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Show The desert road exhibited some danger spots. A river friend of mine, Merlin Shaw, took his group of scouts in an open truck along the road heading to the Hole-in-the-Rock. There they would hike down to the reservoir to meet their boats. But at Carcass Wash, the group met calamity as the driver lost control of the truck. The truck quickly rolled down backwards and overturned at the bottom of the canyon. Merlie and eleven others were killed and twenty five others injured. Another unique trip I made during this period occurred on the Powell reservoir. As the waters rose higher, two of rancher McKay Bailey’s straggler-bulls still managed to survive on an isolated river bar that still stood above the reservoir’s surface. JUDY POWERS FEZ] I met McKay at Jackass Bench and by boat we went down and killed and butchered those bulls. All night, in the cool air, we carried the cargo to Wahweap. For ay, part, I got half the salvaged meat, which we ground into hamburger. One time I went with Reeves into the "Smokies" in the Kaiparowits area to help check and move his cattle. Hauling our two horses in his pickup, we ended up at his makeshift cabin. Reeves put together some great baking-soda biscuits, heavy with butter and raspberry jam, and we dug into them like they were going out of style. His good wife Laura had packed us some hams and cake to go along with them. After supper, we cleaned up our mess, and we spent the evening crouched near the fire telling glorious old yarns. Next day, we spent the day with the cattle, and he showed me a smoking "slot" where coal had been burning for years if not centuries. — "The REALTOR who knows what's REALLY — going on in Moab." Ches jst kept on ridin’ and grinnin. "There's no gittin’ off here little lady . Just hang tight and don't split your seams. ARCHES REALTY 150 E. Center St. Moab. UT 84532 I always enjoyed the wildness of Fifty Mile Mountain. My rancher friend Cecil Griffin had given me many pointers on this wild area. We followed a steep winding trail that required the best of horses. Once on top, we traveled from the Mudholes through the pines and out to.the further point of the plateau where we could see for over a hundred miles into the canyon and mountain country of Arizona and New Mexico. Reeves and five other wranglers joined me in taking a huge group of Sierra Clubbers down the Escalante. They hiked and did their own cooking. Our horses, 26 in all, carried BUS: 435.259.5693 800.634.0770 RES: 259.5852 judypowers@moabutah.com (Each office is independently owned and operated) their provisions, gear, food, pots and pans, bedrolls and tents. The rains had come down hard and sent a flood of rising water down canyon. During the day, Harry Aleson had boated the folk across the reservoir to Rainbow Bridge and back. On the return to camp, because of the higher water, we had to give each Clubber a ride at each river crossing on the back of our horses. The horses were more sure-footed than they. On the first crossing, one well-endowed English lady squealed in midstream “Let me off, let me off" as she tightly squeezed her arms around wrangler Ches Lay. But Ches just kept ridin’ and grinnin.’ "There’s no gittin’ off here little lady! Just hang tight and don’t split your seams." And speaking of the Sierra Club, I’ll never forget the valiant and hard work of two of their most able leaders, Ruth Frear and June Viavant. They helped stop the proposed Trans-Escalante highway that would have stretched from Bullfrog to Wahweap marina. The road would have bridged across the Escalante canyon just downstream from Stevens Arch. and Coyote Gulch. This was one of the environmentalists’ finest hours in Utah. A lot has happened Moab’s - Most Favorite Pastime ee) ence tenes ae Newila to the small town of Escalante since I lived there. It has become amazingly easy to reach and people now want to go thereMonument" designation. It’s hardly a picture of the old west adventuress and good times and those peaceful and quiet times. they can never be brought back the way they once were. But as Reeves would always say as we headed home, even blazes, “It’s all down hill and shady from here on, Ken." because of the "National any more. Gone are those This old duffer knows that though it was hotter than Find All the Best Garage Sale Action every week in — The 4d-Vertiser 56 East 300 South, Moab, Utah or visit our website at www.moabadvertiser.com, print out the list of treasures and you're all set for a day of excitement and adventure! CAN.Y ON VOYAGES ADVENTURE (2 ceTeeSe Stop by for your - SECRET PLACES DECODER RING Kilroy WAS [- Here Serena Supplee’s eu “Canyons of Color" at the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Blanding Utah through May 30th For more information call 435.678.2238. This exhibit is made possible through a partnership grant from the Utah Humanities Council 211 N. Main St. Moab, Utah 435.259.6007 800.733.6007 WWW/. C wv FJ oS com |