MARCH/APRIL 2025
DESERT PROPHETS
A photographer’s quest to capture – and understand –Utah’s Joshua trees
CYRUS DALLIN, COWBOY SCULPTOR
From frontier clay to national acclaim
RACING THE DESERT
A young woman’s path from rural Utah to world enduro champion
Cooking from Coprolites, Stargazing in Moab, and Utah’s Best Spring Festivals
Lehi, pg. 42
Springville, pg. 24
Salt Lake City, pg. 24
Provo, pg. 6
Price, pg. 30
St. George, pg. 16
Kanab, pg. 45
Wellington, pg. 40
Moab, pg. 14
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS ON THE COVER
A spiky eastern Joshua tree stands tall at Beaver Wash Dam at sunset. Story begins on page 16. Photo by Nathan St. Andre
5 Editor’s Letter
Observations from Chris Amundson.
6 Honeycomb
Fry sauce, dark skies and hardrock mining book.
12 Trivia Gear up for military developments.
34 Poetry
Snow-time turns to springtime.
36 Kitchens Game-day fixins.
40 Uncommon Champions
Six-time national enduro champion defies limits with off-road desert racing.
42 Explore Utah Spring events around the Beehive state.
46 Last Laugh
Kerry Soper pokes fun at these sports parent archetypes.
14
Building Roots
A Moab non-profit constructs sustainable homes crafted from natural resources. by Ariella Nardizzi
16
Mystery of the Mojave
A St. George photographer captures the best of Utah’s Joshua trees in early morning light, sunset hues and seasonal storms. photographs by Nathan St. Andre story by Ariella Nardizzi
24
Utah’s Cowboy Sculptor
Springville’s Cyrus Edwin Dallin became a prolific sculptor, producing 260 works displayed across the country and atop temples. by Ron J. Jackson Jr.
30
Tasting History
Dr. Tim Riley at the Utah State University
Prehistoric Museum in Price cooks dishes inspired by time-hardened treasures. by Bianca Dumas photographs by Natalie Lantz
Cyrus Dallin’s expertise in detailed sculpture shines in his bronze “Don Quixote de la Mancha.” Photo by Ali Behunin
Respecting Our Roots
UTAH’S CONNECTION TO the land runs deep, and it’s reflected in the way we live, work and preserve the beauty that surrounds us. From the vast red rock canyons to the alpine heights, Utahns have long understood the importance of living in harmony with the earth – a relationship that is both symbiotic and sacred.
One organization that lives this philosophy is Community Rebuilds in Moab. In “Building Roots,” Ariella Nardizzi introduces us to a nonprofit bringing affordable housing to life with earth-based materials like straw bale and adobe. These dwellings are not only practical but serve as a testament to the land they’re built on – living structures that create a lasting bond between the people and the earth they inhabit.
Not far away, RedRock Astronomy invites visitors to look upward. In “Journey Through the Cosmos via Moab’s Dark Sky,” Rachel Fixsen shares the work of founder Alex Ludwig, who leads stargazing tours under some of Utah’s darkest skies. Without the interference of light pollution, the desert sky reveals its true grandeur –an awe-inspiring spectacle that reminds us we’re part of something far greater than ourselves.
In Utah’s southwest corner, photographer Nathan St. Andre turns his lens toward one of the state’s most curious native species: the Joshua tree. These peculiar, otherworldly plants have fascinated scientists and artists alike, and St. Andre’s portfolio captures their full life cycle –from young shoots to ancient, weathered giants. His photographs not only showcase the natural beauty of the Joshua trees but also raise questions about their enigmatic existence.
In “Tasting History,” Bianca Dumas explores the past through an unlikely lens: prehistoric human waste. At the Fremont Indian State Park Museum, archaeologist Dr. Tim Riley studies coprolites – fossilized feces – to better understand the Fremont people’s diet.
His research helps us remember that even the most overlooked remnants of history offer a window into the daily lives of those who came before. Through his culinary experiments, Riley reconstructs ancient dishes, bringing the past to life in a way that connects us to those who once called Utah home.
These stories reveal how deeply rooted Utahns are in the land they call home. From building with earth to studying the stars and rediscovering ancient diets, each thread points to a shared reverence for this place. Utah’s wild extremes challenge and inspire us – reminding us to walk lightly, look closely and stay curious.
CHRIS AMUNDSON Publisher & Editor editor@utahlifemag.com
March/April 2025
Volume 8, Number 2
Publisher & Editor
Chris Amundson
Associate Publisher Angela Amundson
Managing Editor Lauren Warring
Assigning Editor Victoria Finlayson
Design
Jennifer Stevens, Mark Del Rosario
Lydia Paniccia
Staff Writer
Ariella Nardizzi
Photography Coordinator
Erik Makić
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THE BUZZ AROUND UTAH
What’s in the Dip? Utah’s Cult Condiment
by PETER MOORE
As if Utahns need another reason to eat more French fries! And yet, fry sauce is exactly that – the Beehive State’s invitation to fry, salivate, dip and repeat.
Fry sauce is a simple condiment: one part ketchup, one part mayo and one smidge of (optional) mystery. And there you have it: The umami that brings Utahns together. Blessed be the fries that bind.
I learned all about it in chapter five of This is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions. You could gain five pounds just by reading the table of contents, which includes chapters on “The Short Sweet History of Thick
Shakes” and “Utah’s Pastrami Burgers.” If nutritionists ruled the world, this book would be banned.
As I investigated fry sauce history, I became entangled in a turf war of tongue pleasers. Arctic Circle, the Utah fast-food chain, has claimed fry sauce as its own. By their account, ketchup first met mayo in 1955, when two Arctic Circle employees in Provo were experimenting with new foods. They fried bananas and made strawberry shortcake with Twinkies, neither of which caught on.
But then they stirred mayo into their ketchup for a novel fry dip. Mmm. They told their friends, who told their friends. Soon corporate headquarters took no-
tice, and the condiment spread throughout the chain.
Fry sauce’s viral moment arrived with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Athletes and visitors traded lapel ornaments of cultural signifiers, including fry sauce pins that were swapped, savored and lionized around the globe. The adventurous fry boys of Arctic Circle were lauded as the founding fathers of a Utah foodway.
A foodway?
Yes, according to Michael Christensen, a folklorist with the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. He considers fry sauce the edible equivalent of a highway: a popular path that defines the people who follow it.
Equal parts ketchup and mayo, combined with a dash of a mystery, comprise Utah’s beloved fry sauce.
“It’s a regional identifier,” said Christensen, the author of the “Utah’s Fry Sauce” chapter in This is the Plate. “It’s just a concoction, not pulled from a lake or an ocean. It’s not an ethnic food tradition. But it’s tied to Utahns. It is of Utah.”
Naturally, there are other creation stories. Perhaps the sauce launched in 1941, at Don Carlos Edwards’ Bar-Be-Q in Salt Lake City, where the eponymous owner whisked the key ingredients together, then shared them with a nearby burger joint that would later become Arctic Circle. And there’s a guy in Idaho who claims to have mixed it up by the gallon, long before Utahns thought of it.
So, who’s right?
“It doesn’t matter,” Christensen said. “The important thing is that fry sauce continues to exist, and that people in Utah have a learned expectation that it’s the thing that goes with fries. When I go to a restaurant, I expect it to be there. It’s a badge of identity, a community signifier.”
Why does fry sauce taste so good?
Samin Nosrat’s book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat captures lightning in a bottle – and fry sauce in a plastic dish – when she advises
cooks to “use Salt to enhance, Fat to carry and Acid to balance flavor.”
Eureka: Ketchup has acid from tomatoes plus added salt, mayo brings the fat and “secret ingredients” (cayenne pepper, hot sauce – you pick the mystery) add heat.
At the end of his chapter in This is the Plate, Christensen offers his own recipe: ½ cup ketchup, ¼ cup mayo, 1 Tbsp mustard, plus his own secret ingredient. No, he wouldn’t tell me – even when I threatened to dip him in fry oil.
So, I Googled “fry sauce,” and Wichita-based Freddy’s Steakburgers popped up. Sacrilege, I know, but there’s a franchise near my house.
I ordered fries. I dipped. I crunched. I savored two versions of their fry sauce. I felt like an honorary Utahn!
Then I dipped again.
About the author – Peter Moore is a Colorado-based, award-winning journalist and former Men’s Health editor. A New York Times bestselling author, he believes great stories – like great meals – are meant to be savored, shared and sometimes chased across mountains.
Though the origins of fry sauce are ambiguous, many Utahns believe Don Carlos Edwards, owner of Bar-Be-Q in Salt Lake City, to be the grandfather of this delicious dip. The owners shared their concoction with a local restaurant that later became Arctic Circle.
Fry sauce became a cultural symbol in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, spreading Utah’s condiment to the world.
Utah State Historical Society
Danelle McCollum
Journey Through the Cosmos via Moab’s Dark Sky
by RACHEL FIXSEN
Under the vast, star-filled sky of Moab, Alex Ludwig is more than a guide – he’s a storyteller and a dreamer, leading small groups on journeys that stretch from the Earth to the cosmos through his tour company, RedRock Astronomy.
With a quiet passion, Ludwig has spent years weaving together his love for the outdoors and the night sky, offering guests a rare opportunity to deeply connect with the universe. His tours guide visitors through constellations, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, blending scientific facts
with the region’s history. Ludwig’s favorite story is about Supernova (SN) 1054, named for the year it was first observed. The Crab Nebula, visible with optical devices in the modern sky, is a remnant of the supernova explosion. He closes each tour with a reminder of humanity’s powerful connection to the cosmos:
“It takes that exploding star,” Ludwig says, “to send elements across the galaxy to create something like us. Our connection with the cosmos is the stardust.”
Ludwig’s tours take place in one of the darkest places on Earth, on public lands near Moab, just outside Canyonlands and
Arches national parks. These remote locations, about 20 to 25 minutes from downtown Moab, provide optimal stargazing conditions away from city lights. Visitors meet at a designated spot in Moab before following Ludwig to the viewing sites, where they can explore the night sky in peace, far from artificial light.
Ludwig’s fascination with the stars began in childhood, evolving into a career guiding others through the night sky. In 2008, after years of exploring the rivers, canyons and mountains of the Southwest, Ludwig founded RedRock Astronomy, offering stargazing tours in one of the darkest places on Earth.
Alex Ludwig founded RedRock Astronomy in 2008 as a way for guests to connect with the universe. His stargazing tours show off the night sky in one of the darkest places on Earth near Canyonlands and Arches national parks.
RedRock Astronomy
Ludwig’s journey into astronomy began in a small town in Mexico when he was a teenager. His family had relocated from the Four Corners region, and he found himself restless in his large, empty bedroom. Seeking solace, he began sleeping on the roof, where the pitchblack sky sparked a lifelong curiosity. “It was dead dark,” Ludwig recalled. “I started watching the stars regularly.”
In those early years, he built a telescope with the help of an American expat, ordering parts and mirror blanks to create the instrument. Although he never had the chance to use the telescope before returning to the States, the experience planted a seed that would grow into his passion for the night sky.
After high school, Ludwig joined the
Army, serving for eight and a half years while stationed in Germany, where he raised three sons. In 2000, he moved to Moab and became a guide, leading river trips, hiking expeditions and mountain adventures across the Southwest. Over nine years, he became the first known person to boat the entire Colorado and Green River system solo.
In 2007, Ludwig’s childhood interest in astronomy was reignited when he bought a telescope. He founded Moab’s Astronomy Club, which led to the creation of RedRock Astronomy. It all began with an impromptu star tour for a group of foreign visitors at Natural Bridges National Monument. After another request came months later, Ludwig formalized his tours, leading star-
Ludwig’s
gazing experiences in one of the world’s premier dark sky parks.
For Ludwig, guiding others to see the stars has become his true calling. Last year, he received a call from a woman who had been on one of his tours 12 years ago.
He remembered her for a funny comment she made as a 6-year-old. Ludwig explained to the group that a nebula is a place where stars are born, or a “star nursery.” The little girl said she’d like to work in a star nursery, which made everyone laugh. Now, as a young adult, she told him she had been accepted to study astronomy and astrophysics at Cornell University.
“That’s why I still do this,” Ludwig said. “The things I do out there, night after night, will live on long after I’m gone.”
love for astronomy began in Mexico, where, as a youngster, he built his own telescope. The Orion Nebula
right), a vast cloud of dust and gas, is a stellar nursery where new stars are born. This cosmic birthplace is visible through telescopes on Ludwig’s tours in Moab, offering guests a unique glimpse into the universe’s ongoing creation.
Alex
(left)
(bottom
RedRock Astronomy (all)
Book Captures the End of Alta’s Mining Era
by LISA TRUESDALE
Numerous “Danger” and “No Trespassing” signs – even an imposing gate blocking the road – weren’t going to stop Dick Fluehe. It was the summer of 1957, and the 18-year-old newlywed had just started working the late shift at a service station. He despised the job but loved how it freed up his days to hike and explore the Cottonwood mining districts near Alta.
Fluehe was no stranger to what he calls “excessive truancy.”
“This was a habitual activity and, I will admit, not a good one,” he wrote in the introduction to his new book, The Last Miner: A Memoir of Alta’s Final Mining Explorations, “but it worked very well for me.”
Without those lazy, unsupervised days of poking around old portals and rusted-out tunnels, this book might never have come to be. Fluehe was captivated by everything mining-related – not because he wanted a mining job but because he
suspected the era was ending and wanted to understand it before it disappeared. His first encounter with a miner didn’t go smoothly: he earned a gruff “Who the hell are you?” from a hammer-wielding man startled to find him snooping around.
But Fluehe didn’t give up. Eventually, he wormed his way into the close-knit group of “hardrocks” (the miners’ term for one another). Over the next few years, he gained rare access to the area’s vast labyrinth of tunnels and shafts. His memoir is the result – part firsthand history, part rollicking tale – featuring a colorful cast of characters like “Swinger,” “The Bull” and “Slick,” the last being the miner who barked at him that first day but later became a mentor.
One afternoon early in his underground education, Fluehe helped dump train cars full of rock from the Columbus-Rexall Mine. Swinger barked instructions as Fluehe wrangled rusted, century-old equipment. “The worst thing about a car or a
train over the dump is the part about getting them back up again,” Swinger warned. “Ah, hell, it is kind of fun watching them fly though.” The grizzled miner grinned, and in that moment, Fluehe knew he was right where he belonged – learning from the last generation of true hardrock miners, men who measured their days in broken timbers and near misses.
The Last Miner isn’t just a chronicle of tunnels and shafts. It’s a tribute – told with grit, humor and reverence – to a breed of men and a way of life that’s nearly vanished. In capturing the final flickers of mining in Alta, Fluehe preserves a world that, once collapsed and sealed, might have been lost forever.
The Last Miner: A Memoir of Alta’sFinalMiningExplorations
By Dick Fluehe
with Dan Schilling University of Utah Press 248 pages, softcover, $25
Enjoy
by LUCAS McFARLANE
1
2 The 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Forces was tasked with conducting the operational deployment of nuclear weapons during World War II at what western Utah military base?
3
Thiokol Chemical Corporation built a factory near Brigham City for the testing and production of what early intercontinental ballistic missile successfully fired on Feb. 1, 1961?
4 Born in Ogden in 1855, what is the last name of the famous Utah firearms designer who created the Model 1911 – the official U.S. military sidearm until 1985?
5 The Dugway Proving Ground is home to the “Fly’s Eye” camera – an ultra-high energy cosmic-ray detector. On Oct. 15, 1991, the detector recorded the highest energy particle ever observed at 3.2 × 1020 electron volts. What was this particle nicknamed?
Paul Lentz/Historic Wendover Airfield
MULTIPLE CHOICE
6
What is the common name for people who lived near nuclear testing facilities east of St. George during the 1950s? This group saw elevated rates of leukemia and radiation-related illnesses after continued postwar testing.
a. Fallouts
b. Downwinders
c. Mutants
7 Which Utah steel mill played a key role in the World War II war effort by providing steel for tanks, ships and planes – and employing more than 6,500 workers, many of whom were women?
a. Geneva Steel
b. Columbia Steel
c. Silver Sisters
8
Name the first permanent military post partially established to quell a perceived rebellion later known as the Utah War. From 1858 to 1861, it housed the largest concentration of troops in the country – nearly 2,500 men.
a. Camp Douglas in Fort Douglas
b. Fort Thornburgh near Ouray
c. Camp Floyd near Fairfield
9 The 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base south of Ogden was the first to achieve initial operating capability in 2016 with which modern fighter jet?
a. Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
b. Lockheed Martin F-35A
Lightning II
c. Boeing F/A 18E Super Hornet
10 In May 2015, Dugway Proving Ground made national headlines for mistakenly shipping what to laboratories across the country?
a. Armed missiles
b. Radioactive isotopes
c. Live anthrax samples
No peeking, answers on page 43.
11 Some conspiracy theorists refer to Dugway Proving Ground as “Area 52” due to alleged alien sightings nearby.
12 The Utah Test and Training Range in the Great Salt Lake Desert is the largest contiguous supersonic-authorized restricted airspace in the continental United States.
13
Hill Air Force Base is the Air Force’s largest base by population and land area, spanning nearly 7,000 acres.
14
During World War II, the U.S. Army built mock houses at Dugway Proving Ground modeled after German and Japanese neighborhoods to test firebombing tactics.
15
In September 2010, a .50-caliber training exercise at Camp W.G. Williams in Bluffdale sparked the 3,500-acre “Machine Gun Fire,” which destroyed three homes in Herriman. TRUE OR FALSE
Building ROOTS
How Community Rebuilds is Transforming Lives and Landscapes in Moab
by ARIELLA NARDIZZI
ON A SUNBAKED
patch of the Colorado Plateau in Moab, Nancy Morlock and Eric Boxrud’s home rises like a natural extension of the landscape. Built in February 2012, the 1,000-squarefoot house is more than just a structure –it’s a testament to community, sustainability and resilience.
From its smooth, lime-washed walls crafted using tadelakt, a traditional Moroccan plaster, to its tawny adobe floors that mirror the rusty-red desert soil, every inch of the house reflects the spirit of the land it rests upon. Even the walls – stacked straw bales coated in earthen plaster – carry the warmth of a home literally built from the ground up.
“Our house holds the energy of all the people who helped build it,” Morlock said.
The home is one of over 70 built by Community Rebuilds, a Moab-based nonprofit tackling the town’s affordable housing crisis with innovative, sustainable designs. Started in 2002 by Emily Niehaus, the organization constructs energy-efficient homes
for low-income residents while educating the next generation of builders in natural construction techniques.
Morlock’s journey with Community Rebuilds began in 2011 when she and her husband were struggling to find stable housing. As mountain bike guides earning a combined $30,000 annually, they couldn’t secure a loan for the dilapidated 1972 single-wide trailer they hoped to purchase. Then Morlock met Niehaus, who encouraged her to apply to the program. By February 2012, construction on their dream home was underway.
THE CRISIS IN MOAB
Moab’s striking red rock landscapes draw more than three million visitors annually, making it a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Yet the town’s booming tourism industry has created a housing crisis, pushing property values to unattainable heights. One-third of Moab’s residential units are now second homes or short-term rentals, leaving many local workers unable to afford
even the most basic housing.
For years, the only affordable options for many residents were aging trailers – remnants of the 1950s uranium mining boom. Poorly insulated and built without modern codes, these structures are energy-inefficient and often beyond repair. Rising utility costs and unsafe conditions make them an increasingly untenable solution.
Community Rebuilds offers an alternative: affordable, sustainable homes designed to last. The organization’s innovative model relies on shared labor, with homeowners contributing 23 to 25 hours of work each week alongside AmeriCorps interns, volunteers and construction supervisors. The hands-on approach not only reduces costs but also fosters a deep sense of ownership and pride.
BUILDING BUILDERS
“We’re building builders while we’re building buildings,” Niehaus said.
Natural building techniques, which emphasize minimally processed materi-
Whit Richardson
Community Rebuilds in Moab constructs sustainable homes made from natural, native resources like straw, clay and timber.
als like straw, clay and timber, are at the heart of Community Rebuilds’ mission. These methods create low-carbon homes that harmonize with their environment. Interns and apprentices gain invaluable skills through the program, while homeowners learn how to maintain and repair their properties long-term.
For many participants, the experience is transformative. Female and nonbinary workers make up 50-70% of each build crew, breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Community Rebuilds also takes sustainability seriously. Salvaged materials – from doors sourced from neighboring construction sites to kitchen appliances rescued from remodels in Aspen, Colorado – reduce costs and waste. Solar panels and passive solar designs further enhance energy efficiency, keeping utility bills as low as $15 per month, even in Moab’s extreme desert climate.
A LASTING IMPACT
Since its founding, Community Rebuilds has housed 91 individuals in Moab, Crested Butte, Colorado, and surrounding areas. In 2020, the nonprofit partnered with the Moab Area Community Land Trust to develop Arroyo Crossing, an affordable housing community built on leased land to prevent property inflation.
Although Niehaus stepped down as executive director in 2018 to serve as Moab’s mayor, her vision continues through Rikki Epperson’s leadership. “The new American Dream looks different – financially and structurally – in the housing we can build,” Niehaus said. “Feel emboldened to put radical ideas out there like I did, and work hard to make them stick in your communities.”
For Morlock, who now works as the program manager for Community Rebuilds, the journey has come full circle. She helps new homeowners navigate the program, guiding them through applications and loans.
A decade after its completion, Morlock still lives in the home she built with her husband and the Community Rebuilds team. “It’s beautiful, it’s cozy, it’s efficient,” she said. “This house has let us raise a family in Moab, a place that we love.”
Community Rebuilds
Nancy Morlock (above); Whit Richardson (below)
A St. George photographer captures the surreal beauty of Utah’s Joshua trees
NATHAN ST. ANDRE holds perhaps the most extensive photographic portfolio of southwestern Utah’s Joshua trees in the country. Since 2021, he has captured the full lifespan of these spindly desert dwellers at Beaver Dam Wash – from fledgling stalks to aging giants. His images frame them beneath the Milky Way, lightning bolts, full moons, comets –even the aurora borealis and rare super blooms. He’s seen them dusted in snow and bathed in double rainbows.
But beyond the striking visuals, St. Andre’s work seeks to unveil a deeper mystery: how little we actually know about this desert icon.
Despite their nickname, Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) aren’t trees at all – they’re members of the Asparagaceae family, which includes agaves and hostas. Their thick, twisted trunks
photographs by NATHAN ST. ANDRE story by ARIELLA NARDIZZI
and shaggy crowns of spiky leaves could’ve leapt from the pages of a Dr. Seuss book. They anchor themselves up to three feet into the soil to endure Utah’s intense desert climate.
According to legend, settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1800s named them after the biblical figure Joshua, whose arms stretched skyward in prayer and guidance.
These remarkable plants have inhabited the Southwest for more than 2 million years. Most live around 150 years, though some survive more than 300. Found only in the American Southwest, they thrive in the arid soils of mesas, plains and slopes between 2,000 and 6,000 feet. Utah is home to the species’ northernmost grove, tucked into the Joshua Tree Natural Area.
St. Andre first encountered this grove in 2016 while working as a wildlife technician for the State of Utah. A trip to California’s Joshua Tree National Park in 2020 brought him back to Utah’s cluster with new eyes. What he saw surprised him: Utah’s Joshua trees looked noticeably different – shorter, slimmer, with more upward-reaching branches. And no one seemed to know why.
Only recently, in 2013, did a study published in Molecular Ecology identify two separate varieties of the species. The western Joshua tree grows in California and Nevada; the eastern variety does too, also
Blooms grow as big as a human head and emerge unpredictably. The trigger still puzzles scientists.
JOSHUA
St. Andre likely holds the most extensive portfolio of Utah’s Joshua trees in Beaver Dam Wash. He captures their full lifespan from birth until death, reaching upwards beneath Comet Tsuchinshan and weathering harsh desert monsoon storms.
native to Utah and Arizona. A small patch in Nevada is the only place both overlap. Each relies on a specific yucca moth for pollination – one species of moth for each variety, with no overlap. These moths, no bigger than a grain of rice, are the sole pollinators of Joshua trees.
While this discovery shed some light, much remains unknown. As both a scientist and artist, St. Andre found himself captivated by the gaps in understanding –and determined to explore them through photography.
“The further I’ve dug into these plants, the more it’s become blatantly clear that their life, their history and their existence are a mystery,” he said.
He’s been methodically documenting the stages of a Joshua tree’s life: the straight, unbranched juveniles; the adults with outstretched limbs; and the weathered elders shaped by time and wind. His work isn’t just an artistic pursuit – it’s an informal archive, a visual catalog of a plant that has fascinated and puzzled scientists for decades.
One of the rarest sights he’s captured was a Joshua tree in bloom – an unpredictable and little-understood event. Some believe a cold snap is needed to trigger flowering, while others attribute it to a mix of rainfall, temperature and plant maturity. A persistent myth claims they bloom only once every hundred years,
though there’s no scientific evidence to support that.
St. Andre was stunned by the size of the blossoms, calling the clusters “as big as a human head,” with soft, bulbous flowers and an oddly pungent scent. “Scientists just don’t know exactly what makes them bloom,” he said. “But if that 100-year idea has any truth to it, I witnessed something truly rare.”
Through his photography, St. Andre offers not only dazzling visuals but an invitation to wonder. “These plants, which are literally named after a prophet of God, are not always guaranteed to be here,” he said. “The Mojave Desert is defined by the presence of Joshua trees. That icon deserves to be seen.”
Utah’s eastern Joshua trees are slimmer, shorter and more abundant in branches than their popular western-variety counterpart. Bound to a single moth the size of a rice grain for survival, these plants’ existence remains a delicate, unsolved desert mystery.
UTAH’S SCULPTOR
Cowboy
The Improbable Rise and Enduring Legacy of Cyrus Edwin Dallin
by RON J. JACKSON JR.
“No one does Wild West subjects with the impressive gravity which Mr. Dallin put into ‘The Signal of Peace’ in Lincoln Park, Chicago and ‘The Medicine Man’ in Fairmount Park, a conspicuous ornament of Philadelphia’s great pleasure-ground.”
– American sculptor Lorado Taft, 1903
CYRUS EDWIN DALLIN didn’t lay eyes on a sculpture until he was past 16. In the Utah Territory settlement of Springville, where he was born in 1861 in a log cabin, art was a foreign concept. The pioneer families who carved out this town brought with them only the necessities for survival. Sculpture had no place on the frontier.
Yet from this remote outpost, Dallin emerged to become one of the most prolific and celebrated American sculptors of his generation. At 19, he left Utah for Boston to study under the noted sculptor Truman H. Bartlett, later continuing his training in Paris. By the time of his death in 1943, he had created more than 260 works including some of the most iconic sculptures in the country.
Among his most enduring pieces are the “Angel Moroni”, which stands atop the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a towering equestrian statue of Paul Revere in Boston. But Dallin is perhaps best remembered for his powerful depictions of American Indian subjects – works praised throughout his career for their realism and reverence. That focus can be traced back to his childhood in Springville.
Springville Museum of Art
Dallin crafted his gilded “Angel Moroni” from hammered copper and 22-karat gold, first placed atop the Salt Lake Temple in 1892. Today, versions of the statue crown nearly 200 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the
“My Angel Moroni brought me nearer to
Located 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, Springville was little more than a cluster of cabins and adobe homes in the mid-1800s. Cyrus’ parents, Thomas and Jane Dallin, were among the early Church settlers there in 1851. While life within the settlement’s adobe walls was defined by toil and scarcity, the world beyond offered young Cyrus a kind of wild freedom – and lasting inspiration.
Bands of Ute tribal members camped nearby, and he regularly played with the boys from those encampments. They shaped miniature animals from soft clay found along the creeks. Encouraged by his mother, who baked his earliest molds in her oven, Dallin’s creative spark only grew.
At 6, he began sculpting and sketching what he saw. As a teenager, he worked with his father in Utah’s Tintic Mining District near Silver City. One day, miners struck a vein of white clay. Cyrus took two large clumps and molded them into portrait heads of a man and a woman. The likenesses so impressed local miners they were displayed at a nearby fair.
Among the spectators was Boston native C.H. Blanchard, who insisted Dallin pursue formal training. With help from mine executive Joab Lawrence, funds were raised to send Cyrus to Boston in April 1880.
Two years later, Dallin entered a competition to design a statue of Paul Revere
for the city. He faced stiff competition –including famed sculptor Daniel Chester French, who would go on to create the Lincoln Memorial. Yet it was the 21-yearold unknown from Utah who emerged the winner. Bostonians dubbed him “Utah’s cowboy sculptor.” Others were more dismissive, criticizing his roots in what some Easterners saw as the controversial Mormon city of Salt Lake. Dallin pressed on.
DALLIN OPENED his own studio and soon earned enough to study in Paris. There, in 1889, he encountered Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show – an experience that rekindled his connection to the American Indian subjects of his youth. Inspired, Dal-
Gilbert Arizona Temple.
Allison Smith / Alamy
God than anyt hing I ev er did. ” – Cyrus Dallin
In 1882, Dallin captured the essence of Paul Revere’s historic midnight ride. The full-size bronze stands in Boston, Massachusetts.
Azelan Amundson
Ali Behunin
A replica of the 1921 “Massasoit” statue at Springville Museum of Art honors the leader’s welcome to the Pilgrims.
Azelan Amundson
Ali Behunin Azelan Amundson
“The Protest” (1904), at the St. Louis World’s Fair, is one of four Indigenous equestrian statues part of Dallin’s “The Epic of the Indian.” series.
lin created “A Signal of Peace,” featuring a Native American chieftain on horseback, raising his lance skyward. Today, the statue stands in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
Dallin would go on to produce several celebrated equestrian statues including “The Medicine Man” in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park and “Appeal to the Great Spirit,” now in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Of “A Signal of Peace,” Dallin later said, “The origin of that statue goes back to my boyhood, to a day when I witnessed a peace pow-wow between the Indian chiefs and the United States Army officers.” His aim, he said, was to capture “the dignity typical of the Indian” as he had seen it firsthand.
Today, Dallin’s sculptures are found across the country – from “Sir Isaac Newton” at the Library of Congress to “Chief Joseph” at the New York Historical
“The origin of that statue goes back to my boyhood, to a day when I witnessed a peace pow-wow between the Indian chiefs and the United States Army officers.”
– Cyrus Dallin
Society. But none may be more recognized in Utah than his gilded statue of the Angel Moroni.
Ironically, Dallin nearly declined the commission. President Wilford Woodruff of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked Dallin to sculpt the figure for the Salt Lake Temple, but the artist – no longer a member of the Church and skeptical of angels – initially refused. It was his mother who convinced him otherwise.
She reminded him that whenever he returned home and embraced her, he called her his “angel mother.” She encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon and consider what the Angel Moroni symbolized.
In the end, Dallin accepted the commission. On April 6, 1892, he stood with 40,000 others as the statue – hammered
copper covered in 22-karat gold leaf – was hoisted atop the temple’s eastern spire. Years later, he reflected on the experience: “My Angel Moroni brought me nearer to God than anything I ever did.”
Today, Dallin’s sculptures remain part of the public landscape in cities across the country – from “The Medicine Man” in Philadelphia to “Chief Joseph” in New York and “Paul Revere” in Boston. But it all began in Springville, where his early encounters with Native people and the raw materials of the land shaped a lifelong vision. Rooted in Utah, his work helped define how the American West would be remembered in bronze and stone. And while the Angel Moroni atop the Salt Lake Temple remains his most iconic, versions of the statue now rise from nearly 200 Church of Jesus Christ temples around the world.
Missouri Museum of Art
Where to See Dallin’s Work
Springville Museum of Art – Springville, Utah
Just down the road from where Cyrus Dallin was born, the Springville Museum of Art honors one of its hometown heroes with several of his sculptures on display. Visitors can admire works like Spirit of Life and Pioneer Women of Utah, among others.
The museum’s Spanish Colonial Revival building is a gem in its own right – a fitting home for Dallin’s finely wrought bronzes and a destination for anyone curious about the roots of Utah art.
Cyrus Dallin Art Museum – Arlington, Massachusetts
Across the country in the town where Dallin spent much of his adult life, this small museum is tucked into a historic building on a leafy New England street. Inside, more than 90 of Dallin’s works – from portraits and political figures to Indigenous subjects and family studies – are thoughtfully displayed.
It’s the only museum dedicated entirely to his legacy and offers an intimate look at the breadth of his talent and his deep respect for history, culture and the people he portrayed.
Sir Isaac Newton (above) in the Library of Congress and a bust of Dallin’s mother, Jane, (below) reflect his skill in detailed sculpture.
Library of Congress
Springville Museum of Art
At age 21, Dallin overcame stiff competition to win the Paul Revere statue commission in Boston. It earned him the nickname “Utah’s cowboy sculptor.”
Stan Tess / Alamy
Library of Congress
HISTORY TASTING
COOKING PREHISTORIC DISHES INSPIRED BY COPROLITE SAMPLES
story by BIANCA DUMAS
photographs by NATALIE LANTZ
ON A WEEKDAY afternoon, a busload of school kids tramples into the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price. On their field trip, they pass a towering mammoth skeleton with a small Paleoindian figure in pursuit. They pause at a glass display featuring a parching basket, digging stick and rabbit snare – until a child snickers.
What’s that gross-looking thing with all the other old stuff? He nudges a friend and reads the label: “Coprolite, Polar Mesa Cave, dried feces.” The boy asks the teacher, who asks the docent, who confirms: Yes, it is what you think it is.
Coprolites are prehistoric human poop – and as the label adds, they offer “a window into diet and cuisine.”
Dr. Tim Riley, director and curator of archaeology at the museum, welcomes giggles. He sees coprolites not just as curiosities, but as keys to understanding ancient Utahns – particularly the Fremont Culture, active in the region from roughly A.D. 400 to 1300.
“People see sandals made out of yucca and think, ‘These people must have had a life that was nasty, brutish and short,’ ” Riley said, referencing philosopher Thomas Hobbes. “But they laughed like us, cried like us, got jealous like us – and ate well like us.”
To uncover what the Fremont ate, Riley studies coprolites. These desiccated remains contain trac-
es of food, preparation methods and even cooking styles. His goal? To humanize the Fremont for museum guests – and to answer a deeper academic question: how reliant were they on farming, and to what extent did they still hunt and forage?
Research from places like Range Creek and Nine Mile Canyon shows the Fremont cultivated maize (corn), beans and squash but also consumed more wild foods than their Puebloan neighbors to the south.
“Can we, by looking at their poop, understand how maize-reliant these different populations were?” Riley asked. Because maize was a domesticated crop that required hands-on farming, high quantities in the diet would suggest a more agrarian lifestyle.
Coprolites could help answer that – but they’re rare and studying them means destroying them.
“Even though there’s way more human poop across North America than projectile points, most of it is gone,” Riley said. Latrines turned to compost over time. But in the arid Southwest, some coprolites survived.
They aren’t petrified or fossilized – just extremely dried out. To study them, archaeologists rehydrate the material. The first to do so was Canadian scientist Eric O. Callen in the 1960s, who soaked samples in trisodium phosphate to preserve fragile fungal evidence – and the smell.
Dessicated remains contain traces of food such as wild vegetables and maize. These coprolite samples offer insights into the Fremont Culture’s diet for researchers, such as Dr. Tim Riley, to understand their farming and foraging practices.
That smell still lingers in labs today. Riley recalled a colleague being thoroughly grossed out by the stench of his research: a sieve, a slurry and a pitcher of rehydrated remains. That colleague now works with coprolites himself.
Riley’s early analysis using cluster statistics revealed a surprising result: the Fremont were both farmers and foragers.
“We’re seeing wild foods and domesticated foods mixed into meals,” he said. “That made me wonder – what dishes do these poops represent?”
Traces of cooking techniques are preserved too – from fine-ground corn to bits of roasted vegetable skins and cobs. These clues inspired Riley to recreate dishes based on archaeological evidence. He now prepares a multi-course Fre-
mont-inspired meal for museum visitors during presentations titled “Fremont Paleocuisine: Reconstructing Recipes from Rectal Remnants”.
With dry humor and deep knowledge, Riley guides guests through his discoveries – then invites them to taste his findings. The menu is surprisingly familiar:
• Cattail and spring onion salad
• Braised elk or bison with roasted wild fruit
• Corn grits with juniper berries, pine nuts and sage
• Roasted winter squash
• Tepary beans with pozole and onions
• Dessert: a popped quinoa ball sweetened with honey
While no one knows the exact meals Fremont families enjoyed, Riley bases his
dishes on ingredients and tools available at the time. His goal is connection – helping guests see themselves in the past.
“I want to show that they lived full, human lives,” he said. “They’re not ‘cave people’ – even if they sometimes used rock shelters. One of the best ways to show that is through food.”
To be clear, Riley’s meals contain no coprolite material – just inspiration. And no salt is added either.
While there’s evidence that the Puebloans mined salt in places like Redmond, Riley believes the Fremont had limited access. So he seasons his dishes with four-wing saltbush, a mildly salty native plant.
If you find your way to Riley’s tasting table, bring your curiosity – and maybe a saltshaker – and enjoy.
Riley applies his coprolite research to recreate ancient Fremont meals for visitors at the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price. His findings inspire dishes like braised elk, tepary beans, cattail and spring onion salad and corn grits. Guests get a taste of prehistoric cuisine through his “Fremont Paleocuisine” presentations.
Tim Riley
Asnows settle softly across Utah’s high country. Powder still clings to alpine peaks while melting into muddy rivulets below, tracing a quiet path toward spring. In this fleeting in-between, our poets capture the hush, the thaw, and the magic of a season on the edge of change.
Trudy Olcott
Winter’s shawl is white and gray
Covering where the brown leaves lay, Spread in silence on the ground Worn by feet that dance and play.
Spring weaves patterns in the snow
Waiting for the cold to pass, Winter’s shawl is white and gray
Melting in a sea of grass.
All that we can ever know Lingers but can never stay. Roses fade beneath the bloom, Night rolls over into day; Winter’s shawl is white and gray.
Lambing
Ellen Liebelt, South Jordan
The fresh fallen snow glistened in the moonlight, Stars twinkled clearly against a royal blue sky. He walked to the sagging wooden stall The snow crunched softly beneath his feet With stiff gnarled hands he opened the gate. He could feel the aroma of straw and manure She looked up gratefully with soft warm eyes. A small curly wonder baying for some care He gently laid her on a warm bed of hay
Where she could snuggle safely with her mother.
Frost
Elaine Baldwin, Ivins
Morning rises to Red Mountain highs sugar coated in bits of ice, dusted with glistening jewels. Dazzling!
Feathery crystals reach out of trees, crisp white, unmoving against a peacock sky. Stunning!
Transparent fingers of lace etch glazed windows, framing outdoor spectacular. Priceless!
A moment of awe we must hurriedly capture, dancing drops as the sun fiercely melts the frost.
Goldilocks Powder
L.J. Christensen, Bountiful
Conditions make Utah powder “just right!”
Old man winter blows from ocean’s large east, leaving the Sierras cemented in white, en route to Utah for a winter’s feast.
Soft, deep, pure powder lays down to perfection, climbing the Rockies after its dry advance, bountifully wrapping slopes with confection. This is not something created by chance.
Arctic winds, moisture, and salt flats ring true, allowing us to float atop with delight. Eden is bestowed upon us by virtue. It is not too this or that, but “just right!”
Send your poems on the theme “Under the Stars” for the May/June 2025 issue, deadline April 20, and “Desert Summers” for the July/August 2025 issue, deadline June 1. Send to poetry@utahlifemag.com or to the mailing address at the front of this magazine.
Noah Wetzel
BITES GAME
Score big with these crowd-pleasing appetizers
recipes and photographs by DANELLE
McCOLLUM
You’ll be the MVP of your next tailgate with these delectable appetizers. Cheesy, crunchy buffalo chicken wontons take first place, while a honey Sriracha chicken dip levels out the playing field with its sweet and spicy combo. Don’t forget the homemade jalapeño cheddar pretzel twists, perfect for dipping.
Buffalo Chicken Wontons
Each bite of these crunchy wonton cups is stuffed with spicy buffalo chicken and creamy filling. Level up your garnish game with bacon bits, fried onions, parsley or additional Ranch and hot sauce.
Spray mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and microwave wonton wrappers for 15 seconds, or until soft and pliable.
Gently press a wrapper into each muffin cup and spray again with cooking spray. Bake wonton cups at 375° for 5 minutes. Place on cooling rack and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook cream cheese until melted. Stir in chicken, hot sauce, Ranch dressing mix, cheese and green onions.
Add chicken mixture to each wonton cup. Bake again for 5-8 minutes, or until wontons are golden brown. If needed, cover with foil to prevent over-browning.
24 wonton wrappers
8 oz cream cheese
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 green onions, chopped
Makes 24
Jalapeño Cheddar Pretzel Twists
Homemade pretzel twists with tasty cheese and jalapeño morsels will be an unexpected treat at any game day party. The secret to obtaining that perfect, chewy crust? Dip the dough in a mixture of hot water and baking soda.
Using a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture is frothy. Then, stir in salt.
Add 3 cups of flour and stir to combine. Add jalapeños and cheese. Then, mix in remaining flour as needed in small batches. The dough should come together in a ball and be slightly tacky but not sticky.
In a large bowl, stir 4 cups hot water and baking soda until dissolved. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and 2 Tbsp water. Set the egg wash aside.
Lightly flour countertop, then divide dough into four equal sections. Roll each section into a log and cut into three pieces to create 12 equal pieces of dough.
Roll each dough segment into a rope 18-24 inches long. Take one rope, fold in half and twist then twist the two parts into a braid. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath. Repeat for remaining 11 ropes of dough.
Transfer each pretzel twist into hot water and baking soda mixture for 30 seconds. Then, place on a baking sheet and re-twist dough as needed. Brush each piece with egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt. Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes until pretzels are golden brown. Let cool, then brush with melted butter and enjoy.
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 ½ tsp active dr y yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups flour
2 medium jalapeños, seeded and finely minced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup baking soda
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp melted butter
Coarse salt
Makes 12
Honey Sriracha Chicken Dip
This cheesy, bubbling chicken dip will be gone before halftime. Each bite melts in your mouth with a spicy Sriracha zing. Pairs well with all kinds of crunchy dippers like toasted baguettes, crackers, tortilla chips, Fritos and celery.
Heat oil over medium-heat in a large, oven-proof skillet. Cook onion and bell pepper for 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
Stir in cream cheese until mostly melted. Add chicken, Monterrey Jack cheese, Sriracha sauce and honey. Cook until ingredients are combined and cheese is melted. Then, add green onions and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Top skillet with cheddar cheese. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden and dip is hot and bubbling. Serve hot with bread, crackers, corn chips or vegetables.
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened and cubed
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup shredded Monterey
Jack cheese
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup honey
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Ser ves 8
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.
Across Utah, extraordinary champions emerge from unexpected places.
“Uncommon Champions” highlights remarkable Utahns – from athletes to innovators – who excel in unique fields and embody the state’s spirit of grit, determination and passion.
Rachel Stout
Utah’s Off-Road Queen Wellington, Utah
by BIANCA DUMAS
Utah’s landscape – dotted with sagebrush, juniper, craggy rocks and sandy basins –is the perfect terrain for off-road desert motorcycle racing. Rachel Stout, 24, has conquered it, proving herself a champion in this demanding sport.
Stout is a six-time national champion in enduro racing, a grueling cross-country motorcycle event where riders can cover up to 100 miles in a single day. In 2024, she earned international acclaim by winning a world title at the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Galicia, Spain.
“My dad got us into biking when we were young,” said Stout, who grew up
Mark Kariya
and lives in Wellington, population 1,600. Her family frequently camped on Ferron Mountain in Emery County, maintaining trails and sharing their passion for riding. Together, they raced on the Hare and Hound circuit, a national series across five western states. Stout began competing at age 12 and swiftly claimed three amateur national titles. After turning pro at 17, she added three more.
Despite its intensity, desert racing remains a family affair. Along pit row, families camp and support riders during quick 20-second stops between 40-mile laps. Stout cherishes these moments spent alongside her parents, her race team and Ollie, her black German shepherd. Racing brings unique challenges for Stout, who has Type 1 diabetes. Shifts in food, sleep and adrenaline impact her insulin levels, which she monitors with wearable tech. Her mom tracks this data
through an app and sometimes administers insulin mid-race. “I’ve come into the pits before, and my mom has given me insulin shots right through my jersey – I didn’t even notice,” Stout said.
In 2023, Stout received a last-minute invite to the ISDE, known as the “Olympics of Motorcycling” since its inception in 1913. After rushing to Spain, she discovered her custom bike parts didn’t fit her rented motorcycle. Undeterred, she rode 744 miles and logged 30 hours on an unmodified bike.
To make things tougher, heavy rain turned the course into a muddy, obstacle-filled challenge. “I’m not bad at mud riding, but it’s definitely not my comfort zone,” Stout said. “I grew up in the desert – I’m good at dust, rocks and sand washes.”
Still, Stout and her teammates, Olivia Pugh and Jocelyn Barnes, triumphed. They won the first-ever Women’s Club
Team championship, finishing nearly two hours ahead of their closest rivals. “On a team like that, you don’t want to let everyone down,” Stout said. “You gotta keep going no matter what.”
In 2024, Stout reached a new milestone: joining the prestigious RPM KTM factory-supported team. The full-time role includes training and competitive support. She now races two KTM bikes – a lighter one for nimble turns in the trees, and a heavier, high-powered one for wide-open stretches.
Those open spaces, Stout admits, can be deceptively serene. “They’re super long, and there’s no one cheering you on – it’s just you,” she said. Staying mentally focused over 100 miles is key. “The hardest thing,” she added, “is keeping your mind positive.”
It’s a challenge she embraces – mile after mile, race after race.
From the sagebrush of Utah to international acclaim, enduro racer Rachel Stout’s focus never wavers. She has overcome Type 1 diabetes, muddy trails and hundreds of miles of remote biking to earn her title as a six-time national champion.
Mark Kariya (both)
NATURE TULIP FESTIVAL
THROUGH MAY 17 • LEHI
As spring unfolds, the annual Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point transforms Lehi into a sea of color. From April 9 to May 17, visitors wander through over 900,000 flowers planted across the 50 acres of Ashton Garden.
Rhapsody of Smiles tulips flame with red and yellow, while elongated Purple Ravens blush in a deep raspberry and Ruby Princes pop in velvet-red. Amidst the 400,000 tulips, trumpeted daffodils sway in the gentle breeze and hyacinths permeate the air with their sweet scent. Clusters of poppies accompany the rainbow throughout the gardens.
During the six-week festival, families gather for interactive classes such
CULTURE. ADVENTURE. HISTORY.
by ARIELLA NARDIZZI
as watercolor painting, flower pressing and yoga sessions. Every Friday and Saturday festivalgoers indulge in springthemed sweets from local food trucks while they walk along the paved paths to admire the flowers.
For those looking for a fast-paced way to take in the garden’s expansive paths, the Tulip 5K on April 26 will have racers bounding for spring as fragrant florals line the raceway.
Lehi’s Tulip Festival is a sensory symphony that joyfully welcomes springtime. There’s no need to tiptoe through the tulips – this celebration delights in a dazzling display of color. Thanksgivingpoint.org. (801) 768-2300.
WHERE TO EAT
HARVEST RESTAURANT
Enjoy locally sourced, fresh ingredients in each bite for lunch and dinner. Order their famous chicken pot pie with homemade pastry crust, refreshing fruit lemonade or a decadent cheese fondue. 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way. (801) 768-4990.
WHERE TO STAY
5TH EAST HALL BED & BREAKFAST
Immerse yourself in tropical paradise at this luxurious bed and breakfast with five suites. Book a tropical, lagoonthemed Cancun, Maui and Tahiti rooms or splurge on modern decadence in the Paris and Rome suites. 455 E. 200 South. (801) 770-4642.
Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi becomes a sea of nearly 1 million blooming flowers.
Thanksgiving Point
Other events you may enjoy
APRIL
St. George Triathlon
April 12 • St. George Triathletes, at the ready! This annual race consolidates its course around the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center, where participants swim, bike and run through a fun course with family and friends cheering them on from the sidelines. 1140 N. 2400 West. (877) 375-4795.
Nut Crusher Rifle Match
April 24-27 • Price
North Springs Shooting Range hosts competitors for this prestigious rifle match. Participants can show off their precise target acquisition skills, speed, accuracy and timing. They are ultimately judged upon overall precision. 5245 S. 8000 West. (435) 650-7728.
Spring Salon
April 26-July 5 • Springville
The Springville Museum of Art hosts the 101st annual art exhibition showcasing contemporary Utah art. This tradition, first held in 1922, invites artists across the state to display their original work. 126 E. 400 South. (801) 489-2727.
MAY
Kigalia Art Show
May 3-30 • Blanding
Throughout May, patrons can view this community-built art show at Edge of the Cedars Museum. The gallery is dedicated to preserving the fine arts in San Juan County and showcases artwork entries from the public. Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, 660 W. 400 North. (435) 678-2238.
Train Day
May 10 • Salt Lake City
All aboard! Step back into 1869 to celebrate the anniversary of the Golden Spike and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, enjoy reenactments, crafts and train rides around the park. This Is The Place Heritage Park, 2601 E. Sunnyside Ave. (801) 582-1847.
Kilby Block Party
May 15-18 • Salt Lake City
Sway, sing and dance at the largest indie music festival in Salt Lake City. The 6th annual block party features beloved bands like Weezer, Beach House, Justice, New Order, Car Seat Headrest and other bigname indie artists. A portion of all proceeds will support Equality Utah, Spy Hop and HEAL Utah. Utah State Fairpark, 155 N. 1000 West.
Rise & Thrive Business Expo
May 19 • Vernal
This inaugural business expo offers entrepreneurs a chance to network and take advantage of key resources for both established and start-up companies. Win up to $12,000 in a speed pitch competition and attend niche breakout seminars catered to your business needs. (435) 781-6767.
Moab Arts Festival
May 24-25 • Moab
This free outdoor arts festival offers food and fun for the whole family during Memorial Day Weekend. Sip your way around the beer and wine garden with tastings from local brewers and vintners. Swanny City Park, 400 N. 150 West. (435) 259-2742.
Camp Floyd Days
May 26 • Fairfield
On Memorial Day, visitors can experience camp life from the mid-1800s like that of Johnston’s Army at Camp Floyd State
Park. Re-enactors drill and fire muskets while participants can pay their respects at soldiers’ graves, learn military drills with a toy gun and dress in period uniforms. Admission is $5 per person or $15 per family. 69 W. Main St. (801) 768-8932.
Run of Remembrance
May 26 • American Fork
Starting at Robinson Park, racers run through American Fork to honor those who served our country on Memorial Day. Courses span a 5k, 10k, Memorial Mile or Kid’s Race. 100 E. Main St.
TRIVIA
Thanksgiving Point
OUTDOOR AMAZING EARTHFEST
MAY 8-11 • KANAB
The scent of sagebrush wafts through the air as the sun rises over the red rock slot canyons and cliffs of Kanab. Here, the 19th annual Amazing Earthfest transforms this desert landscape into a haven for nature lovers, artists, conservationists, families and curious minds during a 4-day festival. Their mission? To connect participants with the stunning, arid beauty of the Colorado Plateau through educational opportunities.
Immersive activities in Kanab and the surrounding area fill each day to the brim. Start the weekend serving the fiery sun through a powerful solar telescope on May 8. Participants are encouraged to wear space-themed costumes and ask questions about both the sun and moon as evening approaches.
Throughout the weekend, get your body moving on guided hikes, yoga classes and mountain biking adventures, or ponder
the variety of documentary showings on Chacoan Culture, microbiology and ecology. Conversations are encouraged at a dinner party on May 8 at Nomad Cafe and RV Park. For $10, feast on a potluck-style table of artisanal pizza, homemade dessert, healthy snacks and drinks.
Celebrate World Migratory Day on May 10 at Jackson Flat Reservoir, home to 60 species of birds and venture to a dinosaur track site with an expert paleontologist on May 11.
Additionally, participants can engage in thought-provoking discussions about conservation, climate change, Native life ways and astronomy with authors, scientists and experts at daily panels.
Festivities are free except where noted, but a $20 donation is recommended to help foster Earthfest’s mission in connecting people to the land each year. Amazingearthfest.org. (435) 644-3735.
WHERE TO EAT BROWN BOX CAFE
Glazed cinnamon rolls ooze with icing and cookie flavors range from classic chocolate chip to oatmeal scotchie and mint brownie. Their signature Kanookie, gooey cookie dough baked in a skillet and topped with homemade ice cream and sweet sauces, takes the cake. 42 E. Center St. (435) 644-2461.
WHERE TO STAY CANYONS LODGE
Enjoy the outdoors with rustic, wooden and log-paneled cabins stocked with modern amenities. Located conveniently along Highway 89, this cozy basecamp is ideal for southern Utah adventures. 236 N. 300 West. (435) 644-3069.
David Swindler
story by KERRY SOPER illustration by JOSH TALBOT
Sports Parents in Utah
These Beehive State parents take the game – and themselves – a little too seriously
EVERY YEAR, THERE’S another round of news stories featuring Utah parents who lose their cool at youth sporting events – harassing teenage refs, traumatizing their own kids or getting into shouting matches with opposing fans. A few years back, Ogden even considered outlawing profanity at little league games to tamp down the mayhem (you know, the kind of behavior you’d expect at church ball).
But these hotheads are just the tip of the iceberg. Utahns, in my experience, also excel at other forms of dysfunctional sports parenting.
Take, for instance, the parent who couldn’t care less who wins the game. These folks show up, spread a blanket under a tree and blissfully tune out the chaos while scrolling through Wordle or a true crime podcast. One dad at our sons’ soccer games took it to another level – sinking into a flimsy camp chair with a massive fantasy novel, ignoring not just the game but the toddler he brought along, who rampaged through everyone else’s snacks, blankets and pets. His parenting philosophy seemed to be, “It takes a village. Or at least six other soccer moms.”
Then there’s the parent who wishes they could tune out but can’t look away from the slow-motion disaster that is their child’s performance. Like the time I watched my 9-year-old daughter, bless her heart, enthusiastically score backto-back baskets – for the other team. I’m embarrassed to admit that I pretended I had no idea who she was. My facial expression said, “Wow, someone should really talk to her parents.”
Or the day my son – more into Pokémon than track – lined up for his first junior high mile race. Adrenaline kicked in, and he bolted ahead like it was the 100-meter
dash. For a glorious lap, he led the pack. Then came the realization. Rather than suffer the humiliation of being passed, he executed what can only be described as a full-body fake medical emergency: flailing limbs, a dramatic sideways collapse onto the football field and an Oscar-worthy death twitch. My wife noticed other
parents staring at us, waiting for us to leap into action. I stayed seated. I knew he was fine. Just acting. I quietly hummed to myself and went to my happy place.
OF COURSE , for every parent trying to mentally escape, there’s one throwing themselves into the game – like the
self-sacrificing team parent who lives to organize snack schedules, carpool spreadsheets and fundraisers. Most of them are saints. Then there’s the one who turns snack duty into a low-grade power trip. I once brought Otter Pops as the post-game treat for kindergartners – an unpardonable offense, apparently. The team mom scolded me for violating “official treat policy” and used me as a cautionary tale for the rest of the season.
Things escalate quickly when your kid shows a glimmer of athletic talent. That’s when many parents fall into the cult of “competition” sports. These are the folks who reconfigure their entire lives to pay astronomical registration fees, attend endless out-of-town tournaments and
AUTHOR
shuttle their kids to extra practices, clinics and semi-mandatory “mental toughness” seminars. On the surface, they look proud. But underneath, they’re sleep-deprived, broke and silently wondering if they’re violating child labor laws. The good news is that support groups exist to help these poor folks when the fragile dream of their child’s superstardom inevitably falls apart.
Kerry Soper
writes and teaches satire, humor and history from Provo.
Then there’s the classic armchair coach – usually a dad – trying to relive his high school glory days through sheer volume. These guys think they’re helping, but their shouted instructions usually contradict the actual coach and confuse everyone, especially their own kid. When Utah athletes were asked what bothered
them most about their parents’ behavior, the top answer was, “My dad always yelling out instructions that contradict the coach.” Oops.
Eventually, some of us graduate from yelling to actually coaching. Not because we’re qualified – just because we’re too involved. It starts innocently: helping set up cones or bringing orange slices. Next thing you know, you’re in charge of the whole team, losing sleep over how to teach 6-year-olds to do a throw-in without launching the ball backwards.
Rec-level coaching is technically lowstakes but mentally consuming. My wife once asked, “What would your career look like if you put as much energy into that as you do the Purple Dragons?” I didn’t hear her – I was busy plotting a new corner kick routine.
So yes, Utah has its share of sports-parent meltdowns. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to laminate a new practice schedule and ice down some Otter Pops.
