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Show Vernal Expre Wednesday, August 5, 1992 5 !? if ' : 1 4 ? 5 THE THESPIAN is one of the many interesting rock formations at Fantasy Canyon. Fantasy Canvon A pHace wheve nature went wild by Steven Wallis Express Editor The road to Fantasy Canyon is long and bumpy, but the destination is worth the trip. People visiting the area 27 miles south of Vernal in what locales call "the Bad Lands," may be disappointed disap-pointed if they expect to see a canyon. That is where the disappointment disap-pointment ends. There is no canyon, but anything is visually possible at Fantasy Canyon. The area contains some of the most unique geologic features in the BLM's Vernal District. "'This would be a great place for a moon movie,' is a frequent comment com-ment of those visiting the area," said Ray Tate, Vernal City BLM public relations director. Tate has given numerous tours of Fantasy Canyon, "but every time I sec something new." "You can see about anything you want to in these formations," he said. The rocks of Fantasy Canyon were deposited during a geologic time period 38 to 50 million years ago when the Uintah Basin was covered by a lake. The lake was being be-ing filled with sediments eroded from the surrounding high lands which rose about the same time the Rocky Mountains were being uplifted. uplift-ed. Eventually through enormous uplifts, the sedimentary rocks were elevated and the long process of erosion which is responsible for much of the spectacular rock formations forma-tions at Fantasy Canyon. The canyon was first photographed pho-tographed in 1909 by Earl Douglass and published in "The Columbian !' :!..-).. -i-ii., 1 !!.( i ii, 1 ' t i I'l , 1 " r . ' ... 1 .. V y f -v WHAT YOU might see in the rock formations are only limited by your imagination. Magazine." Until about five years ago the Bureau of Land Management did little to promote the area. Now there is a sign at the canyon and maps on how to get there are available from the BLM Vernal District office. If you are unfamiliar with area, it is best to visit it with someone who has been there before. Finding the place can be difficult for first timers, and finding the way out after af-ter dark can be frustrating. The area is extremely fragile and the BLM advises visitors to no touch or climb on the formation. The area is prone to vandals as evi dence by the destruction of several formations last Easter. "I am sure vandals destroyed the formations," Tate said. The BLM believes those responsible will eventually be found. 'To enjoy this unique natural wonder, we request your cooperation," coopera-tion," states a BLM publication given giv-en to visitors. "Feel free to stand amazed, look, admire, photograph and thoroughly enjoy, but please don't touch or climb on the formations." forma-tions." If you decide to go to Fantasy Canyon don't go without knowing its location, take water and watch out for mosquitoes. Fantasy according to legend O ne day, as the story goes, the evil creatures of the nether regions, tried of living in the dark and dank, decided to dig up the surface and take over everything above and below the earth. They dug and the ground trembled trem-bled and rumbled. Two coyotes, curious, as all coyotes are, couldn't re sist the urge to investigate. The pair discovered the plot of the creatures from down under and in a trice howled the alarm to all their fellow mortals round about. A great council was held to decide de-cide what to do. I would take more than mortal power to stop the invasion inva-sion of these supernatural beings, this they understood. Finally, they determined to send for the greatest medicine man they knew. Two eagles flew with the summons, and on the very first day, they found the great one in his mountain fastness. Help came as swift as an arrow; intense, bitter, cold. The North God caught the denizens of the deep as they gathered to spread over the world. In the wink of an eye he turned them all to ice. The Devil Chief, the Great Mother Witch, the magician and all the rest stand there just as they stood at the instant the cold struck long ago. When the warmth came back, again the west wind blew and as the ice melted, the dust took its place and now the monsters stand in the pit they dug, all of them turned to stone. It is a warning warn-ing to the evil ones' down in hell to leave the good green earth alone. Indian legend published July 16, 1972 as told by Muse Harris, Chief Red Moose, I. , '! - JfS- L I I 'it. t f tc 3 ' . ft 4 1'-'" f w RIPPLES of rocks cascade down twisted and in disarray. Photo by Steven Wallis I 10! F"i nrn XrtliU rn rmi l ZlPH T Win a set of Lagoon All Day Passes ($3590 value) 1 - 1 " v'Y'1-1' " 'yS fjbr1" '"j rthKWwRvl EXP, 9-27-92 Ii KltofiWll EXP. 9-27-92 I . 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