Hey! It's Summer

And summer is a great time to explore remnants of the past right in your own backyard. Need some clues on what to do? Check out these ideas.

Go barn-hunting

In case you haven't noticed, Utah has some very cool old barns. Once upon a time, the old wood barns provided indispensable shelter for animals, hay, threshing, milking, and more. But in the 1960s, farmers started putting up metal outbuildings. Fortunately, many old barns just kept standing anyway-—helped by their owners—and now they are irreplaceable traces of the past.

A barn in Mendon, Cache County

If you pay attention, you'll notice several different barn styles. Some designs come to Utah with English or European immigrants. Some evolved especially to meet the needs of farmers in the intermountain region. And some come from plans offered by farmers' journals and magazines.

You can find old barns in any rural area of Utah. However, northern Utah is a great place to get excited about them— partly because an excellent guidebook is available to show you the ropes (and the gambrels, and the hay derricks).

You can get Historic Barns of Northern Utah: A Self-Guided Driving Tour at the Bear River Association of Governments, 170 N. Main St. Logan, UT 84321. Or send them $7 to get it by mail.

 

See what the Donners & Reeds left behind

The prim white stucco building at the corner of 90 N. Cooley Lane, Grantsville, is a historical treasure: a vintage Grandma's attic-style community museum, with outdoor exhibits that include an open-air iron cage used in the 1880s to house local law-breakers. But the real gems are inside. Among a fascinating jumble of prehistoric artifacts and homemade exhibits are sad relics of the doomed 1846 Donner-Reed emigrant party.

Here are rusted bits of iron, wheel hubs, wagon axles, ox yokes, horseshoes and more, abandoned nearly 160 years ago on the barren flats of the Great Salt Desert. Though the stranded emigrants managed to struggle out of the desert, many of the California-bound party soon perished, trapped by an early snowfall in the sierra Nevada. Their route now is part of the California National Historic Trail.

The museum will off the beaten tourist parth, is open by appaointment only.

To arrange a visit, call the Grantsville City Hall at (435) 884-3767. Entry is free, but they really appreciate donations.

 

Find free folk festivities

Since 1987, the Utah Arts Council Folk Arts Program has hosted free Monday night concerts of folk music and ethnic dance at the Chse Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts, located in the center of Salt Lake City's Liberty Park. The front proch of the 150-year-old building serves as the stage, and the audience gathers on the cool green lawn. This is a perfect setting to see some of Utah's best folk and ethnic artists as they present their cultural heritage free of charge.

Bring picnic blankets and lawn chairs. After the concerts, you can visit the museum and see amazing folk art created by folks living all over the state of Utah. Mondays in the Park Conerts begin at 7 p.m. on Monday evenings during July and August.

For more information call (801) 533-5760 or visit www.utahfolkarts.org

 

See REALLY OLD art

Would you like to see an artistic masterpiece creatd in Utah thousands of years beofre Michelangelo worked on the Sistine Chapel? Then visit Buckhorn Wash, in the San Rafael Swell. The San Rafael Swell is a giant bubble that formed on the earth's crust 70 million years ago and then burst, leaving a jagged landscape of canyons and spires. The Barrier Canyon people lived in this area 2,000-10,000 years ago. As they passed through Buckhorn Wash, they painted colorful images on a large cliff face. Lather native groups added other images.

The Buckhorn wash rock art site is located along an excellent dirt road suitable for any vehicle in good weather. From Highway 10, turn east onto the signed Bureau of Land Management road one mile north of Castle Dale. For a dramatic vista of Utah's Little Grand Canyon, formed by the San Rafael River, after 12 miles look for the intersection to the Wedge Overlook. The road on this short detour can be a little rough. Then return to the intersection and continue east another 2.4 miles to the next signed intersection. From here follow the Buckhorn Wash road southeast about 5.5 miles. The site is on the left (north) side of the road at a prominent pull-off. If you arrive at the bridge over the San Rafael River without seeing the rock art, turn around and backtrack 3.5 miles.

If you'd like more information about prehistoric peoples, visit the excellent Museum of the San Rafael in Castle Dale or the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum in Price. The Castle Country Travel Council can help you plan your trip: (800) 842-9789.

To learn more about rock art in Utah, contact the Utah Rock Art Research Association at www.utahrockart.org.

 

Get both beauty and history in one very fine package You'll find plent of evidence of centuries of human habitation in the Capitol Reef area: Fremont petroglyphs and rock structures, Anglo farm buildings, irrigation systems, a one-room school, corrals, lime kiln, the famous 110-year-old Old Mail Tree, and more. Walk through the history-rich Capitol Gorge and imagine it as a road—the main road south before Highway 24 was paved in 1962! capitol Reef has the largest historic orchards in the national park system, and if you're there when the fruit is ripe, you're free to amble through the orchards, pluck a peach or two, and bite into a bit of history. Do let the juice run down your chin. (435) 425-3791 www.nps.gov/care/

 

Step back in time

It has often been said that traveling through Sanpete County is like stepping back in time.Aas visitors wind their way through the region's heritage towns, they can see pioneer homes and structures that look very much like they did 100 years ago, as well as important historical locations, such as battle sites of Utah's Black Hawk War.

For starters, visit the Fairview Museum of History and Art, originally constructed as a school in 1900 of quarry-sandstone.

In nearby Spring City, be sure to see the historic old school that has proudly stood for more than 100 years. You will also want to visit the majestic Moroni Opera House and the Fountain Green Theatre. Also stop by Manti City Hall, one of the only surviving examples of Italianate architecture in the county, and the Ephraim Co-op one of Utah's original Zion's Co-Op buildings.

The Utah Arts Council has produced a charming audio driving tour of Sanpete County. See arts.utah.gov/folkarts/sanpete.html for more info.

More information about Sanpete County is available on the web site for Heritage Highway 89: www.utahheritage.com or call (435)462-2502.

 

Pull off the freeway In 1983, during construction of iInterstate 70, crews uncovered (and subsequently covered with freeway) the largest Fremont Indian village ever found. No wonder the Fremont people lived here. Clear Creek Canyon is rich in plants and wildlife and would have been a fine place to settle. you can see traces of these long-gone residents, including artifacts recovered during excavation, at the Fremont Indian State Park and Museum. You can stroll along 20 trails to see rock structures and thousands of rock art images. If you ask, rangers will demonstrate how to use an atlatl to throw a spear and then let you try it yourself. When you're done browsing around, you can cool your heels in a secluded campground or fish in Clear Creek. Don't even think about making excuses not to visit. This state park is a mere 20 minutes east of the intersection of I-15 and I-70. (435) 527-4631 fremontindian@utah.gov

Do the trail Commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's trip by launching your own Corps of Discovery— either in cyberspace or on the ground. Many web sites can get you started. Try these: lewisandclark200.org, nps.gov/lecl, lewis-clark.org, voyageofrediscovery.com, nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark. Also, be sure to look at the many books and maps at the Utah History Research Center at the Rio Grande Depot, SLC. Would-be members of the Junior Corps of Discovery can go to www.destinationthepacific.com And true aficionados can visit the Lewis and Clark National Bicentennial Exhibition in Denver until August 21.

Peek into "Eliza's Attic" Eliza's Attic, in th Brigham City Museum, teaches history with panache. In a word, it's fun. The museum provides you with some interesting questions to spark your thinking and then sets you loose. You will notice a pot of chicken soup cooking in an adobe fireplace, poke your head into an orchard, and open drawers to discover some major—and icky-looking—nuisances for pioneers. See what a "survival breakfast" looked like (sego lily bulbs instead of eggs and dandelion greens instead of bacon). See first-hand the care that settlers put into making coffins for beloved children who died (and many, many children did die in pioneer times). Push a plow, then decide if you look good in pioneer clothes. Eliza's Attic delights both children and adults.

Thanks to the Utah Arts Council, the National Park Service National Trails office, Capitol Reef, Utah Rock Art Association, Fremont State Park, and the Offices of museum Services for their contributions to this section.

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