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Show Adventures In the Arizona S tj ipjCountry m ' . . .... Mm everywhere, the on earth where this canh... i Wild Kqyuses Are One of Many Sights In This Country Accessible Only Part of the Year By REED C. PETTY It was an early morning in the fore part of May when a party of three, consisting of my father, brother, and myself, loaded the light truck with a grubstake, grub-stake, bedding, camp equipment and saddles, and started out on a four-day trip into the Arizona Strip country. I might say that the Arizona Strip is that portion of the state which lies between the Colorado river and the Utah state M. Zties bloom everywhere, the , cactus predominating and the m0St prominent of which is probably prob-ably the Indian-named ' oose, . ;vith its central stem 4 to 8 feet in height and covered with pearly white blooms as large as a rose We also see a number of barrel Ictus which, when cut open and tie spongy pulp is squeezed, yield a goodly Quantity of water Upon many occasions this plant has kept people from choking to death on the desert. The hours go by rapidly in this beautiful country and too soon it is time to turn back for camp. Our trip back is just as interesting, as Ue afternoon sun and lengthening ! shadows present an ever-changing scene. Back in camp once more, we are tired but feel well satisfied satis-fied with what the day has shown USThe next day we go for a hike (no horses) and this time we take the only trail and what a trail! for many miles in either direction direc-tion down to the river. Going down from the top we pass through every known geological period of time, each being identified from the rock formation and various fossil remains. Few are the places on earth where this can be d other than at Grand Canyon, "q reaching the bottom, we tak 0 cool dip in the river, have iuncl& and rest for an hour or so The climb back up to the rim seem! like it will never come to an end but by taking our time we mana' to reach the top before sundown6 The next day we break cam,,' bid the Kents farewell, and be-' our trip home by way of Mt. Trum bull, which is heavily Umbered with yellow pine. As my fathe spent many summers of his bov hood days here at granddad's saw mill, he relates interesting expert iences of the region and how thev used to haul the lumber on a three-day three-day wagon trip each way im0 gt George, Utah. Wild life abounds in the forest and it furnisll6. many acres of excellent grazin for the large cattle herds. As we leave the forest we see a small baud of antelope, the fastest animal ani-mal on four feet, grazing in the distance. It is said that they can run at a speed of 60 m. p. fl. Our last stop before proceeding into St. George is at Wolf Hole" which is called home by some three or four families who run ranches there. line. It is a wild and desolate country with many miles between ranches and only accessible part of the year. Leaving Cedar City, we travel south on highway )1 to Anderson's Junction, then on highway 15 to Rockville, Utah, at the mouth of Zion's canyon. Here ing a large corral around one of the water holes, which are very, very few, then camp near the gate and after several days the horses are choked and so thirsty that they sneak in during the night for a drink, at which time the gate is closed. As it is getting about mid-afternoon, we leave our cowboys and go on for Tuweep. Off in the distance dis-tance we see a band of kayuses watching us. With the aid of our binoculars, we notice that there are 17 head of them, and they are led by a beautiful bay stallion. All we turn due south, cross the Vir- Kin river, und up the steep, twist-liiK twist-liiK Rockvillo dugway toward Short. Creek, Arizona. Arriving In Short Creek about 10 a. in., we call on one ot the lin ll'-dozon families there to in-(liiire in-(liiire of road conditions on into Tuweep Valley. We are told that duo to the late spring rains of the f. last few days that the roads are not so good, which even at best are nothing more than crooked, rough trails. Feeling somewhat depressed, we start out for Tuweep, some 45 miles away; but our spirits soon rise as at this time of year this sun-burned country is nature's wild horse bands as a rule are headed by a stallion. Their mane is long and their tails drag the ground. By hurrying, we reach our destination des-tination and make camp just at dark next to the Kent ranch. After supper we go over to the ranch house and spend the evening telling tell-ing and listening to various experiences exper-iences we have had. The Kents, who have spent most of their lives on the strip and know every foot of it, are about the most hospitable hos-pitable people I have ever met. Shortly after sun-up the following follow-ing morning, we crawl out of our sleeping bags and soon have breakfast going. There seems to be something about the smell of a campfire, tinged with the aroma of bacon, eggs and coffee, that makes any man's mouth water! We had just finished eating when Mr. Kent, who had ofTered to act as our guide, arrived at camp with horses for the day's trip into what is now known as Grand Canyon National Monument. After a short ride from camp, we arrive at the rim of the canyon, can-yon, which for several minutes holds one spell-bound. Here the canyon is quite narrow and in the bottom about 5,000 feet below us prize flower garden, displaying varieties of every color imaginable. imagin-able. Two hours slip by and we have covered about 2 0 miles, but suddenly we are confronted with a great clay valley which seems to have held the recent rains enough to form aii excellent sticky mass. On with the chains and we are off but not for long. After getting bogged down many times and being covered with clay from head to foot, we arrive at Clay Tanks, feeling somewhat like I imagine Adam of the Bible times felt when the good Lord moulded him of clay and was about to blow the breath of life into him. Here our eyes are greeted only with the sight of a dilapidated corral and the remnants of an old windmill which has long since refused re-fused to work. Going on a few miles, we come upon a camp of several cowboys whom we learn are there catching the wild kayuses (horses) which are plentiful in the region. Their technique is to build a corral with a long runway in some canyon, then when their opportunity is right, to drive the horses into the corral, which is not as easy as it sounds. During the dry season they can catch the horses by build- stops are frequent as every point gives a different perspective of the canyon and the mounting sun an ever-changing color scheme. There is not an abundance of wild life; however, we do see many reptiles, such as lizards -some with blue bellies, others marked with yellow, red and etc. Snakes and chipmunks are common. During the day we are fortunate in seeing two lazy Gila monsters lying in the warm sun. They are odd-looking creatures, about 10 to 14 inches long, pinkish pink-ish in color, with a flat head, short legs, and a large, fat tail about an inch thick and 4 to 6 inches long, where fat is stored in the summer to nourish them through the hibernation period during the winter. 'The story is told that during the hot summer months of July and August the lizards liz-ards all carry a green leaf around in their mouth and after running for a short distance on the hot ground they stand on the leaf to cool their feet off. (Don't tell me you have heard that before!) Plant life at this time of the year in the warm, arid, semi-desert section, flourishes. Hundreds of flowers of every color and many is the turbulent Colorado river, winding its way to the Pacific. The coloring of the walls and cliffs ranges from a deep maroon to a light yellow and in the early morning morn-ing sun it is truly an inspiring sight. Directly across the chasm on the opposite side is the Hualpai Indian reservation, and farther beyond be-yond the "painted desert." With the aid of our binoculars again we see two of the natives going along the rim of the canyon on horseback. Looking to the north up the river we see the great Kai-bab Kai-bab mountain, some 65 miles away, home of the Kaibab forest and North Rim of the Grand Canyon Can-yon National Park. After quite a spell of just looking, we again ' mount our horses and follow the trail north along the rim. Our |