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Show nnpamh 1 -. II by Marcella Walker When we were missionaries at Cove Fort, we told the visitors about the people who went by wagons or stage coach to new locations where they were going to settle, back in the 1800's. Many stopped at Cove Fort as they traveled, whether going east or west, north or south. People today stop at Cove Fort, too. Although they are not traveling trav-eling by stage coach, horse and buggy or walking, people still stop there. Most see the signs telling about Cove Fort and they decide to stop and take a look. Like people of days gone by, travelers today, even though they are traveling in vehicles such as cars, trucks and motorcycles, still need to stop and rest and stand up for a while to get the "crinks" out. At Cove Fort you can find clean restrooms, water, shade, good films, and a tour of the old fort, log cabin, barn, bunkhouse, gardens, forge, ice house, corral, carriage shed, and more. There is lots of shade, picnic tables, and fresh, clear water. Children are given a toy which they can play with as they leave the fort. Cattle nibble the grass on both sides of the road south of the fort and other wild creatures are heard at night and sometimes seen if you walk quietly. There are the sounds of coyotes in the nearby hills, there are foxes, rabbits, deer, and many other wild critters. Just south of the fort is the junction of 1-15 and 1-70. It so happens that 1-70 begins in Baltimore, Bal-timore, Maryland on the east coast of the United States. It terminates ter-minates at 1-15. We had pictures from people showing the big sign in Baltimore that noted that 1-70 would end at its junction with 1-15 in Utah. While we were at Cove Fort everyone ev-eryone felt that the State of Utah should erect a sign at the junction of the two highways at 1-15 with a similar sig i saying that 1-70 would end in Baltimore, Maryland, but we were told it was too expensive for the Utai Highway budget right now. Recently we attended the annual Cove Fort reunion for all of those who have served there as missionaries mission-aries in the past. It was so good to visit the fort and tour the rooms, the grounds, and just enjoy the quiet and the scenery, and, mainly, visit with old friends. As usual, the Utah State Dept. of Highways, which has a service office of-fice there, had men working on the roads north and south. I suppose it is there because of the proximity to the two major freeways and there is always a lot of work to be done on them. Because they were so close to the fort, they would lower their snow plow equipment on their trucks as soon as they left their property on snowy days, and so we would get the snow plowed in front of the fort very quickly during a storm and they kept it clear all the time. This was a great blessing to the senior citizens who usually are the workers at the fort, and who worry about slipping and falling and breaking the old bones. We really re-ally couldn't thank them enough for what they do. If you are looking for something some-thing fun, educational, and entertaining enter-taining this summer, why not try a trip down to Cove Fort. Traveling from Pleasant Grove it takes approximately ap-proximately two hours and fifteen minutes to drive down. It is really worth the trip. The scenery is great along the way. Also, if you have time, stop in Fillmore to see Utah's first capital building. It is open to the public and very worthwhile to see. |