The Paria Movie Set near Kanab burned down in 2006, one of many sights – both lost and found – across Utah’s iconic landscapes. Story begins on page 20.
Photo by Tom Till
Midvale, pg. 6
Heber City, pg. 12
Orem, pg. 12
Helper, pg. 34
Moab, pg. 6
Bullfrog, pg. 20
DEPARTMENTS
6 Honeycomb
Midvale bakery serves up island fare; Heritage Trees protects state history; Arches National Park gets its own anthology.
10 Trivia
Test yourself on Utah’s grid system. Answers on page 44.
28 Kitchens
Go bananas for these recipes.
32 Poetry
Our poets revere Utah’s canyons.
40 Explore Utah
Ogden toasts to the Union Station’s 100th year; Red Acre Farms in Cedar City decks the farm for Christmas.
46 Last Laugh
Relish and discover Utah’s special dog owner archetypes.
FEATURES
12
Cocoa Bean-to-Bar
Utah’s chocolate scene is rich with delectable tastings and artisan treats made fresh from the bean. by Jacque Garcia
20 Lost and Found
Across 50 years of his career, Tom Till has captured Utah’s landscape mysteries, once thought undiscovered and those seemingly found. story and photographs by Tom Till
34 Switching Gears
Explore six auto museums with curated automotive collections from across the Beehive state. story and photographs by Bianca Dumas
Bianca Dumas
FALL 2024 Volume 7, Number 4
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THE BUZZ AROUND UTAH
Immigrant family shares recipes with Midvale community
by HEATHER BERGESON
Sagato Bakery and Cafe in Midvale established itself as one of a handful of places in Utah that sells high-quality, traditional Samoan cuisine when it opened in 2017. Surprisingly, Utah boasts one of the largest Pacific Islander populations outside of Hawaiʻi. The Sagato family immediately felt the support of the Salt Lake Valley community on opening day. Customers formed a line that wrapped around the building.
The bakery’s fare features both sweet and savory options from across Polynesia, including palusami (corned beef in taro leaves from Samoa), lamington (butter cake from Australia) and fish ’n chips, as well as traditional Samoan treats, such as keke puaʻa (steamed dumplings), pineapple half-moon pies and keke saiga (sweet bread). However, one of their most popular items, the sausage roll, became a
source of controversy and inspiration.
One summer night, a man broke through the window of the bakery, rummaged through their office and grabbed a sausage roll before leaving. What began as “a punch in the gut,” soon became an outpouring of support. Local journalists covered the story, and customers rallied behind the Sagatos. While the crime was an upsetting moment, it also showed the Sagato family truly how strong the community’s support was for them.
Food is so much more than food for the Sagatos. Enjoying a good meal together represents a hallmark of Polynesian culture, and the cafe quickly became a gathering place for immigrants, descendants and for appreciators of Polynesian culture.
“Living in the diaspora is so different from being in Samoa or being on the island,” said Verona Sagato Mauga, one of five Sagato siblings, “but we adjust, and we
do things a little bit different. People come to our bakery and connect.”
Verona recalled a day shortly after they opened when two families sitting near each other made an unlikely connection. One family hailed from New Zealand, and a man in the other family mentioned his father had served there as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Come to find out, his dad had stayed with members of the other family during his time on the island.
At its core, the bakery represents the resilience of a family and a community that spans the South Pacific. Long before opening the store, as children, the five Sagato siblings spent summer days selling traditional Samoan steamed buns and pineapple pies at Southridge Park in Kearns. Their parents, Loi and Tualagi Sagato, emigrated from Samoa in 1979 and baked traditional food to help the new immigrant family
Sagato Bakery and Cafe
Cafe
make ends meet. This gradually grew into a catering business. Eventually, the family established their brick-and-mortar storefront in Midvale.
Once entering the doors, the warm atmosphere, fruity aroma and smiling servers draw customers into the space, instantly making them feel at home. While many curious customers are enticed by the promise of delicious treats, some patrons have been customers since the family’s days selling in the park.
The Sagatos remain connected to the island and help their children and grandchildren learn about their culture through the Samoan dishes their mother, Tualagi, grew up learning to prepare.
“So many of the recipes we use today have been passed down from my grandmother and great-grandmother on both sides of the family,” Verona said. “My sisters and I have put our twist on different items, but the foundation goes back to their recipes.”
Book reveres Utah’s arches
by LISA TRUESDALE
In the mid-1950s, author, essayist and environmentalist Edward Abbey spent two summers as a seasonal ranger at Arches National Monument (now Arches National Park) near Moab.
Although he had already traveled extensively, he was completely mesmerized by the landscape and its surreal, gravity-defying rock formations. He called it “the most beautiful place on earth.”
The Arches Reader, the sixth volume in the National Park Readers series from the University of Utah Press, naturally includes two excerpts from Abbey’s Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, a 1968 memoir he was inspired to write after his months of isolation in the backcountry.
“What are the Arches? These are natural arches, holes in the rock, windows in stone, no two alike, as varied in form as in dimension,” Abbey wrote. “They range in size from holes just big enough to walk through to openings large enough to contain the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC… Standing there, gaping at this monstrous and inhuman spectacle of rock and cloud and sky and space, I feel a ridiculous greed and possessiveness come over me.”
“bridges” – a bridge is something that spans water, and these do not.
He adds compelling first-person accounts from rangers who worked there, children who grew up there with their ranger-parents with the arches as their backyard and journalists, repeat visitors and government officials.
He found poems dedicated to the arches, creative literary stories from non-fiction to poetry and even humorous Facebook posts, like one from a disgruntled tourist complaining about an unexpected park closure: “Drove hours out of our way to see the arches, and the only arches we get to see are the Golden Arches of McDonald’s.” All the entries, plus a selection of both black and white and color photos, blend together to create a comprehensive portrait of the stunning national park.
“Climate change, overcrowding and vandalism may transform this place beloved by so many,” wrote Nichols in the book’s introduction.
“But the holes in rocks, the fins and buttes, and the breathtaking spans endure (and change), and they will continue to endure and inspire. Come explore Arches for yourself.”
Edited by Jeffrey D. Nichols, a professor of history at Westminster University, this new book includes 48 writings that are as varied as the park’s 2,000-plus arches themselves. Nichols chose interesting scientific studies, like one from 1898 erroneously calling the arches
The Arches Reader
Edited by Jeffrey D. Nichols
The University of Utah Press 270 pp, paperback, $25
Sagato Bakery and
in Midvale serves up Samoan cuisine using family recipes since opening in 2017.
Sagato Bakery and Cafe
Heritage Trees preserve and celebrate history
by TIM GURRISTER
The 91-foot-high cottonwood tree that stands higher than any man-made structure in Parowan is a member of an exclusive club: Utah’s Heritage Tree Program.
The program registers 50 trees across the state, some that grew from seedlings that the first settlers brought from back east.
Parowan’s tree drew the area’s first settlers. The Church of Latter-Day Saints Apostle Parley P. Pratt’s party camped under it in 1850. The town grew from that spot, the nine-story edifice now part of the city’s Heritage Park on Main Street. The Church sent 140 pioneers to Parowan a year after Pratt’s successful campout. They immediately built a 100-square-foot fort with 10-foot adobe walls, securing the area for the influx of settlers spurred by Congress’s Homestead Act of 1862.
Over 100 years later, Las Vegas cardiologist Ron Roth was so impressed by the cottonwood, he bought a second home in Parowan and made weekly trips, buying plots of forested land – so far 100 acres –to preserve the area’s trees.
A tree’s circulatory system, its respiration, is like human circulatory systems.
“When you look at a tree, there is just as much to it underground as there is above ground,” he said, “the way nutrients are brought up to the leaves ... their roots communicating with fungal systems and on and on, with as much scientific complexity as we possess.”
Parowan’s cottonwood is young compared to Cache County’s Rocky Mountain juniper, the county’s lone entry in the registry. Maurice Blood Lindford discovered the tree in 1923, high up in Logan Canyon in the Cache National Forest. Nicknamed the Jardine juniper, it’s estimated to be at least 1,500 years old.
The Jardine juniper is itself a mere teen-
ager compared to Sevier County’s quaking aspen grove, Pando, in Fish Lake National Forest near Richfield. The grove is estimated to be 80,000 years old and now spreads across 106 acres and consists of more than 40,000 trees.
Jeran Farley, Utah’s chief forester, nominated Pando to the Heritage Tree Registry three years ago. The last nomination before that was about five years ago, a trio of rare silver maples in Draper, which were evaluated and added to the registry.
After nomination, a documentation committee investigates the tree. The investigation includes measurements, evaluations and photographs. Heritage trees must have historical significance, exceptional size or form and either have exceptional age or be the sole representation of its species.
Washington Square in Salt Lake City is home to 290 trees, representing 45 varieties from across the globe. Planting began in the 1850s as part of the Shade
Tree Commission. Heritage Tree No. 18 includes Austrian pine, Norway maple, golden rain tree, Japanese cherry and plum, English hawthorn, eastern catalpa and 90 elm at the boundaries.
Brigham Young planted Heritage Tree No. 10 as a twig at 1030 S. Sugarmont Dr. in Fairmont Park while on a walk in the summer of 1863.
In Provo, planted on the grounds of the Utah County building in 1927, is Heritage Tree No. 16, a weeping elm tree that is wider than it is tall. In summer, people enjoy its ample shade, sitting between support beams that hold up some of its limbs. In the fall, a parade of dump trucks removes the volume of fallen leaves the elm produces.
By these measures, every shade tree in summer and every leafy tree in autumn should be a heritage tree, because they help create special memories of the good life in Utah.
View the registry at ffsl.utah.gov.
The Jardine Juniper, estimated to be at least 1,500 years old, stands 40 feet tall in the northern part of Logan Canyon in the Cache National Forest.
Danita Delimont/Alamy
GRID SYSTEM
Challenge your brain with our Utah quiz.
by LUCAS MCFARLANE
1 What do Salt Lake City’s and other major Utah cities’ grid systems use as their central reference point in determining longitude and latitude of the streets?
2
Local Utahns use their own language to simplify (or convert) major latitudes and longitudes for their grid system. In what way would a “true” Utahn say: 900 East, 2100 South and 12600 North?
3
The Public Land Survey System uses two reference points for surveying land into townships. The first meridian was the Salt Lake meridian with its initial point on the southeast corner of Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Name the second meridian, with a center point in Roosevelt.
No peeking, answers on page 44.
4
Name the first section of Salt Lake City to deviate from the block grid number scheme with streets named “A” through “Virginia” Street.
5 Utah cities’ large blocks and wide streets were sometimes used as canals, mainly favoring what type of industry?
Jay Dash
Don Despain/Alamy
MULTIPLE CHOICE
6 Since the times of pioneers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City was built mainly according to what original idea from Joseph Smith?
a. Plat of the City of Zion
b. Order of Enoch
c. Council of the Fifty
7
Church President Brigham Young ordered Salt Lake City streets to be 132 feet wide so that wagon teams could turn around without the drivers doing what?
a. Blocking traffic
b. Making three-point turns
c. Cursing
8 Approximately how many city blocks comprise one mile in Salt Lake City?
a. 2.5 city blocks
b. 6.7 city blocks
c. 8.5 city blocks
9 Which state capitol city does not feature a grid system that expands from its city center, as seen in Salt Lake City?
a. Denver, Colorado
b. Columbus, Ohio
c. Boston, Massachusetts
10 Which international city features a grid layout with a religious building as its city center?
a. Buenos Aires, Argentina
b. Vatican City
c. Makkah, Saudi Arabia
TRUE OR FALSE
11
Pioneers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took less than one week to plan out the grid street system after Brigham Young declared “This is the Place.”
12
The first ever The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Plat of Zion” grid city was designed to be built in Salt Lake City in 1833.
13
Each settlement in Joseph Smith’s vision was designed to house 15,000 to 20,000 residents.
14 In Utah, even addresses are always on the north and west sides of streets and odd numbers on the south and east sides.
15 Provo City’s grid center was originally designated for the city courthouse.
Magazine is
than a magazine, it’s a mission. Explore all that is good about Utah – the people, places and history that make this a great place to live. Share Utah Life in your circle of friends by giving gift subscriptions today.
Cocoa BEAN-TO-BAR
Utah is rich with chocolatiers and their deliciously dark treats
story by JACQUE GARCIA
UTAH’S CHOCOLATE BOOM came as a surprise to, well, just about everyone. But it shouldn’t have. While plants that produce cacao beans thrive in the humidity of the tropics, the chocolate making process requires the arid climate of Utah’s high desert. Bean-to-bar is the name of the game when it comes to chocolate in the Beehive state, featuring an array of makers that personally craft every stage of their process to produce unique, artisan chocolates. When Utahns are craving a sweet treat, they can take their pick of internationally renowned chocolates throughout the state
Ritual Chocolate
Heber City
For many chocolate makers, the process of crafting cocoa beans into bars is more than a science. To some, it is more than even an art. To this chocolate shop in the valley between the Wasatch and the Uintas, making chocolate is a ritual. Co-founders Anna Seear and Robert Stout bring symbolism into every part of their process, from sourcing the beans to enjoying the chocolate.
The trial and error of creating Ritual’s unique process included something most chocolate makers can’t boast: making their own equipment. Though the self-described “mess of PVC pipes” is something they’ve now left behind, the equipment the factory now uses was chosen because of trying many, many differ-
ent ways of winnowing cocoa shells to find the one they liked best. For mixing and refining the chocolate, the factory uses a longitudinal conch built in 1915, leaning into old world methods that are still possible in Utah due to its ideal climate. Chocolate lovers can book a tour and tasting of their Heber factory to see their process up close and meet the makers in person.
Ritual’s customers offer similar reviews: to try their chocolate is to love their chocolate. And to support their ever-growing army of chocoholics, Ritual offers a chocolate club with monthly delivery chocolate boxes featuring new and limited-edition items, in addition to their tried-and-true favorites. Club members might be lucky and receive a collaborative bar, such as Juniper Lavender, made with Alpine distilling.
Utah’s arid climate makes for great chocolate, a growing industry in the Beehive state. Local artisans like Ritual Chocolate in Heber City crafts their batches using equipment built in 1915.
Ritual Chocolate
Millcreek Cacao
Salt Lake City
The chocolate makers at Millcreek Cacao aren’t afraid to take things slow. Every step of their process is meticulously curated, and they’re willing to wait for the perfect result. It all starts with their sourcing. They establish direct trade partnerships with the farmers in Ecuador and Nicaragua to acquire their beans, which allows them to study the growing process and labor practices of the farms they work with. As a result, they call their products “farm-
to-bar” chocolate, as opposed to the more prevalent “bean-to-bar” moniker.
And that’s not the only part of the process they allow to take its time. Millcreek often uses local herbs and local fruit to flavor their bars and have even partnered with High West to create a rye whiskey flavored bar. While they do feature more traditional bars that contain fruit and other ingredients, they also have a line of aroma-infused chocolate. Rather than diluting the cacao content by mixing it with other ingredients, the bars are stored in climate-controlled rooms
along with aromatic ingredients to allow the chocolate to absorb the flavor slowly over several weeks. Millcreek is the only chocolate maker in the world to employ this technique.
And it works! Their customers swear by the results. According to Saveur magazine, Millcreek’s blackberry infused bar is “deceptively potent” considering the chocolate is not mixed with any fruit. As the first of their kind, Millcreek stands among the number of Utah craft chocolate shops putting the state on an international map of chocolate destinations.
Millcreek Cacao in Salt Lake City works directly with their farmers in Ecuador and Nicaragua to create “farm-to-bar” chocolates.
Millcreek Cacao
The Chocolate Conspiracy
Salt Lake City
When it comes to chocolate, “local” can mean different things to different people. For AJ Wentworth, founder of the Chocolate Conspiracy, local and organic are tenants to live by. His chocolate stands out among other Utah craft chocolate factories because he doesn’t roast his beans. The result? A raw, organic chocolate, sweetened only with local raw unfiltered honey, flavored
with local ingredients. This nontraditional approach tends to create coarser textures and unique flavors that can be tough on the palate.
This is where The Chocolate Conspiracy gets everything right: Wentworth’s chocolates are delicate and smooth, providing texture that is just as enticing as their taste.
The Chocolate Conspiracy sources all their beans from one farm: a farmer’s coop named Atalaya in Peru, and they work closely with the farmer-owned establishment. He also works with a wide
range of local businesses to create collaborative products, including a charcuterie board that sources their meat and cheese from markets including Caputo’s on Broadway Street and Harmons Grocery.
Salt Lake craft beer enthusiasts can find common ground with chocolate lovers in the Chocolate Conspiracy’s line of brewery-inspired chocolate bars. Wentworth worked with several local breweries, including Uinta, Level Crossing and Kiitos to incorporate their beer into the flavor of his chocolate.
AJ Wentworth, founder of The Chocolate Conspiracy, doesn’t roast his cacao beans, producing raw, organic chocolates sweeted by unfiltered honey.
The Chocolate Conspiracy
Taste 117
Provo
Mount Timpanogos looms on the horizon, visible from historic downtown Provo where Taste 117 is nestled. Visitors enter the cozy shop to taste the factory’s bean-to-bar chocolate, but Taste didn’t stop at the chocolate bar. Along with chocolate tasting, the shop offers fondue, pastries and a full cafe menu. For a more curated experience, chocolate lovers can experience a full chocolate tasting led by one of the factory’s chocolate experts and attend an afternoon tea session.
As Utah as it gets, Taste 117 showcases all the state has to offer with their Taste Utah Collection. These chocolate bars feature ingredients from Utah flora and fauna from iconic natural locations throughout the state and are aptly named
after the vista that inspired the flavors, including Bridal Veil Falls, Alpine Loop and Rowley’s Red Barn. While sampling this collection, customers can gaze up at Mt. Timpanogos and taste the wildflowers that grow in the mountain’s valleys in the crunch of honeycomb hidden in the chocolate.
Taste’s chocolate had a particularly, er, sweet origin, when founders Morgan and Char Coleman met on a blind date. Led by a mutual passion for chocolate, but with little experience in the industry, the energetic and entrepreneurial Utah natives launched into the world of chocolate making at full steam ahead, and they haven’t stopped since. The two hired their first shop employee, Grant Fry, and worked alongside him for seven years as they honed their craft, eventually making Fry a partner in the company as he became head chocolate maker of the Taste team.
Head chocolate maker, Grant Fry, crafts chocolate delights by hand at Taste 117 in Provo. Chocolate tastings, pastries and savory bites are available at the cafe. Taste
Amano Orem
Art Pollard has always had a sweet tooth. And he also has a knack for science. Planning to design nuclear reactors since he was a child, Pollard was studying physics at Brigham Young University when he snacked on a German chocolate bar that changed the trajectory of his life. He abandoned his pursuit of a career in nuclear energy and, instead, employed his beakers and scales for chocolate making. Pollard began manufacturing chocolate from a scientific approach with determination to create the best possible bar that became the foundation of his business.
Pollard’s customers know exactly what they’re getting when they taste one of Amano’s bars. And that’s because, when choosing cacao beans, Pollard heads right to the source, personally visiting many of the farms he buys from in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. He’s even returned to hand deliver Amano chocolate bars to the farmers.
When it comes to taste, Amano’s flavors are built off the simplicity of their “unflavored” bars – but don’t confuse simple with bland. Fine-tuned techniques bring out the natural flavors of the bean that made them the first American company to win a Gold Award at the Academy of
Chocolate Awards. In addition to the unflavored bars, Amano rose to the demand of Utah chocolate lovers by creating an array of flavored bars, including their two most popular taste profiles: Raspberry Rose and Black Pepper Cardamom.
At its core, Amano is a family business, and they just may be the first Utah chocolate dynasty. Art Pollard’s passion for the craft is something he shared with his son, Aaron, who he is training to take over the business.
Nicole Morgenthau
The Chocolate Geographer
St. George
To Ashley Shelton, chocolate is all about location. With a degree in geography and a passion for chocolate, she became interested in how the region where a cocoa bean is from, and where it is processed into chocolate, can influence its taste. So, in March of 2023 she began curating tastings in downtown St. George that featured chocolate from all over the world.
Like a wine or cheese tasting, or even a flight of beer, Shelton’s tastings feature eight courses of chocolate. When booking, she advises her guests to come hungry enough to eat a whole chocolate bar and to avoid wearing scented perfumes so that they can more fully experience the aroma of the chocolate. At the tastings, The Chocolate Geographer first guides her guests through a brief background on what it takes to make craft chocolate. For Utah connoisseurs, it’s a intimate way to learn about bean-to-bar techniques. And then it’s all about the chocolate – for an hour, enthusiasts taste eight craft chocolates from eight countries.
Shelton hopes her tasting guests will take what they’ve learned to further their relationship with the craft. But with her constantly rotating inventory, she’s also hoping they’ll be back for more.
Amano Chocolate
Amano takes a scientific approach to chocolate making, crafting “unflavored” bars that celebrate the beans’ natural flavors, earning its place for a tasting at The Chocolate Geographer.
The Chocolate Geographer
Finding beauty in an ever-changing world
story and photographs by TOM
Ifirst became obsessed with Utah when I saw a picture of Delicate Arch in a book I was given as a child. Later, in college, I often traveled to Moab to explore the landscape, and I became hooked on southeast Utah – the beginning of a lifelong obsession. I plotted to live on the Colorado Plateau where I could spend as much time as I could exploring and searching for natural beauty. Photography soon followed. A few artistic photography books about
Utah already existed, but it didn’t take me long to realize that there was a lifetime’s worth of beauty to keep me going. To earn a living I had to travel elsewhere, but I can say that after visiting every state and 130 countries and seeing the world’s most beautiful places, Utah remains the most enticing and awe-inspiring.
Along the way, as Bob Dylan says, “Things have changed.” Utah’s natural wonders are like living things, and they evolve with time.
Photography records these changes and captures them for posterity.
Ironically, the greatest agent of change in the desert involves water. At Lake Powell, I recently photographed Gregory Natural Bridge, which was submerged for 50 years. However, as the water receded, I traveled down to Bullfrog to find it towering above the lower levels of the lake. For what was lost for decades suddenly appeared before me as if by magic. The
TILL
Tom Till has photographed Utah’s iconic landscapes for the last 50 years, capturing seemingly lost phenomenons and sights only found on his travels – most locations kept a secret. Till stumbled onto this scene above the Colorado River by per luck over 40 years ago, one of Utah’s many hidden gems.
This singular wall was part of the ghost town of Harrisburg, located along Interstate 15 near St. George. Till photographed the wall at sunrise before the sandstone cliffs and Pine Valley Mountains, returning each year until the wall collapsed, now preserved by his photographs.
bridge has since returned to its watery grave, but someday, I am certain, it will rise again.
As a fan of ancient rock art, I’ve photographed it around the world, starting near home with the Moab Panel. This spectacular tableau was considered a work of art in Utah until the 1930s. Many visitors made the short pilgrimage from Moab to its location along the Colorado River.
To capture the ideal photo, I plan for
a specific time of day and time of year. When I established the best time to shoot the Moab Panel, I took several images of it from left to right, thinking I could perhaps splice them together in the darkroom to make a bigger image.
Before I had this chance, vandals destroyed the panel. I mourned its loss and tried to forget about it. I just found it too painful.
In 2008, I found the slide transparencies I’d shot when I was 25 years old. I
used modern digital technology to help me bring the art back to life by combining the three images into a panoramic. Now I have what I believe is the most detailed image of this psychedelic masterpiece. It doesn’t quite match standing in front of the real thing, but it’s a soothing memory. Often, you find something that was never lost in the first place. My friend and I were looking for a lost Native American ruin on the edge of a deep canyon. This occurred before GPS days, and after an
hour of bushwhacking, we stumbled upon a large natural arch hanging over the slopes of the canyon.
It’s rare to find an unknown arch in Utah that other hikers, arch-finders and photographers haven’t already discovered. After seeing my photo, dozens of experienced arch hunters scrambled to find it, but even with airplanes they never did. I haven’t tried to find it again myself, but I have the photo to prove its existence. For an explorer like me, you can’t imagine how exciting this is. I get to name it, too. The Lost Arch! I guess that makes us the raiders of the Lost Arch.
These days I’m still hard at work shooting photos, and the more I go out, the more I am inspired to continue. Years of experience help, but I don’t really think about what I’m doing as much. I just let the subject’s beauty guide me. I’ve already found dozens of “lost” subjects in Utah that no one to my knowledge has ever photographed before. It is one of the biggest motivators to get up at 3 a.m. in the cold and dark and begin hiking with a heavy backpack in search of something new, lost and wonderful.
Eight years ago, Till found burned, blackened trunks amongst the Drowned Forest, a dead cottonwood grove along the Green River in Desolation Canyon Wilderness. While hiking backcountry, Till and his friend, Glen, found The Lost Arch, a sight even arch-hunters haven’t found.
In recent years, the waters of the Great Salt Lake have diminished, exposing its beautiful lake bed. Its vibrant, colorful patterns and textures are best seen from above.
Bananas GOING
Gifts from the yellow fruit
recipes and photographs by DANELLE
McCOLLUM
SLICED, MASHED OR DRIED, bananas make a great addition to favorite snacks, breakfasts and desserts. Baked with cinnamon and pecan, or with cream cheese and an orange glaze or in a mixed fruit salad of yogurt and marshmallows – these recipes will make you go bananas for more.
Banana Cinnamon Chip Coffee Cake
This moist banana cake, with layers of cinnamon chip and pecan streusel, works well for breakfast, dessert or after-school snacking. If you can’t find cinnamon chips, try chocolate or even butterscotch. Anticipate high demand and double the recipe for a 9x13-inch pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together cinnamon chips, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon to make streusel; set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, egg and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in mashed bananas and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
Spray 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread half of batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Repeat with the remaining batter and streusel.
Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
1 cup cinnamon chips
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 mashed bananas
3 Tbsp buttermilk
Ser ves 8-10
Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread
Banana bread becomes extra moist and delicious with a ribbon of sweetened cream cheese swirled throughout the batter with a drizzle of orange glaze on top. This bread also makes for a sweet and creamy French toast.
Measure 3/4 cup of the pecans and spread on a baking sheet. Toast at 350° for about 10 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring halfway through cooking time.
In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended. Gently stir in vanilla.
In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add part of the flour mixture to cream cheese mixture, slowly adding buttermilk. Repeat until all is combined, mixing until just blended. Stir in mashed bananas and 3/4 cup toasted pecans.
Grease and flour two 4x8-inch loaf pans. Spoon batter into pans and sprinkle with the remaining pecans. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover bread with foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning.
Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, stir together powdered sugar, orange juice and zest. Drizzle over cooled loaves.
1 ¼ cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 8 oz-package cream cheese, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups ver y ripe mashed bananas (3-4 bananas)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp orange zest
Ser ves 8-10
Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad
Fresh strawberries, sliced bananas and marshmallows are folded into a mixture of whipped cream, vanilla yogurt and pudding in this crowd-pleasing fruit salad.
With an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt and pudding mix until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate until just before serving. Gently fold in strawberries, bananas and marshmallows. Serve immediately.
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 6 oz-containers vanilla yogurt
1 3.4 oz-box cheesecake or white chocolate pudding mix
1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
3 bananas, sliced
3 cups miniature marshmallows
Ser ves 12
What’s in Your Recipe Box? The editors are interested in featuring your favorite family recipes. Send your recipes (and memories inspired by your recipes) to editor@utahlifemag.com.
Canyons weave across the state, a witness to a watery past carved into the land. Slot canyons, red rocks and expansive formations continue to tell a rich history. Our poets find solace in the designs, crevices and landscapes left behind.
Canyonlands
Amanda Luchsinger, Estes Park, Colorado
Red dust floats on canyon winds, bearing Ground coyote bones and footprints of the Ancient Ones, Mingling with remnants of the desert sage, and The musty breath of crumbled rodents.
Wind-worn mountains cascade slowly Into tumbled blocks of yellow, pink, and grey. There cactus blooms, offering a fragile ruby cup to cobalt skies, Defending her with fearsome spears.
Bright sun fades from harshly glaring, Into scarlet and to purple, silhouetting buttes and needles. Desert varnish glistens in the sudden starlight, Silvered by the Utah moon and shadowed by the swirls of Milky Way.
Time Ravaged
Vaughn Neeld, Cañon City, Colorado
A canyon, gouged from red, orange, ochre sandstone, descends through layers of millennium-old rocks –silent witnesses to storms, upheavals, and melding, fusing forces.
Now, as we ride rough roads through this ancient, barren, gash of earth, we marvel at the ravages of slow torture as the earth strained, heaved, and tore to give birth to such majesty.
Canyons of Utah
Garry Glidden, St. George
In Utah’s heart, where Earth’s pulse beats slowly, I find myself amidst a tapestry of ancient and bold canyons, Carved by time’s patient hand, Each crevice holds a story untold.
Standing upon their precipice, Where the sky meets stone in a lover’s embrace, I feel the whispers of wind Brushing against my face.
In the quiet expanse of endless blue, Where clouds dance in the delicate array, Lost in introspection, As the canyon’s secrets sway.
The ochre cliffs rise, sentinel and proud, Their shadows stretch across the land In crimson, amber, and gold hues, Painting dreams upon the sand.
Beneath the vast cerulean dome, Where sun and shadow play their game, I am a speck in this grand design, Yet, I belong all the same.
With each step, communion with nature, As if the earth itself breathes beneath my feet, Drawn deeper into the silence, Where worries and fears retreat.
Time is a fleeting illusion, And worries melt like the morning mist, As I become one with the Canyon’s song In this timeless, tranquil tryst.
So I linger in this reverie, In the cradle of Utah’s embrace, Where canyons whisper tales of old, And peace fills every space.
Utah Canyoneering
Jim Garman, Richfield
There are many canyons all across the state of Utah, some of them so beautiful, you’ll drop your jaw. For the more adventurous, slot canyons are ideal for you, if backcountry adventure is something you like to do.
Utah supposedly has the largest amount of them worldwide, they are well worth making an extensive ride. Eight of the best of them are listed below, if you’re looking for a different place to go.
There’s Antelope Canyon, located near Kanab and Page, along with Buckskin Canyon, by Kanab, it’s all the rage. Burr Trail’s Singing Canyon, down by Boulder, you’ll think you’re hearing singing over your shoulder.
Little Wild Horse and Ding & Dang Canyon at Emery, two more fantastic ones that you should see. Near Escalante are Spooky Gulch and Peek A Boo, and I’ll list one more that’s worth a view.
Willis Creek Narrows in the Grand Staircase Monument, well worth whatever time that you have spent. a warning to stay safe, make sure that you use your brain, stay out if they’ve predicted a 1% or more chance of rain.
Send your poems on the theme “Only in Utah” for the January/February 2025 issue, deadline Dec. 1, “Fresh Powder” for the March/April 2025 issue, deadline Jan. 1 and “Under the Stars” for the May/June 2025 issue, deadline Feb. 1. Send to poetry@utahlifemag.com or to the mailing address at the front of this magazine.
Many car enthusiasts call Utah their home, sharing their personal and collaborative collections in museums across the state, like the Millstream Classic Car Museum in Willard.
GEARS switching
6 auto museums rev up Utah
story and photographs by BIANCA
DUMAS
OLD CAR COLLECTIONS can steer us down Memory Lane, no matter who we are or what our interests. We remember the cars we grew up in, the first cars we drove and the cars we took on road trips. Vehicles can make us think wistfully of life during simpler times or represent hopes of fortune and fame. These Utah automotive collections vary based on the interests and life story of the collectors, making it possible for even the least gear-headed member of a group to find something inspiring.
MILLSTREAM CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM
Willard
WHEN JACK SMITH drove his Yellow cab around Ogden, he asked patrons for the whereabouts of rare cars for sale. Did they know where he could find a Metropolitan in a barn? Did anyone have a lead on a Crosley? Heard of somebody who has one of those Henry J. Kaisers?
When Jack found a willing buyer, the car went into his collection. His taste could be called middle-class eclectic. He was interested in Fords and affordable oddballs of all kinds, like a 1964 German Amphicar in Lagoon Blue, a boat-car you could drive straight into Willard Bay.
The placards on the windshields of these rare cars proudly display the factory price, in a range that the regular consumer could have afforded. A 1979 AMC Pacer cost $5,327 new, and
only 7,352 were produced. “Nobody collects a Pacer, but my dad thought they’ll never make something like this again,” said Tom Smith, who shows his dad’s collection free, by appointment.
The Millstream Collection stirs up memories. “I’ve seen tears more than once,” Tom said. Jack always encouraged his visitors, even children, to sit behind the wheel and get their picture taken. His son continues that practice.
The collection started with Great-grandpa’s 1930 Ford Model A, a car Jack restored with the help of men who replied to an ad he placed in the Big Nickel. They became his lifelong friends.
The heart of the collection is Jack’s taxi, a 1950 Nash Statesman 4-door sedan that went for $1,738 new. “The way I mostly remember my dad was sitting in a cab,” Tom said. This was the car Jack drove to taxicab conventions across the Intermountain West. “We tend to think of our cars as friends,” Tom said. “It was his mascot.”
BROWNING-KIMBALL CAR MUSEUM
Ogden
WHEN CHILDREN FROM two prominent Utah families married, their collection of luxury sedans were eternally joined as well. “This collection is the story of wealth and cars as a form of hobby rather than as everyday transportation,” said Hope Eggett, curator of museums at Union Station in Ogden. The Browning-Kimball family had 60 cars in their private collection. This is a portion.
The sedans span the years 1901-37 and show the development of superior automobiles, from a 1901 tiller-steered Oldsmobile horseless carriage to a 1937 Packard Six touring sedan. Students coming to Union Station on field trips learn how rapidly technological and artistic changes happened in the automobile’s early years. Just a decade after the horseless carriage, a 1911 Knox displays pressurized gas headlights and could go a blazing 85 miles per hour.
“What people don’t realize about Ogden is that in the 1920s we were the most cosmopolitan city in the state,” Eggett said. Money was moving through with the
The Browning-Kimball Car Museum at Union Station in Ogden features part of the private collection of the Browning-Kimball family. The selection features sedans from 1901 to 1937, including an original yellow 1926 Lincoln Model L seven-passenger touring car.
Chris Amundson
railroad, and the Browning Arms Company shipped their product through Union Station to the wider world.
The climate-controlled display features vehicles that are “Head of State” class, completely bespoke and restored down to their soaring hood ornament effigies. The family’s favorite car was a custom-ordered 1930 Cadillac V16 sports sedan with monogrammed pin striping on the doors, the kind Al Capone used to drive.
A luxurious yellow 1926 Lincoln Model L seven-passenger touring car is completely original, right down to its paint and the antique leather trunk strapped to the rear platform. Eggett says she loves seeing school kids realize the origin of the word “trunk” when they make the connection between the hinged box and the hinged storage compartment on a modern car.
LAND CRUISER HERITAGE MUSEUM
Salt Lake City
ON HIS 16TH birthday, Greg Miller took his driver’s test in a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ 60. He would eventually collect over 100 Land Cruisers from around the world. These can be seen at the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum, housed in the
refurbished May Foundry and Machine shop in Salt Lake City.
Dan Busey, the museum’s resident expert, likes to watch visitors’ reactions when they step inside the century-old brickand-glass warehouse. “You see that double chevron row of 40-odd trucks disappearing out in front of you,” he said of the display. “I hear a lot of gasps and wows.”
Many of the vehicles were used in Australia, while others sold only in Japan. The oldest is a 1953 BJT Toyota Jeep, once used as a mail delivery vehicle in Adelaide, Australia. It is a predecessor to the Land Cruiser and led to the export of Land Cruisers to North America. Not much older is a turquoise-colored 1960 FJ28 2-door wagon, abandoned in Mexico by a Japanese engineering company. It was modified over the years using whatever was on hand: Chevy mirrors, passenger car bucket seats and tow hooks made from seat belt anchors.
Busey’s favorite is a 1983 FJ45 Troop Carrier from Australia. “It is one of the nicest automobile restorations of any kind I’ve ever seen, done by a gentleman in Perth,” he said, noting its unusual combination of options, like factory power steering, air conditioning and a very rare digital clock.
Off the main floor are three 70-series VDJ’s, built by Toyota for Miller’s Expe-
ditions 7, a 58,000-mile global driving adventure that has been likened to “getting a PhD in overlanding,” said Scott Brady, co-founder of Overland Journal. Miller and Brady used these vehicles to complete the route in 2014, marking the Land Cruiser as the first and only vehicle to have touched soil on all seven continents.
RICHARD W. ERICKSON FOUNDATION ANTIQUE & CLASSIC POWER MUSEUM
Wellsville
THE LARGEST CAR collection in the western United States was slowly gathered under one roof – now 24 roofs – by trucking company founder Richard W. Erickson and his wife Rita. This collection of 3,000 items, including farm tractors, steam engines, vintage trucks, race cars, muscle cars and more can be found on a luscious green ranch in the mountains of Wellsville. Dick and Rita were collectors their whole lives, said Russell D. Baker, museum curator and chairman of the Richard W. Erickson Foundation. Baker worked with the Ericksons for over 20 years, helping them collect everything from a row of Indy 500 pace cars to a 1938 Zephyr “Bugsy” convertible coupe, one of 600 made. When it comes to vehicles with a Utah
The Land Cruiser Heritage Museum celebrates the history and adventure behind the wheel of a Land Cruiser, featuring more than 100 models.
connection, Baker frequently states he “went after it to bring it home.” These include the City of Salt Lake, a Salt Flats racer built by hometown hero Athol Graham; a motorcycle built by Don Vesco Racing Team, holders of 19 world records at the Salt Flats; and the world record-setting motorcycle made famous by The World’s Fastest Indian, a 1938 Indian Scout.
In the high-end building, “true oneoffs” are housed together. There’s a 1913 Pierce Arrow 48-B Runabout with an easy-to-remember VIN number: 0003. Parked down the line is a 1936 Cadillac Phaeton Fleetwood, right-hand drive, which was owned by a baron who narrowly escaped the Russian Revolution that began in 1917. It was later hidden from the Nazis in a Scottish barn. “A lot of collecting is about the preservation of history,” Russell notes.
It took five years to collect the objects in the History of Motorcycles building, starting with a handmade reproduction of the first patented motorcycle, the steam-powered 1867 Roper Velocipede. The original is in the Smithsonian.
“Every year we’re out on acquisitions,” Russell said. “Museums have to be alive and continue to grow.”
AUTOMOTIVE ADDICTION
Sandy, Provo and Erda
AUTOMOTIVE ADDICTION IS both a collection and a club. The collection is made up of cars privately owned by about 50 Utah residents and displayed in refurbished retail areas in the Sandy and Provo malls and part of Utah Motorsports Campus in Erda. Owners get to store their cars in a low dust, climate controlled, secure environment while providing a new kind of automotive museum to the public.
“What’s really cool is, it enables people to see all the cars when they’d normally be stuffed in garages,” said Brook Radcliffe, general manager. Owners can bring the cars in and out as they please, through garage doors added to the former retail spaces. With so many owners involved, Automotive Addiction can put a wide variety of vehicles on display.
“We have exotics, classic cars, muscle cars
and resto-mods,” Radcliffe said, indicating a particular 1967 Ford Mustang. A resto-mod has an original exterior shell, but every other component is brand new, right down to the chassis. This Mustang has hand-tooled one-off wheels, a Napa leather interior and a Jack Raush 700 HP engine.
Fans of American muscle cars might be attracted to the grouping – owned by one collector – of three King of the Road GT500KR Shelby roadsters from 1969 to 2024; the cabriolet nestled in the middle is signed by Carroll Shelby. Nearby stands the Ferrari 250 GTL that Tom Cruise drove in Vanilla Sky.
This is the place to see the stuff of teenage dreams. Supercars like the MC-20 Maserati, 12 C MacLaren and Lamborghini Aventador draw plenty of attention. Those with a retro bent will be attracted to the fully original 1989 Lamborghini Countach housed in Sandy, valued at $1 million. “Countach” is an exclamation of astonishment in the Italian Piedmontese language, and viewing its sculptural, trapezoidal details could cause anyone to shout with delight.
The Richard W. Erickson Foundation Antique & Classic Power Museum features more than 3,000 vehicles ranging from antique tractors to muscle cars. Automotive Addiction’s collection is collaborative as owners and club members store their supercars at the museum.
Automotive Addiction
VINTAGE MOTOR COMPANY
Helper
AS SOMEONE USED to a humid climate where things rust rapidly, Gary DeVincent was stunned by the way old cars and motorcycles were preserved by Utah’s dry air. Upon moving from Connecticut, he began collecting everything he could find. “Being into cars and motorcycles, what I saw here was gold,” he said.
DeVincent, who had worked in auto restoration most of his life, purchased and restored the Lincoln Hotel building in Helper, which now houses about 40 Harley Davidson motorcycles. DeVincent and his brother, Bobby, restore and maintain the motorcycles and their vintage car collection together, but leave many items in their original condition. “As time went on, I became more interested in vehicles that had character, that had never been touched,” DeVincent said. “It’s only original once.”
An example of an untouched gem is the Harley 1942 WLA military bike, authentic down to the bullet holes. “It’s literally off the warfront, not pieced together,” DeVincent said. He got wind of it from an Australian man who had discovered an entire collection of WWII military bikes in a collapsing barn; they still had the machine guns bolted on. DeVincent’s dad had been stationed in Australia at the end of the war and told him that many bikes like these had been dumped into the ocean. DeVincent bought the lot, sans the illegal weapons, and kept this one for himself.
Vintage Motor Company attracted the attention of Keanu Reeves, who was secretly riding through Utah while filming “Ride With Norman Reedus.” In the Season 6 episode, Reeves sat on the military Harley, something not everyone gets to do. The trio of 1947 Knuckleheads caught the attention of Reedus, who owns the same bike.
DeVincent’s extensive car collection can be seen around town, parked at the historic filling stations on either end of Main Street.
Drive to automotive history
Millstream Classic Car Museum
255 1080 N., Willard (801) 721-0032
Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum
Trainmen’s Building 2501 Wall Ave., Suite A, Ogden (801) 629-8672
Land Cruiser Heritage Museum
476 W. 600 North, Salt Lake City landcruiserhm.com (505) 615-5470
10450 State St., #2220 B, Sandy 1200 Towne Centre Blvd., Spc 1120, Provo 512 Sheep Ln., Erda automotiveaddictionmuseum.com (385) 292-3700
Vintage Motor Company
54 S. Main St., Helper (435) 650-7119
CULTURE. ADVENTURE. HISTORY.
by ARIELLA NARDIZZI
COMMUNITY
100-YEAR CELEBRATION
NOV. 22-23 • OGDEN
“You can’t go anywhere without coming to Ogden.” Ogden, lovingly referred to as “Junction City,” was long ago home to train junctions that connected the coasts, Mexico and Canada.
Built in 1870, the city’s Union Station was a prominent hub for all train travel in the West. Immigrants followed the American Dream to Ogden on the Transcontinental Railroad. Nearly two decades later, the station was expanded to accommodate the mass flux of new residents.
In 1923, a fire ravaged the station, leaving nothing but a burnt skeleton. Railroad employees continued to work in these dangerous conditions until a ticket clerk was tragically crushed by a piece of fallen roof. Thus, the new Union Station was born on Nov. 22, 1924, in its third rebuild, which is the infrastructure that still stands today.
Now, visitors are welcome to celebrate
the momentous 100th anniversary of Union Station: a building rich in railroading history and the myriads of cultures that passed across its very tracks. On Friday, a community festival will kick off from 5 to 9 p.m. with symphonies from Ogden Chamber Orchestra, performing “Union on 25th,” a new composition by Ogden resident Alfonso Tenreiro.
Saturday will bring more celebratory events from 12 to 6 p.m. including educational walking tours, live music and performances and a drone light show.
Union Station stands as a testament to Ogden’s rich railroading legacy and the countless lives it connected over the century. This weekend’s centennial commemoration honors the past while celebrating the vibrant community that continues to thrive at its historic crossroads. ogdencity.com. (801) 629-8680.
WHERE TO EAT STELLAS ON 25TH
An Italian eatery with South American flair, this fine dining experience boasts made-from-scratch and locally sourced meals. Try one of 14 savory pasta dishes or traditional pollo, pesce and carne options. 225 25th St. (385) 333-4184.
WHERE TO STAY
ALASKAN
INN AND SPA
Nestled amid limestone cliffs and exuberant evergreen forests lies a taste of Alaska in Ogden Canyon. Slumber peacefully in homey Lincoln Log cabins with swift access to ski resorts, fishing and the Pineview Reservoir. 435 Ogden Canyon. (801) 621-8600.
Ogden City
AGRICULTURE
RED ACRE CHRISTMAS
DEC. 7 • CEDAR CITY
The crackling hearth of an open firepit greets visitors to the 12th annual Red Acre Christmas, a working farm on the red soil of Cedar City. Pungent wood smoke mingles with the scent of invigorating Christmas pines, freshly cut from Cedar Mountain. The cozy timber Farm Stand is dressed in holly wreaths and the ground dusted with soft snow.
Chilled December frost nips at visitors’ cheeks as they gleefully ride through the fields in a horse-and-buggy. The clip-clop of hooves bump bundled riders over the frozen ground. Afterwards, they delight in scrumptious eggnog donuts, rich hot cocoa with towers of whipped cream, smoky chili and flaky quiche. Nearby, visitors dip and twist candles into warm amber beeswax.
Red Acre Farm is more than a place to make merry for the holiday season – it’s a living testament to the Patterson family’s nurtured dream. In 2005, Lynn and
Symbria Patterson left the fast-paced bustle of Southern California and found new life in the rural landscape of Utah. Their daughter, Sara, took to farming at age 10. She grew the two-acre land and created a community-supported agriculture business. Members purchase shares to financially support the farm and, in turn, receive weekly harvests including meat, produce, eggs, dairy and grains.
Red Acres was lovingly named for Sara’s grandfather Red Wright, who grew up on a farm, and the rust-red dirt of southern Utah, the very land that sustains them. The farm itself sprouted into a source for local food, and a destination for people to gather and get their hands dirty. And, of course, their annual holiday traditions, which remind visitors that the best gifts are those built with their hands, hearts and earth beneath their feet. redacrefarmcsa.org. (435) 865-6792.
WHERE TO EAT
CENTRO WOODFIRED PIZZERIA
Centro’s artisanal pizzas are woodfired and made from organic dairy and grains. The restaurant supports local Utah growers by sourcing seasonal produce and delectable sauces to craft pies like Calabrese and Sausage, Pancetta and Red Grape and Artichoke Russo. 50 W. Center St. (844) 385-3285.
WHERE TO STAY
BIG YELLOW INN
The pastel-yellow walls of this sophisticated Georgian Revival bed and breakfast house a grand staircase and elegant architecture. The 12 cultivated guest rooms include serene Mediterranean, wild safari and lavish Victorian themed suites. 234 S. 300 W. (435) 586-0960.
Other events you may
enjoy
NOVEMBER
Joshua Meyer: Eight Approaches
Through Jan. 18 • Provo
This exhibit mirrors the lighting of the menorah, inviting viewers into themes of hope, renewal and the timeless significance of Judaic sacred rituals. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, North Campus Drive. (801) 422-8287.
Crazy Daisy Holiday Show
Nov. 22-23 • Sandy
Make your list and check it twice...then shop at over 200 small businesses. Get a sweet treat from Santa, jam out to local jingles, bring donations for Coats for Kids and enter to win a massive giveaway. Mountain America Expo Center, 9575 S. State St.
Holiday Craft Bazaar
Nov. 23 • Brigham City
Discover a treasure trove of handmade arts, festive decor and quintessential holiday gifts, all while enjoying delicious snacks and exciting raffle prizes. 58 S. 100 W. (435) 723-0740.
Sundance Thanksgiving Brunch
Nov. 28 • Sundance
Spend Turkey Day on the mountain, enjoying savory, seasonal dishes and fine dining at Sundance Resort’s cherished Thanksgiving Brunch. 8841 N. Alpine Loop Road. (801) 225-4107.
Star Party at Flight Park
Nov. 29 • Draper
Wish upon a star and expand your knowledge about our night sky at this free Star Party from 7 to 9 p.m., hosted by Salt Lake County’s Clark Planetarium and Parks & Recreation. 15300 S. Steep Mountain Drive. (385) 468-7827.
Vernal Holly Days Festival
Nov. 29 • Vernal
The Uintah Basin brings energy to its 21st holiday celebration with ziplines, bouncy houses, pony rides, Bingo and more. End the affair with a bang at the parade of lights featuring fire dancers and pyrotechnics. Downtown Vernal, Main St.
Christmas in the Canyon
Nov. 28-Dec. 23 • Ivins
250,000 lights twinkle around Tuacahn Center for the Arts. Ride the Tuacahn Express, watch the live nativity show at the outdoor amphitheatre, grab a sweet treat at the Tuacahn Cafe and share your holiday wish list with Santa Claus. 1100 Tuacahn Drive. (800) 746-9882.
Utah Santa Run
Nov. 30 • Ogden
Rudolph won’t be the only one running this holiday season. Don your Santa suit, fuel up at milk and cookie aid stations and
take to Downtown Ogden’s streets with hundreds of other red suit-clad jolly fellows for a festive 5K. 22nd and Washington Blvd. (866) 789-7223.
Cirque Dreams Holidaze
Nov. 30-Dec. 1 • Salt Lake City
Broadway meets circus arts as holiday storybook characters jump from their pages to the Capitol Theatre’s stage, belting groovy Christmas tunes amidst fantastical scenery and embellished garb. 50 W. 200 S. (801) 355-2787.
DECEMBER
A Rocky Mountain Christmas
Dec. 3 • Provo
Ted Vigil, a renowned John Denver tribute artist, takes to the stage for a Rocky Mountain Christmas concert. Known for his uncanny physical resemblance to Denver and musical talents, Vigil rings in
the spirit of the holiday with classics, like “Christmas Like A Lullaby.” 425 W. Center St. (801) 852-7007.
Christkindlmarkt SLC
Dec. 4-7 • Salt Lake City
Wander the wooden stalls of over 90 vendors at Christkindlmarkt SLC, inspired by the famous German holiday markets. Revel in the traditional St. Martin’s Parade, illuminated by lanterns and ethereal carols. This is the Place Heritage Park, 2601 Sunnyside Ave. S. (801) 582-1847.
A Red Rock Holiday Celebration
Dec. 6-7 • St. George
The heavenly vocals of Lieto Voices, a community choir, and Southwest Symphony, Utah’s premiere orchestra, culminate in an evening of harmony amidst St. George’s red-rock landscape. Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Desert Hills High School Auditorium, 828 Desert Hills Drive E. (435) 767-9800.
Gingerbread Festival
Dec. 7 • Bountiful
Elaborate molasses cookie castles, pretzel lifeguard chairs and gum drop homes are only a few delectable gingerbread houses that compete in the 7th annual festival. Enjoy a silent auction and arts fair with over 60 local vendors. Bountiful Davis Art Center, 90 N. Main St. (801) 295-3618.
Ski with Santa
Dec. 25 • Brian Head
Shred the slopes of Brian Head Resort with Santa on Christmas Day, once all the good boys and girls have received their presents. 329 S. Hwy 143. (435) 677-2035.
NYE Masquerade Ball
Dec. 31 • Salt Lake City
Ring in 2025 donning feathered masquerade masks and elegant ballgowns for the 15th annual dance party. Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek, 75 S. W. Temple. (228) 313-9883.
TRIVIA ANSWERS
Questions on p 10-11
1 A temple
2 9th East, 21st South and 126th North
3 Uintah meridian
4 The Avenues
5 Agriculture
6 a. Plat of the City of Zion
7 c. Cursing, or “resorting to profanity”
8 a. 6.7 city blocks
9 c. Boston, Massachusetts
10 Buenos Aires, Argentine (It is centered around the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Cathedral).
11 True
12 False (The first was designed to be built in Jackson County, Missouri in 1833).
13 True (Once a settlement reached capacity, a new, nearby city was to be constructed to create a network of interconnected communities).
14 False (Even numbers are always on the south and east side of the street, and odd numbers are always on the north and west.
15 True (The nearby temple reclaimed its centrality after the Provo Tabernacle burned down in 2019; designated a temple in 2016).
Trivia Photographs
Page 12 Top An aerial view of Salt Lake City
Page 12 Bottom The Great Salt Lake Base and Meridian brass marker at Temple Square
Page 11 A southeast view of Salt Lake City’s Main Street in 1904
story by KERRY SOPER illustration by JOSH TALBOT
Utahns and Their Dogs
Dog-owner stereotypes reach new heights in the Beehive State
DOG OWNERS FALL into their own universal breed types wherever you go: the macho dude and his scary pitbull, the novice owners with the hyperactive puppy or the prim elderly woman and her yappy toy dog. After years of people and dog-watching, awkward canine encounters and the occasional failed effort to own and train a dog myself, I’ve noticed that Utah has its own peculiar variations on these archetypes.
Davis County Golden Doodlers
These folks carefully choose a trendy, hypoallergenic dog for their kids, but that’s about as far as any planning goes. Their disturbingly fuzzy canine of choice is already genetically inclined to be a bit ADHD, and thus the lack of any additional training, or consistent use of a leash, means you’re going to witness (and involuntarily participate in) some low-quality slapstick when they show up at the park.
“Luna!” or “Bella!” is guaranteed to engage in at least one of the following misdemeanors: enthusiastic (but unwelcome) private-parts sniffing, jumping up with muddy paws or stealing of any unprotected food. At a pavilion in Orem a couple of years ago, I had a slice of pizza snatched right out of my hand by one of these goofy dogs. The frazzled owner offered a sheepish, but visibly implausible explanation: “Sorry! – He’s still just a puppy!”
Outdoorsy Young Lass with a Lab
This pet owner can be spotted near trails, canyons and hip recreational sites. She tends to go for an oversized dog (maybe a golden retriever, husky or black lab) as a furry symbol of her own crunchy granola lifestyle. Typically, both the canine and the owner are friendly, well-behaved and left-leaning in their politics. (I guess it’s hard
to tell a dog’s politics, but it seems likely that some form of ideological osmosis must occur after a pet spends so many hours in the back of a Subaru, next to a plethora of progressive bumper stickers.)
In sum, this likable dog-human duo is pleasant to encounter if you have a tolerance for shed hair (the dog’s, mostly), saliva-encrusted tennis balls and long explanations about new-agey tattoos (the owner’s, exclusively).
Odd Older Guy and His Off-Leash Mutt
This socially awkward fellow and his unpredictable, high-energy dog (usually a border collie or some unidentifiable
mix) are a stressful pair to encounter in public since they don’t use paths, consider leashes optional and seem oblivious to the “pick up your own poop” policy.
If you’re in the same park, they will inevitably approach at some point, and you might be tempted to chat up the owner and greet the dog. I don’t recommend that – unless you’re into random conspiracy theories, politically incorrect jokes and the suspense of finding out whether “he’s friendly…” is a promise or a sarcastic comment.
The dog side of this duo is often super sketchy, in fact, since he’s never been trained and has a pent-up desire to herd things – particularly random middle-aged
joggers. One time, my running buddy made the mistake of approaching one of these maladjusted mutts with a cutesy voice. The dog responded by quietly trotting up and biting him in the crotch.
The owner just chuckled and said, “I’ve never seen him do that before…”
Draper Moms with Designer Dogs
This high-maintenance woman (who’s “had some work done”) doesn’t necessarily come from Draper; they can be seen in Alpine, too. Her vehicle of choice is an Escalade or some other oversized SUV with tires that have never tasted a dirt road. Her preferred dog tends to be an asthmatic French pug or some other ridiculously purebred concoction that you can’t spell –like a bichon frisé.
gym-bro strength – as well as a spiked choke collar – to hold back his swole, twitchy-eyed canine.
I don’t know if it’s a nervous beta male vibe or my marbleized-chub physique that triggers the attack instinct in these dogs, but I somehow get chased regularly by boxers, pitbulls and cattle dogs when I’m out jogging. I’ve never actually been bitten in these encounters, but I did once dislocate my shoulder after trying unsuccessfully to break the wooden leg off a tiny outdoor, decorative table – you know, as a defensive weapon.
When you see this flashy woman out among the rabble (on the sidelines of her human child’s U12 competition level soccer game, for example), it’s clear by how she talks to her pet (like a baby), and photographs it repeatedly, that it has its own Instagram account (with a name like boujeebae2000).
Righteous Rose Park Dog Rescuer
Kerry Soper writes and teaches satire, humor and history from Provo.
This quirkily woke woman is the polar opposite of the Draper Mom. Within minutes of meeting her at the dog park, you will know the troubled medical history of her nervous pet (perhaps a former greyhound racer), the best documentaries to watch about unethical puppy mills and the five brands of dog food to avoid because of hormone additives. You might also get a brief glimpse into the owner’s own fraught but now upward-trending mental health trajectory (thanks mostly to adopting this miracle dog).
She’s guaranteed to conclude the conversation with something dramatically sweet and profound like, “In the end, it’s hard to tell who rescued who…”
Pitbull-Parading Punk from Provo
This alpha dog owner will state that his blunt-faced Brutus is a misunderstood softy, but it’s hard to take this claim seriously when it requires all the owner’s
I also once lost my cool after being chased by a Doberman up into a small fruit tree. By “lost it,” I mean that I started crying and let loose with some confusingly mild and made-up swear words (like “Frap!” or “Stank-it!”). When the owner finally showed up in wrap-around sunglasses, all he could offer was, “Sheesh, bro – relax!”
With a cracking voice (like I was still in puberty), I had this devastating retort: “No, you relax! And watch your darn-dang-damn-dog!” (Oops, sorry.)
Lehi Lapdog
Lady
This uppity older woman and her overweight toy canine don’t technically go for a walk at the park. Instead, they briefly stroll near the parking lot so that “Cinnamon” or “Pumpkin,” can do his potty business, receive a treat and put in a solid 10 minutes of snorting and snarling at passing strangers.
I’m embarrassed to admit that this is the kind of dog my wife and I somehow ended up adopting after years of vacillation about breeds. I always dreamed that I’d transcend the stereotypes and own a well-trained bird dog (maybe named “Scout”?) who enjoyed going on trail runs.
Instead, I’m one half of this uncategorizable spectacle: a dorkily dressed middle-aged guy who is awkwardly playing disc golf while trying to control a white, fluffy socially anxious Havanese named “Daisy” with anger management issues. In other words, a pathetic outcome for myself, but a bonus for passing strangers who get to stop, point and enjoy an unexpected laugh in the park.
