers for breakfast.

After leaving Penny’s, continue west for about 14 miles, and right along the highway, you’ll see the town of Frisco. In the late 19th century, Frisco had a population of more than 6,000, thanks to a nearby mine. While there are many remnants of the town, note that some areas are marked as private property.

In the public area, the sight of five beehive-shaped kilns used for smelting is visually arresting. If you’re hunting for

After visiting Gold Hill, it’s a one-hour drive across the state line to West Wendover, Nev. Continue northwest on Ibapah Road until it intersects with U.S. 93 Alternate. Head north to West Wendover, where you’ll find numerous casinos and hotels. To stay at a Peppermill property (Montego Bay, Peppermill and Rainbow, visit WendoverFun. com). As for dinner, Pancho and Willie’s (Peppermill, 680 Wendover Blvd., West Wendover, Nev., 800-217-0049) has $3 margaritas at any time to go with grilled seafood served in a variety of traditional Mexican dishes.

12 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

Rainbow Hotel and Casino West Wendover, Nev.

ZUL32 VIA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Saturday Night Gold Hill to Wendover

ghosts, legend has it that a “Widow in White” still looks for her husband at night.

After visiting Frisco, continue 60 miles northwest toward Nevada on UT-21. Near Garrison, it intersects State Route 159, where you’ll turn right and head north. In about three hours (and 100 miles), you’ll arrive at the ghost town of Gold Hill in western Tooele County. Gold Hill reached its peak of over 3,000 people in 1917 when World War I created a huge demand for arsenic. When the fighting stopped, the arsenic market crashed. While Gold Hill is considered a ghost town, there are still homes in this unincorporated area that may be occupied at various times during the year.

Sunday

•••

WILLIAM HENRY JACKSON (1843–1942)

Historic Corinne storefronts

Sunday Morning Wendover to Lucin

WILLIAM HENRY JACKSON (1843–1942)

For breakfast, it’s hard to beat the huevos rancheros at the Salt Flats Café (85 Skyhawk Dr., Wendover, UT, 435-665-7550) but you can also choose chorizo and eggs or biscuits and gravy. It’s a cash-only eatery, but you won’t need much in your wallet, because the prices are truly affordable.

When you’ve had your fill, travel west on Interstate 80 for 30 miles where it connects with Nevada Highway 233 that travels northeast toward the Utah border. The road turns into Utah State Route 30 at the state line.

Stay on it a few miles before turning right at Grouse Creek Road. Travel south about 6 miles to find the ghost town of Lucin. This former railroad town was abandoned in 1936. Not long after, a group of railroad employees moved back and raised their children before again leaving the town, which then sat vacant until 1997 when Ivo Zdarsky, an inventor originally from the Czech Republic, purchased the entire town and is still its lone resident.

Entering the area on UT-30, you’ll first see a clump of lush green trees, described by some as an “oasis in the desert,” about three miles to the south/ southwest. A pipe originating in the Pilot Mountain Range supplies water to the area. Originally the ponds were reservoirs for the steam locomotives. The area is littered with remnants of its previous occupants and industries. Keep an eye out for birds of prey, antelope, migratory songbirds (more than 100 species), mice, rats and bats. Treasure hunters might find variscite, topaz and red beryl.

Environmental artwork by Nancy Holt known as the “Sun Tunnels,” completed in 1976, can be seen not far from Lucin.

And a newspaper, too

Sunday Afternoon Lucin to Corinne From Lucin, head back up to UT-30 and follow it northwest as it runs just below the Idaho border. About 80 miles into the drive, you’ll merge onto Interstate 84, which runs southeast, then merges with Interstate 15 near Tremonton. Stay on I-15 until Exit 365 and travel west about 3 miles to the town of Corinne.

Founded in 1869 by non-LDS people who wanted a separate town from the predominant faith, the “Gentile Capital of Utah” eventually grew to more than 1,000 people but began to empty in 1877 after the Latter-day Saints built the narrow gauge Utah Northern Railroad from Ogden to Franklin, Idaho, which led to rail traffic bypassing Corinne.

Afterward, Corinne became a ghost town for decades until church members began moving in to farm the region; there are still 700 residents in the area today. Nevertheless, you can still find remnants from the original town, along with interpretive markers.

The Gentile spirit lives on in Corinne with a bar that’s open on Sundays.

Mim’s Bar and Grill (4020 N. State Route 13, Corinne, 435-744-2206) may be the perfect place to grab a burger and beverage of your choice to end the trip.

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 13

GHOST BUSTERS Spine-tingling ghost tours of supernatural delight

BY KATHLEEN CURRY AND GEOFF GRIFFIN

GRIMM GHOST TOURS (Tours leave from multiple locations, 801-508-4746, GrimmGhostTours.com) In 2019, Grimm will add to its popular Salt Lake tours, with stops at the old Portland Cement Works, which is now the site of the Fear Factory (FearFactorySLC.com) haunted house.

On Monday nights from Oct. 1 to Oct. 29, Grimm will conduct one-hour tours of the haunted site, going back to its days as a manufacturing facility.

Other walking tours offered by Grimm include those of Fort Douglas Cemetery and a Salt Lake City Cemetery tour through the largest municipal cemetery in the United States, visiting the gravesites of legendary figures such as Porter Rockwell and the Sundance Kid. If you’d rather hop on a bus, try the Old Town or Outer Reaches tours, both of which take 90 minutes and visit numerous purportedly haunted spots around the city.

14 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

Salt Lake City Cemetery JUSTIN GRAVER INST: @GRAVER357

E

very October, it seems, we’re asked, “Do you believe in ghosts?” Even the most rational among us will sense a spike in blood pressure and adrenaline upon visiting a haunted house.

A journey to one of Utah’s many ghost towns (see “Gone But Not Forgotten,” p. 10) helps you connect with Utah’s colorful past. But to actually seek a paranormal experience, your best option is to take one of the many ghost tours available this autumn. Nothing can send a chill up your spine like hearing about a ghost who’s known to haunt the very place you’re standing in.

Check out these options available in northern Utah.

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Find us on Facebook @WTFSLC October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 15

STORY TOURS IN SALT LAKE CITY AND OGDEN (Tours leave from multiple locations, 801-888-8551, StoryTours.com/slc and StoryTours.com/ogden) Story Tours has bus and walking tours available in both SLC and the “Hub City” of Ogden that Al Capone once declared was, “too rough of a town for me.” In Salt Lake City, there’s a walking tour that lets you stroll down historic Whiskey Street, or you can take a walk through the city cemetery. There is also a bus tour that explores various haunted grounds. In Ogden, there is a bus tour along with two walking tours of Historic 25th Street. One heads to the “Eerie East,” while the other explores the “Wicked West.”

Salt Lake City Cemetery

PEDAL PROVO GHOST TOURS (Two different meeting locations in Provo, 385-312-0456, PedalProvo.com) Pedal Provo Ghost Tours claims to be the country’s only cycling ghost tour. Don’t worry if you don’t have a bike or don’t want to haul one to Provo; you can rent one from them for the tour. The nighttime tours and direct you to various haunted sites where guides explain who might be haunting the spot and why.

There are two different versions of the tour, and since this is Utah County, you’ll get to hear about an LDS prophet who said that ghosts still haunt us, along with tales of ancient Nephites.

THE ORIGINAL PROVO UTAH GHOST TOUR WITH DANNY B. STEWART (801-669-3278, Facebook.com/provoutahghosttour) This tour lets you explore Provo on foot with a guide whose LinkedIn profile includes tradition bearer, historian, educator, lecturer, entertainer, and, most importantly for this adventure, storyteller with knowledge of folklore, legends and myths.

LOGAN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN GHOST TOUR (64 E. Federal Ave., LoganDowntown.org/ghost-tour) This tour, based in downtown Logan, is offering new locations and stories for the 2019 season. The two-hour, half-mile walking tour runs nightly on Fridays and Saturdays leading up to Halloween. Every guest gets a paranormal light stick. If you want to hunt ghosts past midnight, check out the “Other Realm” paranormal investigation tour that runs from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

16 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

JUSTIN GRAVER INST: @GRAVER357

PARK CITY GHOST TOURS (415 Main St., Park City, 435-615-7673, ParkCityGhostTours.com) Work your way up and down Main Street in a town known for its skiing and film festival but which was once a Wild West mining town. The guides have collected and researched local ghost stories for more than a decade, sharing the best ones to get your imagination racing on a fall evening.

801-363-0565 | 580 E 300 S www.theart floral.com

STORE ★★★★★

GIFT CERTIFICATES TO UTAH’S FINEST DEVOURUTAHSTORE.COM October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 17

THE END OF THE LINE

SEAN HAIR

Thistle, Utah

Forces of nature have reduced Thistle to a memory

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BY CHRIS VANOCUR

hat happens when a ghost town gets ghosted? This question occurs to me while staring at the eerie remains of Thistle, Utah. Looking at a couple of sad and submerged buildings, I wonder how much longer will it be before even the ghosts are gone.

Thistle was once a smallish railroad town in Spanish Fork Canyon at the junction of U.S. highways 89 and 6. But in April 1983, after unusually heavy precipitation, a massive landslide dammed the Spanish Fork River, creating what became known as Thistle Lake, which submerged the town of 50 or so residents.

These few remaining residents were forced to flee with haste.

The Utah Geological Survey website describes the slide’s massive disaster thusly:“The Thistle landslide and ‘Thistle Lake’ severed railroad service between Denver and Salt Lake City, flooded two major highways (U.S. 6 and U.S. 89), devastated the town of Thistle and resulted in Utah’s first presidential disaster declaration. Direct damage exceeded $200 million (in 1983 dollars), making Thistle the most expensive landslide to date in U.S. history.”

Now, the mental picture I have of a traditional Western ghost town comes from watching old black-and-white movies. These abandoned towns are supposed to have have a smattering of decaying yet noble buildings, a few tumbleweeds and a romanticized air of what used to be. But Thistle isn’t like that. There simply isn’t much gristle left there for visitors to chew on. While Google maps makes finding the Thistle area easy enough, it’s locating the ghosted buildings that’s tricky. A few waterlogged shacks are still visible, but beyond that, not much can be seen.

18 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

Eventually, I flag down a local who confirms “there’s not a lot left” of Thistle. Instead, he suggests I drive over to a nearby outlook which has a great view and a sign which tells the Thistle story. And while the outlook is pretty impressive, I am unable to find any sign or marker. Luckily, though, I have a friend who remembers Thistle quite well.

In 1983, Bob Loy was a standout TV reporter for KUTV News.

Although many years have passed, his memories of covering the Thistle slide remain fresh.

In an email, my former colleague Loy recalls reporting from Thistle during the emergency, “Work had begun to compact the material that was blocking the Spanish Fork River—essentially the first steps toward creating what became the new dam. As water backed up, the big fear was that the dam might not hold and the town of Spanish Fork would be in grave danger.”

This was such a scary and monumental event, Loy (who now lives back East) has urged friends and Utah visitors to check out the old Thistle site, “I related the story of the landslide, dam and ultimate inundation of the town of Thistle and suggested they look for remnants of the ghost town when passing by the area.”

Sadly, though, little remain. After finding only a few Thistle throwbacks, I ended up at a nearby scenic but isolated campground. There, enjoying a PB&J picnic, I reflect on this ghosted ghost town and my old friend who covered its demise. In my last question to Loy, I asked how he has come to view Thistle? He replied: It could have been a lot worse.

“My perspective is that it’s too bad a small town was in the way of a geologic incident that destroyed the homes of its residents.

CHARLES ROSCOE SAVAGE (1832 - 1909 )

The historic railroad town of Thistle

I also still am struck by the ingenuity of literally going with the flow and engineering a stable, safe dam that probably saved the town of Spanish Fork. Had the engineering work not been done, I think the natural dam that was being formed by the slide would have eventually breached and caused mayhem downstream.”

To see how little is left of a washed-away Utah town, take Interstate 15 toward Spanish Fork, and from there, take Exit 261 to U.S. Route 6. After 11 miles, to see the landslide, turn right onto Spanish Fork River Park road. If you keep going 12½ miles (from I-15) and turn right into the pullout, you’ll have an excellent overview of the area. About a mile and a half after the pullout, you can turn right on to U.S. Route 89 and drive one and a half miles to what remains of Thistle’s ruins.

The 1983 landslide, after all, was massive—1,000 feet wide, 200 feet thick and over a mile long. Poor Thistle just happened to be in the way. The wrong town in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pitted against the forces of Mother Nature, Thistle really didn’t stand a ghost of chance.

Editor’s note: Since the story was written, Thistle again made the news in late July 2019. Flash flooding forced officials to close a 3-mile section of U.S. 89 between Thistle and Birdseye. The slides broke in the burn scar area of 2018’s Pole Creek Fire.

UDOT said in some areas 6 to 7 feet of water covered the road, leaving 2 feet of rocks and mud. The site that flooded was the same area that created the ghost town of Thistle.

CHRIS VANOCUR

Thistle in Spanish Fork Canyon

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 19

STRANGERS

Roam With a View

Learning the hard lessons of Topaz

BY REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

E

BRIAN BUROCHER COURTESY OF THE TOPAZ MUSEUM

IN A STRANGE LAND

xploring our state gives us the chance to reflect on human preserving the site. Beginning in 1910, Beckwith’s grandfather, experiences that intertwine with history. One such place is Frank A. Beckwith, and then subsequently, her father, Frank S. the Topaz Museum (55 W. Main St., Delta, 435-864-2514, Beckwith, were publishers of the local newspaper, the Millard TopazMuseum.org), as well as the site of the nearby Central County Chronicle, so recounting the time and places of the community is a legacy she takes very seriously. Without photos and Utah Relocation Center (Topaz Internment Camp). other documentation, it would Open daily (except Sundays be hard to imagine what 42 and holidays) from 10 a.m. to 5 blocks of barracks surrounded p.m., the museum provides poiThe internment of Americans of Japaby barbed wire and guard towgnant and comprehensive exnese ancestry during WWII was one of ers looked like. The museum hibits filled with artifacts, story the worst violations of civil rights against citbrings to life internee stories and art that lend a voice to the izens in the history of the United States. The and shows how they persepeople who were brought to Tovered, despite what the U.S. paz as part of President Frankgovernment and the U.S. Army, falsely citing government did to them. lin D. Roosevelt’s Executive ‘military necessity,’ removed 120,000 men, Plan to spend a minimum of Order 9066. It forced individwomen and children of Japanese ancestry— two hours at the museum and uals of Japanese descent from watch the two short films about their homes against their will, about two-thirds were American citizens—from Topaz before exploring the exrelocating them in internment their homes on the West Coast and forced hibits. These chronicle what camps throughout the United them into 10 remote camps controlled by the precipitated the executive orStates.

War Relocation Administration (WRA). der and how families coped. A The not-to-be-missed musesearchable database gives inforum is well worth a trip to Delta.

— TopazMuseum.org mation about all of the internIt’s also a great stop if you’re ees that’s comprehensive and traveling U.S. Route 50 en route eye-opening. Your walk through the museum concludes with into Great Basin National Park.

We were fortunate to be guided by museum director Jane Beck- formation about court cases and changes in policy that followed with, who was a driving force in establishing the museum and as a result of this dark time in our nation’s history.

20 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

SAD REMINDERS Internees were supplied with cots, mattresses and blankets. All furniture pieces, including this Butsudan, were made at Topaz from scrap wood

COURTESY OF THE TOPAZ MUSEUM

The Topaz camp—located between 10000 to 11000 West and 4500 North in Delta—is a National Historic Landmark. It officially opened on Sept.11, 1942, and closed on Oct. 31, 1945. Some 11,000 Japanese Americans were brought to Topaz, making it Utah’s fifth largest city at the time. It was named after nearby Topaz Mountain.

To see the actual relocation center site, we recommend a visit to the museum first as it provides helpful context plus informational flyers to guide you.

You can arrange for a docent-led drive out to the internment site if you contact the museum in advance. While the site does have signage that you can read for yourself, the docents can point out interesting elements that you’d likely not spot otherwise. Beckwith showed my husband, Martin, and me (and a group of Weber State University students who caravanned with us) where barracks were located that housed not only families but schools, mess halls, latrines, recreation halls and churches. You can see monuments, building foundations, roads and walkways, agricultural buildings, perimeter fencing and landscaping. She pointed out small artifacts that remain at the site: a button, a piece of porcelain, charred coal from the potbelled stoves that warmed the barracks.

Visiting the relocation center highlights the isolation and challenges that the internees faced: the extreme heat of the summers, the cold of Utah winters, and the dust that pervaded every nook and cranny.

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 21

TRAVEL TIPS In order to arrive at the museum when it opened, we spent the preceding night at the Antelope Valley RV Park (776 W. U.S. 6/50, Delta, 435-864-1813, AntelopeValleyRVPark.com). With full hookups, a laundry facility and showers, this RV park is well landscaped and situated by a large alfalfa field (Delta is known for its high-quality alfalfa). We enjoyed a beautiful sunset there before calling it a night.

The most direct route to Delta is to take Interstate 15 from Salt Lake south to Nephi (Exit 225), then travel west on State Route 132 to where it connects with U.S. 50, which takes you into Delta. However, we followed a less-traveled route out of Salt Lake County, traveling State Route 68 (Redwood Road in Salt Lake County) south along the west side of Utah Lake. The lakeside scenery and view of the Wasatch Range along this route are breathtaking. SR-68 ends at U.S. 6, which we traveled southwest as it snaked through Eureka (another great historical stop) and past the turnoff to Little Sahara Recreation Area (approximately 23 miles south of Eureka on U.S. 6, 435-433-5960, BLM. gov), another possible camping option close to Delta. Little Sahara offers primitive campgrounds, but those with RVs should know that navigating the sandy sites can be problematic, so it’s best to thoroughly research the area before attempting to access the campground.

For a more primitive camping experience, consider the Oak

Creek Campground (about 18 miles east of Delta, 1-877-4446777, FS.USDA.gov) located within the Fishlake National Forest.

To get here, travel east out of Delta on U.S. 50 until it becomes State Route 125. Starting at Oak City, travel east on Center Street 4 ¼ miles to the campground.

Before we set up camp in Delta, we grabbed a burger at the Ashton Burger Barn (304 N. U.S. 6, Delta, 435-864-2288), with numerous burger options and a wide array of meat cuts in their butcher shop (including rattlesnake and rabbit sausage that my husband couldn’t help but bring home. I told him they were all for him!).

For breakfast the next morning, we stopped for biscuits and gravy at the Rancher Motel & Café (171 W. Main, Delta, 435864-2741)—all reasonably priced diner fare—and then walked one block east to the museum.

The ghosts of Utah’s past are not always departed souls who lived here long ago. Ghosts can also be phantoms of harmful decisions we’ve made as a society. We are haunted by the notion that our leaders can be driven by fear to oppress or hurt others for no other reason than they are a different race, nationality, creed, sexual orientation, etc. A visit to Topaz brings to light how fear can manifest to the detriment of all.

It’s something we need to remember to avoid going down this same road now and in the future.

REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUCK

A marker at Topaz Internment Camp

22 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

thursday, October 17 7 pm - 10 pm at La Caille 9565 Wasatch Blvd. Sandy, UT VENDORS INCLUDE:

tickets include multi-cultural cuisine and craft beverages from Utah’s best ethnic restaurants, distilleries and breweries.

For tickets and a full list of vendors and tickets go to

devourutah.com

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 23

BACKCOUNTRY

MEATY MATTERS

Never take the bounty on your table for granted

BY ARI LEVAUX

O

ne burger per week. That is all you get, if you want to stay healthy and avert climate catastrophe, according to a recent study in the medical journal The Lancet. That’s roughly a 90 percent reduction from what most Americans eat.

When the study dropped, I was out hunting. I returned home exhausted, with more than a thousand weekly servings of delicious, climate-friendly elk from the high country of Montana and saw The Lancet report on the evils of meat.

Much of what the study had to say about red meat did not apply to my elk, but rather cattle, which burp methane and consume nutrient-rich foods like corn and soy, which have carbon footprints of their own.

Despite wild-game exceptions like mine, the environmental case against red meat is compelling. If everyone on the planet ate as much as they wanted, the carbon emissions would be staggering.

Sure, a certain amount of cattle on the landscape, and in our agriculture system, are welcome. Without animal products like manure, bone meal and blood meal, organic agriculture as we know it could not exist. Grass-fed cattle operations can be cli24 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

mate-friendly, but there isn’t enough acreage to satisfy the planet’s “beef tooth” on grass-fed animals alone.

The climate case against red meat is tough to dispute. But the human health case, on the other hand, looks tailored to support the climate case.

There is no scientific consensus about how much is too much red meat. Processed meats are strongly linked to cardiac disease, type-2 diabetes and some cancers, but those correlations have not been shown for pure, unprocessed meat.

Bundling the health/nutrition argument into the same package as the climate argument makes it appear as though the climate research is steering the nutrition conclusions, at the expense of some much-needed nuance in the meat space.

There are, in fact, important examples of plant-based foods being more disruptive than animal products. Chicken, pork and canned tuna all have lower carbon footprints, per calorie, than tomatoes and broccoli.

A healthy diet doesn’t require it, but if red meat is what your body craves, and you want to eat more than your share, then maybe you should be a hunter. At the very least, you should be

Flesh in the Pan This recipe is to be used with the highest quality meat you can find. Where I live, there are several purveyors of delicious and tender local grass-fed beef. It should be a tender cut, such as rib eye or tenderloin. And it should be as thick as possible. The ideal cut is as thick as it is wide.

The essential technique is to slowly pan fry the meat, and to monitor its state of doneness by cutting it into progressively smaller pieces, at a pace that will produce perfectly cooked bite-sized chunks. It can also be done under the broiler.

The cutting happens in the pan, assuming you have cast-iron. If not, transfer the meat to a cutting board each time you cut it. A good cast iron pan costs about as much as a pound of good meat. You won’t regret having one.

Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound of red meat 1 garlic clove, pressed, minced or mashed ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon garlic powder Red wine

OK with spending good money on good meat.

One thing you can’t buy is your innocence in the death of an animal. One way or another, every meat eater is party to a kill. A hunter knows the details, for better or worse.

The elk I’d shot was a mother. After she dropped, the herd ran off, but her calf lingered. As I approached, the calf lumbered off, not looking back, in the opposite direction that the herd had gone.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that calf, hoping it survived the night and found another herd. But as sad as my elk-hunting story is, I wouldn’t trade it for the stories of any meat that’s available in stores.

Whatever the provenance of yours, the more thought you can put into your meat, the better. Whether it’s hunted or purchased, don’t take for granted that an animal gave its life for your meal. Celebrate that meat in every bite.

When I butcher my animals, I use a special technique to inspect for flavor and tenderness. This recipe allows for no distractions. No baked potato, no salad bar. The only permitted vegetables are garlic, hot sauce and wine grapes.

Wine, sipped while chewing, is an essential part of eating red meat, and functions as both condiment and beverage. Wine also lubes the celebration, even if it’s only a party of one. The sweet buzz dulls the heartache of your crime and washes down its delicious justification.

Process Rub the meat in olive oil and then the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add it to the pan, with a tablespoon of olive oil, and heat on medium. When the meat starts to brown (about 3 minutes), turn it onto a different edge.

When all sides are browned, cut the meat in half, and inspect. The middle should still be raw. Place the cut sides down on the hot pan. Add the garlic. After another two or so minutes, cut the halves in half and inspect again.

Continue cooking, cutting and inspecting until you have bite-sized chunks that are done perfectly to your liking, be that raw and red, medium pink or brown and done.

Wash down the meat with wine and gratitude. Rinse. Repeat. Rinse repeatedly.

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 25

COURTESY HAND OUT GLOVES

I

t’s a blower powder day and, on the lift, you yank off your mitten and shove it under your leg while you snap a photo to brag about to your friends. You reach back for your mitten just in time to see it slide off the chair and fall into the cliffed-out area below. Most of us have been there. In comes a company with an innovative solution that provides not only utility but freedom from the confines of the mitten: Hand Out Gloves.

The crux of Hand Out is a patented innovative zipper technology that allows all five digits to exit the backside of the mitten or glove with ease. Founded in 2013 by CEO Jake Sullivan and his then-business partner, Don Wildman, founder of what is now Bally’s Fitness, the company began delivering product in 2014.

Wildman, who was Sullivan’s mentor and friend, died in September 2018 at the age of 85. But in his later years, he approached Sullivan with a challenge: to successfully rebrand a now-defunct glove company that utilized amazing technology. While working other jobs, they rebranded the product as Hand Out Gloves and in 2014, Sullivan took over full-time. Now headed by Sullivan and CFO Jonny Murdock, the company has come a long ways from slinging product in the Brighton parking lot.

You may recognize the name: The company was featured on the TV show Shark Tank in 2016. On air, they took a deal with one of the sharks, but in the end, it didn’t work out.

Murdock insists the Shark Tank experience was a marketing success. The same year as they appeared on the business-themed reality show, they got their product into REI. Those two events in the same year really launched the brand, Murdock says.

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IT

How Hand Out Gloves has answered the call for functional gloves

BY NICOLE MCNULTY

When Sullivan was a junior high student, he recalls mowing lawns and packaging orders for the owner of Celtek Gloves. Sullivan, who attended Skyline High School and then took a few classes at SLCC, subsequently found work in the snow industry, ultimately taking a position at Black Diamond.

Murdock, meanwhile, grew up skiing and snowboarding, attended Brighton High School and received a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Utah. He credits the success of the rebranded company to two things: timing and smartphones. Ten years prior, Murdock says, they were consumers of the initial brand and saw the need for this technology. Murdock, who previously worked in merchandise planning at Backcountry.com, along with Sullivan, understood that in the age of smartphones, you need your thumbs free to utilize the one-stop shop of your smartphone. “[Smartphones are] just so functional,” Sullivan says, “there’s no going back.”

Though they entered a heavily saturated snow market, their product is unique in that it provides a simple solution to an almost universal problem, Murdock says. They immediately pursued a patent and were able to “gain market space and no one has been able to catch up,” Murdock says.

Ultimately, what sets Hand Out apart is the combination of quality—which matches or surpasses that of competitors, the digestible price point, the highly functional zipper technology and their responsiveness to the needs of the consumer. For instance, after customer requests, 2020’s Pro Model glove will include a pass pocket so electronic scanning is a breeze.

Sullivan and Murdock, as Utah natives, felt it made sense to

COURTESY HAND OUT GLOVES

base their brand here. From access to the mountains and other recreational spaces to the fact that other successful brands call Salt Lake Valley home, the location is ideal. For the first couple of years, they were based in Sullivan’s home, but for the past five, they have worked out of a Sandy warehouse with no plans to slow down. This year, they’re coming out with low-cuff models in addition to the standard long-cuff and will be adding colors.

But they’re not limiting themselves to snow: last year, they launched their Fish line, a neoprene waterproof glove that not only allows users to manage flies but to handle the fish barehanded so as to not harm them with abrasive material. This fall, they will launch the Hunt line, which features technical hunting gloves with an all-the-way-around zipper that gets the glove out of the way of the weapon along with a thin, sensitive trigger finger. Both lines were designed by two interns from Utah State University’s Outdoor Products Design and Development program.

Moving forward, they’ll continue to contract out design work.

With their patent awarded in October 2018, they’re setting their sights on licensing with the goal of making forays into both construction and tactical industries.

As Sullivan now sits on the board of directors for SnowSports Industries America (SIA), a nonprofit trade association representing the snow sports industry, he’s optimistic about the potential for collaboration and licensing. Even still, Sullivan hopes that other outdoor segments can help them grow the brand.

Though snow will always be the core of the brand, developing products for hunting, fishing and other pursuits will help Hand Out Gloves customers live their motto: “Do what you want!”

HandOutGloves.com

COURTESY HAND OUT GLOVES

Hand Out Gloves make it easy to work outside

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 27

SOLITUDE Stars and

GERTH MICHAEL VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Eclectic Cisco

Cisco’s casual re-emergence as an artists’ haunt in the desert

BY JARED BLACKLEY

L

ocated on the barren, windswept desert plains 45 miles northeast of Moab—just off Interstate 70 between Crescent Junction and Grand Junction, Colo.—the ghost town of Cisco has seen its share of boom and bust since its founding in 1883.

But by the time Eileen Muza pulled into town in 2015, it was a graveyard of abandoned cars and RVs. Most of the buildings had collapsed or were in an advanced state of decay, leaning this way or that. Almost all had been tagged with graffiti or vandalized, their windows shot out a long time ago.

Like most visitors who stop in Cisco, Muza was just passing through. An artist, she was on her way to the Great Panel in Horseshoe Canyon. The pictographs there interested her, but there was something else about Cisco that captivated her. Being from the city, it was the first ghost town she had ever experienced.

“I couldn’t believe that all this stuff had been abandoned,” she said. “That can’t be right. Somebody’s gotta be here. I mean that house has a satellite dish on it. I didn’t want to assume it was abandoned, because you never know. You can go to any ‘abandoned’ building in Chicago, and you’ll find squatters. People will live there. I couldn’t understand it.”

28 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

While investigating the town, she noticed one dwelling in particular that, though in a state of disrepair, appeared to be structurally sound. It wasn’t for sale, but she was thinking, “Obviously nobody wants it. Or maybe they do care for it, but are too old to keep it up. Who knows what their story is?” Her curiosity led her to find the owner, and she ended up purchasing approximately 2 acres of land, a cabin and several outbuildings, including the original post office, built in 1887, and then moved on joists for over 2 miles when the railroad town was relocated to its current location in 1890, to lie along the standard gauge rail line.

Water was pumped from the Colorado River to Cisco to fill the steam engines, and the town saw its first boom. A motel, a mercantile, a saloon and a school opened. Cattle barons and shepherds in the area used the depot to ship their goods. By 1900, the town had 173 residents. The Goslin brothers of Cisco shipped more than a quarter-million pounds of wool out of the town in 1906. The population peaked at 323 in 1910 before the demand for wool saw a steep decline and the town experienced its first bust. Only 95 citizens remained in 1920.

Over the next several decades, Cisco would experience several other small boom-and-bust cycles. After steam engines became

When I-70 was completed in the 1970s, Cisco was bypassed by five miles, effectively killing it as a service center. It was a foreseeable fate, one that, according to local lore, inspired Johnny Cash’s song “Cisco Clifton’s Fillin’ Station.” The song is said to be about H. Ballard Harris, who still lives in Dewey, 15 miles south of Cisco on State Road 128. This Scenic Byway follows the Colorado River almost the entire way to Moab and is a painfully beautiful drive.

By the mid-90s, the post office shut its doors and, within a few years, the town was effectively vacant. By the time Muza arrived, no one called Cisco home. At the time, she had a seasonal job working for the Park District in Chicago. She spent her winters traveling. Though there was no running water or sewer system, Cisco seemed a good place to spend her winters.

“I was almost 30,” she said. “I was at a point in my life where I was feeling like I needed to do something or make some changes in my life. I thought [moving to Cisco] could definitely change things for me, for better or worse.”

Cisco expanse PHIL WHITEHOUSE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

obsolete and trains no longer needed to stop for water, America’s burgeoning fascination with the automobile turned the town into a service center.

An eccentric and unemployed geologist named Charlie Steen lived in Cisco with his family for a couple years in the early 1950s while pursuing an educated hunch that other geologists at the time referred to as “Charlie’s Folly,” about where to find uranium. The tarpaper shack the Steens lived in is still mostly standing and can be seen just off the main road. He was deeply in debt when he lived there and desperate for a grubstake. His kids’ clothes were thread-bare and the family was living primarily on venison when his hunch paid off. He found uranium in July 1952. A year later, he owned the largest house in Moab, which is now the Sunset Grill, and was known for throwing extravagant parties and spending lavishly. Though he eventually died broke, his discovery spurred a rush in mine claims, which continued for nearly two decades.

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 29

KEVIN DELANEY VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“It’s a good thing I was super optimistic about this place.”

—Eileen Muza

Optimistic about owning land and fairly confident in her ability to use power tools, she worked feverishly to clean the place up and make it comfortable. As often as possible, she would reuse and repurpose items strewn around her property. There’s a fence made out of old box springs. The outhouse uses worn oil barrels to support the posts. The walls are composed of rusty sheet metal. Her back porch is a leveled amalgamation of several pieces of concrete of varying size and gravel. “It’s a good thing I was super optimistic about this place,” she said. “If I wasn’t, I never would have succeeded. I told myself, ya know, if worse comes to worst, I guess I could just leave it. That’s what everybody else did. But, of course, I had no plans for that. Once I start a project, I gotta keep going until I see it through.”

And she has seen it through. The project has only developed and grown. Muza hasn’t returned to Chicago in a couple years.

According to her profile on Airbnb, Muza now lives in a 1950s airstream and is working on a log cabin built in 1932. The original post office and another small cabin can now be rented through Airbnb (no running water but there is electricity, wi-fi and a private outhouse available).

An abandoned bus was given to her by the owner of an adjacent property—he didn’t even know it was there—may also soon be used as rentable space. Large and detailed murals have been painted on either side, and both celebrate the history of the town and its lore. On one side there are two revolvers firing at each other; on the other, a shepherd stands with his coffee and looks into the distance while his sheep wander along the base of the bus and over the wheel wells. An artfully designed wooden camper with Dutch-style gables has been built on the back of an old truck. Muza’s nonprofit organization, Home of the Brave, will host the town’s first semi-annual artist in residence this month. This camper will be the resident’s personal space, and 30 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019

the shell of a refurbished Winnebago with a raised ceiling and added windows for extra lighting sits 15 feet away, to be used as a studio.

“What I really want to do, what I envision,” she said, “is to make this place somewhere artists can come and work year-round. I mean, there would have to be some sort of vetting process, so not just anyone shows up, but I envision there being different places for different types of artists to stay and work. It’s such a great place for creative thinking. You have time to think out here, but you are subject to the weather and a few other hardships. Perhaps that is its own vetting process. Who knows?”

Though this vision has yet to be formally adapted as part of the nonprofit, creative people are already beginning to show up to help with the work and add art of their own. Mike “Marlow” Mewborn, a vagabond friend of Muza’s who camped nearby this summer, said that in his 40-plus years of rambling around the West, he has never been to a place that plays host to so many bohemians and artists. “There are artists showing up all the time,” he said. “They seem to be drawn to this place.”

The fall Artist Residency Program received 61 applications, from artists representing numerous mediums. There is no reason to believe the spring residency will be any less successful, and who’s to say where it will go from there?

“I have a lot of plans still,” Muza said. “I want to build a house on stilts. I’d like to take some of these abandoned cars and use them to build a bridge over that depression across the street. I mean, why not?”

For short-term lodging in Cisco, visit Airbnb.com Information about the application process for the Artist Residency Program and Home of the Brave nonprofit organization can be found at EileenMuza.org

LAST

LOOK Ophir Town Hall

Photo by Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division

October 2019 • Vamoose Utah | 31

32 | Vamoose Utah • October 2019