Just to get to the start of the canyon was a 35 mile drive from our campground. So the total drive is 88 miles but it was worth it. The road is known for all of the pictographs along the canyon walls all along the drive. It is also claimed to be the world's longest art gallery. This canyon was a passage for the native tribes to migrate with the weather changes and was used for thousands of years. Even though many if not most of the pictographs have deteriorated over time, destroyed by rock walls falling, or from very stupid people who have defaced them, there were so many we could not have seen them all in one day. Some are low to the ground while others are high on the canyon wall that would involve a difficult climb to reach. Just as we reached the start of the canyon, we had a cow roadblock. It cleared quickly. Cows are nowhere near as stubborn as buffalo. The state has produced several mile marker based guides that are very descriptive and helpful. Locations are marked to the tenth of a mile and the road has mile posts all along the way. There are pictures of all sorts like bears, bighorn sheep, horses, buffalo, coyotes, deer, owls, snakes, turtles, insects or aliens (it is hard to tell which), and people hunting. We also found some of the counting patterns. Some people think they were counting trips, others the number in the tribe, and some just think they were decoration. No one really knows. Of course, selfish idiots sometimes feel the need to destroy and leave their own names behind. I only took one picture of vandalism. The drive was spectacular. It really is driving at the bottom of a canyon. You have to plan your bathroom breaks because there are only two locations with pit toilets along the entire canyon.
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We visited Helper which is just a few miles up the road from the campground. Helper is an interesting town. Its name comes from being a location for trains, lots and lots of trains. They have a huge rail yard right next to town. The “helper” is from being a staging location for engines that “help” trains over the nearby mountain ranges. The town is also known for having several coal mines. A huge amount of coal was dug out from this area. This area was known for having people from all over the world come to work. At one time, there were 27 known languages spoken. Along with that many people comes certain “entertainment” businesses… in this case brothels. There are several “historical” buildings around and a display of mining equipment. The local museum was great. It was a former hotel (and part Brothel). The rooms were dedicated to different areas of the history of the town. Dinosaur tracks Old newspaper ads. Wow! Hats and shoes Old household items. Trains Coal mining The local history post office, dentist, hospital, ... The robbery by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Yep! They robbed the train office of $7,000 in Gold. Of course, one room was still setup for “entertainment”. Today we move and it was strange looking out at wind turbines head on. They are down in the bottom of the canyon. We will be staying at the Blue Cut RV Park between Helper and Price Utah. We do have a great view from the RV.
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November 2023
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