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Show r C10 Wednesday, December 17, 2008 Vernal Express I i w I Expres ! .' Wj'v- JI n Vaas'kaJ Luf ti-l k-aA bad lad Kwi j County faces drop in federal PILT funding .1. j-.-i- Junior high evacuated for bomb threat UHP Taser review nears end Bt I1 7 . I .-J r.:: 'j j,':.; -.."".- v. hidce cviticizes past ursso boud 5,-fcS, 5-a T.-r ' ;; V, .V Pair get probation, home confinement wsptcriiuusiiiwsTittnos tS - v:: ':z''uZZ Police seek missing man - ;i " v" UBSCRIBE TODAY! Call 789-3511 or come in & see us at: 60 East 100 North Visit us online at: I fi KltCfmmjlTCHAftMtS I CJWM I J . I . LLEj!j - i LMM mm Verm mi i !wtii: mtm '.df lliiMi. Mtf j" w.cjb School board adjusts elementary boundary alignments, start times BI.M releases draft E1S on West Tavaputs . .H. .7j Study urges bringing new water to Basin 1,4 --.. "IHaoa uumuiis .. ... narrow to three win ow wits ounioi fiii to ik twicsrus 11 (rTflL HfMMl i'j- 9 c' m Express Airport board "!!WPk t ... occr W Ml III Qown nanaoooK 1HM HUOOi Bl)Di U SUKUfr II Ultftt 1 10 1 i0 DRUMS DWR pays annual Judne denies new trial for Mitchell, Erlckson PILT funds to county imttSUIUDTfllEli Reconstruction of 2500 W. scheduled to start In March !'"".! . i . - .i-A'-.--H "nL.,,,. iiimiii iW" ! Hiking along the many four-wheel-drive tracks that spur from Taylor Mountain Road can yield beautiful moments of peace for those By Gary Lee Parker who venture off the main road. (Gary Parkervernai txpress) i. ,1 , v 4 f .';?'i.-f I It1,'' 1 s 'O1 1 - , 1 If ' .4 4 4i it Heading west from almost any point along Taylor Mountain Road and you will eventually come upon spectacular views of Ashley Gorge, like the one shown here. (Gary ParkerVernal Express) Express Writer Note: This is the latest in a series of first-person articles by Vernal resident Gary Lee Parker who writes about the outdoors and the area's rich history. It's been a long week and I'm tired and anxious. Lunch has been good, but heavy, and I'm uncharacteristically dreading my office and the drone of my computer com-puter humming its leering tune as I type. I'm not sure I can return just yet, and my mind begins to create alternatives; any excuse to avoid duty, so I rationalize. As we pull from the parking lot of a local dive I ask my coworker if she has pressing business, or if a detour might be in order. I suspect she's as reluctant to return to work as I am, and her answer confirms my hunch. So the two of us, fugitives from an awaiting stack of writing (The news never sleeps, after all), hit the road randomly. We head north on 2500 West until, the subdivisions fade in the rear-view mirror. As we cross through the cut and the land begins to open up my tension begins to ease. I let out a desperate sigh. A thin dusting of snow paints heridges, and, u sh,elyei?,, pf, the, surrounding sandstone hills and the scrubby juniper looks faded and gray. My ancient little white sedan for once feels a natural part of the scene outside. Old, white, and rusty. An adept description of me as well. t;,ii 4- n " . If Vast swaths of aspen groves, punctuated by random spruce and pine, blanket the relatively flat top of Taylor Mountain, lining the road and providing plenty of opportunity for solitude among the foliage. (Gary ParkerVernal Express) We pass the cutoff to Ashley Gorge and start to climb the southern rise of Taylor Mountain Moun-tain when I decide to stop at an unofficial pull-out and take a walk. A little fresh air may clear away the pudding in my head; help me catch my breath and my thoughts. We walk to the edge of a deep ravine, absorbing the view and feeling the safety of solitude as it begins creeping in. A light snow begins to fall and my coworker wanders off for a moment alone. I'm lost in my own thoughts and barely notice. When we come back together we both seem a bit lighter, and we chatter together a bit as we begin our ascent again. The view expands as if it may never stop, as if it may at last burst, revealing the western shore of Steinaker Reservoir, an unconventional uncon-ventional perspective on the Simplot mines, Brush Creek Canyon, and the beginnings of the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area. Reds, yellows and grays molded of stone; sage-green hillsides, blackening water, and a dusty gray sky filled with striated clouds that change moment by moment; they draw ever nearer, encapsulating us in a world of wonders. j,;; , '' the snow thickens beneath my tires, but the gravel holds as we climb through a narrow gulch. We stop again at an overlook abundant in spectacle and try our hand at artfully capturing the scene in digital memory, then move on. As we pull out atop the doming dom-ing mountain, wide expanses of empty aspen trees travel into the distance where the dark gash of Ashley Gorge tears a long line against the horizon. The snow is fading quickly now, it's large marshmallow flakes giving way as a distant sun steals through a break in the clouds, illuminating tails of mist that reach toward the earth nearly touching down. We follow the twisting road into the deep forest and travel along the flattening mountain-top, mountain-top, dropping into peaceful valley meadows and passing by intriguing intrigu-ing tracks that would require a vehicle substantially more masculine than the one we are in to explore. Our talk turns to suppressed dreams and longed for fantasies; a back-country cabin and a fireplace; a summer of wandering the western woods. Wishes only, for now, but they keepusaliveand moving forward in hopes of their eventual realization. realiza-tion. SEE TAYLOR MTN. on Cll Mi if A misty panorama of minoling clouds and the grasping bare branches of an aspen grove contrast on the horizon along Taylor Mountain Road Friday afternoon. (Gary ParkerVernal Express) |