US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Spring City

As we entered Spring City, Utah, for the first time, a small brick building with a bright yellow sign reading Horseshoe Mountain Pottery caught our eyes. Always on the lookout for local arts and crafts along US Route 89, we stopped to investigate. There appeared to be no one in the store but the door was open so we went in. A notice posted inside said that the owner, Joe Bennion, was off on a river trip but if we saw anything we liked, we could just leave our payment on the counter. We picked out a couple of nice ceramic tumblers, wrote a check and vowed to come back to meet this mysterious and very trusting Mr. Bennion.

Spring City is a small town south of Salt Lake City in the Sanpete Valley. Historically, US 89 was its Main Street. However, as highway engineers are want to do, they constructed a new, straighter highway between Ephraim and Mt. Pleasant which bypasses Spring City. The road to Spring City is well-marked so you can’t miss it.

After the Latter Day Saints settled on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in 1847, Brigham Young sent pioneers south into the river valleys to establish farms to supply the growing city. Spring City was established in 1859, deriving its name from the permanent spring that still flows in the center of town.

The layout of Spring City is a prime example of Mormon agricultural communities. The streets are a grid oriented to the cardinal directions. Each block is five acres with a family occupying each corner. Farm fields surround the town which were tended by townspeople during the day. Wide streets and houses set back in the lots give the town a spacious feel which is enhanced by many large old trees. This town plan was designed to foster community activities, strengthen church authority and provide defense against Indian attacks.

One of the most striking characteristics of the houses in Spring City is the is the cream-colored oolithic limestone with which many are built. Most of the original houses still stand today and the whole village is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Every year on the Saturday before Memorial Day in May, the town has a Heritage Day Celebration. The celebration includes a historic house tour and an art and antiques sale.

Although Spring City is still largely a farming town, it is also well-known as an artists’ community. Artists studios and live/work spaces are scattered throughout town and many display their art in the Spring City Arts gallery on Main Street. As a sort of bookend to Heritage Day, an Aritsts Studio Tour & Art Festival is held over the Labor Day weekend every year. Of special interest to artists is the plein air painting competition which takes place the week before the studio tour. The works created in that week are on display in the gallery for purchase during the art festival.

On a subsequent visit to Spring City, we spent and afternoon with Joe Bennion and his wife, Lee, talking about art and the joys of living and working in a small rural town. Joe splits his time between throwing pots and leading exciting river rafting adventures. Lee has moved into a new studio where she spends her time painting when not out riding her horses or working with Joe on a river trip. In the short time we spent with Joe and Lee, we experienced in person the generosity and trust that had been evident at the pottery shop on our first visit.

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A display of pottery in front of Horseshoe Mountain Pottery during Heritage Day in Spring City

Joe Bennion, the owner and potter at Horseshoe Mountain Pottery in Spring City

Spring City Fine Art Gallery

The smallest art studio in Spring City is located in a historic log cabin.

Spring City Arts Gallery

Display of local artists work in the Spring City Arts Gallery

Jock Jones' Windsor chair workshop

Windsor chairs hand crafted by Jock Jones

Jock Jones in his workshop where he hand crafts Windsor chairs

Jock Jones master craftsman of Windsor chairs

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Spring City, Utah

The corner of Main Street and Second South in Spring City. The following four photos show the buildings on the four corners of the intersection.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on the northwest corner of Main Street and Second South

The Osbourne Inn on the southwest corner of Main Street and Second South

The house on the southeast corner of Main Street and Second South built with oolithic limestone

The house on the northeast corner of Main Street and Second South built with oolithic limestone

The historic Schofiedd's General Merchandise store

To find your way to Spring City, go to the Sevier to Spanish Fork Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Temple Square

Historically US 89 wrapped around Temple Square in Salt Lake City as State Street on the west side and North Temple Street on the north. The route has been changed in recent years so if you stay on the marked route you will pass a couple of blocks to the west of the Salt Lake Temple. As soon as you see the spires, start looking for a parking space and plan to spend an hour or so at the heart of the Mormon church.

When Brigham Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, having lead the Latter-day Saints through the wilderness and many hardships, he selected a plot of ground and directed that a temple be built. The site was dedicated in 1853 with the laying of a cornerstone. Forty years to the day later, the temple was completed in 1893.

The Salt Lake Temple, like all Mormon temples, is considered to be sacred space and is only open to members of the faith so no public tours inside the temple are conducted. Other buildings on Temple Square include the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the LDS Conference Center and the Salt Lake Tabernacle where the world-famous Tabernacle Choir performs. Tours of Temple Square are conducted by missionaries and volunteers and are available at anytime from 9 am to 9 pm every day.

One of the best parts of spending time in Temple Square is people watching. Weddings happen everyday in the Temple, so brides and grooms can be seen posing for pictures among the beautiful gardens. As the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, people from many nations come to Salt Lake City to visit and attend to church business. And they all seem to wander among the gardens and statues in awe of the place.

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Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Temple Square with its flower gardens and fountains attracts visitors from around the world.

One of many bronze statues in Temple Square stands before the Salt Lake Temple.

A young family taking in the sights in Temple Square.

A photographer lines up a night-time shot of the Salt Lake Temple.

The six spires on the Salt Lake Temple represent the power of the priesthood in the Mormon church and are among the many religious symbols incorporated in the architecture of the building.

To find your way to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, go to the Spanish Fork to Brigham City Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Big Rock Candy Mountain

When Harry McClintock wrote the lyrics to Big Rock Candy Mountain, he didn’t have a specific place in mind. His song, first recorded in 1928, is about a hobo’s idea of paradise. Every child who grew up in the 1950s remembers Burl Ives singing the chorus:

Oh the buzzin’ of the bees
In the cigarette trees
Near the soda water fountain
At the lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
On the big rock candy mountain

There is a mountain in Utah that could be mistaken for candy and when the song came out, someone posted a sign at its base declaring it the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Moreover, a nearby spring also acquired a sign as the Lemonade Spring.

Located in Marysvale Canyon along the Sevier River, the Big Rock Candy Mountain is, unfortunately, not sugar but colorful volcanic rock. The original ash and lava which were deposited between 20 and 35 million years ago have been mineralized into the bright yellow, orange, red and white formations we see today.

Recreation opportunities abound in and around Marysvale Canyon. A paved biking trail runs along the Sevier River and white water rafting trips are an exciting way to view the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Candy Mountain Resort offers cabins and a restaurant and a starting point for the Paiute ATV trail. Or just stop awhile to enjoy the colorful formations and dream of a mountain of candy and a lemonade spring.

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The Big Rock Candy Mountain in Marysvale Canyon on US Route 89 in south central Utah

Mineralized volcanic rocks create the colorful formations on the Big Rock Candy Mountain

The yellow, orange, and red colors of the Big Rock Candy Mountain are from the presence of iron minerals, such as jarosite, hematite, and pyrite.

The restaurant at Candy Mountain Resort

To find your way to the Big Rock Candy Mountain, go to the Kanab to Sevier Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Fremont Indian State Park

The people we call the Fremont Indians flourished across north and central Utah and adjacent parts of Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada. Inhabiting that area from about 400 to 1300 AD, they were contemporary with the Ancestral Puebloan people of southern Utah and northern Arizona.

The name for the culture comes from the first discovered site on the Fremont River and is used for a diverse group of people who may or may not have shared a common language. They settled in places where a good supply of water allowed them to raise crops, primarily corn. They built pit house for dwellings and made utilitarian pottery and wove distinctive baskets. A prominent feature of the Fremont culture is the rock art that they created throughout the region.

During the construction of Interstate 70 near where it intersects with US Route 89, a large Fremont Indian settlement was discovered. In Clear Creek Canyon, the State of Utah has created Fremont Indian State Park to preserve rock art panels and has built a museum to display artifacts recovered during road construction. The museum features displays that elucidating what is know about the Freemont Indian way of life.

When we visited the park we hiked several trails to view many of the petroglyphs carved into the walls of the canyon. We had fun speculating on what some of the symbols might mean and counting the number of big horn sheep depicted. Clear Creek Canyon was one of the largest Fremont Indian communities and thousands of artifacts have been recovered and are artfully displayed in the museum.

To find your way to Fremont Indian State Park, go to the Kanab to Sevier Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Sanpitch Dragon

I don’t remember where I first heard about the dragon. It may have been from reading a fading notice on the old Casino Star Theater. It read, “Under the bridge where highway 89 crosses the Sanpitch River, a benevolent dragon resides and gently roars.” I knew I had to see it so we drove up and down the road in Gunnison, Utah, searching for the bridge with the dragon under it.

It turned out that the dragon was just south of town but not very obvious from above. The first time we visited there was no sign to indicate the location but that has since been rectified.

What you will encounter when you walk under the bridge is a 218 foot long tile mural featuring a friendly-looking green dragon spouting red flames. The mural is along a developed path on the Sanpitch River. As the story goes, when the River Walk was being dedicated a truck drove over the bridge and a young girl said it sounded like a dragon roaring. The idea took hold and a community project developed to construct the dragon.

The projects sponsor, the Casino Star Theater Foundation, received grants from the Utah Arts Council and others. Students at local schools made drawings of how they thought the dragon should look. Artists Elise Lazar and Kinde Nebeker used the drawing as a basis for the design.They outlined the dragon on the wall of the underpass and in May, 2007, hundreds of school children set to work creating the Sanpitch Dragon.

Now this benevolent dragon lives contently under highway 89 along the Sanpitch River and comes to life with a roar every time a car passes overhead.

To find your way to Gunnison and the Sanpitch Dragon, go to the Sevier to Spanish Fork Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Palisade State Park

We discovered Palisade State Park in Utah late one day. We were on our way from Arizona to Glacier National Park in Montana and needed a place to park our teardrop, make dinner and rest up for the next days long drive. I got out the road atlas and looked for a little tent symbol close to highway 89 and spotted a Utah state park not much further up the road.

We have found that the State of Utah takes pride in its network of parks. They are always clean and comfortable. They are also very family oriented with nice restrooms and even hot showers. So we turned off US 89 near Sterling and made the short drive to the entrance gate at Palisades. There was an anxious moment when the park attendant asked if we had a reservation but it turned out there was one space available for us to park the Pod.

Palisade is about as far from a wilderness experience as you can imagine. The small reservoir surrounded by campsites is devoted to swimming, paddle boats, canoes and fishing. There is an 18-hole golf course and club house. Off-road vehicle trails are accessible from the park. The group camping area looked large enough to host major family reunions.

All of which means lots of children. That can be a problem when you are trying to get to bed at a reasonable hour and to get a good start on the next days drive. However, much to our delight, at Palisades, the kids were tucked in early and the adults talked quietly around their campfires.

We returned to Palisade a year after our first visit for a longer stay. Because it is located in the middle of the Sanpete Valley, it served as a good base for exploring the many small towns of the valley. We spent a day at The Scandinavian Festival in Ephraim and the Spring City Heritage Day. Check the Kanab to Ephraim on US 89 article for pictures of the places to visit near Palisade State Park.

On that second visit we also had time to hike around the lake and enjoy sitting on the boat dock. Barbara was inspired by what she saw and took some reference photos for paintings. The paintings are included in a series inspired by the interactions of natural objects and water. Check out the complete gallery of Water Reflectons on Barbara’s website. Here are the paintings from Palisade State Park.

To find your way to Palisade State Park, go to the Sevier to Spanish Fork Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Thistle

When the route for a federal highway with the number 89 was first proposed in 1924 it’s southern end was Flagstaff, Arizona, and the northern terminus was Thistle, Utah. However, when I searched a map of Utah, Thistle was nowhere to be found. Therein lies a tale of how the forces of nature created a ghost town that straddles US Route 89.

Thistle was a thriving town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The town’s main industry was servicing steam locomotives of the Rio Grande and Western lines that ran through Spanish Fork Canyon. When the railroads switched from steam to diesel, Thistle went into decline. A few hardy souls continued to farm and ranch in the area until a fateful morning in April of 1963.

Heavy rains loosened a hillside above the town. The resulting landslide damned the Spanish Fork River. Fortunately, it happened slowly enough that everyone was able to evacuate. The rising waters eventually buried the town under a lake a 100 feet deep.

Today, Thistle Lake has been almost completely drained. What remains are partially submerged homes and the remains of Thistle’s once prosperous store clearly visible from highway 89.

To find your way to Thistle, go to the Sevier to Spanish Fork Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Maynard Dixon Living History Museum

Usually when we see anything related to art on one of our road trips, we stop immediately to investigate, occasionally making dangerous u-turns to get there. We had stopped at the Maynard Dixon Home and Studio in Mt. Carmel, Utah, on several trips only to find we were there on the wrong day or at the wrong time. Finally on our last trip through southern Utah, we arrived when it was open.

The first stop is the Bingham Gallery which houses the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts and a beautiful gallery space for exhibitions. The Foundation’s mission is to preserve Dixon’s home and provide educational programs and art exhibits that further the legacy of Maynard Dixon’s contribution to American art.

Dixon was born in California in 1875 and died in Tucson, Arizona, in 1946. He traveled extensively throughout the west which is reflected in his paintings ranging from the mountains of Montana to the deserts of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. In 1939, he built the home in Mt. Carmel and lived there during the summer with his wife Edith Hamlin. In 1940, they completed a home in Tucson where they lived in the winter until his death.

A tour of the Dixon property includes the log home, guest quarters and the studio which was actually completed after Dixon’s death. A path leads up a hill behind the studio to the spot where Dixon’s ashes are buried. From this lookout, Dixon was inspired to make paintings of the white sandstone cliffs across the valley.

For information about touring the Maynard Dixon home and studio, visit the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts website.

To find your way to Mt. Carmel, Utah, go to the Kanab to Sevier Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

US Route 89 Roadside Diversion: Rimrocks Hoodoos

Hoodoos are among the strangest geological formations found on earth. They occur when a thick layer of soft rock is capped by a thin layer of harder rock. As the land erodes, the soft rock washes away faster leaving a thin column protect by a hard rock cap.

Nowhere are hoodoos more abundant than in southern Utah. Thousands are displayed in Bryce Canyon National Park. There is also an outstanding collection of hoodoos just north of US Route 89 between Page and Kanab in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. These hoodoos resemble toadstools because of the prominent cap rock resting on thin spires.

There is no sign at the trailhead leading to the Rimrock Hoodoos. Watch for a small parking area on the north side of the highway between the southern end of Cottonwood Canyon Road and the Cockscomb fault. It is about a mile east of the BLM Paria ranger station near milepost 20. Go through the opening in the fence, sign the register and follow the wash north. Watch of rock cairns that mark the best path. The hoodoos are at the end of the trail after a 15 or 20 minute hike. Plan on spending an hour and a half for the round-trip with time to take photographs and enjoy the peace and quiet.

To learn more about visiting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, go to the Page to Kanab Road Trip Guide on the US Route 89 Appreciation Society website.

A new roadside diversion is published every Friday. Use the RSS button to subscribe to the US Route 89 blog to enhance your road trip on America’s most scenic highway.

4th of July Celebrations Along US Route 89

Got fireworks? Got parades? Well, there will be many to choose from for the 4th of July 2012 along US Route 89. Nearly every one of the 150 cities and towns on the highway have something planned. I’ve done some research and compiled the following list. There are a wide variety of choices from big city extravaganzas to small town parades and some special and unique western events. Please note that not all of the events listed are actually on July 4th so check the websites for dates, times and places.

Arizona

Tubac Old Fashioned 4th of July
Old fashioned games for the kids in the morning at the Tubac Presidio State Park and fireworks in the evening at the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa. Shops, galleries and restaurants open all day, 10am to 5pm.

Tucson Fireworks
View the “A” mountain fireworks display from the Tucson Convention Center parking lots including food vendors and a beer garden from 7 to 9 pm.

Florence Freedom Fest
Family Day events including a horseshoe tournament, “Fiery Salsa” challenge,  Red, White and Blue Family Parade, and fireworks show.

Tempe 4th
An afternoon and evening of music and fireworks in Tempe Beach Park.

Phoenix Fabulous Fourth
The Freedom Wireless Fabulous Phoenix Fourth will again highlight the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department’s Independence Day celebrations in 2012. Festivities will kick off at 6 p.m. July 4 at Steele Indian School Park, 3rd Street and Indian School Road in central Phoenix. The fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m.

Peoria All American Festival
Music, kids’ events, hot dog eating contest, F-16 flyover and fireworks at the sports complex.

Wickenburg Fourth of July Celebration
July 3rd-vendors, entertainment, food, fireworks “Out Wickenburg Way.”

Prescott Frontier Days
June 28-July 4-the world’s oldest rodeo and other events including a parade, dances and a fine arts and crafts show.

Clarkdale’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July
Activities start a 7 am with a pancake breakfast. The kid’s parade at 9 am is very special and is followed by activities in the town park including music performed by the Clarkdale Community Band.

Cottonwood Fantastic Family Fourth of July
End your 4th of July celebration in the Verde Valley with a watermelon eating contest, patriotic salutes and the best pyrotechnic display in northern Arizona.

Sedona: Tlaquapaque Sizzling Summer Bash
July 7th activities include music by local bands, an outdoor barbecue and a pie eating contest.

Williams Hometown 4th of July Celebration
Barbecue, home-made ice cream, a parade and fireworks on US Route 89 (they call it Route 66, but we know better).

Flagstaff Fireworks Show
The Flagstaff Mall and the Marketplace is an official viewing location for the City of Flagstaff Fireworks Show. The fantastic Fireworks show takes place behind the Flagstaff Mall.

Grand Canyon Fourth of July
The Electric Light Night Parade in Tusayan will set into motion an evening filled with live music, dancing, great food and drink.

Page Fourth of July
Activities include watermelon eating contests, three legged races, Pet “Wet T-Shirt Contest”, hotdogs and fireworks.

Utah

Gunnison Hometown Patriots Day
Start with the community dinner on July 3rd and continue with breakfast and a parade on July 4th.

Manti July 4th Celebration
A full day of events starting with ringing the bell at the American Legion, the Little Mr. and Miss Fashion Show, family events in the park and a parade.

Provo America’s Freedom Festival
July 2-4-America’s Freedom Festival honors July 4th with the Grand Parade, Hot Air Balloon Fest and the Stadium of Fire, one of the nation’s largest firework shows.

Salt Lake City 4th of July Celebration
There’s lots of activities in and around Salt Lake culminating with fireworks at the SugarHouse Park.

Wyoming

Jackson Hole 4th of July Events
Start with a pancake breakfast, enjoy the Howdy, Pardners’ Parade and fireworks at the base of Snow King Mountain.

Montana

Livingston Festival of the Arts
June 30 through July 2-Presented by the Livingston Depot Center, the show features 100 skilled artists and crafts people and the famed and acclaimed pie booth.

Great Falls Downtown 4th of July Parade
From clowns to antique cars you’ll be well entertained. The parade starts with a gun salute, plus helicopter and mercy flight fly-overs. The local municipal band and combined high school bands provide patriotic music. Finish the day with fireworks along the west bank.

Choteau July 4th Celebration
July 3-4-Events include an arts and crafts festival, volunteer fire department’s keg hockey, street dance, steak fry, rodeo and fireworks.

This is only a sampling so check your local listings if you can’t make it one of these celebrations. Have a happy and safe 4th of July on US Route 89.

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