OCR Text |
Show WAP OF rsfATff i SCENIC "-it U 1 TOUR fium t0Gt KANMf V I I tWOUXH I I I ",L I National Parks. Drama Festival Will Add Interest to Southern Utah Tour (Editor's Note. This Is another In a series of "See Utah" articles designed de-signed to better acquaint Utahns with their state. The stories have been prepared by the Utah Tourist Tour-ist and Publicity Council. Each week a different sector of the state will be featured.) Cool mountain greenery, a Shakespearean Festival In Cedar City and tours of two national parks and a national monument are things you and your family can enjoy In the heat of midsummer. mid-summer. The suggested tour begins at the town of Beaver, verdant little city on U.S. 91 In the valley between be-tween the Mineral Mountains and Tu.har Plateau (commonly called Beaver Mountains). Traveling south, you will pass through another pioneer community, commu-nity, Parowan, first permanent settlement in southern Utah, founded by the Mormons in 1851. t Cedar City, the next town on the tour, is the largest city and "commercial capital" of southern Utah, located beneath the Mark-agunt Mark-agunt Plateau and Cedar Breaks National Monument. There are many fine tourist accommodations accommoda-tions In Cedar City as several major highways intersect here. Beginning July 2 and continuing continu-ing to July 14. students at the College of Southern Utah and local lo-cal townspeople will stage the first annual Shakespearean Festival Fes-tival in an outdoor theater at CSU. Three different plays wrlttin by the famous 16th Century English Eng-lish dramatist will be presented Monday through Saturday, In the two week period, beginning each night at 8:30. The repertoire of the well-rehearsed cast will consist of 'The Merchant of Venice," "Hamlet," and "The Taming of the Shrew." By staying In Cedar City three days you can see all three of these plays on consecutive nights, adding pleasing variety to your tour. Suggest Cedar Breaks Stop , A stop at Cedar Breaks Nation-.al Nation-.al Monument will give you the thrill of seeing one of nature's most colorful spectacles . . . the vast, multi-hued ampitheater which the Indians of yesteryear named "circle of -painted -cliffs." The alpine country which surrounds sur-rounds Cedar Breaks affords spectacular spec-tacular views and Is lush with cool, green mountain meadows, parks, streams and lakes where large trout wait for the angler's lure. From Cedar Breaks you can continue across the plateau via Panguitch Lake or retrace your steps to Highway 14 and continue contin-ue your Journey via Navajo Lake. Both drives are scenic and cool. Both traverse sections of Dixje National Forest with picnic areas and campgrounds along the way. The town of Panguitch on the Sevier River is the county seat of Garfield County, named after an Indian word meaning "big fish." Tourist facilities in Panguitch and nearby Hatch are excellent and give travelers an ideal Jumping Jump-ing off place to Bryce Canyon National Park. There are also excellent ex-cellent motel, lodge and camping facilities at Bryce. Temperatures at this time of the year at Bryce are pleasant, and you can travel over the famous fa-mous rim road, called "the most colorful 20 miles in the world," and rightly so because from Its vistas you can look out over the fantastic formations of nature in a riot of colors. Ordenrille on Highway 89 On Highway 89 you may want to stop at Orderville, once the location of the "United Order," a bold Mormon experiment In communal living. The tour continues to Kanab. the movie colony of southern Utah . . . the home of movie stars on location for western films on nearby desert country. If you wish you can continue on Highway High-way 89 to Page, Ariz., and the construction site of Glen Canyon Dam, one of the world's largest dams now being built. The hour and one-half drive is well worth it and the U. S. Bureau Bu-reau of Reclamation which Is building the dam provides guides to tell tourists all about the big project. From Kanab to Zion National Park is a short, pleasant drive. At Zion you will see some of the most beautiful scenery In the world, equally as Impressive as Bryce. The tour continues to St. George, colorful settlement In southwestern tip of Utah . . . once the winter home f Brlgham Young and known affectionately by local persons as the capital of "Utah's Dixie." St. George has great historical interest. The gleaming white Mormon Temple Is located here, and in addition to the winter home of Brigham Young, two notable no-table museums and many other historic sites and monuments are in St. George. In nearby Santa Clara is the ruck home built by Jacob Hamhlin, famous frontiersman frontiers-man and peacemaker with the Indians. You have a choice in traveling north from St. George. The most direct route Is via Interstate Highway High-way 15 to Cedar City. The other, however, while longer and cir-cuitious, cir-cuitious, takes in a broad sweep of interesting points. Including Dixie State Park, the old ghost town of Ironton and the Pine Valley Mountains. One Interesting thing to look ford on Interstate Highway 15, near the little town of New Harmony, Har-mony, is the famous Kolob Fingers Fin-gers of Zion Canyon, formed by the tributaries of the Virgin River which carved Zion. |