Cottonwood Canyon Road Rock Art, Part III
Castle Gate Humor: Scam Likely
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
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Wellsville, pg. 6
Salt Lake City, pg. 10
Spanish Fork, pg. 34
Sevier, pg. 22
Provo, pg. 12
Castle Gate, pg. 14
Helper, pg. 14
Green River, pg. 22 Moab, pg. 6, 34
Cannonville, pg. 38 Torrey, pg. 6
Paria, pg. 38
ON THE COVER
Grosvenor Arch is named after National Geographic’s former president, Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor. It stands 150 feet above the ground, spaning nearly 100 feet wide. Story begins on page 38. Photo by Dan Leeth
Petroglyphs of horsebackriders and cattle appear along the Grand Wash in Capitol Reef National Park. Photo by Randy Langstraat
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
5 Editor’s Letter
6 Honeycomb
A K-9 unit combats poaching; Artisan coffee roaster benefits from Torrey’s climate; Moab ranger mixes art and land.
10 Trivia
Double-down on the Winter Olympics in Utah. Answers on page 36.
12 Monumental Exposure
Ice spikes across Provo’s Utah Lake.
28 Poetry
30 Kitchens
34 Explore Utah
Canyonlands Half Marathon runs its 50th year; Festival of Colors paints Spanish Fork.
46 Last Laugh
Relish and discover how Utahns are the most susceptible to scams.
14
A Vanished Town
Along U.S. Route 6 in Price Canyon lies the ghost town of Caste Gate, a once bustling town for railroad families that continues to tell stories of a historic flood, a mine explosion and a Butch Cassidy heist. by Bianca Dumas
22
S acred Sites of South-Central Utah
The third installment of our Rock Art series begins with the San Rafael Swell near Green River with sites that fueled a 10-year-old’s lifelong interest in the panels and its depicted people. by Ron J. Jackson, Jr.
Cottonwood Canyon Road
The 47-mile backroad from Cannonville to U.S. Highway 89 weaves through the landscapes of the Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument. story and photographs by Dan Leeth
Editor’s Letter
Celebrating Utah’s Stories from the Ground Up
PUBLIC LANDS MAKE up 71% of Utah. Our state comprises rolling uplands, desert lowlands, alpine mountains, salt flats, fertile farmland and red-rock canyons carved by mighty rivers.
These diverse landscapes are the threads that bind this beautiful state together. They shape our cities and structures. They inspire our cultures. As we approach our eighth year of sharing stories that celebrate the heart of this place, we are reminded of how deeply intertwined Utah’s land is with the tales we tell.
This issue of Utah Life tells stories rooted into the very rock and soil beneath our feet. In northern Utah’s Cache County, Department of Natural Resources officer Matt Burgess and his canine partner, Cruz, safeguard the land. As one of five K-9 units across the state, they combat illegal poaching, ensuring the land thrives in harmony with the creatures that call it home. Their job is as much about stewardship as it is about justice, reminding us that Utah’s peaks and valleys are worth protecting.
Travel south to Moab, where the iconic rust-red rocks inspire not just awe but also art. Local artist and park ranger Chad Niehaus captures the rippling, textured canyon walls in his paintings, proving that nature and creativity are inseparable. His art isn’t just inspired by the landscapes he calls home – it is a living, breathing extension of them.
In Torrey, Shooke Coffee Roasters shows that not all art is displayed on canvas. As Utah’s first coffee roaster in a 2,400-square-mile county near Capitol Reef National Park, Shawn and Brooke Passey take pride in their handcrafted, artisanal coffee – a brew that captures the essence of the land. The dry, sunsoaked climate of this high-altitude region influences their roasting process, a reminder that the land shapes not just what we create but what we consume.
And, of course, there’s the enduring legacy of Indigenous rock art, dating back as far as 4,000 B.C. Messages from Fremont, Paiute and Ute peoples are chiseled and pigmented onto stone. As Elizabeth Hora, an archaeologist at the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, puts it, “This isn’t just some romantic echo of a bygone era. These are living places for people still intimately connected to them.” The rock art we see today holds stories of resilience, culture and survival – stories that continue to endure across generations.
Just as their ancient stories are emblazoned onto rocks, the stories we write at Utah Life are inked into the pages of this magazine. Our words reflect, preserve and honor the land, its people and the unique experiences that define this state.
Utah’s history is never just in the past – it’s all around us. It lives in the red dirt of Moab beneath our boots, the Colorado River carving through our valleys and the winds sweeping through the Wasatch Mountains.
May you continue to find inspiration in the new year – walking the land, exploring its treasures and reading the stories that bring it to life.
CHRIS AMUNDSON Publisher & Editor editor@utahlifemag.com
January/February 2025
Volume 8, Number 1
Publisher & Editor
Chris Amundson
Associate Publisher
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Assigning Editor
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Design
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THE BUZZ AROUND UTAH
Poaching Patrol Protecting wildlife and solving cases one scent at a time
by ARIELLA NARDIZZI
Matt Burgess remembers the day his new partner, Cruz, joined him on the job. It was January 2019, and the energetic 10-month-old Black Labrador Retriever was ready to put his skills to work as one of Utah’s elite K-9 officers. From that moment, the pair became inseparable, patrolling northern Utah’s rugged landscapes and protecting the state’s wildlife from illegal poaching.
Over 1,000 wild animals and fish were killed illegally in Utah in 2024, with mule deer and bobcats being common targets due to their trophy value and valuable pelts. While legal hunting helps maintain
ecological balance, poaching destabilizes predator-prey relationships, leading to habitat degradation, biodiversity loss and population decline.
Among the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ 55 field officers, Burgess and Cruz are one of just five K-9 teams trained specifically to combat poaching. These teams, stationed in key areas such as Iron, Uintah, Utah and Carbon Counties, play a vital role in preserving wildlife across the state.
“Many times, tiny pieces of evidence only Cruz found – shell casings buried in the grass, a foot track hidden in the dirt – have been the key to solving an entire case,” Burgess said. “He’ll smell things we
can’t even see.”
The K-9 unit’s revival in 2019 marked a turning point in wildlife law enforcement. These dogs can detect scents and track footprints with remarkable precision, making them invaluable in poaching investigations. Burgess and Cruz trained for three months in Indiana, where Cruz mastered detecting wildlife odors and tracking both people and objects like stashed weapons. By the time they returned to Utah, Cruz could identify nine distinct wildlife scents and assist in search and rescue missions by memorizing a human’s scent from an article of clothing.
Shortly after their training, Burgess and
Cruz tackled their first high-profile case in Box Elder County. After hours of fruitless searching by other officers, Cruz led Burgess through swampy marsh and dense prairie grass to locate an unconscious suspect. The swift rescue earned Cruz a life-saving award – recognition Burgess insists was well deserved.
Burgess’s bond with Cruz goes beyond their professional partnership. Having grown up training hunting dogs, Burgess knows the importance of understanding a dog’s psychology and energy. Cruz, in turn, has learned to read Burgess in ways only a trusted partner can. The two spend nearly every moment together, whether on patrol, at home or during downtime. When Burgess is having a rough day, Cruz senses it, nuzzling his snout onto his shoulder and offering a comforting gaze, as if to say, “I’ve got your back, Boss.”
“He’s the best dog I’ve ever been around – not just with his sheer intelligence, but his ability to identify with me,” Burgess said.
Cruz, like the other Labrador Retrievers in the program, was chosen for his keen scenting abilities and friendly nature interacting with the public. On command, Cruz can switch from his eager, high-strung personality to what Burgess calls a “perfect gentleman” when around children.
The duo’s daily work often takes them from the sweeping slopes of the Uintas to the foothills of the Wasatch Range. When the workday ends, they celebrate with a signature ritual – a doggy high-five. Burgess taps his chest and commands, “five,” prompting Cruz to leap into the air and chest-bump his human partner.
With Burgess’s expertise and Cruz’s boundless energy, this paw-some team is more than just partners – they are guardians of Utah’s wildlife, working side by side to protect the state’s natural treasures.
Matt Burgess
Matt Burgess and his K-9 partner, Cruz, are one of five teams with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources specifically trained to combat illegal poaching.
High
Desert
Roasting
by BIANCA DUMAS
In the shadow of Capitol Reef National Park, where red rock cliffs meet endless blue skies, Shawn Passey has found his perfect blend of passion and place. As the co-owner and Roast Master of Shooke Coffee Roasting in Torrey, Passey sees coffee roasting as an art form, and he’s content to leave technology out of it.
Computerized systems can now do all the work for coffee roasters. The system analyzes every detail of the green product, adjusts for variables and provides a uniform roast from every batch. “It takes all the fun out of it,” Passey said. “The art, I mean. I like having to think about it and smell it and adjust it.”
Passey spent nearly 15 years perfecting his craft and palate, honing his skills as a roaster for Cafe Ibis in Logan. His travels to coffee-growing regions deepened his appreciation for the nuances of different beans and processing methods, lessons he now applies to every batch he roasts.
Today, Passey works on a restored 1986 Probat German roaster. The antique machine offers no automation, relying entirely on the roaster’s intuition and experience. “It’s simply a way of honoring my mentor and keeping things interesting,” he said, referring to Randy Wirth, co-founder of Cafe Ibis and his former
mentor. Each roast is timed and logged by hand, preserving what Passey calls the “old-school roaster mentality.”
The climate of Torrey, with about 30% humidity and a 6,800-foot elevation, adds another layer of complexity. The ultra-dry air transfers heat faster, requiring lower starting temperatures and frequent adjustments throughout the roasting process. “I figured it out by ruining coffee,” Passey said.
Love of coffee kept Passey at Cafe Ibis, but love in life brought him to Torrey, the gateway town to Capitol Reef National Park. Then serendipity took over, as he was poised to be the first coffee roaster in the 2,000-square mile county. Co-founder and life partner Brooke Salt handles Shooke Coffee Roasting’s sales, merch and books. The roastery partners with local businesses like Wild Rabbit Cafe to make sure visitors and locals get a cup of Shooke coffee with their pre-hike breakfasts.
The antique Probat roaster produces a maximum of 10 pounds of coffee at a time, with weekly output peaking at around 200 pounds during the busy season. This limited capacity gives Passey the opportunity to prioritize quality over quantity, carefully tending to each small batch and perfecting an artisan coffee that captures the essence of Torrey and the rugged, arid landscape of southern Utah.
Shawn Passey and Brooke Salt roast high-quality coffee at Shooke Coffee Roasters in Torrey. Elevation, humidity and a 1986 Probat German roaster make for a one-of-a-kind coffee.
Austen Diamond/Utah Office of Tourism
Moab Ranger Finds Inspiration in Rivers and Rocks
Artist Chad Niehaus paints Utah’s beautiful landscapes, particularly where the rivers meet canyons. “White Rim Number 3” depicts the high waters of the Green River in Canyonlands National Park. Niehaus took the source photo while kayaking along the river with his son.
by MICHAEL ENGELHARD
Chad Niehaus lives a life intertwined with the landscapes of southern Utah. He’s as likely to be found painting a canyon’s abstract patterns on a recycled door as he is patrolling its rivers as a Bureau of Land Management ranger. For Niehaus, art and nature are inseparable – a marriage evident in his work and his lifestyle.
A longtime Moab resident, Niehaus balances his roles as artist, ranger and family man with the same easygoing demeanor he brings to his interactions with both nature and people. At 48, his journey has been as winding as the rivers he loves. Starting in fine arts before pivoting to resource management, Niehaus sought to avoid the hyper-competitive art world while remaining connected to creativity and the outdoors. He has since
become a fixture in the community, from launching a pedi cab service to establishing artist residencies for the National Park Service’s Southeast Utah Group, where he served as its first Community Artist in the Parks.
As a BLM ranger, Niehaus has traversed some of Utah’s most iconic waterways. He spent years patrolling Westwater Canyon’s 17-mile stretch, where the Colorado River’s Class III-IV rapids snake through cliffs of schist and sandstone. The canyon is home to bald eagles, herons, threatened fish and the occasional unwelcome black bear – one of which Niehaus once chased away from a family’s dinner.
Today, he’s stationed at the Sand Island ranger station, looking after the San Juan River. On cool, misty mornings, he can be found at the boat ramp greeting river runners and ensuring
compliance with permits and Leave No Trace policies. The San Juan’s 84-mile stretch from Bluff to Clay Hills offers a serene escape through history, geology and wildlife. Niehaus ensures that visitors carry the necessary equipment – firepans, portable toilets, life jackets, oars and first aid kits – while also protecting the historical and archaeological sites that dot the river corridor.
Niehaus’s art reflects his deep connection to these places. His most recent passion, the Seeps Project, is a series of vibrant close-ups of abstract canyon wall encrustations and stains near the waterline, often incorporating ripples, reflections and waves. Using pastels, he transforms these natural details into meditative works of art, based on photographs he takes during his river trips. Through these pieces, Niehaus channels “a vast complex-
Chad Niehaus
ity of ideas,” filled with “symbols, icons and familiar forms that evoke memory, dreams and visions.”
The landscapes Niehaus loves and paints are under increasing threat. Years of drought have altered the flow of rivers like the San Juan, making Niehaus acutely aware of the fragility of these ecosystems. He says the low water levels bring with them a sense of dread over the mistakes made along the way. Still, his time on the river offers moments of clarity, especially when there’s enough flow to travel on and a mind open enough to receive the message these places have to offer.
Niehaus’s paintings, like his patrols, are a tribute to the rivers that inspire him. Through his art and his work, he seeks to protect the wilderness and share its beauty with others, one ripple, reflection and rapid at a time. Mar·15·
Niehaus’ experience as a BLM ranger has also lead him to conduct private packrafting trips through Canyonlands National Park, inspiring both his art and love for the land.
Michael Engelhard
Mindy Benson SUU President Garth O. Green Cedar City Mayor
by LUCAS McFARLANE
1 In July 2024, the International Olympic Committee elected two cities to host future Winter Games, largely because they were the sole contenders and offered robust, sustainable plans. Salt Lake City won the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games while which European country won the 2030 Winter Games?
2 During the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Donny and Marie Osmond provided the voices for what animatronic characters?
3
Salt Lake City-born Olympian Nathan Chen was the first and only single figure skater to win two gold medals in the same Olympic games in Beijing in 2022. Part of his success and skill started early at the age of 7 when he enrolled in what academy in Salt Lake City?
4
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, 20 transit buses and a 10-foot-wide walking path were deployed to assuage traffic up to the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, but the buses were often empty as visitors opted to take the mile trek to receive what souvenir?
5
Two of the mascots for the 2002 Winter Olympics were Powder the Snowshoe Hare and Copper the Coyote. Name one of the other two mascots – one of which represented the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games.
Mike Blake/Reuters
MULTIPLE CHOICE
6 What two-person team women’s event was first introduced in the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics?
a. Bobsleigh
b. Luge
c. Figure Skating
7 In 2018, the U.S. Olympic Committee chose Salt Lake City as America’s choice for a future Winter Olympics over what other city, ultimately leading to Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2034 Olympics?
a. Lake Placid, New York
b. Lake Tahoe, California
c. Denver, Colorado
8 What was the official motto of the 2002 Winter Olympics?
a. Spark the Flame W ithin
b. Ignite the Spirit W ithin
c. Light the Fire Within
9 The 2002 Olympics featured two different ice hockey venues. Which of the options below was not one of those venues?
a. The E Center (Maverick Center) in West Valley City
b. Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns
c. Peaks Ice Arena in Provo
10 Typically, the Olympic Games have the world stage to themselves, but in 2034, they may have to share that stage with the one of the only other global sporting events that can rival the Olympics in popularity. What is this other event?
a. The FIFA World Cup (soccer)
b. The R yder Cup (golf)
c. W imbledon (tennis)
TRUE OR FALSE
11
Salt Lake City will be the first city to host two Winter Olympic Games.
12 All planned competition spaces for the 2034 Winter Olympics already exist and are planned to be reused, a significant part of Salt Lake City’s economic plan for the Winter Olympics.
13 The 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City will be the eighth Winter Olympics hosted in the United States.
14 Skeleton racing returned to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics for the first time since 1948, including both men’s and women’s events.
15 For the first time in Olympic history, Salt Lake City’s 2002 Olympics awarded different medals for each sport with 16 unique designs.
No peeking, answers on page 36.
Dan Chung/Reuters
EDITORS’ CHOICE
photograph by DAVID SWINDLER
SHARDS OF JAGGED ice protect the shores of Provo’s Utah Lake, the state’s largest freshwater body of water. Kanab photographer David Swindler kept a watchful eye on the weather forecast as temperatures sat below freezing throughout January, and westerly winds splintered the lake’s frozen exterior into glass pieces.
As dawn painted the morning sky with pink and blue pastels, Swindler ventured into the cold to capture the fleeting ice stacks. A wide-angle lens and steady tripod helped him get low to the ice’s surface, capturing the dramatic height of the vertical ice slabs growing up from the lake.
“I love sharing the wonder of the natural world with others, especially those that may never see such beautiful scenes with their own eyes,” Swindler said.
Once home, Swindler then utilized focus stacking. This editing technique compiles multiple photographs taken at different focal planes to achieve the sharpest image. It is one of many digital darkroom techniques he teaches through his business, Action Photo Tours.
Sixteen years ago, Swindler traded his career as a semiconductor engineer for a life behind the lens. With his camera always in hand, he finds joy in helping others capture the same pristine imagery as that of Utah Lake.
This photo was shot with a Sony A7r3, at 4/10 second, F10, ISO 100, with a 16-35mm lens.
SUBMIT YOUR BEST photographs for the opportunity to be published in Utah Life. Send digital images with descriptions and your contact information to photos@utahlifemag.com or visit utahlifemag.com/contribute.
GATE Castle
Utah’s most interesting vanished town
story by BIANCA DUMAS
In 1913, Elwood Haynes toured Utah’s roadways to promote his automobile company. The route included a new stretch of Highway 6 from Price to Spanish Fork. Speaking of the scenery in Price Canyon, Haynes remarked, “That canyon is one of the most beautiful scenic stretches of mountainous country that I have seen in all my automobile touring.”
The canyon’s most striking feature was the castle gate – two towering pinnacles of cream-colored sandstone that seemed to open as travelers approached and close behind them. This natural formation gave its name to the town of Castle Gate.
In 1960, one side of the castle gate was demolished during the widening of Highway 6, erasing the illusion forever. The town itself has similarly vanished, leaving behind only an old cemetery and the stories of those who lived there. But during its century-long existence, Castle Gate witnessed remarkable events that shaped its legacy.
photographs by THE HELPER MUSEUM
“The explosion was so massive that even hiding behind crosscuts... didn’t help.”
Roman Vega
THE FIRST MINE opened in 1886, and two years later, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad established Castle Gate to house the workers. The town became home to 300 families, with residents hailing from 27 nationalities. These immigrant workers – speaking different languages and practicing different religions – were forced to live in segregated neighborhoods by the mining company, which feared unionization after a major 1903 strike.
“They were afraid of them forming unions,” said Roman Vega, director of the Helper Museum, which preserves Castle Gate’s history.
Novelist Lisa Bonnice, who researched Castle Gate for her book, Castle Gate, discovered that many residents arrived under false pretenses. “Recruiters would tell people it was just like their homeland,” Bonnice said. “Then the women would arrive and think, ‘This isn’t anything like home.’ ”
Despite these challenges, residents remembered Castle Gate fondly. The town had a lively social scene with an amusement hall, movies, dances, ice cream socials and a baseball team. Infrastructure included a general store, butcher shop, hospital, library and a school that went through eighth grade.
“It sounds like it was a really nice little town,” Bonnice said. “The people I’ve spoken to just loved Castle Gate.”
On April 21, 1897, Castle Gate became the site of one of Butch Cassidy’s most daring heists. Cassidy and William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay robbed the Pleasant Valley
Castle Gate was once a working community of 300 immigrant families. Now a ghost town, the land stands as a historic testimony.
Coal Company payroll as it was unloaded from a Rio Grande train, escaping with more than $9,000 in gold – equivalent to about $300,000 today.
The pair staked out the operation for weeks, timing their robbery during a shift change to exploit the crowd. Company cashier E.L. Carpenter later recounted the event in the Salt Lake Herald, describing how the outlaws ordered him to “drop them sacks… and hold up your hands.” After grabbing the gold, Cassidy fired shots into the air to create chaos, cut the telegraph lines and escaped to their hideout at Robber’s Roost.
Local legend claims the stolen gold was buried in the desert and never recovered. The steps Cassidy hid under are now displayed at the Helper Museum.
Cassidy was revered in Carbon County as a Robin Hood figure. Local lore tells of him buying medicine for an elderly woman and compensating a rancher for “borrowed” horses.
Just 20 years later, Castle Gate faced near destruction from a massive flood. The Price River Irrigation Company had con-
structed Mammoth Dam on Gooseberry Creek, about 80 miles north. However, the reservoir was filled before the dam met engineering specifications.
On the afternoon of June 24, 1917, a watchman discovered that water had breached the dam. While catastrophe was inevitable, lives were saved thanks to the dam caretaker, who contacted the central phone operator to spread warnings of the impending deluge.
A memorable anecdote from a regional newspaper recounts Castle Gate resident Ben Ludwig dismissing evacuation warnings because he was in the middle of wallpapering his house. Ludwig reportedly said, “We’ll take a chance. If the water comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, then we’ve got the wall papered.”
Over the next two days, 3 billion gallons of water surged down Price Canyon and through Castle Gate, washing away eight concrete and steel bridges, the train depot, four houses and 30 miles of railroad track. The flood halted coal production and transportation, but remarkably, no lives were lost.
Having finished their home improvement project, the Ludwigs retreated to a hillside and watched the floodwaters rush past. In the end, their house was spared –and the wallpaper remained intact.
The darkest chapter in Castle Gate’s history came on March 8, 1924, when the Castle Gate Mine exploded. The disaster claimed the lives of 172 miners and one rescuer, leaving 417 children fatherless and affecting 25 expectant mothers. The catastrophic event made the front page of The New York Times.
That morning, miners had dynamited a large area to loosen a lump of coal, releasing massive amounts of methane gas into the mine. The gas surged through the tunnels like wind, extinguishing the men’s carbide headlamps. When the fire boss attempted to re-light his lamp, the gas ignited.
Two powerful explosions followed, so intense that the mine’s interior beams were launched like projectiles. The checkin board, used to track which miners were underground, was obliterated.
An investigation by the Bureau of Mines
Butch Cassidy (right) and William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay of the Wild Bunch robbed the Pleasant Valley Coal Company as payroll came through Caste Gate on April 21, 1897. The Fort Worth Five pictured above was printed on wanted posters, eventually leading to the gang’s downfall.
On March 8, 1924, methane gas flooded the Castle Gate Mine and triggered fatal explosions, claiming the lives of every miner underground.
later revealed that the company had failed to report methane levels and had not properly watered down the coal dust, which allowed it to remain suspended in the air and ignite.
“The explosion was so massive that even hiding behind crosscuts, which were designed to protect men in such situations, didn’t help,” said Roman Vega, director of the Helper Museum. Every miner underground was killed. A rescue worker, who removed his gas mask near the mine’s portal, also perished from exposure to the lingering fumes.
As museum director, Vega oversaw the 100th anniversary commemoration of the disaster, which included a screening of the documentary Remembering Castle Gate
At the time of the explosion, coal production had slowed, and the company had prioritized shifts for married men, laying off bachelors. Tragically, this decision ensured that every victim left behind a family.
Lisa Bonnice, a descendant of one of
the bachelors, shared her family’s connection to the tragedy. Her ancestors emigrated from Scotland, and on the day of the explosion, her great-grandfather, great-uncle and their nephew were among those killed. Bonnice’s lineage continues through a surviving son.
“The men who were given this shift thought they were lucky because work was scarce,” Bonnice said. “They thought it was a favor.”
Roughly one-third of the miners who died that day are buried in the Castle Gate cemetery, a solemn reminder of the town’s most devastating day.
While the mine disaster devastated Castle Gate, it didn’t mark the end of the town. In 1954, the mining venture even expanded when Kaiser Steel built a coalfired power plant.
Life in Castle Gate continued quietly until 1974, when the mining company dismantled the town to make room for expanding mining operations. Res-
idents were offered the opportunity to purchase their houses, which the company then moved by truck to the mouth of Spring Canyon in Helper. The relocated neighborhood was named Castle Gate Subdivision in memory of the original town.
In 2000, another methane gas explosion occurred at the mine, claiming two more lives. Shortly afterward, the mine was permanently closed. By 2015, the power plant was also shut down, and the land was fully reclaimed. Today, no visible trace of Castle Gate remains.
But the memory of Castle Gate endures in Carbon County. Helper resident Ryan Pollick, the grandson of a Castle Gate resident, reflected on its legacy. “She spoke of those people with such reverence,” he said. “She would talk about it, but didn’t want to go into any detail because there was a lot of pain still.
“I knew as a little boy, something serious happened there.”
Most of the Castle Gate families lived in tents while the wooden structures were reserved to house those with a higher standing such as fire bosses. When the town was dismantled in 1974, residents were able to purchase their homes and relocate to Helper.
The Castle Gate Cemetery is what remains of the town today, but the stories of Castle Gate endure through the history and descendants of its families.
SACRED SITES
Chasing the Wonderment of South-Central Utah’s Ancient Rock Art
by RON J. JACKSON, JR.
WILD AND DANGEROUS.
Rugged and majestic. Enchanting and mysterious. The San Rafael Swell in south-central Utah is all this and more. This 75-by40-mile expanse offers awe-inspiring beauty alongside the ever-present threat of flash floods.
Locals call it “The Swell” – a place that also holds some of Utah’s most vibrant archaeological treasures: ancient rock art. Pictographs (drawings or paintings on rock) and petroglyphs (carvings or chiseling into rock) – some dating as far back as 4,000 B.C. – are scattered across the region. The artwork sparks curiosity about their Native American creators, including the Fremont, Paiute and Ute peoples.
Much of these cultures’ legacy is lost to antiquity – colorful body paints, music and dance. Elizabeth Hora, public archaeologist at the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, says what remains are the
“hard parts” of those cultures: a few stone beads, arrowheads, shards of pottery and panels of rock art.
“That is what has lasted,” Hora emphasized. Interpreting it, she adds, requires imagination.
Utah’s ancient rock art continues to capture those curious about how those people lived. For Steven Acerson, the fascination began in 1963 when he was just 10 years old – a moment etched in his memory as clearly as the petroglyphs and pictographs he first encountered that day.
Acerson’s family left their home in Green River for an Easter Sunday outing at Three Fingers Canyon in The Swell.
“There was a pond at the mouth of the canyon,” recalled Acerson, now 72 and living in Beaver. “We were playing while grandma and the other elders fixed food. Then we started exploring. On the side of the wash, I noticed a cave high above the pond.”
This is the third installment in a Utah Life series on ancient rock art. The first story about southeast Utah rock art appeared in the November/December 2022 issue while the second story in the Fall 2023 issue featured northeast Utah rock art.
Curious, he climbed up and peered inside. What he found would change his life.
“On this slanted area, there were pictographs and in the cave above them was this heavy pagination – thousands of years old,” Acerson said. “It was baffling to me, trying to figure out what these all meant. It felt like stepping through a time portal. Were they trying to say something? Was this part of a spiritual process?”
Decades later, Acerson is still chasing answers.
After years as a whitewater rafting guide and outfitter, Acerson retired from the State Department of Transportation in 2014, he joined the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA), later serving as president. His wife, Diana, recently completed her own term as president. Together, the couple travels to rock art sites statewide, from remote outcroppings to spots near major roads that are easily missed by motorists.
One such site, known as Tree of Life, lies
within two miles of Black Dragon Wash exit on westbound Interstate 70. Hidden in an outcropping of red sandstone, the petroglyph panel features human-like figures, possible snakes and a lone tree beneath what appears to be a rainbow.
Nearby, the Barrier Canyon-style pictographs of Black Dragon Wash include human-like figures dating back 1,500 and 4,000 years. These include anthropomorphic figures with hollow eyes, outreached arms and what appear to be antennae extending skyward.
Archaeologists hypothesize the Barrier Canyon style dates to a late Archaic period (2,000 B.C.-0 A.D.), before the spread of agriculture. Among these pictographs is a faded black figure once thought to depict a dragon. However, in 2015, researchers using DStretch technology uncovered hidden details: a combination of animals, anthropomorphic figures and long, black horned snake.
Acerson, who has visited the site many
times, is still captivated by its mystery. “As a boy, I used to hunt wildlife with my grandfather,” he said. “Everywhere we went – hiking and climbing – we’d come onto these panels of rock art.”
His lifelong fascination has fueled enduring questions: “What were these people trying to say?”
Experts, however, warn that interpretation is tricky terrain. Competing theories and perspectives abound.
Steven Simms, an anthropology professor at Utah State University, believes clues to understanding ancient rock art lie in studying its creators.
“I like to call it social geography,” Simms said. “The rock art is a map into their minds. To know the rock art, you have to know the people.”
Simms explored these connections with his book Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah. The Fremont culture, which thrived between 300 and 1300 A.D., left behind distinct rock art,
The San Rafael Swell spans across Emery County and is dotted with several rock art sites including the Dry Wash of the Molen Reef Petroglyphs off Moore Cutoff Road, featuring a horned snake. On the right, the Barrier Canyon pictographs in the Black Dragon Wash are attributed to the Fremont culture. Though well-intended to help identify the design, the chalk on the human figure is not original to the art.
Jim Shoemaker (both)
Known as the Head of Sinbad, the pictograph of a horned figure with a snake above its head is located near Locomotive Point and Dutchman Arch off Highway 50. At 12 feet above the ground, the painting is mostly undisturbed and maintains its vibrant shade. Petroglyphs are also found in the Willow Gulch in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (below) and the Grand Wash of
Capitol Reef National Park (right).
Bob Maynard
Randy Langstraat
pottery, pit houses and small granaries.
The largest known Fremont settlement, discovered during the construction of Interstate 70 in 1983, was at Five Finger Ridge in Clear Creek Canyon. Archaeologists uncovered over 100 distinct structures, including 20 pit houses, 40 habitation structures and thousands of artifacts. This discovery prompted the creation of Fremont Indian State Park and Museum in Sevier.
Though Interstate 70 destroyed much of the Five Finger Ridge site, Fremont rock art and structures remain scattered throughout the region. Simms believes their art reflects their sophistication.
“They were not primitives,” he said. “They were masters of their landscape. They managed their environment intentionally, and I think it humanizes them.”
Experts believe some Fremont rock art may have served as historical narrative, communicating events of daily life. For instance, researchers point to Mantle’s Cave
in Colorado’s Dinosaur National Monument. There, in the late 1930s archaeologists uncovered small dwellings, granaries, pottery shards, baskets and hunting tools. Among these artifacts, was a ceremonial headdress intricately crafted with more than 370 Northern Flicker feathers, bound with fine buckskin and ermine cordage.
The artifact closely resembled images repeatedly depicted in Fremont rock art.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, another haven for ancient rock art, offers further glimpses into these cultures. Spanning 1.7 million acres, the monument contains ruins and rock art sites, including the famous 100 Hands panel.
This mesmerizing pictograph, perched on a sandstone cliff overlooking the Escalante River, features at least 160 handprints. Reaching it requires a 1.2-mile hike along rocky, uneven terrain.
Vandalism has taken a toll on some
sites, including the nearby Bighorn Panel, where attempts were made to saw away sections of rock. Despite these challenges, sites like 100 Hands continue to leave their mark on visitors.
“We have over 120,000 known archaeological sites in Utah,” Hora said. “Of those, maybe 5 percent or less are rock imagery. These sites are important and irreplaceable.”
They also remain deeply meaningful to the descendants of their creators.
“This isn’t just some romantic echo of a bygone era,” Hora said. “These are living places for people still intimately connected to them. When visiting rock imagery sites, approach them as you would a cathedral or temple. Keep your hands to yourself – this is someone’s sacred place.
“They are powerful places. If you open yourself up to that, you’ll have a more meaningful experience.”
Just as a 10-year-old boy from Green River did long ago.
Randy Langstraat
Salt flats stretch wide, red rock deserts glow at sunrise and alpine peaks gleam with fresh snow. From the Great Salt Lake to towering arches, our poets celebrate the delicate yet striking beauty only found in Utah.
Obsidian Eyes
Barbara Comnes, Ivins
Little lizards lounge On a rustic red rock wall With watchful wee eyes
Utah’s Canyons
L.
Brent Jones, St. George
Utah’s canyons, hold a reverence, in my heart, and in my mind, for in each, a new adventure, is waiting there, to find.
In spite, of my frequent visits made, each time, there’s something new, a new trailhead, with new treasures found, each time, more there to do.
The northern canyons, embrace the snow, with a wonderland, of joy, where winter sports, will have no bounds, with glistening beauty, to enjoy.
The spring thaw, feed the streams that flow, with clear blue water, there, turning evergreens, into sentinels, with wildlife, everywhere.
The central canyons, hide their lakes, in pockets, of delight, where fishing legends, can be found, and ducks and geese, take flight.
Where colors change, and rainbows fade, leaving murals, on the rocks, and farmlands lead all, to new roads, where the winds, been heard to talk.
They turn to canyons, of the coral sand, where warm winds, often blow, and nature sculpts, all its fantasies, some above, and some below.
Where goblins reign, and hoodoos hide, and arches, leave their mark, entering a land, where enchantment rules, now to new beauty, I embark.
To the Red Rock Canyons, of the south, with borders, lined in pines, painted by the hand, of God himself, with the desert, they entwine.
Then there’s Zion, in its grandeur, a monument, of strength, Utah’s canyons rise, as unsurpassed, in all their height, and all their length.
Kevin Mikkelsen
Only in Utah
Mike Hemingway, Saratoga Springs
When Brigham arrived, there was not much to see, Just an ocean of sagebrush, an occasional tree.
“This is the place,” he said with a smile. It was only in Utah they would stay for a while.
They settled and prospered and gradually found They had chosen a place unlike any around.
Only in Utah is the Delicate Arch That graces a skyline in a desert that’s parched.
Only Utah has landings where angels can tread And a Great White Throne towering far overhead.
There are goblins and hoodoos, slot canyons to roam. It’s only in Utah these places call home.
Only in Utah is the world’s greatest snow Which thousands of skiers already know.
Spring ski in the morning and golf afternoons, Or play in a snowbank in May or in June.
It’s only in Utah where you bleed red or blue And claim proud allegiance to the “Y” or the “U.”
In Utah, our Jazz play their games on the floor That covers the ice where the Club skates to score.
Utah’s the place where REAL soccer is played, Grizzlies wear ice skates, and Bees homeruns are made.
Only in Utah is a saltwater sea With beaches and islands where buffalo roam free.
With brine shrimp and salt flats, there’s much to explore, There’re mountains, and deserts, and sand dunes, and more.
Of course, we have traffic and rush hours too, But others don’t have all the marvels we do.
So, when Brigham said, “This is the place,” he was right. Only in Utah can you find Utah Life.
This Red Dirt
Greg Fugate, Denver, Colorado
This red dirt, ubiquitous earth of the Colorado Plateau.
This red dirt, grains of sand from the basement of time. Remnants of vast desert landscapes, eroded cliffs and cathedrals, and life long since vanished.
This red dirt, it is in my hands as I climb, my eyes when the wind blows, and my shoes as I hike. It coats my skin as I sleep on the ground under the stars.
This red dirt, it calls me to return again and again.
This red dirt has stained my soul.
Send your poems on the theme “Under the Stars” for the May/June 2025 issue, deadline Mar. 1, and “Desert Summers” for the July/August 2025 issue, deadline April 1. Send to poetry@utahlifemag.com or to the mailing address at the front of this magazine.
Tad Bowman
TENDERLOiN ENTREES
Savory & Sweet Pork Dishes
recipes
and photographs by
DANELLE McCOLLUM
TENDER SLICES OF PORK accompanied by a variety of flavors – from cranberries to cloves, raisins to ginger and honey to soy sauce – will bring a smile of sweet satisfaction to family and friends. Favorite sides include crispy potatoes, fresh salads, fried rice and sweet, warm rolls.
Crispy Baked Tonkatsu
Boneless pork cutlets are breaded with panko breadcrumbs then baked on a wire rack until they are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Go-to side dishes include rice or noodles.
Place an oven-safe wire rack inside of a rimmed baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add panko breadcrumbs and stir to coat. Cook until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a shallow dish. Toss with remaining olive oil.
Season the pork cutlets with salt and pepper. Place flour and beaten eggs in two separate shallow dishes or bowls.
Dredge each cutlet in flour, then dip in the eggs. Coat each cutlet in the panko crumbs, packing on the crumbs to coat well. Place on wire rack.
Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes, or until the coating is dark golden brown and the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145°.
While the pork cooks, make the tonkatsu sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Serve pork with tonkatsu sauce for dipping. Unused sauce may be stored for up to one month in the refrigerator.
For the pork
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
6 boneless pork cutlets
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper to taste
For the tonkatsu sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
Ser ves 6
Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin
With the fresh cranberries and orange juice, the raisins cook down a chutney-like sauce adding sweetness to slices of a tender, delicious cut of pork.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides, about 5-6 minutes total. Place in a lightly greased, 6-quart slow cooker.
Add cranberries, raisins, orange juice, honey and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, or until a thermometer reads 145°. Remove pork to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the liquid from the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan, reserving the cranberries and raisins. Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk into the saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Stir in the reserved cranberries and raisins. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the pork with the sauce. Add fresh parsley and orange slices to garnish.
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 2-3 lb pork tenderloin roast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Fresh chopped parsley and orange slices for garnish
Ser ves 6
Honey Paprika Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is seared then roasted to perfection and topped with a sweet and savory sauce made with garlic, honey, paprika and chicken broth. Best served with crispy potatoes or a fresh, green salad.
Preheat oven to 450°. In a small bowl, mix together both paprika spices, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt. Massage spice mixture into the pork and let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pork and brown on all sides. Place skillet in the oven and cook at 450° for 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 135°.
Transfer the pork to a large plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add honey and stir for 30 seconds.
Pour in chicken broth. Cook and stir until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 2-3 minutes. Stir in vinegar, then stir in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2-inch slices and spoon the sauce over the pork. Serve immediately.
1 ½ tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp fresh minced thyme
1 tsp salt
1 ½ lb pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp honey
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Ser ves 4
RACE
CULTURE. ADVENTURE. HISTORY.
BY ARIELLA NARDIZZI
CANYONLANDS HALF MARATHON
MARCH 15 • MOAB
The first light of dawn paints the sandstone walls of the Moab Valley with hues of orange and gold. Scenic Byway 128 winds through a mesmerizing maze of towering cliffs, rock spires and desert sagebrush. Runners stream through the canyon with pep in their step at the 50th annual Canyonlands Half Marathon.
The half marathon itself is a 13.1-mile journey through postcard-worthy landscapes as runners follow the shimmering curves and bends of the mighty Colorado River. The race began in 1976 with just 22 finishers, one of which was a dog.
Nowadays, thousands of racers begin at 8:15 a.m. at Sandy Beach, a popular boat
launch spot. They meander toward Moab and eventually end on a smooth, downhill route to Lions Park just outside the iconic boundaries of Arches National Park.
Along the way, four vital aid stations provide each runner with necessary hydration and support as they soak in the views and power through gentle elevations. For those seeking a challenge that’s scaled back – but equally scenic – runners can opt for a five-mile course through the canyon instead.
Whether tackling the full 13.1 miles or the shorter 5-mile course, racers will find that in Moab, stunning red rock views never run out. madmooseevents.com.
Runners race for Moab’s 50th Canyonlands Half
WHERE TO EAT BROKEN OAR RESTAURANT
This family owned and operated lodge serves their famous sweet potato fries and high-quality meats. Order St. Louis style ribs straight from the smoker or try their honey sriracha lime chicken. 53 W. 400 N. (435) 259-3127.
WHERE TO STAY RED CLIFFS LODGE
Tucked deep amid tall cliffs sits a charming property with rustic wooden cabins along the banks of the Colorado River. Enjoy riverfront views during breakfast, lunch and dinner at the property’s exquisite Cowboy Grill. Milepost 14, Highway 128. (435) 259-2002.
Whit Richardson
COMMUNITY
FESTIVAL OF COLORS
MARCH 29-30 • SPANISH FORK
A cascade of rainbow-colored powder marks springtime’s jubilant return. Spanish Fork’s Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple comes alive as thousands of people gather to celebrate Holi. The ancient Hindu festival from India marks the arrival of spring, rejuvenation and forgiveness. In Spanish Fork, festivalgoers celebrate the Festival of Colors on the steps of the sacred temple.
Against the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains, the sky turns into a kaleidoscope of colors with powder swirling above the crowd. Revelers dance and hug, coating each other in vibrant shades of pink, violet, yellow, green and blue.
The festival is a joyous, sensory feast. Attendees dance to the catchy rhythm of Punjabi and Bollywood beats and participate in flowing yoga sessions. Throughout the weekend, live performances from local artists blend traditional folk dances with modern fusion.
Colored chalk is hurled high into the air. Savory, mouthwatering vegan and vegetarian Indian cuisine await once you’ve danced up an appetite.
By the end of the festival, the temple grounds are a canvas of joy as each attendee forgives their loved ones by throwing
their worries – and Krishna Colors powder – to the wind in a symbolic display of acceptance.
Saturday’s party runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., while Sunday’s hours run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the gate. festivalofcolorsusa.com.
WHERE TO STAY
ART CITY INN
Relax in Springville’s historic 1892 boutique hotel. The elegant 11 suites feature bare-brick walls, floral vintage wallpaper and comfortable modern amenities. Revel in the garden courtyard’s hot tub or warm up by the outdoor fireplace. 94 W. 200 S. (801) 477-7365.
WHERE TO GO
SRI SRI RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE
Tour this stunning Hindu temple’s rounded domes, marble deity statues and spirals. The temple’s grounds are home to 42 llamas, three zebus cattle, various avian species and over 200 koi. 311 W. 8500 S. (801) 787-1510.
Other events you may enjoy
FEBRUARY
Graveyard of Buoyant Hopes
Through May 18 • Park City
Artist Kevin Heaney and photographer
Lee Silliman capture the remnants of America’s western ghost towns and relics through watercolor paintings and photos. The paintings depict what once was, while photography contrastingly shoots the buildings present-day. Park City Museum, 528 Main St. (435) 649-7457.
Ballet Folklórico de México
Feb. 18 • Orem
Vibrant Jalisco ribbon dresses, traditional Mexican folklórico attire, swish and sway to an upbeat tempo of folk music. This ballet performance from Mexico’s highest regarded dance company highlights pre-Columbian civilizations and today’s traditions. Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, 800 W. University Parkway. (801) 863-7529.
Delta Snow Goose Festival
Feb. 21-22 • Delta
Witness Delta’s sky turn white from waves of snow geese with black-tipped wings. Each year, the birds migrate from California to northern Canada, stopping at the Gunnison Bend Reservoir. The festival features spotting scopes, a craft fair, quilt show and wildlife workshops at various locations around town. (435) 864-4316.
Leo Libations Sweetheart Wines
Feb. 27 • Salt Lake City
Celebrate the month of love with Wine Academy of Utah’s sweetheart wine tasting. Pair with a delicious meal of arugula salad, mushroom risotto and red velvet cheesecake bars. 209 E. 500 S. (801) 531-9800.
Logan Home Show
Feb. 28-March 1 • Logan
Bring your home decor vision to life at this free show. Browse businesses to source valuable renovation, building and decorating insights. 490 S. 500 W. (435) 345-4663.
Festival of Colors USA
MARCH
Red, White & Snow
March 5-8 • Park City
Let the wine flow and snow fall at the 21st four-day event to benefit the National Ability Center. The finest chefs and winemakers collaborate on vintner dinners paired with luxurious wine tastings, an après-ski lunch party and black-tie gala. Various venues around Park City. (435) 649-3991.
Annual Art Show
March 17-April 18 • South Jordan
Enjoy incredible artwork from talented local artists held at the Gale Museum. The showcase is free to the public. 10300 S. Beckstead Lane. (801) 254-3048.
Vernal UTAH’s Storytelling Festival
March 19-20 • Vernal
Lovers of story gather for a two-day celebration of storytelling from internationally recognized artists. All proceeds are
donated to the Uintah’s School’s Foundation. Vernal Middle School Auditorium, 721 W. 100 S.
Matt’s Off-Road Games
March 20-22 • Hurricane
Seasoned off-roaders pair with YouTube stars to ride roaring home-built vehicles up the steep red cliffs of Sand Hollow. The family-friendly event also boasts tug-ofwar against stationary vehicles, off-road school bus rides and vendors. 3351 Sand Hollow Road.
International Sportsmen’s Expo
March 20-23 • Salt Lake City
One thousand companies gather to showcase their premiere hunting, fishing and outdoor products to adventure enthusiasts at the largest sportsmen expo since 1975. Tickets are $14. Mountain America Expo Center, 9575 S. State St. (360) 693-3700.
TRIVIA ANSWERS
Questions on p 10-11
1 French Alps, France
2 Dinosaur skeletons
3 Ballet West Academy
4 A free Gold Medal Mile pin
5 Otto the Otter, Coal the Black Bear
6 a. Bobsleigh/bobsled
7 c. Denver, Colorado
8 c. Light the Fire Within
9 b. Utah Olympic Oval (hosted speed skating events)
10 a. The FIFA World Cup (Soccer) (FIFA is considering
moving the World Cup to a winter schedule.)
11 False (St. Mortiz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria have both hosted the Winter Olympics twice.)
12 True
13 False (It will be the fifth Winter Olympics hosted in the United States.)
14 True
15 True
Trivia Photographs
Page 10 Fireworks during the opening ceremony on Feb. 8, 2002
Page 11 Tristin Gale wins gold in women’s skeleton on Feb. 20, 2002
Cottonwood Canyons Road
Traverse a 47-mile backroad from Cannonville through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
and photographs by
story
DAN LEETH
DECADES AGO, A BUDDY and I were driving from Arizona to Escalante for a camping trip in Utah’s canyon country. The shortest paved route to our destination would have required a long, looping, out-of-the-way drive. Studying the highway map, my buddy found a possible shortcut, which was shown as one of those dashed gray lines mapmakers use to signify asphalt-free routes of unknown condition. If passable, it would save us 90 miles of driving. If not, we could be candidates for a future Survivor episode.
“Let’s try it,” my buddy insisted, knowing full well that it would be my car taking the punishment if his shortcut turned out to be one of those white-knuckling pathways that make Jeep owners cringe.
The route, known as the Cottonwood Canyon Road, or simply Road 400, turned out to be a nicely graded roadway cutting through what is now the Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument. I’ve driv-
en the route several times since, generally taking it from north to south. Google claims it takes two hours to complete the 47-mile route if driven nonstop, but few of us ever do it that way.
From the top, the drive begins off Utah Highway 12 with a turn down Main Street in Cannonville. The visitor center there can provide handout maps and the latest road conditions.
The first seven miles to Kodachrome Basin State Park are paved. One of my favorites, Kodachrome offers campsites and hiking trails in a sprawling realm bounded by multicolored cliffs and studded with rocky monoliths known as sedimentary pipes. A National Geographic photo crew named this picturesque basin after that once-popular color film, but it still appears equally impressive in today’s digital, cell-phone images.
Beyond Kodachrome, the road becomes graded gravel and dirt, and in dry condi-
Cottonwood Canyon
Cottonwood Canyon Road weaves south of Cannonville revealing sights like Grosvenor Arch perched 150 feet above the ground.
Further down the road, travelers can spot the Cockscomb, a collection of towers made from vertical sandstone beds named for their resemblance to the colorful “comb” of a rooster’s head. Eleven miles south, hikers take the Lower Hackberry Canyon Trailhead.
For an easier, family-friendly path through a sandstone slot canyon, hikers traverse 1 ½ miles through the Cottonwood Narrows Trail.
tions, it can be negotiated in Grandma’s Buick. The most annoying impediment occurs when the road surface becomes corrugated with rippling, car-jarring washboards, which can make folks fear their fillings will fall out. The route becomes impassable in wet conditions when the roadbed’s clay underpinnings turn into a muddy goo capable of miring even your brother-in-law’s 4x4.
There are no 7-Elevens, Starbucks or gas stations along the route. Drivers should start with a full tank of fuel and bring along a healthy supply of snacks, water and warm
clothing in case the unforeseen happens. With sparse traffic and spotty cell coverage, one must always be prepared.
Ten miles from Kodachrome Basin lies the turnoff to Grosvenor Arch, named by those Kodachrome photographers for their boss, Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society. The span arcs atop a sandstone cliff, 150 feet above the ground with the largest of its twin openings stretching almost 100 feet wide. The BLM provides parking, picnic tables and the last restroom one will find along the scenic drive.
ON TO PARIA
Those yearning for a bit more backcountry adventure can follow the U.S. 89 west to the historical marker between mile posts 30 and 31. From here, a five-mile drive up BLM Road 585 leads to the bygone townsite of Pahreah, or Paria. Mormon pioneers settled near here in 1865, planning to use water from the Paria River to irrigate their crops.
In 1870, they moved their settlement upstream and founded the town of Pahreah in what they hoped was a better location. A decade later, major floods washed away fields and buildings. Folks departed and by 1892, the town was nearly deserted. Today, little more than a few foundations and the cemetery remain.
The location, however, proved to be so scenic that Hollywood built a movie set a mile from the bygone townsite. Here, they filmed Westerns such as The Cisco Kid, Mackenna’s Gold and The Outlaw Josey Wales. After flash flooding damaged the set in the late 1990s, volunteers helped to move, replace and restore the structures. The movie set was ultimately destroyed in 2006 when vandals set it on fire, but the land is still a site to behold.
From Grosvenor, the road turns south. Ahead rises a sharp, twisted monocline known as the Cockscomb. This towering rooster comb of rock displays a marble-cake mottling of hues ranging from cinnamon red to cappuccino beige with occasional globs of chocolate brown dappling the mix.
A pair of roadside pullouts here serve as trailheads for folks stopping to hike the Cottonwood Narrows. This family-friendly, 1½-mile long slot canyon features a sandy-bottomed passage through a stream-carved corridor in the sandstone. Open stretches offer dollops of leafy greens and scarlet paintbrush.
Cottonwood Canyon Road continues south, its route sandwiched between the Cockscomb and wash. About 11 miles past the narrows, the road reaches the gaping mouth of Hackberry Canyon. A 5-mile hike from here leads to a rustic log cabin built around 1914 by hopeful miner Frank Watson.
The wash soon joins the Paria River. The valley broadens, and the road begins traversing the rolling, wide-open terrain. In the springtime, ground flowers blanketing the countryside transform this softly undulating landscape into a condiment-slathered platter of mustard yellows and relish greens.
After a few more broad turns, Road 400 meets U.S. 89. From here, drivers can continue west to Kanab or east to Glen Canyon. Or they can do like me and simply make a U-turn and go back the way we came. After all, the scenery always looks different when viewed from the opposite direction.
The road weaves along the Cockscomb until it opens up near the Paria River, revealing the rolling terrain of Southern Utah.
story by KERRY SOPER illustration by JOSH TALBOT
Scam Capital, U.S.A.
Utahns might just be the most vulnerable and gullible
UTAHNS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE to scams. Perhaps we’re too trusting, too easily lured into deals too good to be true. Did drinking all of those 44-oz. dirty sodas corrode our cognitive skills? Whatever the reasons, I’m worried things will get worse as scammers get scammier, technology evolves and our gullible population grows older.
For starters, there are the old-fashioned, analog hustles: door to door sales, multi-level marketing pitches and good ol’ ponzi investment schemes. In all these situations, the biggest challenge is the knee-jerk impulse to say “yes” to avoid awkwardness or conflict.
Last month I made the mistake of opening my door to a Summer Sales Bro who masterfully played “whack a mole” with all my feeble rejections of his confusing pitch. Was it for security systems? Pest
control? Solar panels? Securing myself against solar panel-selling pests?
When flattery didn’t work (“You look like an intelligent guy”), he shifted to questioning my manhood (“You always need to check with the wife?”) and passive aggressive insults (“Looks like you haven’t done much to improve your property value?”)
Throughout this emasculating assault, I was pathetic: giggling nervously and avoiding eye contact. I finally escaped by pretending I was getting a call on my cell phone: “Gramma’s in the emergency room? Again??”
MLM pitches are hard to resist because they tap into anxieties peculiar to many Utahns. Each new company follows the same formula: One, create a product that nobody needs: a protein supplement made from American flags or bejeweled but modest jeggings. Two, promise confusing financial rewards like, “Add four frenemies to your upline per month and achieve cop-
per medallion stalker status.” Three, make grand claims about the product’s miracle qualities because it can “heal insomnia, Lazy Bowell Syndrome and Tween-Induced General Conference Mood Disorder.” Finally, customize the pitch to trigger a deep insecurity: “Which degree of financial glory are you willing to achieve for your posterity?”
These situations are complicated because the MLM-promoting person is always a neighbor, extended family member or old acquaintance from high school who is suddenly eager to meet up because “it’s been too long.” In other words, the only way to evade these predicaments is a witness protection program. Otherwise, you can count on hosting at least two awkward pitch parties per year and accidentally agreeing to become a bronze ambassador for some kind of mystery ointment called “Essence of Osmond.”
Utahns Are Equally vulnerable to online scams as well. KSL classifieds and Facebook marketplace are littered with suspiciously amazing deals that short circuit the rational brain. Someone very close to me (let’s just say her identity rhymes with “my schmife”) got fixated on a posting for two short-haired, exotic cats.
Normally, these alien-looking creatures sell for $2,500 each, but a generous guy – a “DR kevin brian” – would take $400 because his felines were “rescued therpy Cats.” The deal was so intoxicating that schmife didn’t notice his weird name, inability to spell and a shifting story about the felines’ ages and genders. I tried to point out these red flags, but it was almost too late; after all, she was on the verge of scoring the best deal ever.
She admitted laughing defeat, though, after she requested video proof of the cats’ existence. The scammer sent a decades-old video (clearly lifted from YouTube) of an elderly woman with big hair dancing around a giant scratching post covered with a dozen generic tabby cats. (Short-haired therpy pets my butt.)
competent email writer. The person I worried most about, though, was the new staff member who went further, talking over the phone with a version of me who inexplicably spoke with a thick accent and demanded – as his first task as dept chair – that she purchase two $500 Target gift cards to help me out of a jam. Thank heavens she called another dept member on the way to the store to gripe about what a demanding pain in the butt I was going to be.
My brother-in-law found out that you can’t even trust Siri these days. While driving his car, he asked this digital assistant to connect him with a frequent flyer redemption site so that he could transfer a plane ticket to his niece. Siri led him instead to a fake site (Delto.com?) where the scammers gathered his credit card information.
AUTHOR Kerry Soper
writes and teaches satire, humor and history from Provo.
Oh yeah, and good luck trying to sell something yourself online without getting fleeced. My dad was almost duped into offloading his expensive ATV to a fake Navy officer serving overseas. This noble nautical guy was eager to pay an extra $1,000 on top of the asking price so that he could surprise his recently returned missionary son.
These details were like crack to my dad’s retired boomer brain: military affiliation + religious altruism x extra good deal = putty in their hands. Disaster was averted at the last minute when my dad called about the best way to wire $5,000 overseas to set up a temporary “bank transfer account.”
Utahns also get tricked by emails and texts. Two days after I was made the chair of my academic department, fifty of my colleagues got the following email with my name on it: “I need help . are you Available, send cell phone.”
The fact that three colleagues almost fell for this scam, shows how little was expected of me as an administrator and
Weeks later, he’s still trying to cancel random charges of 30 grape flavored vape pens and $200 worth of adult diapers from a Walmart in Des Moines. I guess this is how the AI revolution will take over Utah: not through a Terminator-like apocalypse, but instead a series of bland “misunderstandings” with Alexa that gradually drain our savings accounts until we’re on hold (while wearing Depends) as our banks’ customer service bots falsely promise to put us in touch, eventually, with a real person.
My determination to not get scammed myself has made me too skeptical about even legitimate types of correspondence. When my dentist’s secretary tried to confirm some critical information over text, I instinctively wrote back, “Nice try weirdo.”
I also got a bit too hypervigilant while showing my aunt the obvious ways that a letter from her “bank” was actually a sophisticated ruse to steal her identity. After I got home, my schmife did some simple research and discovered that the letter was actually legit.
Oops. Oh well, I hope the bank didn’t need anything important, because I’m never going to share that humiliating information with my aunt.
Be safe out there! (And did I mention that I need help? Send cell phone.)
