I rediscovered the great American road trip in the 1980s after returning from graduate school in Alabama. I had just started up Provo Canyon in my car when I saw the turnoff to the Squaw Peak Road (FS Road 27) on the right leading to the Rock Canyon area above downtown Provo. The Rock Canyon “Gorge” is easily visible from I-15, immediately above the Provo LDS Temple, and … [Read more...]
Hidden Utah
Discover Utah again Shine a light into dark corners and cockroaches will scramble. This is a fitting metaphor for what journalism can provide when it is serving the highest ideals. There are hidden agendas, hidden profits, projects, and deals—roaches—that can directly affect or infect our lives. These hidden cockroaches feed on our communities, our environment, and our … [Read more...]
Liberty Wells Historic District
Liberty Wells before it was Liberty Wells In 2011, two Salt Lake City neighborhoods officially merged to become the Liberty Wells Historic District, but the story of the area’s development begins in the 1800s. Imagine it’s 1875. You have journeyed to 900 S, the southern edge of the city. The urban blocks, the original Plat of the City of Zion, are 10-acre squares. … [Read more...]
Explore Hidden Utah and Discover Hidden Gems
This is our “Hidden Utah” issue. In previous years it was known as our “Buried Treasure” issue. I have discovered that many of Utah’s best treasures lie hidden in plain sight. There are good reasons to dig under rocks and into mountains. There is gold to be found in abandoned mining claims, and indeed there is buried treasure awaiting rediscovery. Joseph Smith knew this, as … [Read more...]
Hidden Utah: Dugway Revisted
For probably the first issue ever, we don't begin our series of stories in Utah but in Nevada, in an electronics store parking lot in Las Vegas. I'm returning a piece of equipment I bought to charge my camera battery. I've finally found the charger I need and I'm on my way. But what I'm about to witness can't be caught on my Nikon 3300. Out of nowhere, a spinning, invisible … [Read more...]
Hidden Utah: Butterfield Canyon Hike
The Wasatch Mountains offer some of the most scenic views that attract hikers from all around the world, However, most locals might believe the west end of the valley is just a dead copper pit. But a venture up Butterfield Canyon In the Oquirrh Mountains reveals a lush forest well worth a half day’s journey. “I’ve lived in Utah my entire life, and I’d never heard of … [Read more...]