Show oklahoma paper boosts scenic vernal manila road yea t ar w b 4 A t ay n N 4 1 9 z A km R NIN C J vr 1 0 T A cv v M 3 epi afe ha i green lake lakes 49 43 miles north of vernal on vernal manila highway EDITORS NOTE therol the following splendid article on the acen scenic c beauties of the uinta mountains and the vernal man ila highway leading into vernal was written by kent ruth and appeared in the dally daily oklahoman 0 sunday june 28 al I 1 M 1 fidlar of hock rock springs Is a well known geologist of the mountain fuel supply and should be given an honorary membership in the vernal C chamber h amber of commerce where else but in the west could it happen you call cal on a man a total stranger at the end of his working day you take him away from out af state house guests and chat with him alc plc pleasantly as about roads scenic spots and other travel matters while his dinner waits and four our months later he sends you a christmas card and a corda cordial note notel A toast is herewith raised to AT at fidlar of rock springs wyo the personification of western hospitality thanks to lim him we saw a breathtaking breath taking king beautiful part of utah we had never seen before A scene part of which at least if the big dam boys in washington have their waybe way we shall never see again it all began one afternoon last summer wed driven into rock springs and located a place to stay for the night g ht for the next tu day we had but t one project in mind to get to vernal utah a bundred odd miles to the south in n such a way as to see as much a as s possible via plymouth of the uinta m mountains oun t ains and the awe inspiring canyons of the green river the girl at the chamber of commences com merces information office at the intersection of US 30 and was friendly and pretty but alas she knew nothing about the roads to vernal she did however come up with the name and address of mr fidlar if theres a road down there hell know about it she said adding and hell be glad to help you ho he did and be he was the result was as pleasant a day of leisurely sightseeing sight seeing as weve ever ment logically there should be three parts to this article the rock springs green river starting point the mile drive across the cintas and the vernal area goal of the launt jaunt tying it all together Is a continuous thread of history starting far back in the past and carrying down to the very immediate present the history of the green river this famous river heads on the western slope of Wyo wind river range then corkscrews its way south to where it finally joins the mighty colorado in SE utah only once when it hits the solid mass of the cintas the one major maior mountain range in the US that runs not north south but east west is it forced to make a major detour despite thousand foot sheer wall ed canyons scraped out over countless it gives give u up p finally swinging east into ai colorado 0 through what Is now dinosaur national monument once past the cintas it loops west again to a point near vernal from where it turns south once more to its colorado fiver river junction so much for past history the central utah project is hotly de continued on page 12 OKLAHOMA HV PAPER BOOSTS SCENIC NIC VERNAL MANILA MANUA ROAD continued from page 9 bated current history an labor ate and fantastically expensive scheme to t dart dam up the green in its deep canyons then to redistribute its is waters over desperately arild arid utah reclamation interests have had the conserva zionists on their necks from the day the project waa was conceived for if and when the dams are built but parts arts of the dinosaur marku monument men pat though apparently not the dinosaur beds themselves will be flooded a vast wilderness area opened to the public well admit it we entered the area a strong elmer peterson man so far as the whole dam I 1 project was concerned we were 1 agin gin t it to all of mr petersons anti big dam arguments which are strictly logical we added one of our own which which was completely illogical we just wanted to keep the oconer scenery Y as 83 it was then we had a he heart artto to heart talk with ernest anial curator of the utah field 1 I of natural history in ver nal he ile listened to our romantic plea for the preservation of the primitive area as it was then answered calmly we here in utah are not too worried about the loss of the wilderness we have plenty of wilderness 80 percent ot of the state we need water but whatever happens we have the satisfaction of knowing that we saw lust just about as much of 0 1 f the scenery as can be seen from f r orn a conventional passenger car and if 11 you hurry you can see it too try to make the trip the next time youre in the area you could include it nicely nicel on your way home from am yellow tone stone we think enjoy it as we did if you make the th a trip from froin hock rock springs or green river tart start early in the morning the trip to vernal much more than a hundred miles but you will want to make some detours and frequent tops stops and that calls for a full day so whatever nosing around you might want to do in these towns wed suggest you do the day before rock springs is interest interesting ingi if not pretty in the strictest sense of the word physically it straddles bitter cree creek kand and the mainline of the union pacific principal owner of the coal mines that largely support the town population wise its inhabitants bitante are divided divided among 47 da different illi erent nationalities count em if you dont want went to take the chambers word for it which racial hodge boode shows up in the churches and recreation halls names on store fronts the people you ou see on the streets architectural architect ual styles and the choice of restaurants incidentally rock springs is the only town we know of that seems to have almost no alleys most of the blocks are short and house lots seem eem to go through from one street treet to the go e next but all signs of mans eau exu existence however he lays out his towns disappear the moment you cross the green river in the town of green river and head south the next 49 mi lesto the utah line and the two communities com munt of linwood and manila in the irrigated valley of henrya henrys fork take you through the won von derfel wyoming of the travel posters high sage sag covered plateau country with the broken canyons of the green oft off to the east and hie the snow cintas looming up ahead of me the south the moment you leave manila youre in them the gravel road climbs into the welcome green of ashley national forest then dips suddenly you are turning end and twisting down along the floor of a dry wash between spectacularly eroded whitewalls white walls of rock just as they seem ready to close in on you entirely cn you squeeze through U gh sheep creek ga gap a slit t through towering rock ledges t that Is at shoot up from am both car win windows d aws and pres presto 0 youre in sheep cree creek val valley ey its ics from here it you OU beat a t the e army engineers to it that a ro road of sorts detours you ou 0 off to the left downstream down sarv stream an and a t truly ly a awe we inspiring car r indo view of the be green reen river if it you dont mind poor dirt dads and it been rain h ing I 1 9 r drive this eight mile ralle detour five miles down HideOut canyon you come to a wye one mile to the left and the road la Is apt to be impassable so watch it is flaming gorge three miles to the right and youre in horseshoe canyon i you a 8 car call X width road the swift flowing green river and sheer fed red walls that soar up 1000 feet on either fide tide this Is as awesome a spot to 0 pause and reflect on mans impermanence and cance as any run into this ide of the grand canyon under the central utah project blue prints this whole area will be flooded 4 back to the martta virnal road which by contrast now seems to be a major highway and on ii halt dozen miles or so and the scene and mood change completely it you have driven Ari Art zonas ronas justly famous oak creek canyon have some idea how incredibly be beautiful the palisade park area a actually is within 10 miles are compressed virtually all of the bests scenic attractions a lushly tim bet acied ed canyon floor springs roar ing from ornately sculptured rocks multicolored multi colored camj canyon on walls soaring up some 1700 feet into an anbo unbelievably liev ably blue sky a spectacular shelt shelf road that gives one a panoramic view of the he most fascinating collection of weird rock formations ever see from one spot well marked these various exposed rock formations give on epro aided lies hes a geologist a re picture of an even luion billion years of toe the earths history to understand fully what torah you have ave seen a st stud study of the naps maps and charts in field house is by this time an absolute must the bed red canyon 20 miles beyond through beautiful timber and lush upland parks Is the next law jaw dropper you beave leave the vernal road at green lakes a 23 atre acre trout stocked affair per ched tied miraculously on the very rim of red canyon just how miraculously lv vou appreciate a mile beyond when you drive out the overtook itself there 1572 feet below yeti yoland and below the lake flows the green river you 0 u 1 were parked beside in 11 horseshoe 0 canyon a tiny ribbon of white water at the bottom of sheer red walli walls here esthe site of 0 the proposed red canyon jam dam key to the central utah project discussed above it will engineers estimate back water all the way up the river to the town of green river itself the 40 miles on into vernal brings yet another change of scenery from the crest of the cintas down through sheep encrusted parks of waist high idrass the road again picks up the desert the timber of the ashley forest gives way to juniper and sage and a beautiful sheer walled box canyon straight outi of zane greys rid ers erlof of the purple sage skirting this canyon with a foot or two to spare in most places the road descends descend brush creek into vernal the eroded valley is a geological q wonderland of torn and upended gul leys sharp half eroded cliffs and strange rock formations all painted indiscriminately with vivid reds bright yellows and sulp sulphuric hurle greens after a hundred miles of varied mcenry ranging from the delightfully be beautifully out beautiful to the awe in irven angly spectacular the sud sudden appearance of vernal spread out sedately on the flat desert floor camesas comes as something of a relaxing and not welcome unwelcome un anticlimax anti climax A nights rest however and youre ready for a clean mormon town that if Is interesting in its own right the field house has already been recommended it could profitably take a haff halfday da or more of your time especially it if you get started talking wit with mr Unten nann there is a giant tabletop table top relief map of the central utah project area there are county by county dis plays that give you an excellent one room picture of utah there are interesting anthropological and archaeological displays as an we well 11 as fossil and 1 exhibits including a unique affair of phosphorescent rocks viewed under ultraviolet ultra violet light then in vernal itself again theres the bank of vernal built with bricks sent ibrom in from salt lake city by parcel the twice cs vs high freight rate was quickly brou brought into line ne a at the instigation 0 of a bewildered and brick barraged postoffice post office department and too there Is the dinosaur national monument some 15 miles east of vernal where the green river finally cases eases its way out of the cintas via majestic split mountain gorge here are our richest dinosaur beds which you can visit by path in case you know that dinosaurs had beds and some extremely pretty seen cry but this Is 13 it for another week outlined in the barest of details and using only 40 or so superlatives we have tried colure to i lure you into tr trying yin one of these days the alie mile tri the I 1 cintas utah 44 it is one of the imort most scenic stretches of road P we know of to be sure its a narrow mountain road a bit rough in spots but its pe perfectly safe when dry and driven carefully and it shows you the suggest west at its very best good accommodations are plentiful lenti 1 ful at all three towns alock ock springs green river and Ver vernal rial stay at one of them plan take a full day for the uinta crossing we think it will be one I 1 of the most enjoyable you have ever taken |