18 April 2015 - Utah Back Roads

Some of my favorite things are found traveling on back roads. You can find so much to love in small towns and the roads to get there. Old neon signs, painted signage on the side of buildings, cool buildings, old abandoned buildings, great landscapes. Here's a bunch of wonderful things from some of my travels this last week. 

I like collections of things. These power poles fall into that category. 

 The Bountiful Landfill is on the way to one of my birding sites. The posts on the gates always make me laugh.  A closer look shows someone's great sense of humor. 

You can't drive around the back roads without seeing many reminders that Utah was part of the old West. 

Wagons abound and wheels are used in all kinds of useful and decorative ways. You'll find them used as fences, gates, yard ornaments and mailbox stands. And that is just for starters. 

Then there are the old barns snugged in between the road and hills, usually accompanied by an amazing assortment of good stuff that leaves me drooling for rusty old metal. 

Not that I don't have enough of my own already, but still. . .

 Another item that will bring me to a stop are ranch gates. Many ranches have elaborate entrance gate signs. I love the variety of these signs. This is one of my favorites, but it is as much for the name of the ranch as it is the sign.

 While the next one is more modern and elaborate, it just doesn't have the same charm as the Tiny Ass Ranch's sign.

Other signs are homemade, like this one made out of  horseshoes  welded together. 

Then of course there are the old motel signs--especially if they are neon. 

In small towns you will find more interesting signage. Such as this car repair shop.

 Echo is a tiny town with a population of 56. It was bigger when the trains came through and before the freeway was built. It has a tiny cemetery that backs up to some red rock formations called the Egyptian Tombs. The church and cemetery are now historical sites. Not sure if the church is even used any more. But the red rock is a dramatic backdrop. 

The Egyptians Tombs kind of look like pyramids. 

 I have been in a lot of cemeteries, but this is the first time I have seen a stone for twins. 

Carrie and Frankie died in 1887, at a month old, a day apart. 

A single joined stone marked the passing of both children. The cemetery had stones for quite a few children who had very short lives. 

Further down the road are more rock formations. This is called The Witches or Witch Rocks. 

 And even further down the road is Devil's Slide. It does rather make you wonder about the early settlers' fascination with witches and devils. I would like to know what happened to push up two perfectly aligned columns of rock. And in all fairness, I have to admit that I would like to try the slide. Steep! Fast! Whee!

I also love the land. The changes in rock formation colors from reds to yellows. The flat valleys nestled up to soaring mountains. All this makes my heart happy. 

Sometimes you see ruins and wonder what the heck was this? It leads to research. This is one of four kilns made for producing charcoal. Other ruins nearby show maybe 20 families lived nearby. 

I find all this very spectacular and satisfying. 

There is something about being off the beaten track that leads to behavior like stopping on the tracks. What is it about seeing the tracks merge in the distance?   


And, another wonderful thing? When you are out in the middle of nowhere and a train comes by...

you can count on the engineer to blow the whistle for you as he goes by. Doesn't get much better than this. 

Oh wait, maybe it does. The highlight of last week's trips was verification that there really is such a place as the corner of

And finally, when you are on the back roads you never know what you will see. Wooden horses maybe?

And its colt.  Pretty amazing.