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Show ' Spectacular Dead Horse Point Still Attracts Hundreds as Area's Most Breathtaking Sight BY DICK WILSON Dead Horse Point still is one i I of, the .most famous tourist meccas in the southeastern I corner of .Utah, in spite of the ! increasing popularity of re-1 re-1 cently publicized areas such as the Needles: : For those who haven't seen Dead Horse Point it might be described as follows: It's an extension of a flat fugh-alti-J tude. meadowland called big Flat. Oil exploration opened up and broadened jthe original origin-al cowboy trails that traversed travers-ed the mesa. And the work of the oil seekers is still to be seen !oday in various spots on the plateau. Colorado River Study A serpentine river, the Colorado, has carved itself through some 2000 feet of mostly-Ted strata. The meandering meand-ering curves of this great river riv-er can be studied and appreciated apprec-iated from Dead Horse Point probably better than any o-ther o-ther point. Similar viewpoints on the Island in the Sky further fur-ther downriver have their f qualifications for inspiring awe in mortals like me. But Dead Horse Point speaks a I language of sheer rugged beauty and fantastic color patterns. 34 MILES FROM MOAB Wfpoint is located 34 miles from Moab by the automobile ; route and about 33 via Long ' , Canyon and Pucker Pass, a H route recommended for jeeps. By far the quickest and most comfortable way to Dead Horse is by the highway lead- ing into the Canyonlands Na-' tional Park. The last few miles fi the Dead Horse Pom: highway have been completed complet-ed only within the past few weeks and the drive is thor--oughly enjoyable and dust free Loose gravel is present on the new highway but will soon be pressed into the surface. sur-face. For the information of visitors to Moab, the highway route mentioned above leading lead-ing to Dead Horse is reached by going north on highway 160 for 11 miles. Turn west and follow the signs to what appears ap-pears to be the end of time and space, Dead Horse Point. A vast assemblage of color and eroded forms greet the visitor, an unequalled and un-parraleled un-parraleled scenic wonder of world-wide fame. The ranger in charge of Dead Horse Point, Earl Edwards, Ed-wards, reported that the number num-ber of visitors coming over the new hard-surfaced route to Dead Horse Point averages 150 to 300 per day. Though Edw.ards has only been at Dead Horse for one month, he said he was surprised of the great number of foreign visitors. vis-itors. "In these few weeks I've talked with travelers from Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Australia, Aus-tralia, Formosa and Germany, "said Ranger Edwards. One Japanese native said he had heard of Dead Horse Point in his native country and, "I came here to see it." Ranger Edwards lives with his wife in the new residence built near the visitor center at Dead Horse Point. Two seasonal rangers live in other newly-built residences. Both of the seasonals are Indians, one a Ute by the name "f Raymond Lacy Harris who was voted the most popular student at Brigham Young Uni versify. The other Indian Ranger Ran-ger is of the Navajo tribe and is studying law at BYU aiming aim-ing to be a tribe attorney on the Navajo Reservation. FOUR WHEEL DRIVE There's another way to get to Dead Horse Point but it is recommended for four drive units. Some types of autos can make the trip through Long Canyon and through Pucker Pass, but such a tour is better to avoid unless equipped wjth a rough-country rough-country vehicle. The dictionary defines the word "pucker" as a drawing together into wrinkles or irregular ir-regular folds, as of cloth tightly or crookedly sewed. The title "Pucker Pass" seems to be a pretty adequate name for the road which ascends sharply out of Long Canyon by several switchbacks then winds up an irregular stream-bed stream-bed which almost squeezes shut. But just beyond tha squeeze, the puckering ceases and you find yourself on a i ' ' If-.' i3t Ik ' S . - -- r ';V,rtS& M I Silhouettes of junipers as seen from Point. the observation shelter at Dead Horse more civilized road at the eastern edge of Big Flat. The route referred to above going through Long Canyon, starts about a mile north of the Texas Gulf Sulphur Mill complex. As you travel south on Highway 279, the scenic highway leading to Potash, the jeep route begins just past Jub Handle Arch. Local folks are mostly well acquainted with Long Canyon and know better than to travel through the "Puckered place" during or immediately after an intense in-tense rain storm. Once on Big Flat, the route runs directly di-rectly into the main highway to Dead Horse Point. The new highway to Dead Horse Point will not stop the lover of nature from a full enjoyment of the view. It is true that the route is less primitive now and a whole lot less dusty. The hard-surface? road makes for more convenience in getting a fabulous fab-ulous soul-satisfying glimpse; of canyon country. "THIS IS CANYON COUNTRY" COUN-TRY" is a guidebook of the area by the author of the a-bcve a-bcve travel feature. The booklet contains full descriptions descrip-tions of available tours bv auto, jeep, trail bike and hiking and can be obtained at most local newsstands. |
