I grew up on a “haunted” racehorse farm close to the border of Vineyard and Orem. Trains would run north and south along the tracks exactly west of the farm. These trains ran past a bar that was literally “on the other side of the tracks,” and just a stone’s throw away from my farm. I believe the bar was called Danna and Shirley's Hitching Post. Many of my nights were spent … [Read more...]
Allen Park in Sugar House is Saved From Development
Allen Park is a tiny hidden gem in Sugar House. Hidden on purpose, because the residents wished that nobody would ever find it. Anyone under the age of forty has probably never seen it nor toured the place, as it was intentionally overgrown and out of sight. The last time we went to Allen Park, about five years ago, we were chased out. One resident told us in a very unfriendly … [Read more...]
Saving Sheep Bridge: A Southern Utah Gem is Threatened
While visiting a small music festival, I learned about the effort to save Sheep Bridge. In the shadow of Zion National Park, a small trail winds through the vast desert. Below the picturesque town of Virgin lies the 419 acres known as Sheep BridgeBeginning in the 1850’s, shepherds employed a single lane bridge to move sheep over the Virgin River. The unique environment is an … [Read more...]
A Blast From the Past: the Explosion that Rocked Salt Lake City
It was April 5th, 1876 when the sky began to fall. “This is a day that time will not forget," declared a reporter for the Deseret News Weekly. But today, 144 years later, hardly anyone remembers the explosion that rocked Salt Lake City. The blast was so powerful that every building within a 2-mile radius was damaged. Here's how it happened. It was a busy day in … [Read more...]
Jann Haworth: Salt Lake City Murals
Thousands of people a year pass by a mural to what closely resembles the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover and never know why it’s in downtown (250 S. 400 W.) Salt Lake City or who created it. If they only knew that it was Jann Haworth―one of the most accomplished pop artists since the 1960s, who lives and works in Utah and is helping to shine a … [Read more...]
Your Summer Vacation on Ice in Escalante and Boulder Utah
Utah has so much natural splendor, it’s a shame we feel so strongly that it can only be enjoyed in the spring and summer, the same time the rest of the state—and the rest of the world, for that matter—also decides to enjoy the canyon country. Consequently, those wide-open spaces can sometimes feel a little cramped when you’re elbowing way your past German tourists in … [Read more...]
All Aboard! Idyllic Worlds Recreated by Utah Model Trains Artist Lee Witten
You might say that Lee Witten has a one-track mind—and that track has model trains on it. Lee acquired his love of model trains at an early age from parents who were both employed in the railroad industry. Lee’s father, Joe, started as a brakeman and later became a conductor, passing away just three months short of a 30-year retirement. Lee recalls that when he was four or … [Read more...]
Ty’s Garden Dedication in Memory of Dr. Ty Harrison
Dr. Ty Harrison's Story A special unveiling took place on October 11 of a monument to a man who touched countless lives, and had more titles than the letters in his name. The eastern edge of Hidden Hollow Nature Preserve in Sugar House was officially renamed and dedicated to Dr. Ty Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Biology at Westminster College, an environmentalist, … [Read more...]
Sculpture Memorializes a Man and His Mission in Sugar House
Jim Kirkman Jim Kirkman was known as many things to his friends and family in Sugar House: Master Gardener, educator, an encyclopedia of desert knowledge, an archaeologist with a reverence for what came before us—and a selfless individual always willing to lend a hand. Kirkman passed away in May from cancer, but his legacy lives on in the form of a sculpture crafted from … [Read more...]
Southeastern Utah Delicate Arches
The arches of southeastern Utah are monuments to earth’s history; but how fragile are they and how long will they last? Arches, such as Delicate Arch, are delicate to different degrees depending on size, life cycle, composition, and material. Utah Delicate Arches Natural arches are formed from various types of natural materials such as shale, limestone, basalt, granite, and … [Read more...]