Carnage, carnage, and more carnage.......maybe?

 Welcome to the annual memorial day blog. Well, I want to think its annual, but I could be wrong. Anyway, today's awesome adventure began at 6 am as we left the fair city of Tremonton and headed south to Vernon, Utah. Vernon is located at the southernmost end of Tooele county. Google says its exactly 145 miles and I believe it. Today, the destination was Harker Canyon. I had never heard of it until it was mentioned to me by my friend, Mr. Kirt Womak. The canyon was named for his great x 3 or 4 grandfather who, during the summer, would take his flock of sheep from the Salt Lake Valley and march them or herd them all the way to this remote canyon.  

 My guess is it would have been a long long trip to get them all the way there. As you can see from the first foto, it is very green and lush towards the top of the canyon and there is a small stream flowing down named, are you ready for this, Harker Creek. The mountains there are surprising, in a way. The drive to mouths of several of them leads you to believe they are plain old desert mountains. As you climb up the canyons, they suddenly begin to turn lush with Pine trees, Willows and Quaking Aspen. They were quite beautiful and we had them all to ourselves. Supposedly there is a ghost town up one of the canyons, but we did not encounter it. We did find a few mines, complete with ore cart tracks that would be fun to explore had they not been blown closed. I am certain that there are ore carts left inside just waiting to be rescued.  

 The third canyon we went up is where the carnage took place. The trail was muddy, steep and way off camber. I must tell you that we went with my niece Holly and her 07 Ford F-150. This was her first time out doing serious off-roading. I had to get on her case to hit the mud-holes and she finally got into it. Her enthusiasm was growing as she followed me up the trail. We got to a spot where a chevy had parked of the road and the driver was no where to be seen. I went on by and headed up the hill to a mine. The trail was narrow and a 4-lo climb crawling over the boulders. We flew on up and sat at the mine and wondered what happened to her. She finally popped out of the trees and stopped where it turned really nasty. We took fotos and crawled back down to where she stopped and were met with damaged Ford. She clipped a rock in the trees and took off part of her passenger side running board. She also managed to remove the truck's antenna at the same time. She said she wasn't mad but I think she was. Of course I used this to try and persuade her to not trade it in on a Honda, but to get a Wrangler Unlimited. I hope she goes with her wise uncles advice and gets a Jeep!  

We came back down the canyon, ate lunch and followed the road where ever it went. We ended up coming out at the Vernon reservoir where we stopped to check it out. Oh, and pee. TMI? Too bad! We will have to return someday to figure out where this so called mining camp is. A second entry on ghosttowns.com place it 2 miles west of Harker Canyon and we had gone east. Oh well, I guess I have an excuse to return. I will also admit I got to a place in the trail and couldn't go on. It was ATV wide and there was a good size rock that had a tendency to throw you into the trees as you tried to climb it. I bounced over on one attempt but the mud was too slippery. Again, another reason to return. As a follow up to the last entry, I got lucky and got into the University of Utah cardiac center on June first instead of July first with IHC. This is good news. Jeep on my friends! 

Things that make you go hmmmm............

 It is quite interesting what  you can find when out exploring the road less traveled. For instance, someone left this mine area and forgot the kitchen sink. Now who does that? 

They also left the toaster. I find it hard to believe that a person would leave their dream and not take things with them. There were other things left behind too but we're not gonna talk about that anymore. It has become common knowledge that I, Mtnmad, suffered a heart attack some time in the last 8 weeks. It really hit home today when I mowed the lawn, which I really find relaxing, and it exhausted me. Granted, the lawn was about 18 inches high, but really, I never got tired before when I did it. 
      So I guess this gets me to my point. Life is awesome and I don't want to check out early. I used to think that you live then you die and no big deal. But when face to face with it, it becomes a huge deal. For example, I am going to be a grandfather in November. I used to think that it was not for me and it would make me  old. Not anymore. I want to meet this child and impart some grandfatherly wisdom to this young man. Oh, It is a boy. I want to teach him how life is a great adventure with things out there to see and do. My parents took me to historical places when I was growing up and being the typical child, I thought it was boring. Now look at me. I can't get enough of exploring the past. I would much rather Jeep the darkside and see what was left for us by past groups of people than just read about it in some biased text book. My grandfather was a miner. I have had the luck to enter 1 mine he worked in, stand outside another, and view one from a distance. The 4th doesn't exist anymore due to the hole in the ground Kennicott Copper has dug, but I have fotos of it from when he was there. I don't know whether this new young boy will find any of it interesting, but I hope he does. He will have all of my old fotos someday and hopefully he will want to go see what I saw and enjoy it like I do. So, my goal is to try and win this battle ahead so I can be the one to take him on his first Jeeping adventure. That is what I plan on doing. As for whats ahead, I am kinda pissed off at Dr's. The left side of my heart is pretty much toasted at this moment. I had tests that said it would be wise to get blood flowing back into it, but they make me an appointment in July. What the hell? I talked to a friend who has a ton of know how and he told me time is of the essence. So, I am taking the proverbial bull by the balls and going out in search of a Dr who can get me in sooner. I have a young man who needs to learn a few things from me and I will be there to do it, even if it means I go about it in a slightly different manner than most would. 
   OK, that's my goal and I will achieve it. Stay tune for more adventures...... this ain't over yet. Jeep on my friends.

The Great Salt Lake isn't so Great Anymore......

Welcome to another edition of..........my blog. It is Sunday, the 8th of March and 60 degrees outside. Being such a nice day, it was time to get the hell out of Dodge, better known as Tremonton. We headed out to the west desert in search of just about anything. When we arrived at the Salt Wells Valley we noticed what everyone has been talking about. The Great Salt Lake isn't great anymore. All the white you can see is dry salt covered dirt. The lake should fill up the whole foto, but it doesn't. It is approximately 5 or more miles from the true shoreline. The officials that measure this info have said it is nearing its lowest point in recorded history and I do believe it is true.  

I bet some of you are saying " so what, its just worthless salt water". That is true. But, the more water in the lake, the more snow we get. It's called Lake Effect. A storm blows over the lake and sucks up the moisture and deposits it in other parts of the state as snow or rain. So,without the water in the lake to boost our storms, the less snow or rain we get. So, you have learned something new about Utah and its desert climate. As dry as it is, Old Yellow managed to find a nice mud hole and drove itself into it. Naughty Jeep. 

 In the foto above, you can see what looks like a road in the lower 1/3 of the frame. That is actually the leftover remains of the Central Pacific Railroad bed from 1869. It is used now as just a road to enter into the Salt Wells hunting area. 

In this foto you can see the curve as it makes its way across the flats. If you do ever go out there to see this area, stay off the mud flats. They are very deceiving and it wont take but 5 seconds to sink your vehicle into the mud. Yes, I did it once. Back in '86 in my friends mom's new F-150. It cost me $135.00 back then to have a tow truck come out from Tremonton. Dumb things we do as kids. At this rate, the mountains will be open for business by April and we can continue the ghost town visits. Jeep on my friends!

A Sunday adventure down a new road, less traveled.

Welcome to another adventure. Today's plan kind of got screwed from the get-go, but we got it figured out. The original plan was to make a complete circle around the Promontory Mountains, west side to east. It didn't happen. As we headed down the west side we ran into a great big fence, locked tighter then...... yah, you know the joke. So, we turned around and went back over the mountain to the east side and headed south. We got to the tip and headed west along the Union Pacific tracks until we reached the west side. Looking down the tracks, we noticed something interesting and went to check it out. The first thing we noticed was the lake. The wind was blowing and big balls of foam were washing up to the shore and then taking flight in the wind. I would imagine they are salt flavored, but I sure as hell wasn't going to try one.

 Looking west on the track, you can see them lying by the rails. At this point, we are almost at the place where the lake surrounds the track on both sides. 

 This is looking east back towards the Wasatch Mountains. As you can see, there is some snow left on the highest peaks, but at this rate, it will be gone by March. The temperature was a balmy 53 and shorts were the mode of dress. In the past, this line was very busy with rail traffic but today we didn't see a single train. That was a disappointment. Standing that near a train going well over 60 miles an hour is quite an experience. There is one that is just a wee bit  better, but I will save that for another time.  

 Now, what we saw was quite interesting. I do believe that this was a pumping station for GSL. They are a type of mining company that takes salt as well as other minerals from the lake to sell. This pump group didn't look operative at all. 3 main pumps were totally missing and the fourth didn't look happy. What was very odd was the fact that all of the control boxes were very new.

A memorial at the site tells trespassers that this is the sight of the famous Behrens Trench. Supposedly they dug some sort of underwater canal that feeds the east side of their complex from the western side of the lake. So, I am thinking that the new controls are for it and its all under ground and this above ground system is obsolete. Who knows. I do know that is was kind of cool to explore. It is hard to imagine it is just February 15th and there is no snow or mud to play in. I as well as Old Yellow are suffering from lack-of-mud-itis. It just isn't winter Jeeping without some type mud or snow to play in. Oh well, maybe we will get lucky and get a late winter. who knows? My last comment will be on lack of reader participation. Why in the hell don't any of you write anything. I do know it is being read, but no one ever writes an opinion. How come?
Jeep on my friends!

Careful, You Might Learn Something!

 During my last 2 semesters of school we have discussed the Native American culture in Utah History as well as History of the West. One particular event stands out in both classes; the Bear River Massacre. In 1863, Colonel Patrick Connor and his California volunteers were stationed in Salt Lake at Fort Douglass when word came in of a dispute between the white settlers and the Shoshone. Being extremely anti-Indian, Connor marched his troops north into the Washington Territory and on January 29, 1863 wiped out the group gathered near the Bear River. Estimates range from 250 to 350 Native Americans slaughtered, men, women and children. 

 This memorial was placed in the vicinity to mark this horrible tragedy. Over time, the land in the area has been returned to the tribe in small parcels. The massacre site itself was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. In 2008, the Western Shoshone had acquired all the land and were planning on erecting a monument of their own on site.  

The foto above shows the valley from the north side. At this point in time, there is no evidence of an Indian Memorial, just ones built by the state of Idaho. The valley is peaceful and rather pretty. 

 Though the massacre was 152 years ago, the memory of it is strong among the Shoshone Tribe. Back in a corner, out of the way lies this tree. I cannot say if it has a name but I will call it a memorial tree. In this tree are many tiny memorials to the Native Americans killed by Connor. I tried to pick out the best ones to post here as to give my 2 fans a slight look at what they were.

 Many of the ornaments were dated from this year. It is said that the tribe gathers every year on the anniversary to mourn the loss of their ancestors. 

 This one contained shells, beads and something my untrained eye could not decipher. I am going to say that the majority of them are from this last January due to the dates on them and the fact they are still very colorful. 

 Popular among the gifts were dream catchers and gods-eyes. 

 The memory of the massacre is still strong among the surviving members of the Shoshone Tribe. The tales of the lost battle are passed on through stories by the Elders of the tribe to each passing generation. This sad tale of a massacre will continue to be passed on for many generations to come. 
Jeep on my friends.

A day of interesting events

 Welcome to our Christmas day. As with most Christmas mornings, presents were unwrapped and then everyone just zoned out. We got Noah a new camera for Christmas due to his taking a foto class at school, and he has an assignment due. We decided to help him out and go take fotos. We ended up at the Spiral Jetty and we got a surprise. If you look closely at the foto above you can see the wild horses up on top of the hill. I have been going out there since it was rediscovered in 2001. I have only seen them 3 or 4 times and they are very wary of humans. 

I didn't think twice about them and took this awesome foto of my Jeep and the Jetty. No, I don't get tired of taking fotos of the Jeep..... it's a Jeep thing you know. So while I was doing that, Noah had headed up the hill to take close up fotos of the horses. I watched him for a few then jumped in Old Yellow cuz I was cold. We lost sight of him and figured they had ate him or something like that. What followed was amazing. I tried to down load the video in here, but it said it was too big.... Yah, right! OK, so I did up load it to YOU TUBE so I will try and insert a link to it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuJ_Zl6bbuU  What you will see is crazy. I have never seen anything like it. If by chance the link doesn't work, I believe that there are links to my channel on previous blogs.  The last interesting event took place back here at the house. I was browsing through Facebook and came across a post from a friend. It was about a little guy who had passed away from cancer today. I went in and read some of the story and got a very quick attitude change. I had been feeling not Christmasy the last few days. I had no reason for this but it just was there. After reading this story and taking in what this family had gone through, especially today, I began to realize that my attitude really sucked. I had no reason to be down. What this poor family had and are going through was the worse possible thing ever! To lose a child on Christmas day would be.......... unimaginable. I am still somewhat devastated by it. I'll stop now.  

School can be fun.............

Welcome to my latest creation. For Utah history this semester we were given the option to make a small video on certain subjects instead of writing an essay. I figured this could be fun so I did three of them. 

They are kind of not the best but I am learning and having fun at the same time. 

You will have to be careful with the above video. The first few minutes are very hard to hear. The damn GoPro picks up everything mounted on the hood, but set it on a tripod and it doesn't pick up sound worth a shit! So these are the 3 videos, enjoy and maybe you will learn something!