Desert Photographer Trail of the Ancients Timpanogos Cave Farr’s Ice Cream
p 55
Ogden p 46, 54
Salt Lake City p 10
American Fork p 24
Provo p 60
Moab p 56
Park p 36
St George p 56
Kanab p 8 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument p 36
Bluff p 14 Mexican Hat p 14 Monument Valley p 14
As viewed from Muley Point, the San Juan River carves its path, with Monument Valley in the distance.
Photo by Guy Tal
Photos this page, from top: Joshua Hardin (both)
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
TRAIL OF THE ANCIENTS
A scenic road trip through southern Utah explores the Ancestral Puebloan homeland. Story and photographs by Joshua Hardin
TIMPANOGOS CAVE
For 100 years, this national monument has welcomed visitors to a world of wonder.
Story by Matt Masich
Photographs by Joshua Hardin
GUY TAL PHOTO ESSAY
A Torrey photographer’s special relationship with the Utah landscape yields stunning images. Story by Matt Masich
Photographs by Guy Tal
FARR’S ICE CREAM
An Ogden family’s frozen empire owes its longevity to resilience and great ice cream.
Story by Allie Wisniewski
Photographs by Joshua Hardin
Trail of the Ancients, p 14
Farr’s Ice Cream, p 46
Time to get moving
THE CALENDAR IS one of the most undeniably useful inventions we humans have come up with. Whoever thought of organizing the days into weeks, months and years, my hat goes off to them.
If there’s one quibble I have with the calendar, it’s that it gets the starting date of summer wrong. Officially speaking, summer doesn’t begin until June 21. However, I defy anyone to go outside on a beautiful May day in Utah and tell me it isn’t summer already.
The arrival of summer brings with it many joys, and for me, there is perhaps none greater than eating prodigious amounts of ice cream cones. I get plenty of practice eating ice cream year-round, but I find that nothing beats taking a leisurely stroll in the warm, summer sunshine while savoring a giant waffle cone – specifically, one made with black licorice ice cream from Farr Better Ice Cream.
While black licorice ice cream is definitely not for everyone, there’s sure to be a Farr’s flavor you’ll love among their nearly 700 varieties. You can read how they invent new flavors in writer Allie Wisniewski’s page 46 story on Farr’s Ice Cream.
Summer also means traveling – and this year, it means traveling in a more or less normal way after two years of profound weirdness. This issue is full of possible destinations, depending on what kind of travel you’re interested in.
There’s something about the warm weather that makes people want to be around other people. For those looking for fun festivals to attend, I suggest starting with our Explore Utah events section.
Many people plan their travel by making lists of places they’ve always wanted to see. These lists often include Utah’s five national parks and nine national monuments. In this issue, we venture deep underground to explore Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
But for some people, travel is about seeking solitude and reconnecting with Utah’s incomparable landscape. As Utah’s population grows and those beyond the state’s borders catch on to what a remarkable place this is, finding those moments of quiet isn’t as easy as it once was, but it remains possible.
Someone who has mastered the art of communing with natural Utah is Torrey-based photographer Guy Tal. His outlook on travel is the opposite of the list approach. Tal will find some remote spot in the desert – he doesn’t stop anywhere if he sees another car already parked – then set up his camp, which serves as his base for the next week or two.
After a few days staying close to camp, Tal will pick up his camera and start to explore. He doesn’t have a preconceived notion of what he will find. He has no specific shots he wants to bag. He simply wants to experience the desert as fully as possible, and if he happens to capture a stunning photograph, that’s just a bonus. You can see the results of his desert sojourns on this issue’s cover and in the photo essay on page 36.
At Utah Life, we believe it doesn’t matter what kind of travel you do. The main thing is to get out and explore this incredible state – and if you eat lots of ice cream while you’re at it, so much the better.
Utah Life Magazine c/o Subscriptions Dept PO Box 430 • Timnath, CO 80547 (801) 921-4585
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More for the list
Having had the good fortune of extensive travel over my lifetime, my “go to” list had diminished to only one place of interest left, until my subscription to Utah Life started arriving. I now have 17 mustsee places, having added Kayenta and the Cave Peak Aerial Stairway from the March/April 2022 issue of Utah Life. With mass transit becoming more arduous, one of the benefits of living in the state is Utah’s drivability. Please keep publishing the unique features of our state for we locals that have enjoyed travel to our famous national parks and monuments numerous times.
Kathy Tuttle Heber City
Moab memories
I truly enjoy Utah Life. The March/April 2022 issue had the story “Wheels on Slickrock” about Sand Flats Recreation Area in Moab. Our family went to Moab twice a year for a long time. We loved being out in nature and challenging our rock crawlers on every single trail. I am so glad that Moab has been changed over the years so that people can enjoy it responsibly. Thanks for the memories.
Denise Moore Brigham City
Everybody cut Footloose
Thank you for the March/April 2022 issue’s feature on Lehi Roller Mills. Not only am I a fan of the Colonel’s fried chicken, but I am a huge fan of Footloose. What truly made that dance through the mill stand out was the flour “halo” mentioned in your story. Now knowing of their connection, I can’t wait to Footloose my way into the kitchen to try yet again to recreate the Colonel’s recipe.
Jamie McDonough Denver, Colorado
Continuing adventures
I love to explore many places in Utah and recall fond memories of many others through your vivid pictures and well-written, informative articles. In the early ’70s,
Mailbox
DELIVERIES FROM OUR READERS
some friends and I rode our bicycles from Salt Lake City to Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon on separate trips, laden with only the bare essential camping gear required and our 35mm cameras. My wife and I took our children on many spring break trips to explore Zion National Park.
My friend and I enjoyed camping at Bryce Canyon National Park in March, when snow decorated the red rocks and rain wetted the slick rocks cascading down the high cliffs of Zion National Park. We shared our lunch in the company of a chipmunk atop Angels Landing. This was long before restrictions had to be made by an increasing number of tourists.
My life is full of wonderful recollections of adventures throughout the state, and I continue my adventures through Utah Life.
Keith Despain Syracuse
Catching up with Utah
Being a native-born Utahn, I became a charter subscriber when Utah Life announced it would be published. Having spent my early 26 years in Salt Lake City and experiencing Utah as it was some 70 years ago, I continually look forward to each issue of Utah Life. Even now, there are hidden gems in the state that were not known when I was growing up. I look forward to each issue to read about all the cool stuff I missed out on in my younger days.
Walt Schierioth Colorado Springs, Colorado
Beyond the five
Although I do not live in Utah, I have spent so many enjoyable days in your beautiful state. I have visited almost all of the national parks, but Utah Life has enlarged the possibilities of what else is available. I hope to visit again soon.
Vaughn Neeld Cañon City, Colorado
Something to look into
I have subscribed to Utah Life for five years, and I gave a gift subscription to each of my six children. I loved the Utah history series (March/April 2021-November/December 2021), and I love the beautiful photography and the interesting articles that teach me more about my beautiful Utah.
I’m not in a wheelchair, but I cannot walk very far or stand too long. I’d very much appreciate more detail in your articles about how the site accommodates people like me. Perhaps you could also mark the article with an icon of a wheelchair and/or a cane; the cane indicating the site is appropriate for those that don’t use a wheelchair but are still limited. Considering our aging population, I suspect this may be helpful to a lot of people.
Bill Gray Magna
Valuable inspiration
As I was giving my report to our Bear Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau
board members, I had the May/June 2020 issue on the table to display our ad. One board member started thumbing through and found the article “Birth of a Ghost Town” and started reading it to the rest out loud.
The article along with the photographs that captured their attention was far more important than my report. We have since learned how valuable this magazine is to not only those seeking information about Utah but also for those who have lived here their entire years. Thank you, Utah Life for your dedicated inspiration you provide about Utah.
Tami Leonhardt Director Bear Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau Garden City
A piece of home
This year, we sent gift subscriptions to our many kids. Most of them live far and wide now; however, they all grew up in Utah. They were very excited to get their magazines. It reminded them of beautiful Utah, that we all love so much.
Carolyn and Sydney James Orem
SEND YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Thank you for reading and writing! We enjoy hearing from our subscribers around Utah and the world and hope this issue of the magazine inspires you to grace us with your words.
The deadline to send letters for the next issue of Utah Life is June 1. One lucky letter writer will be selected at random to win a free subscription renewal. This issue’s winner is Keith Despain of Syracuse. Congrats!
Send your “Letter to the Editor” by dashing off an email to editor@ utahlifemag.com or pen us a letter and mail it to the address at the front of this magazine.
THE BUZZ AROUND UTAH
Kanab’s Best Friends on a mission to save every pet in the nation
by MATT MASICH
The city of Kanab is located in what’s been called the most remote part of Lower 48 states. However, when it comes to the no-kill animal shelter movement, Kanab is the center of the known universe.
The city is home to Best Friends Animal Society, which is well on its way to fulfilling its goal of making all American animal shelters no-kill by 2025. The organization has more than 800 employees nationwide, with CEO Julie Castle heading up the non-profit’s efforts.
Best Friends was a small animal sanctuary operating on a shoestring budget when
she first started on July 4, 1996. A Bountiful native who had recently graduated from Southern Utah University, Castle was just passing through with friends on a post-college road trip and planned to start law school in two weeks. Those plans changed almost the instant she drove into beautiful Angel Canyon and met the founders of Best Friends, who shared their simple yet revolutionary vision of ending the practice of euthanizing stray animals.
“They asked, ‘Why are we killing our best friends?’ ” Castle said. “ ‘Why aren’t we figuring out how to save our best friends?’ At that point in time, it was really an unheard-of concept.”
Castle quickly decided to forgo law school and stay on in Kanab as employee No. 17. She set to work taking care of animals, mending fences, installing irrigation systems and doing whatever else needed to be done. As Best Friends grew, she worked up the ranks, becoming CEO in 2018.
Best Friends has seen tremendous growth during Castle’s time with the group. One of the first big milestones came in the
Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle meets an adoptable dog, Muppet, and cat, Desirae, at Best Friends Livesaving Center in Salt Lake City.
Sarah Ause Kichas
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At the time, it was federal policy only to evacuate people, not pets. Thousands of animals were left stranded on rooftops in flooded New Orleans and other cities. Best Friends set up a mini sanctuary right outside of New Orleans that became a rescue and reunification center for people forced to evacuate without their pets.
Three years later, Best Friends had another major impact on animal welfare when it took in 22 dogs from NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring. The animals were severely traumatized, and most national organizations advocated that they be euthanized because they said they were too dangerous. Best Friends proved them wrong, rehabilitating the dogs and placing most of them in loving homes. The story made the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“Rehabilitating those dogs was such a demonstration of the resiliency of animals and their totally unselfish love,” Castle said. “That was a big moment for us.”
By the time of Best Friends’ 2016 national conference in Salt Lake City, Castle was set to give a speech outlining a plan to make all shelters in the United States no-kill by 2030. But as she prepared to address the audience, she began to think 2030 seemed too far away – so she changed the target date to 2025.
“Our staff just about fell out of their chairs,” she said. “But we have the people of the country behind us. We have the national reach. I knew we could figure out how to get there.”
When Best Friends set that goal, 1.5 million animals were killed in shelters annually. By 2020, that figure dropped to 347,000. And given Castle’s boundless passion and energy, the goal of reaching zero by 2025 seems a very real possibility.
Man and his golden retrievers go on ultimate Utah adventure
by LISA TRUESDALE
No extreme sport is too extreme for Andrew Muse. It’s why the thrill-seeking adventurer chased his dreams and moved to Utah in his 20s. He travels around the state in a van he converted into a tiny home on wheels. He paraglides at Point of the Mountain; hikes the steep trail to the remote Fifth Water Hot Springs; goes winter camping in the highest peaks of the Uintas; and “hits the slopes” at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. He goes ski touring, snow kiting, snowboarding, rock climbing and river rafting.
Oh, and he’s done it all with a golden retriever puppy nestled in his jacket. Or years later, with that now fullgrown dog wrapped around his shoulders, running happily alongside or secured safely in a special dog harness.
credible journeys led to the creation of his popular web series, Tiny Home Adventure. Someone judging this book by its cover might assume it’s a feel-good book about dogs, and how special goldens are, and how our companion animals are treasured family members. It is all of these. But Muse also draws on events from his own life to share an important lesson: You can learn from even your most devastating mistakes. You can rebuild your life from scratch, even after tragedy almost convinces you that such a feat would be impossible – especially if you have a loving companion by your side every step of the way.
Muse’s new book, Life Is Golden, is mostly filled with his stunning photographs of beautiful dogs and incredible Utah scenery. But it also includes his heartfelt story about his first dog, Booter (named after a huge snowboarding jump) and then his second dog, Kicker (a smaller snowboarding jump), and how their in-
“The love I feel for and from my dogs has filled my soul in a more meaningful way than anything else in my life ever has,” he writes. “While trying to give my dogs the best life I can imagine, I have lived my one best life, too.”
Andrew Muse and Kicker Dog go sandboarding at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. In Life Is Golden, Muse takes readers on adventures with his golden retrievers.
Anton Lilljegre
Life Is Golden
By Andrew Muse Gibbs Smith 144 pages, hardcover, $18
Sarah Ause Kichas
Friends of Bullwinkle hide in Utah treetops
A flying squirrel makes a rare daylight appearance. The animals glide from treetops using parachute-like skin folds.
by LISA TRUESDALE
High up in the treetops in Utah’s mountains, there lives an animal so elusive that most people have never seen it and likely never will.
The closest they’ll get, in fact, is if they watch The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Unlike cartoon character Rocky, flying squirrels in the wild are incredibly difficult to spot. It’s usually pretty dark when these nocturnal mammals are soaring from the top of one tree to the next.
Despite their name, flying squirrels don’t really fly; they’re more like furry paragliders. Rather than wings, they have a parachute-like fold of skin called a patagium, which extends the width of their underside, from wrists to ankles. They simply spread their legs and leap. Flying squirrels inspired the creation of commercial wingsuits, worn during wingsuiting, a variation of skydiving.
Since flying squirrels are gliding rather
Singer-songwriter pens an album-length love letter to Utah
than flying, there’s no thrust; they can’t gain altitude like birds or bats. This means they’ll ultimately end up on the ground, but then they’ll be anxious to get right back up in the trees’ canopy to avoid predators.
“They can run straight up the tree, or sometimes they’ll use leaning or felled trees as a ramp,” said Kim Hersey, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource’s mammal conservation coordinator.
To catch these aerodynamic marvels in action, Hersey suggests any of the canyons above Salt Lake City, like Big Cottonwood Canyon or Millcreek Canyon, or near Strawberry Reservoir. Or really anywhere in the Uintas or along the Wasatch Front, right at the line where there’s a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees.
“Your best chance to see a flying squirrel could be if you’re camping in the mountains, perhaps at Albion Basin Campground,” she said. “Simply sit quietly around the campfire at night and look up.”
by MATT MASICH
Kate MacLeod never set out to write an entire album of songs about Utah people and places – it just sort of happened.
The Salt Lake City singer-songwriter first noticed her abundance of Utah songs when she was putting together a book of songs she had written since the 1980s. She decided to compile 17 of her favorites into the new album Uranium Maiden.
The clever album title is a reference to Utah’s uranium-mining industry, which she sings about in the song “U-235.” Other songs chronicle the lives of Utahns famous, infamous and obscure.
“Now Is the Time to Be Alive” is about Everett Ruess, the wandering writer and adventurer who ventured into the Utah desert in 1934, never to be seen again. “Butch Cassidy Was Here” is a ballad of the Old West outlaw that neither glorifies nor condemns his deeds.
But one of the most moving songs is “A
Kate MacLeod poses with icons of Utah culture on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. Her new album, Uranium Maiden, explores the people and places of the state.
Jeanette Bonnell
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Fire I Can Borrow From,” whose lyrics are drawn from the real-life journal of a Utah pioneer woman. In the song, the woman checks her fire as soon as she awakes each morning. If it has gone out, she knows she can always find a neighbor willing to share some coals with her.
“Even though the song is specific in its details,” MacLeod said, “it’s a metaphor for needing a friend to talk to or needing some support in any way.”
The album’s gatefold cover includes a map of Utah that is covered with tiny symbols representing all the songs, showing where each takes place. There is not a corner of the state left out.
Part of MacLeod’s mission in creating the album was to show the world another side of Utah, which she feels is often misunderstood and underestimated.
“When I tour around the country, people are always surprised there’s a music community here,” she said.
But most of all, the album is an expression of love for the state she has called home since 1979.
“I really wanted to do this as an ode to this place where I’ve become a human being over the decades,” she said. “I’ve learned all my big lessons living here in Utah.”
Anita Crane
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MOUNTAINS, MESAS AND BUTTES
Challenge your brain with our Utah quiz.
by BRIAN WANGSGARD
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435-259-0756
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1 What is the only mountain in Utah to carry the same name as a peak in the Scottish Highlands?
2 Hikers who take a little time to reach the top of the sloped butte Shinob Kibe (shin-o-bee kai-bee) in Washington County will find what early airplane navigation aid?
3 Though it has no actual connection to aviation, the name of what 700-foot sandstone butte in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park suggests it could be an aid to aircraft traffic?
4 The numerous branched canyons through Cedar Mesa contain hundreds of ruins and petroglyphs left by what Native American civilization?
No peeking, answers on page 57.
5 The area east of Capitol Reef National Park sounds productive, as it features two promontories named Factory Butte: one in Emery County, and a more famous one 15 miles east-southeast in what neighboring county?
Thomas Loucks
6 The Great White Throne, an iconic mesa in southern Utah, is found in a canyon carved by the Colorado River.
7 Two different mountains on either side of Lone Peak are named Twin Peaks.
8
9
More than a dozen Utah mountains have “Baldy” in their name.
Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park is thought to have been carved by early Native Americans for religious observances.
10
Mt. Agassiz in the Uinta Mountains is the only peak in the United States named to honor the prominent Swiss American natural scientist Louis Agassiz.
11
The twin geologic features that give Bears Ears National Monument are what type of formation?
a. Mountain
b. Mesa
c. Butte
12
The mesa on which a Sandy city park is located has the same name as what household item?
a. Washtub
b. Flat Iron
c. Frying Pan
13
The summit of Francis Peak in Davis County is the site of one of 21 long-range radars in the United States used by which one or more of these?
a. USAF/NORAD
b. DHS
c. FAA
14
Incorporating two types of features that are subjects of this quiz, the Cedar Mesa-Boundary Butte area is found in San Juan County, just north of land held by which tribe?
a. Navajo Nation
b. Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation
c. Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
15
Delano Peak in the Tushar Mountains of Beaver and Piute counties take its name from which of these?
a. President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
b. Secretary of Interior
Columbus Delano
c. Immigrants from Delano, California
Retracing the Trail of the Ancients
Part 2 of a master course on the Ancestral Puebloan homeland
story and photographs by
JOSHUA HARDIN
ASTORIED BYWAY LINKS some of the Southwest’s most revered landscapes, many of which are dramatically carved by nature from scarlet sandstone and are easily recognizable from Hollywood’s silver-screen spotlight. Others are ancient human dwellings perched precariously in secretive canyons requiring more effort to see as they subtly blend into the environment.
The Trail of the Ancients is a National Scenic Byway crossing the Four Corners region and is lined with the archaeological heritage of the Ancestral Puebloan people, formerly known as the Anasazi. Utah’s section circles 360 miles around Blanding, Bluff, Mexican Hat and other culturally and aesthetically significant sites.
Last year, we took an introductory course exploring this homeland of prehistoric peoples (the “Trail of Ancients 101,” UL May/June 2021). Now we continue for a second course in the educational adventure. This section of the route not only visits more remnants of a vanished civilization, but also crosses Monument Valley’s mighty monoliths, the snaking San Juan River and a pioneer outpost that flourished in the desert.
A truck drives below the Brighams Tomb and Stagecoach formations in Monument Valley, one of the locales found along the Trail of the Ancients.
ORIENTATION: Natural Bridges to the San Juan River
From Natural Bridges National Monument, travelers join the byway heading south on State Highway 261. The route leads to Kane Gulch Ranger Station, serving Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears National Monument. Interpretive displays detail the region’s prehistoric sites and archaeology projects, providing an ideal orientation for exploration. A trail starting here leads into Grand Gulch, a backcountry area containing Ancestral Puebloan dwellings. The station is the only location where travelers can obtain permits to visit Moon House, a popular but remote complex of ancient structures accessed by a strenuous 3-mile hike in a canyon not suitable for the acrophobic.
As the highway veers southeast, road signs warn of upcoming hazards. Motorists see a precipice dropping into switchbacks excavated from the hillside. This is the Moki Dugway. “Moki” is an archaic term for the area’s prehistoric inhabitants, while “dugway” describes the construction method of carving the path into a cliff face. The road surface becomes gravel and twists down 10 percent grades with a speed limit of 5 mph. Driving over this feature is simultaneously a thrilling and terrifying experience. Once the road levels after a descent of 1,000 feet in 3 miles, awestruck drivers may look back at the sheer Cedar Mesa walls they scaled.
Less than 5 miles after reaching the base of the Moki Dugway, a detour on State Highway 316 leads to a glorious dead end
at Goosenecks State Park. Visitors view the meandering San Juan River flowing serenely in long curves resembling the neck of a goose from an observation point 1,000 feet above. The river sliced 300 million-year-old rock into steep cliffs stratified in tightly wound pink and tawny stripes. The park, far from cities and light pollution, is an ideal place for astronomy buffs to observe plentiful twinkling stars in the night sky.
After backtracking to rejoin Highway 261, the route ends at U.S. Highway 163. At this intersection travelers can choose to turn north to Bluff or south to Mexican Hat and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. We take the southern spur of the byway for its unrivaled natural beauty and opportunities to experience Navajo culture.
The green foliage of cottonwood trees in a wash contrasts with the red rock buttes of Valley of the Gods. Situated near Monument Valley, this area offers similar sandstone formations but greater solitude.
Vehicles traverse the switchbacks of the Moki Dugway. The term “dugway” describes the method of carving the path into a cliff face.
The San Juan River carves a meandering path around the bends of Goosenecks State Park.
MIDTERMS: Monument Valley
The strange, sombrero-like shape of Mexican Hat Rock appears from under a zig-zagging slope beside the undulating highway. Trailheads exist at the formation’s base for a closer look at the 60-foot formation with a round cap balanced on its pinnacle. Nearby, the rock’s namesake town features an assortment of inns, cafes and a gas station serving motorists and river runners navigating the San Juan.
Monument Valley’s geologic pillars appear on the horizon about 25 miles from Mexican Hat. Drivers notice the speed limit curiously dips as the road angles down an incline. The speed limit is so low because so many people stop here to take photos – it’s also why there are so many roadside pullouts. This location is famous as the spot where title hero halted his cross-country run in Forrest Gump. There always seem to be people in the road taking selfies, so motorists should be careful not to strike pedestrians standing in the highway center.
Rising from the valley floor and easily seen from the highway are signature sandstone spires like Brighams Tomb, Stagecoach and Eagle Mesa, shaped by erosion into a variety of needle-like pinnacles, natural arch windows and bulging buttes. The Oljato roundabout leads to the Navajo Welcome Center, as well as Goulding’s Lodge, founded by sheep trader Harry Goulding and his wife Leone, nicknamed “Mike.”
The Gouldings purchased land that became available when the Paiute Indian Reservation relocated in the 1920s and traded with local Navajo for handcrafted items like rugs and jewelry. After several years living and working in tents, Harry and Mike constructed a permanent building now known as Goulding’s Trading Post Museum.
Bluff Fort Historic Site features historic structures. Children pan for gold at Bluff Fort. Rafters prepare to embark at Sand Island State Recreation Area.
When the Navajo reservation suffered during the Great Depression, the Gouldings sought new income streams and traveled to Hollywood, meeting famous director John Ford. Harry showed Ford photos of Monument Valley, convincing him it would be the perfect location for his next movie. Days later, Ford and his crew began filming Stagecoach starring John Wayne.
“So this is where God put the West,” Wayne is quoted upon first seeing the valley. Navajos worked as film extras, and Ford reportedly paid $15 a week to local medicine man Hastiin Tso to provide weather of “pretty, fluffy clouds.”
A lodge and dining area the Gouldings built to accommodate movie crews has since expanded to host thousands of worldwide guests.
Navajo guides, hired at Goulding’s or through several local operators, lead tours to private properties, including Ancestral Puebloan dwellings that are otherwise closed to the public. The guides have vehicles equipped to travel the park’s sandy roads and are eager to impart firsthand knowledge about Navajo heritage. Familiar locations filmed in Western movies, such as the view of the Mittens and Merrick Butte, as well as John Ford Point, lie just south of the Utah-Arizona border and can be seen on guided or self-guided tours.
Returning north from Monument Valley, those seeking a less-visited landscape detour to Valley of the Gods. High-clearance vehicles are recommended on this unpaved 17-mile loop, which offers closeup views of red stone mesas and towers. While this valley’s formations aren’t as starkly spectacular as its southerly cousin, the diversion is a worthwhile side trip for those looking for solitude in a similar setting.
Kaye May and Linda Seivert work in the Bluff Fort Kitchen at Bluff Fort Historic Site. Steve Simpson is the proprietor of Twin Rocks Trading Post in Bluff.
GRADUATION: Bluff
The byway continues east and crosses the jagged monocline of Comb Ridge, the rock wall also encountered between Blanding and Natural Bridges, which contains a concentration of Ancestral Puebloan communities. A site named River House is reachable by raft or four-wheel-drive vehicle from Comb Wash Road, which hooks along the San Juan River’s north shore. The Bureau of Land Management administered site features a kiva – a circular subterranean structure thought to be used for ceremonial purposes – and round, two-storied towers. Archaeologists believe the structures to be between 800 and 1,000 years old.
Rock art sites abound along Comb Ridge. A nearby dwelling called 17 Room Ruin, a partitioned structure protected by a steep alcove, is thought to have housed three or four families. Handprints painted
into the rockface above the building add to the allure of this abandoned abode.
Lower Butler Wash Road, which jogs north from the byway, leads to trailheads for two other notable sites: the Wolfman Panel, which includes lanky anthropomorphic figures and a puzzling face with antennae, as well as the Big Crane Panel, depicting an avian subject affectionally nicknamed “Bob” by locals.
After Highway 163 merges with U.S. Highway 191, a southerly turnoff leads to Sand Island State Park. The park’s draws are a campground, a launch for San Juan River rafters and a petroglyph panel featuring depictions of Kokopelli, a hunchbacked flute player thought to be an ancient fertility symbol, conspicuously entertaining a party of people and animals assembled in a wide scene.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints established the first Anglo community in southeastern Utah
in April 1880 east of Sand Island. Around 250 people emigrated from Escalante using what they thought was a shortcut recommended by a previous scouting party. The pioneers expected a 125-mile trek that would take 6 weeks. Instead, the distance was twice as long and took more than 6 months.
In one nearly impassable spot, men spent six weeks blasting and chiseling a wagon path through a narrow, 1,200-foot drop in sandstone cliffs known as the Hole-in-the-Rock, still visible at present-day Lake Powell. The pioneers, too exhausted to continue to their planned destination 20 miles upriver, settled along a flat area in the San Juan River valley called Bluff City.
Upon visiting the settlement months later, Church official Erastus Snow advised people to build houses in a defendable fort. Bluff Fort had a unique construction: Rather than building fort walls with
Comb Ridge, west of Bluff, contains a concentration of Ancestal Puebloan sites, including the River House, which features two-storied towers, and 17 Room Ruin, a dwelling thought to have housed several families.
The partitioned cliff dwelling of 17 Room Ruin is protected by a steep alcove on the Navajo Reservation. The site features ancient handprints painted into the the rockface above the abandoned structure.
log cabins inside it, the cabins themselves formed the fort’s exterior walls, with all windows and doors facing inward toward an open central square.
Pioneers built up to 63 cabins in the fort, as well as other structures, including a meetinghouse and a co-op store, which sold supplies to residents and traded with the Navajo. Proceeds went to establish a prosperous cattle business. Today, free admission to the Bluff Fort Historic Site includes replicas of the co-op and meetinghouse, wagons and artifacts used on the Hole-in-the-Rock journey, a bakery and historical re-enactors.
The Navajo Twins – two towering rocks thought to represent Monster Slayer and Born for Water, the “hero twins” of tribal legend who were sent on a quest to destroy a host of murderous monsters – mark the location of Twin Rocks Trading Post. Born and raised in Bluff, owner Steve Simpson became a lawyer but re-
turned to help his father open the trading post in 1989. “When my father was young, he saw Ute basket weavers under Sunbonnet Rock,” Simpson said, referring to another formation on the property. “He had a romantic idea of having a business here.”
The family added a cafe five years later, but the trading post specialized in basketry, turquoise jewelry and Navajo rugs. The post created the Twin Rocks Modern art style, which combines local rug weaving with work from watercolorists, including Serena Supplee of Moab, depicting landscapes like Bears Ears Buttes.
“Our mission is to take historic influences and blend them with contemporary movements,” Simpson said, “and in doing so, raise the standard of living of the artists.”
Pioneers and Navajo traders weren’t the first to occupy Bluff. The remains of an Ancestral Puebloan Great House are buried above the modern city on Ceme-
tery Hill. Little is visible today of what was a settlement containing 20 to 40 rooms and four kivas, built during the height of Chaco culture from A.D. 1050 to 1150. Researchers question if the architects were Chaco people, whose center of power was concentrated 175 miles away in a New Mexico canyon, or by others copying Chacoan style. Bluff’s Great House was occupied until around A.D. 1250.
Beyond Bluff, the road circles back toward Blanding, where travelers can revisit favorite spots. Those moving east on other spurs find new studies of the Ancestral Puebloans at Hovenweep National Monument on the Utah-Colorado border and out-of-state parks. The byway allows visitors to attend a veritable university course to understand one of Utah’s most fabled regions and its people. Those who have earned a diploma in its lessons look forward to returning as alumni of the land of the ancients.
National Park Service
Ranger Royce Shelley illuminates a stalactite formation on a tour of Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
SUBTERRANEAN WORLD OF WONDER
For 100 years, Timpanogos Cave National Monument has enthralled visitors to this underground geologic marvel
story by MATT MASICH
photographs by JOSHUA HARDIN
MARTIN HANSEN WAS exhausted. A logger by trade, he had spent all day felling trees for lumber and firewood on the south wall of American Fork Canyon, near the foothills of Mount Timpanogos. As he prepared to return to his Lehi home that day in October 1887, he leaned his ax against a tree so he could use it the next day. A light dusting of snow fell that night. When Hansen returned to resume his work, he noticed something unusual: mountain lion
tracks. Grabbing the ax, he followed the tracks even higher up the canyon wall until they ended in an opening in the cliff face – it was a cave filled with wonderous mineral formations.
Today, we know this as Hansen Cave, one of the three caves that comprise Timpanogos Cave National Monument. The caves are a testament to the awesome forces of nature working over millions of years – and to the group of Utahns who worked quickly to preserve the caves as a national monument.
NEWS OF HANSEN’S discovery spread quickly, and soon he was leading cave tours. It was no casual trip for the first cave tourists; they had to climb up on trees Hansen had cut down and lashed to the cliff, then crawl through the cave with only candlelight to see the wonders within.
No one is sure exactly what those early visitors saw. Within a few years of Hansen Cave becoming known, a Chicago-based company filed a mining claim to the land and removed most of the cave’s mineral deposits.
Though stripped of much of its grandeur, the cave remained a popular daytrip destination for locals around American Fork. In 1913, a pair of 14-year-old boys were with a group visiting Hansen Cave when they got bored and decided to explore the rock ledges beyond. When they realized the cliff was too steep for them to get down the way they got up, they searched for an alternate route back.
One of the boys noticed a rock with mineralization on it. Thinking it might lead to precious metals, they began to dig – until the rock fell into a deep, dark hole. They had discovered what is now known as Timpanogos Cave. The boys retrieved the rest of their group to investigate the cave. Though they did not publicly announce their find, talk of the new cave circulated.
Intrigued by the rumors, Vearl Manwill of Salt Lake City decided to look for the cave while with a group of mountain climbers on Aug. 14, 1921. They first went to Hansen Cave, which left them very disappointed. Then Manwill started poking around at the same elevation, eventually disturbing some rocks that had been piled around Timpanogos Cave’s entrance. He called for the rest of his party and went inside.
“It was a thrilling experience, as there were no trails or tracks to follow,” Manwill later wrote. “In places we had to lay on our stomachs and squeeze through. Other places we had to make ourselves into human
Visitors to the national monument must make a strenuous, 1 ½ hour-long hike on a steep trail along the canyon wall before reaching the cave entrance.
bridges or ladders to help the ladies along.”
As they reconvened in camp that evening, they marveled at what they had seen.
“By the light of campfire, (we) discussed our find and talked about ways and means to preserve its beauty for posterity instead of allowing it to be vandalized as Hansen’s Cave had been,” Manwill wrote.
Two months later, on Oct. 15, 1921, Heber and Wayne Hansen – son and grandson of the discoverer of Hansen Cave – were hunting deer in American Fork Canyon on the opposite side from the caves. When 18-year-old Wayne used his binoculars to look across the canyon, he noticed what looked like a third cave opening between Hansen Cave and Timpanogos Cave.
The Hansens abandoned their hunt and set off to find this new entrance. They reached it and, using matches to light their
way, entered as far as they could before stopping at a very deep pit. As this third cave was located between the two previously discovered caves, it became known as Middle Cave.
As news of the discoveries spread, people clamored to see the caves for themselves. But the caves were on U.S. Forest Service land. Forest Service rangers put doors on the caves, but they didn’t have the staff or funding to offer tours.
Local civic groups stepped in to form the Timpanogos Cave Committee to do that work. Volunteers built a steep path up the canyon wall and installed lighting in the caves to facilitate tours. The group began the first official cave tours exactly 100 years ago in the spring of 1922.
Despite the rough hike to get to the caves, thousands of people made the trek
to see them. But the publicity also drew the attention of people who said they had mining claims to the site.
To prevent a repeat of what happened to Hansen Cave, in September 1922, the local U.S. Forest Service requested the caves be protected as a national monument. In what might be record time, President Warren G. Harding issued a proclamation just one month later declaring the creation of Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
SINCE 1939, HANSEN Cave, Middle Cave and Timpanogos Cave have been connected to each other by manmade tunnels. National Park Service rangers guide groups on tours that traverse 1,800 feet through all three caves in just under an hour; the total combined length of cave
A ranger shines a flashlight on calcite, whose bright green color is a sign of nickel and aragonite deposits. The caves feature subterranean lakes. Mild-mannered Townsend big ear bats live in
Timpanogos Cave.
The Great Heart of Timpanogos is the most famous cave formation found in Timpangos Cave. Formed from several stalactites that fused together, the Great Heart is 5 ½ feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds.
passages, including areas off-limits to visitors, is 5,600 feet.
The floor of American Fork Canyon at Timpanogos Cave National Monument is more than a mile above sea level. By the end of the strenuous hike to the entrance at Hansen Cave, visitors are at a lofty 6,735 feet above sea level.
So it comes as some surprise when one of the first things people see when they enter the cave is … coral.
The fossilized coral is embedded in the cave’s Deseret limestone, which, despite its name, didn’t form in Utah – at least not in the location where Utah is now. The limestone formed at the bottom of a warm, shallow sea near the equator. Over the course of 340 million years, the slow but steady drift of the Earth’s tectonic plates moved it thousands of miles to its
present location near American Fork.
To enter the caves is to be confronted with such stories, illustrating the credulity-straining wonder of geologic time. But even if one were completely oblivious to how the cave formed, the weird beauty of the stalactites, helictites and other remarkable mineral formations that lie hundreds of feet underground is astounding.
Though the caves’ limestone formed 340 million years ago, the actual cave passages are relatively young, geologically speaking, forming somewhere around 750,000 years ago. Before the mountains uplifted to their present height, the limestone was beneath the water table. Geothermal waters percolated up through faults in the limestone, gradually dissolving the rock to hollow out the caves.
Once the caves lifted above the water ta-
ble, they didn’t completely dry out. Water seeped in from above through cracks in the rock. This water carried with it the dissolved mineral calcium carbonate. When the water eventually evaporated, the mineral was left behind as a speleothem, or cave deposit.
The most famous speleothem at the national monument is the Great Heart of Timpanogos, a massive stalactite that is actually several large stalactites that fused together. The formation is 5 ½ feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds.
The speleothems at Timpanogos Cave take many forms beyond the familiar stalactites, which droop down from the cave ceiling, and stalagmites, which are built up from the floor. There is cave popcorn, which looks exactly like it sounds; this forms either from drops of water that splatter against the cave wall or from condensation. Similarly appetizing is cave bacon, which forms when water repeatedly runs in the same path down a sloped ceiling.
However, the feature that sets Timpanogos Cave apart from nearly all other caves are its helictites, which occur here in greater abundance than nearly anywhere in the world. Some say they look like spaghetti, while others have said they look like calamari or curly French fries – thin spirals that seldom surpass 6 inches long.
Helictites are extremely delicate and extremely mysterious – no one know exactly how they form. The most generally accepted theory is that they form as hollow tubes, and water is drawn out by capillary action.
WHETHER IT’S
BLISTERINGLY hot or freezing cold outside, the inside of the cave system at Timpanogos Cave National Monument remains within 43 and 49 degrees. The cool cave temperatures can come as a relief to those who have huffed and puffed their way up the steep, 1 ½-mile trail to get there.
“The cave feels so different from the world you’re accustomed to,” the monument’s Acting Superintendent Cami McKinney said. “You can feel it in your skin.”
And though the passages are fairly well lit, there is one part of the tour where the ranger turns out all the lights, producing a blackness so profound that visitors tru-
ly cannot see their own hands in front of their faces. It is an eerie experience.
“There’s something about the darkness that challenges human nature a little bit,” McKinney said.
For the past 31 years, National Park Service Ranger Royce Shelley has guided cave visitors through the darkness at the monument. Shelley is a living repository of Timpanogos Cave lore, thanks both to his own experience and that of his father, Arlo, who himself worked as a guide at the cave for 57 years, starting in 1944.
For decades, Shelley said, the National Park Service used a series of small diesel dump trucks – originally used in uranium mines near Moab – to haul supplies up and down the narrow trail to the caves. A man named Don Robinson of American Fork was the “one guy with the nerves of steel to get it up there,” he said.
It certainly wasn’t a job for the faint of heart. Robinson would drive it up like normal until he got to the first switchback, at which point he would drive the next leg in reverse, as there wasn’t enough room to make a proper turn. He would continue up, alternating driving forward and
As viewed from the trail, American Fork Canyons opens onto Utah Valley and the Oquirrh Mountains beyond. Royce Shelley stands in front of a cave door; one of his predecessors does likewise in the 1920s.
backward, until he reached the top. When Robinson died, the National Park Service stopped using the truck, as no one else dared to attempt the dangerous ascent.
The most memorable of the thousands of tours Shelley has given came late one Sunday afternoon. About 45 minutes after the cut-off time for ticket sales, he got a call on the radio from the ranger below, saying he had just sold three more tickets. “I couldn’t tell them no,” the ranger told him.
Shelley and his tour guests waited for the latecomers, finally seeing three or-
ange-robed Buddhist monks come walking up the trail. Also on the tour were families from South America, Central America, California and Ogden.
“It was the most delightful exchange between different people and cultures I have ever witnessed in my life,” he said.
Experiences like that are what keep Shelley hooked on Timpanogos Cave National Monument. As beautiful as the cave formations are, it is just as beautiful to see the power the caves have to bring people together.
National Park Service
FOILED AGAIN
Fire up the grill for these foil packet dinners
recipes and photographs by
DANELLE McCOLLUM
GRILLING MEAT ISN’T too difficult – we humans mastered that back in the caveman days. But grilling veggies to go along with that meat takes a bit more thought. That’s the beauty of foil packet dinners: Just throw all your meat and veggies onto a sheet of aluminum foil, wrap it up in a nice little envelope and toss it on the grill. Not only are the results delicious, the clean up couldn’t be easier. These recipes include Cajun sausage, steak fajitas and a potato side dish that pairs well with nearly everything.
Grilled Cajun Sausage Veggie Foil Dinner
Smoked sausage and vegetables are seasoned with Cajun spices and grilled in foil for a hearty, satisfying meal. Picky eaters who don’t normally like veggies have been known to love this meal. Those looking for a little less spice can cut back the Cajun seasoning and jalapeño to their liking.
In large bowl, toss together sausage, potatoes, corn cobs, bell peppers, jalapeño and onion. Add olive oil and seasonings and toss again to mix well. Lay out 5-6 large pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil in 12-inch squares. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly divide sausage-and-vegetable mixture and place on foil squares. Fold foil over mixture and seal into a packet. Heat grill to medium/medium-high. Grill foil packs for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Open and garnish with fresh chopped parsley before serving, if desired.
1 13.5 oz fully cooked smoked sausage, cut into coins
5-6 small red or yellow potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 ears corn on the cob, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 bell peppers, any color
1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp dry parsley flakes
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Serves 5-6
Grilled Garlic Herb Potatoes
Potatoes are coated in olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning, then wrapped in foil and cooked on the grill until tender. This makes an ideal side dish for just about any meal.
In large bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss to coat well.
Lay out 5-6 large pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil in 12-inch squares. Evenly divide potatoes and place on foil squares. Fold foil over potatoes and seal into a packet.
Heat grill to medium-high. Place foil packs on grill and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning once, or until potatoes are tender. Before serving, open foil pack and sprinkle potatoes with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
3 lbs red or yellow potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Serves 5-6
Foil Pack Steak Fajitas
Flank steak, peppers and onions are grilled in foil, then rolled in flour tortillas with sour cream and guacamole in this delicious Tex-Mex meal.
Place sliced flank steak in large resealable bag. Set aside 2 tsp fajita seasoning. In small bowl, whisk together remaining fajita seasoning, 2 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, lime juice, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add to sliced steak in bag and seal. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Meanwhile, place sliced peppers and onions in medium bowl. Toss with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and remaining fajita seasoning. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Tear off 6-8 large sheets of aluminum foil. Spray each sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Divide flank steak, peppers and onions evenly between foil sheets. Seal foil tightly around fajita mixture.
Heat grill to medium-high. Grill foil packs for 6-8 minutes per side, or until peppers are tender and steak is cooked to desired doneness. Serve in flour tortillas with your choice of toppings.
The editors are interested in featuring your favorite family recipes. Send your recipes (and memories inspired by your recipes) to editor@utahlifemag.com.
UTAH THROUGH OUR POETS
Poetry
In a land where water is a precious commodity, the lakes of Utah have a special place in the hearts of the people who call this state home. Our poets celebrate Utah’s peaceful lakes, from the Great Salt Lake to less famous but no less great bodies of water.
Evergreens reflect in Twin Lakes in the Uinta Mountains on a glorious summer day.
Lake Haikus
J. Paul Davis, Lindon
Lake of mystery
A peaceful glassy surface
But murky below
Clouds wave when rocks skip
The beautiful blue lake swirls
From sunny swimmers
The lake reflecting Sun down, stars surround my boat
Floating, silent, still
Distance
Margaret Pettis, Hyrum
In this kayak –the color of riverbank, bleached cottonwood –I paddle close, dripping, blending into the water world.
Popping onto the surface from a black and white bubble, a red-eyed loon inspects my shape, my gestures, my route. Intolerant of uncertainty, he curls beneath the lake.
I am a brooch on the water god’s chest, lifting and lowering on each green swell. I sit the waves like the spine of a cantering horse, hammering toward shore. I paddle, propel my glide –at my speed, to my spot, in my arms’ rhythm.
A naiad with an entourage of minnows, I beach my boat in the shallows, step barefooted onto the sand. Beneath driftwood, a spring trickles into the lake. Birds from dappled leaves flit down to sip their reflections.
Adorned in shadows of cottonwood, I wade into stories of the lake.
Jessica Crystal
Heidi Baxter takes in the sunset while paddling the waters of Willard Bay, which reflect Willard Peak.
6:30
pm June 18
Barbara Comnes, Ivins
The half moon up
In the still blue sky
The light transparent It’s the fishermen’s hour
Perfect casting of silver lines
From shoreline rocks and pier
From quiet bobbing boats
In crystal water
Ospreys overhead circling slowly
Not a word spoken
Each line casts a spell
Over the caldera lake
Watch for ripples on blue green water
Signs of rainbows
Seeing and not seeing
Deferring to luck and instinct
Make a perfect cast
Focus on shimmering lines
That disappear and sparkle
Stop time
At least for this hour.
Antelope Island
Carolina Williams, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Meet me where the road ends.
Breathe in my salty, sulfurous air,
Let me remind you of the power of quiet.
Come drink from my 40 freshwater springs, Let me show you how this valley used to be.
I am a refuge for the wild things.
A Heavenly Place
Ellen Liebelt, South Jordan
Beautiful blues you will never see truer
Especially when the skies are clear
Amazing place for memories to treasure Recreating with friends and family dear.
Launch the boats with flowing sails
And ones with motors pulling skiers
Keep watch for old monstrous tales
Enjoy swimming and sandy beaches.
Underneath this picturesque scene
This lake gives more than eye can see
A place where troubles are washed clean Heavenly hours spent feeling so free.
WE INVITE YOU to submit poems inspired by Utah for future issues of Utah Life. The September/October 2022 issue’s theme is “Coming Home,” with a deadline of July 1. The November/December 2022 issue’s theme is “Frost,” with a deadline of Sept. 1. Visit utahlifemag.com/poetry-submission to submit your poems, or email to poetry@utahlifemag.com.
Scott Baxter
Told in
Stories Rocks
Torrey photographer Guy Tal expresses the special relationship he has formed with the landscape of southern Utah
photographs by GUY TAL story by MATT MASICH
GUY TAL CREATES photographs of Utah landscapes that no one else can create. To him, that is the entire point of his artform.
“The purpose of the photograph is to express a subjective feeling,” he said, “not just to document an objective appearance.”
Tal favors a style known as intimate landscapes, often narrowing his focus on details within the larger scene. This sometimes results in a panoramic shot of canyons and buttes that omits the horizon and sky, or a shot that zooms in a single tiny plant emerging from dried, cracked mud.
When Tal ventures out from his Torrey home to set up camp in the Utah desert, he seldom stays for fewer than four days.
“Four days is where things begin to get interesting,” he said.
He will often stay for up to two weeks. He brings his camera, of course, but he has no set objective other than to be outdoors and experience what the desert has to offer.
“I just want to live outside,” he said. “My office is out in the desert in a tent instead of brick and mortar.”
When it comes to choosing a spot to camp, Tal follows a simple rule: If there is even one other vehicle at the trailhead, he will move on and look elsewhere. Once he has found a good place for a basecamp, he sets up his tent, as well as a gas stove that he uses to cook hearty meals in his 12inch cast-iron skillet: stir fries, pancakes and more.
After a few days in his basecamp, he will look at topographical maps to find interesting places to explore. Tal’s favorite locales are almost always so remote and little-visited that they don’t have names – places that offer the solitude that he cherishes.
Each photograph he takes evokes its own particular emotion, but if there is overarching emotion to his body of work, it is a sense of awe. That feeling of awe is one that is at once intensely impressive and intensely threatening, Tal said – and there’s no denying the desert is both of those things.
“For me, a desert is a more living place than most other places,” he said. “Life isn’t about quantity; it’s about life asserting itself against challenges.”
The Israeli-born Tal sees the sublime in this landscape, invoking the novelist Wendell Berry, who said, “It was the desert, not the temple, that gave us the prophets.”
Life prevails
On the opening page, rocky benches in the Cathedral Valley area of Capitol Reef National Park come alive with green vegetation in the late spring. Red desert paintbrush flowers grow in the San Rafael Swell. In the punishingly harsh Caineville Badlands, which Guy Tal calls “the baddest of the badlands,” a shadscale saltbush grows amid the cracked clay. Along a tributary of the Escalante River, a cottonwood is bathed in a warm glow, a phenomenon that happens when the sun is not directly overhead, and the light bounces off the canyon wall.
At higher elevations
A cottonwood grows in a deep bowl at the top of a large sandstone dome in Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument; while it is unusual for cottonwoods to grow without a creek or river nearby, this large hole traps enough water for it to survive. Late afternoon light falls on an aspen grove high on Mount Dutton. A summer thunderstorm closes in on an alpine lake and meadow full of paintbrush, elephant head, fleabane and groundsel wildflowers close to tree line in the Uinta Mountains.
Precious water
A rainbow forms in the graceful, silky lines of a monsoon storm cell as it unleashes torrential rain on a concentrated area of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; Guy Tal watched the storm sweep across the desert until it finally reached his camp. Mist hangs in the air amid ponderosa pines after a rain on the Aquarius Plateau; Clarence E. Dutton, a colleague of John Wesley Powell, said the plateau “should be described in blank verse and illustrated upon canvas.” A makeshift ladder allows hikers to explore further upstream at Kanarra Falls.
Superbloom at the butte
The Caineville Badlands below Factory Butte erupt into a sea of purple scorpionweed, with beeplant supplying yellow highlights. This vast profusion of wildflowers, known as a superbloom, only happens when enough rain falls. Superblooms used to occur on these badlands every five or six years, Tal said, but they have become increasingly rare – the last one seen in this area was in 2010, when this photo was captured.
Kerrie Lasley serves sundaes at the original 1929 Farr Better Ice Cream Shop in Ogden.
Farr Better Ice Cream
Ogden’s family-owned ice cream empire celebrates a century and counting
story by ALLIE WISNIEWSKI photographs by JOSHUA HARDIN
THE SCENT OF sugar swirls through the streets of Ogden like a spell, drawing passersby to the corner of 21st Street and Grant Avenue – to the brick building topped with a towering neon sign that declares “Farr Better Ice Cream.” On a recent weekday afternoon, a seemingly endless stream of people, old and young, clamored into Farr’s ice cream parlor for a peek into glass cases filled with colorful tubs, gazing with sparkling eyes as if into a treasure chest.
The scene has changed little since the parlor opened nearly a century ago. Farr’s has been in business for even longer, celebrating its centennial year in 2020. Today, the company’s ice cream is found in supermarkets and ice cream shops across the Mountain West.
Farr’s is the only family-owned ice cream company left in Utah; President Mike Farr is the fourth generation of his family to work at Farr Better Ice Cream. It’s a good line of business to be in, he said as he surveyed the gleeful customers filling his ice cream parlor. The scene conjured memories of a conversation he had with his father about the family business as a teenager.
“My father once said to me, ‘The best thing about working where I do and doing what I do is that people like me. They don’t want to go to the dentist. But they like to see the ice cream man.’ ”
Utahns’ fondness for ice cream certainly didn’t hurt the business, but it took more than that to survive 100 years and counting. Their formula for success has as much to do with family cooperation, resilience and consistency as it does with serving indisputably excellent ice cream.
MIKE’S GRANDFATHER DEXTER Farr gets the credit for Farr Better Ice Cream’s catchy name. He had heard customers comparing his ice cream with other companies’ offerings, and saying, “Farr’s is better.” Grandpa Dexter tweaked that expression to the punny “Farr Better Ice Cream” and filed a trademark.
Before they started making ice cream, the Farr family specialized in plain-old ice, with Asael Farr and his brothers establishing Farr Ice Co. in 1891. The business strategically evolved from natural ice harvesting to ice cream manufacturing and retailing in 1929, when they were able to expand their existing red brick factory into a combination manufacturing plant and ice cream parlor.
Farr’s continued to manufacture its ice cream in the original Ogden building until 2000, when the company purchased Russell’s Ice Cream and its factory in Salt Lake City. The original Ogden parlor is still going strong, and with the departure of production equipment from the building, it had the opportunity to expand.
This parlor, which opened at the dawn of Farr Better back in 1929, is a delightful blast from the past, having undergone few decor changes over the past half century. Stepping into the scoop shop, visitors are transported back to the 1950s, with retro diner-style tables and chairs, doo-wop music smiling through the speakers, and a stylish bar area reminiscent of the soda fountains that were all the rage in their heyday more than 65 years ago.
Unlike most existing establishments of its kind, it’s no replica. Unapologetically nostalgic, the old-school parlor is a living antique, teeming with history, spunk and a persisting legacy of friendly faces serving high quality ice cream to folks from all walks of life.
Mike said that some particularly enthusiastic ice cream fanatics travel across the country to their Ogden flagship store, just for a taste of their almost 700 flavors. Of course, they can’t taste them all in one visit, but always having something new to try is a big part of what keeps local patrons coming back.
The parlor tries to keep about 70 flavors in stock at any given time. There are certain standards that are always available, along with rarer varieties like Hula Pie, Brownies on the Moon and Black Licorice.
Christian Farr serves a signature Farr Better giant waffle cone at the shop. Farr’s Ice Cream President Mike Farr, the fourth generation of his family in the business, shows off the parlor’s historic photographs.
THE PARLOR SERVED only vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream when it first opened. Farr’s astronomical number of flavors have been added, bit by bit, over the course of decades.
As Farr’s gained popularity, providing
moments of much needed joy to the community in the midst of the Great Depression, Dexter Farr knew he had to hire some help. He turned to Von Allred, a longtime fishing buddy and dairy scientist, who recruited his wife, Lola, to assist him in de-
veloping hundreds of new flavors.
Many of those flavors are still used today, though many of Farr’s modern recipes are developed by Mike himself, with the help of collaborators Lynn Russell, whose ice cream business the Farr family purchased back in 2000, and Rex Infanger, a prominent dairy food scientist. The three have each been making ice cream for decades and are a sort of dream team when it comes to cooking up fresh ideas.
When creating a new ice cream flavor, the visual component is just as important as the taste. The first question Mike always asks is: What’s going to be an appetizing color?
“In ice cream, color is everything,” he said. “When people go to an ice cream shop, they’re shopping colors.”
Getting flavors shop-ready isn’t always easy, though. One of Farr Better’s most popular flavors, Play Dough, nearly identically mimics the classic children’s modeling compound, but Mike says getting the shade of blue just right was a nightmare.
“We probably made 40 to 60 versions of it before we finally perfected the color,” he said. “Each flavor kind of has its own challenge.”
Once the color meets Farr Better standards, the company brings in a focus
group to taste test the new flavor. There are some careers that seem too outlandishly pleasurable to be real: professional binge watcher, fortune cookie writer, video game tester. Ice cream taster might epitomize this category, and if you’re lucky enough to know Mike Farr, you might just get to try a dream job on for size.
Mike aims to get representation from a cross-section of ice cream eaters – “men, women, boys and girls. Older and younger – all sorts.”
First, they get a general opinion on the new flavor in question, before bringing in both popular and in-progress flavors for comparison. Sometimes, they’ll ask testers to blindly guess the flavors they’re tasting, in case they aren’t coming through as strongly or clearly as they need to be.
It can be a long process, Mike said.
“Once in a while, you hit the ball out of the park, and it’s done, and you say, ‘Wow, that’s great,’ ” he said. “Other times, you work with it. We have a new flavor, Brigham City Peach Cobbler – we must have worked on that thing for a year and half, maybe two years, to get it right.”
But when it’s right, it’s right. Some of their best-selling flavors nowadays are cookie dough, chocolate peanut butter
and mint chocolate chip, the latter of which Mike is particularly fond of.
“Our mint chocolate chip is the best mint chocolate chip I’ve ever had anywhere in the country, or in Europe for that matter,” he said.
The reason his mint chocolate chip is so good, he said, is that Farr’s is the only manufacturer in the country that still uses genuine mint oil in the ice cream.
MIKE DOESN’T REMEMBER a time without ice cream – even growing up, his family home had an “ice cream cabinet” filled with as many as 12 different flavors of their trademark treat. His friends oohed and aahed at his privilege, and he was hailed as a hero when he’d bring ice cream to share with school classmates for special occasions. He didn’t even realize at the time how unique his life was, as he’d never known anything different.
Mike began working for his father at age 12, mowing the property’s grass and spraying down the parlor parking lot, but he never intended to commit to the family business as an adult. After graduating high school, he spent two years in Denmark and thought about coming home and becoming an attorney. But that was not to be.
Farr’s Ice Cream offerings are available on store shelves in cardboard cartons and in larger plastic buckets –one of the company’s innovations. Employee Abbi Crawford hands off some freshly scooped ice cream.
For decades, Farr’s iconic neon sign has towered overhead as crowds of people file in and out of the Ogden scoop shop at 21st Street and Grant Avenue.
“While I was in Denmark, I couldn’t get away from it,” he said. “I guess it’s in my blood. I’d meet people from the States or from Utah, they’d hear my last name and say, ‘Oh, like the ice cream!’ It kept coming back.”
Born and raised in the confectionery industry, Mike has witnessed drastic changes in both the company and the world of ice cream at large. What’s striking about the evolution of Farr’s is what an instrumental role the advent of grocery store refrigeration had on the success of its products. Though it may seem a given in the modern world, the frozen food section was once a luxurious novelty, with the invention of frozen vegetables launching an entirely new realm of consumer opportunity.
Farr’s was the first ice cream available in a Utah grocery store, Mike said. Employees would scoop ice cream into little cartons, put them in an insulated box and drive it to the Ogden train station to ship it on a passenger train.
“Dan Gardiner, who owned a chain of grocery stores in Salt Lake called Dan’s Market, would rush down, pick up the ice cream at the train station, and hope he could get it in his stores before it melted,” Mike said.
FARR BETTER ICE
Cream products can now be found in thousands of grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants across 17 U.S. states. They’re a household name in Utah – if a shop is selling ice cream in the state, customers are likely to come face to face with Farr.
Though the Farr Better logo has maintained its iconic recognizability, Mike notes packaging has seen big changes over the years. He remembers being 10 years old and his father coming home with a startling new idea: He was going to put ice cream in a clear, plastic 5-quart bucket with a lid and a plastic handle.
“It was crazy,” Mike said. “My mom laughed at it. Everything was in a square cardboard box – all ice cream, all brands, everywhere. Dad said, ‘This is the new thing. People want to see the ice cream; this is what we’re going to do.’ That was a weird deal, but it took off.”
Farr’s has never been afraid to pave a new way, and the company’s pioneering, optimistic mentality has certainly proved
Jourdan Cryer puts the finishing touches on a cone.
advantageous. That’s not to say it’s been smooth sailing since day one.
In 2003, a late-night ammonia leak in the Salt Lake City cold storage warehouse spoiled millions of dollars’ worth of inventory – a devastating loss. It was a freak accident with disastrous consequences, and when the insurance company denied their claim, Farr’s began a years-long legal battle that ultimately culminated in defeat. Many assumed Farr Better would not recover from the incident, but it was going to take more than that to take down the ice cream giant.
When asked how they were able to crawl out of such a deep hole, Mike cites his family’s willingness to roll up their sleeves for the wellbeing of the business, exchanging suits for smocks and getting their hands dirty in the factory.
“That’s where the great blessing comes in being a family business. You see out there?” he said, pointing to the Farr Better Ice Cream sign on the roof. “That’s my
family’s name on the building. We found a way. I’m sure the average business never could have done it, but when your name is on the building, you find a way.”
While it’s clear Farr Better has seen a whirlwind of changes, challenges, and advancements over its century-long stint, there are two things that have remained constant: quality, and the ubiquitous delight provided by such a timeless treat.
“I have no idea what it is about ice cream that makes it special,” he said. “I remember standing out here in the store, and a car pulled up, and the kids jumped out and were jumping up and down saying, ‘We’re going to get ice cream!’ And then out steps the grandmother, and she’s jumping up and down, too.”
Ice cream transcends the barriers built between people. It represents a small moment of joy. Ice cream is more than a dessert – it’s an experience. And when it comes to experience, some might say that Farr’s is Farr Better.
HISTORIC WENDOVER Airfield
MUSIC
Explore Utah CULTURE.
ADVENTURE. HISTORY.
by RACHEL FIXSEN
OGDEN MUSIC FESTIVAL
JUNE 3-5 • OGDEN
Some of the nation’s top bluegrass and Americana artists take over historic Fort Buenaventura at this festival that kicks off summer in Ogden. The venue is right along the Weber River, in the shade of 100-year-old cottonwoods. Those who stay for all three days of music have the option of camping right at the site.
Event organizer Michelle Tanner was inspired to start the Ogden Music Festival when she went to a bluegrass festival in Flagstaff, Arizona, to see her brother, a musician, perform. She was unexpectedly moved by the amazing banjo playing of Jans Kruger of the Kruger Brothers trio.
“I started crying,” she said, “and then I looked around and everyone else was crying too. It’s just music that grabs your soul.”
She decided to bring that feeling back to her hometown of Ogden. The Kruger Brothers were the first act she booked at
the new festival. The 2022 lineup includes mandolinist Sam Bush, one of the originators of the progressive bluegrass movement, as well as the Brothers Comatose, singer-songwriter Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache and many more.
The mission of Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music, which puts on the festival, is to get musical instruments into the hands of youth. To that end, the festival has an instrument library where kids can get familiar with trying out different instruments, as well as intimate Q&A sessions and jams for all ages with the artists. Youth aged 16 and under attend the festival for free. Tickets for adults are $90 presale pricing for all three days, or $45 for Friday or Saturday only, $25 for Sunday. Packages that include tent or RV camping are also available. (801) 513-0657.
Bluegrass and Americana musicians perform in the shade of massive cottonwoods at Fort Buenaventura.
WHERE TO EAT
SLACKWATER PUB AND PIZZERIA
A menu of artisan pizzas is rounded out with pub favorites like nachos and wings, along with dozens of beers, both bottled and on tap. A patio next to the Ogden River beckons in nice weather, and the pub hosts live music Thursday through Sunday. 209 24th St. 801-399-0637.
WHAT TO DO
OGDEN NATURE CENTER
At Utah’s first nature center, founded in 1975, people can explore walking trails, ponds, a treehouse and a spotting tower. The 152-acre preserve is home to many native species of wildlife, including 149 species of birds that have been sighted at the nature center. Visitors can bring binoculars, or just enjoy the birdsong and peaceful atmosphere. 966 W. 12th St. (801) 621-7595.
Sam Crump/Dancing Wolf Photo
ARTS
SUMMERFEST ARTS FAIRE
JUNE 16-18 • LOGAN
Music, art and food combine into one, big celebratory event that all of Logan and Cache County looks forward to each year.
Painters, sculptors, wood and metal workers, jewelry makers, potters and more display and sell their work. Musical acts from bluegrass to classic-rock cover bands perform, and food vendors offer meals and treats. Attendees can get handson: There’s a Creation Station where children and adults can create their own crafts and artwork, as well as photography and plein air painting contests with categories for amateur participants.
Summerfest Arts Faire Executive Director Shirlene Davis grew up in Cache County. She moved away for a while, but now that she’s back, she said, “You couldn’t get me to leave again.” Her favorite aspect of Summerfest is the opportunity for community members to visit with each other and with artists and craftspeople. Davis herself enjoys fiber crafts like sewing, crocheting and weaving. She said she’s picked up tips and ideas from professional craftspeople who attend the fair.
“Artists really enjoy that, too, the opportunity to visit with each other and swap ideas and trade techniques,” Davis
said. Most artists are from Utah, but a good number come from all over the West and beyond to commune in the casual atmosphere. (435) 213-3858.
WHERE TO EAT CAFFE IBIS
Founded in the 1970s by a Logan couple, Caffe Ibis is both a coffee roastery that distributes throughout the country and a local deli and espresso, coffee and tea bar. The company strives to model ethical business practices while producing a great brew. 52 Federal Ave. (435) 735-4777.
WHERE TO STAY OLD ROCK CHURCH BED & BREAKFAST
Just south of Logan, this stone church building was completed in 1872 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The walls are 30 inches thick and 20 feet tall. It was purchased by a private owner in 1968 and has served various uses, but now it offers unique lodging and an excellent breakfast menu. 10 S. Main St., Providence. (435) 752-3432.
Dozens of arts and crafts vendors showcase their creations at Logan’s Summerfest Arts Faire.
Ironman World Championship
May 3-9 • St. George
Competitors in the world championship of the challenging Ironman triathlon must have qualified through the Ironman Executive Challenge Series. Racers swim in Sand Hollow Reservoir and bike and run along the Red Cliffs National Conservation area. (435) 634-5747.
Soldier Hollow Bike Festival
May 7-8 • Midway
Soldier Hollow was a sport venue for Olympians in 2002 when Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games. The area is now increasingly used for summer activities as well, including mountain biking. The Soldier Hollow Festival includes races in short track, XCO and e-bike categories. (435) 654-2002.
Living Traditions Festival
May 20-22 • Salt Lake City
This free event showcases a variety of folk art – including song, dance, crafts and food – that preserves cultural traditions. More 90 cultures that have made a home in Salt Lake City are represented. The mission is to promote conversations about diversity. (801) 596-5000.
Art on Main
May 27-28 • Brigham City
This annual festival showcases both the visual and performing artists. The 2022 theme is “Creative Endurance,” highlighting how expressive endeavors can help carry us through dark times. Attendees enjoy music, fine arts and crafts, as well as opportunities to try making their own art. (435) 538-7949.
Eleanor Wellings
This epic bike relay race traverses two national monuments and a national park.
KOKOPELLI RELAY
JUNE 10-11 • MOAB TO ST. GEORGE
Some 530 miles of desert, canyons and mountains in just 38 hours challenge road cycling teams ambitious enough to take on the Kokopelli Relay from Moab to St. George.
Troy Tomkinson relishes long, hard endurance rides. His four-man team took first place overall in the 2019 Kokopelli Relay. The second leg was the hardest, he said – he fought a headwind for miles along Highway 12.
“That’s probably the most that I’ve pushed myself in any event,” he said, but he had recovered enough by the fourth leg of the relay to enjoy what ended up being his favorite section: riding in the middle of the night over Bryce Canyon
to Panguitch. It was freezing cold at the high elevations and pitch black along the road, but with the confidence that his teammates and support vehicle were close by, he could soak in the rarely experienced beauty of the forest under the stars. The silhouette of the tree line was visible against the starlight.
“It’s really worth looking at the stars as long as you have the ability to keep your balance,” he said.
The daytime scenery is worth it, too: The route goes through Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Cedar Breaks National Monument, and miles of other scenic and varied natural beauty.
Cameron Scott
Spectators are encouraged to attend the early morning racer send-off in Moab. Teams can register at kokopellirelay.com.
WHERE TO EAT LOVE MUFFIN CAFE
Participants can fuel up ahead of the ride with coffee and a breakfast panini or burrito at this hip cafe run by a local Moab couple. They also serve espresso drinks, baked goods, breakfast plates and lunch sandwiches, and strive to source ingredients locally as much as possible. 139 N. Main St., Moab. (435) 259-6833.
WHERE TO STAY THE INN ON THE CLIFF
This elegant and contemporary boutique hotel looks over St. George from a high point in town. Each room has a balcony. Guests can take in the view from the outdoor pool or hot tub, or from the patio of the on-site Cliffside Restaurant. 511 S. Tech Ridge Dr., St. George. (435) 216-5864.
Utah
Blues Fest
June 10-11 • Salt Lake City
This festival celebrates the Americangrown blues music genre with nine acts performing over two days at the Gallivan Center. An arts and crafts village, food trucks and free music workshops complement the music. (801) 535-6110.
Panguitch Valley Balloon Rally
June 24-26 • Panguitch
Multicolored hot air balloons float into the sky, while on the ground, a festival comes alive with entertainment, arts and crafts booths, and food vendors. After sundown, the balloons come back to earth and put on a balloon glow. (435) 676-8585.
Savor the Summit
June 25 • Park City
This may be Utah’s most unusual dinner party. A long table is set up on Main Street, and more than 2,500 diners enjoy specialties served by Park City restaurants while live music plays. parkcityrestaurants.com/ savor-the-summit.
Photo by: Dave Titensor
Monumental Exposure
EDITORS’ CHOICE
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW
SEEGMILLER
ARROWLEAF balsamroot wildflowers erupt in golden grandeur, filling a meadow on the slopes of Squaw Peak. With Mount Timpanogos visible in the distance, the setting sun casts the day’s final rays upon a serene spring scene.
The prelude to this shot was anything but serene for photographer Andrew Seegmiller. He had stumbled upon the field of wildflowers in late May while mountain biking on a Squaw Peak trail – without his camera. He knew he needed to try to photograph the scene before the sun dropped below the horizon, so he raced 5 miles back to his home, grabbed his camera and frantically pedaled back.
“I got there just in time, with the sun just starting to set,” Seegmiller said. “This was one of the first frames I took. Right after that, the sun dropped behind the hill.”
He captured the sun-star effect by selecting a very small aperture; the rays are actually an artifact created by the camera’s aperture blades.
IN EACH ISSUE, Monumental Exposure features a reader’s photograph of Utah – landscapes, architecture, attractions, events, people or wildlife.
Submit your best photographs for the chance to be published in Utah Life. Send digital images with detailed photo descriptions and your contact information to photos@utahlifemag.com or visit utahlifemag.com/contribute.
This photo was taken with a Sony a7R III camera equipped with a Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, exposed at ISO 100, f/20 for 1.6 seconds.
last laugh
THERE HAVE BEEN some seismic shifts over the last several decades in the sports young people play in Utah. When I was an unathletic kid, back in the 1970s, the options for boys were limited to Little League baseball, football and an early form of mixed martial arts called church basketball. Nowadays, most kids are suiting up for soccer and lacrosse – or just staying indoors to work up a virtual sweat playing Minecraft.
Ultimate Frisbee, a sport with a weirdly ambiguous and hyperbolic name, has also become huge in our state over the past couple of decades. There are now close to 200 ultimate high school teams in the state, and each major university runs an elaborate intramural program for the sport.
When I played in my first and only fully officiated ultimate game in 2016, I made a fool of myself for a couple of reasons. First, I had an inflated sense of my abilities based on initial experiences with the sport in the early 2000s, when I was a leader in our local church’s youth program. (I failed to notice back then that the only reason I excelled was because I was competing against inexperienced 12-year-old boys – and other adult leaders who, let’s be frank, were more familiar with handling overloaded paper plates at potluck picnics than Frisbees.)
Second, I had gotten way too involved in my son’s sporting life. Here’s what happened: As he entered the local university, where I teach, I encouraged him to organize his own ultimate intramural team. Not noticing his tepid response, I volunteered to stand in line early one morning to sign up a team for him using my faculty ID.
When I was asked to provide a name for the squad, I chose, to my son’s later dismay, the Disc Jockeys. With more time, I might have been able to think of something better – though perhaps much nerdier – like Eleanor Frisbee, Lord of the Flings or Game of Throws.
With schedule in hand, my son was too busy with classes and social opportunities to recruit teammates effectively. This
story by KERRY SOPER illustration by JOSH TALBOT
The Ultimate Frisbee Fiasco
resulted in a crisis on the morning of the first game, as only he and three friends showed up – one short of being able to play.
Just as the head ref was about to forfeit the match, it occurred to me that I could save the day: Because I had used my faculty ID to create the team, my name appeared on the roster as “team captain,” and I was technically eligible to play.
Ignoring the voices of reason in my head, I stepped forward and announced, “I’LL PLAY!” I guess I was expecting spontaneous applause or something, but instead, everyone just stared at me in confusion. When the female student in charge realized I was serious, she laughed apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, you’re not dressed properly… .” I was wearing flip flops and long pants.
Not to be deterred, I said, “I’ll trade clothes with him!” and pointed to my son’s oversized buddy who was there just to watch. Taking her noncommittal shrug as a sign of approval, I ran with my son’s friend to the restroom to exchange clothes.
A significant problem emerged, however, as we started that process: This guy was huge. His giant, silky basketball shorts (purple and baby blue, with a garish Utah Jazz logo) went well past my knees, like baggy capri pants, the waist size a full 5 inches larger than mine. His shoes were also gargantuan: ratty, ankle-high basketball sneakers with worn down treads. Minutes later, as I self-consciously walked out of that bathroom, shoes flopping, holding up my shorts with one hand, I felt like a Jazz-obsessed rodeo clown prepar-
ing for his first day of work.
It was too late to back out now, though, or at least that’s what I told myself, and so I walked onto the field, heart racing. The starting whistle blew, and I immediately became a liability for my team for several reasons.
First, I was already tired from a morning jog and thus couldn’t keep up with anyone. Second, each time I attempted to run, my slippy clown shoes would fail me, sending me stumbling into the sod. Third, because one of my arms was always busy holding up those Karl Malone-sized shorts, I couldn’t guard opponents effectively. Finally, since it had been several years since I’d even held a Frisbee, my throws were wildly off target, sometimes almost hitting spectators.
The other team quickly learned to use me as a weak spot, and as halftime arrived, they were ahead, 7 to 0. During the ensuing 10-minute break, I tried not to take it personally that my son and his
teammates didn’t even include me in their strategy huddle. Free to wander dejectedly, I overheard one of the players from the other team exclaim to his girlfriend: “Our games never went this well last year!”
In the second half, things started out better, probably because my teammates pretended I wasn’t on the field; they scored two goals while the other team added an additional three. It was now 10 to 2. Knowing that the game would be called early if the other team scored just one more goal, I decided to focus on just lurking in the endzone, ready to be a hero by blocking any final catch.
Finally, my moment of potential redemption came: A simple, floating pass was headed my way; I just had to take two steps and swat it out of the air.
My eagerness and slippy shoes failed me, however. I momentarily ran in place, legs churning like a cartoon character, and then went completely horizontal, planting my face in the sod while my opponent
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Professional designers have been hired to submit flag designs inspired by public cues. In August, we’re inviting Utahns to weigh in with comments on the finalists. What designs represent our state and each other?
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made an easy catch.
As I lay there, appalled at myself, I could hear the other team celebrating their victory over my inert body. I tried to pretend like I was unconscious, but then something surprising happened: I was lifted to my feet by the other team; they gathered around me, patting me on the back consolingly, trying to hold back laughter.
They were full of questions, too, about whether I had been putting on some kind of comedy act or prank. As humiliating as this line of questioning was, it did work as an effective intervention, helping me to see that I’d become way too involved in my son’s college life.
It also helped me see that I might have a possible second career. You won’t ever see me playing ultimate again, but I am willing to perform for about 50 bucks an hour – perhaps as comic relief in a halftime show for the Jazz, or at your child’s next birthday party? I charge extra if I have to make any lame balloon animals.
