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Unique Utah
This October I took a trip with two friends through some parts of
Utah I had not formerly seen. We took the ferry across Lake Powell to the
Bullfrog Marina. As I looked at that blue, blue water, that day, I wondered
about what was below. I remember seeing some pictures of Glen Canyon and
realized how much this huge man-made lake now covered. I wondered how many
Indians had walked trails below where we now floated.
We drove up the Burr Trail which I had heard about for years, and
always wanted to see. In former years I had heard the road was formidable. We
found it was not bad at all, especially in fair
weather. But the rock formations were spectacular. One of my
friends had spent many years in the area around Torrey, she knows
every dirt road and where it is going... and we went! We spent
some time at our beloved Capitol Reef, and as one friend had never
seen it, we delighted in hearing her "Ohs" and "Ahs"! Some of the most
intriguing and, to me, beautiful trees in Utah are those
wonderful Fremont poplars in the picnic ground. Such character,
with their huge trunks filled with knots and burls. We saw a good looking
mule deer buck lying in one of the orchards, As it didn't move at our approach,
my friend said, "It must be a statue!", not realizing that in that area the
deer are very tame, and not afraid of humans.
We stayed in a cabin in the mountains above Torrey, and as I
looked out the large windows at night I saw a star-spangled sky, such as I no
longer can see in Salt Lake: the Big Dipper, and the North Star in the
Little Dipper, and the Serpent twining between; Cepheus the King, along with
Cassiopeia the Queen, which circle the North Star. Very early one morning I
awoke and looked out a south window to see the beautiful Orion, the hunter,
our most beautiful winter constellation. We are going to have a trip to
Stansbury in 1997 where we can see many stars and planets and
perhaps the bright comet which is thought to be brighter than Halley's Comet.
I had heard wild turkeys one time in Southern Utah, but had never seen them.
On this trip we actually saw five in a
very remote place. They are much smarter than our domestic species and very
wary, so that was a thrill. Everywhere we went were gray-headed juncos
migrating south, also many pinyon jays. The area we stayed had many pinyons
(Pinus edulis) but no fresh cones.., so pine nuts will be scarce this year,
and I wondered how the jays would fare. We saw one golden eagle, several
buteo hawks, a few kestrels, and a few robins. Also several deer, which
my one friend thought unusual, as she sees many more as a rule. I thought
hunting season might be the reason -- they didn't want to be seen!
As we drove through much of those wonderful rock formations, I thought of our
new National Monument, and how just what I had seen through that week was so
spectacular. We met a woman in Capitol Reef who was from New Jersey. She said,
her son had just married and she was free! She spent two months traveling all
over the United States, came to Utah and fell in love with it--the wonderful
scenery everywhere she went and the friendliness and openness of the people
enchanted her. She went back to New Jersey and said she did not want to stay
there any longer. She now is working at Ruby's Inn at the entrance to Bryce...
and adores Utah!!
We found so many warm friendly people wherever we went that we had to agree
with her. And as I thought of all the different kinds of scenery I love that
our state has to offer--the deserts, the mountains, red rock country. The
special areas: Albion Basin (such a special place), the Wasatch Mountain
canyons (each canyon different from its neighbors), Arches, Canyonlands, Zion,
Bryce, Cedar Breaks... Yes, Utah offers quite a diversity. The Salt Flats,
Great Salt Lake, Bear Lake, the many beautiful high lakes in the Uintas. I have
the feeling we could spend the rest of our lives traveling Utah and still not
see it all. But as this Centennial Year comes to a close I hope we appreciate
what we have and truly cherish and care for it.
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Utah Nature Study Society NATURE NEWS/NOTES October 1996 |
Adapted for the INTERNET by Sandra Bray |
