Torrey, Utah
This is a geologic feature of this small town which is 11 miles from Capitol Reef National Park.
Unique in its architecture, the locals have given it the name. It is fitting. You imagine sarcophagi in the shapes. If you stare for awhile, you begin to see faces, as if ancient spirits have been frozen in the rock, their afterlife secured for the ages.
We planned a stop here as, reading about it, it seemed like a good place to take a soak in the 102-114 degree mineral pools. The pools were indeed nice.
However, we were not expecting the weekend crowds we encountered and the popularity of tubing the Portneuf river that slides along the lava rock of the area. It was a zoo! Cathy did the 11 minute tube ride twice and had a blast.
Tube shuttle trucks endlessly move through town:
The river is busy:
Check the pile of tube rentals in the distance:
Our campground had a unique configuration and we were assigned a "showplace" site as if we were in an RV dealers' lot on display:
Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The sight of this noble earth and rock mass was a means for celebration to the early settlers moving west in the days of wagon trains. It as the sign that 2/3 of their journey was over. The Great Plains were behind them. The Old Oregon Trail they were on took them right through a gap in the bluffs.
Scott, the namesake, was a fur trader who was left behind by a group he had joined. Folks after him named it in his honor. He likely would have preferred another way to be remembered. Nonetheless, it is a very impressive sight. They allow hikers and bikers to ascend the road to the top prior to opening the road to traffic at 9 AM. We did that and it was great.
Chillicothe, Missouri is where a machine to slice bread was invented. Credit Otto Rohwedder who debuted the machine commercially in 1928. It is the town's claim to fame. Who knew?
We were close and decided to turn off our path for a brief visit to a covered bridge. These were built to preserve the wood structure from the elements well before the days of treated lumber. They also served to keep horses and livestock from getting spooked by a bridge as it appeared they were just entering a barn.
In St Joseph, Missouri there is a museum devoted to the Pony Express. St Joe was the launching point for this short lived wild communication service. Young riders would gallop full speed, changing horses along the way to get to Sacramento with about 20 pounds worth of mail. Letters cost $5 each to mail. Very expensive for 1860. The Express lasted 18 months but is a well glorified part of the expansion West in early America. The completion of a coast to coast telegraph system brought the Pony Express to it final ride.
Walt Disney spent a good part of his youth in this town and it had great influence. There is a museum there devoted to family memorabilia, mostly to do with Disneyland. The museum is housed in an old rail station which was where Walt first arrived as a 4 year old. He reportedly got off the train and remarked,
"This place feels special, I am going to like it here." Like it he did. He used the downtown as a model for his Main Street USA at Disneyland. He returned to town for a ceremony when he gave them an early Disneyland ride that was removed during some park remodeling. It was Autopia, the original motorized miniature car ride that was guided by a rail in the track but gave the impression to the kids that they were in control and driving. It was reassembled at a park in Marceline and delighted town children for many years. Gone now, it is the only ride ever to be removed from Disneyland and moved to another location.
