Being so heavily involved with the Boulder Heritage Foundation, you are continually focused on the history of this area. One of our recent interests have been to learn more about the old roads that came in to Boulder. Because of the inaccessibility of this place, every road that was ever created becomes an amazing feat. We have now traveled the Haymaker Bench Road, the Claude V Cut-off, and today we scouted the Old Creamery Road. Each road is so interesting with it's cuts into sandstone cliffs with scary drop-offs and sand pits that must have buried wagon wheels. We are like detectives looking for scrapes on sandstone and sandstone made smooth by numerous wagon trips. We've had a little help from someone who has previously cairned much of the trip but today we totally lost the road in sand. We wandered across the sand looking for a cairn or anything that looked like the road. We finally followed a dirt road, now closed, and found the old Lollipop Tree which was a marker for the direction and the connection to the next part of the road. After standing for at least one hundred years, this tree finally fell down this year. Part of the pine stump stands about 10 feet in the air but the lollipop top now lies on the ground so it won't be a trail marker anymore. It was fun to find this tree that I have heard of all my life even if it was lying down now. We did follow the road once again to the Escalante River bottoms directly across from where the road we traveled last week up the Haymaker Bench. It is incredible to think of traveling on these roads in a wagon.
I have been worried that you would be discouraged with the world not finding you over in your corner of the blog world and leaving comments. Bloggers are very hard pressed now days. Blogging has lost its novelty for a lot of them and they only post every 4 months or so. But I say blogging is better than keeping journals with no one to read. I meditated last night and asked your mother how our mother and dad were doing. She said they were still insane, that is could not speak to people in civil voices for very long or refrain from snarling or saying some dreadful thing, so when that happens she takes them back to the asylum. This led to Doc and I making a video on insanity on this side, as I have somehow become his keeper and when I allow him out for a Halloween party for example thinking he would be taken as a freak, he insults so many people I have to send him to his room before he bites somebody or is hit in the face by another almost as insane freak as he is he insulted, so it did not appear her life is much different than mine. Oh, back to those wonderful old roads. I bet your mother took old dad along with you on horseback and he thoroughly enjoyed the outing finding those old roads!
ReplyDeleteI always find satisfaction hearing about some part of the country I haven't seen or been on..or for that matter, about a part I know.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying your treks. This is a different lollipop tree that is the top of the Death Hollow trail, isn't it? This is Jerry Roundy's! Glad to know there is two. Post some of your great pictures.
I have found the roads into Boulder quite fascinating. Just observing the changes during my time of life has been remarakable. When I first moved to Boulder the mountain and the Escalante road were both dirt. I was positivily thrilled when I first went around Boulder mountain on black top. I could only reminice about all of the harrowing experiences on that road. Good entry Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteMe again. Isn't this the place where cream was stored out of the sun? There IS two lollipop trees. This picture gave me a different perspective. I loved the one in Little Death Hollow.. What did you name the new arch?
ReplyDeleteThis is a picture of the place they stored the cream until it was picked up by someone and taken to a dairy near Widstoe. I thought it was only fitting to name it Cheryl's Arch since there is already a Steven's Arch.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I can live in Boulder vicariously through you this winter. Blogging is like journaling with an audience--it really sharpens your prose writing--great, so far, I'm looking forward to the continual read, (no pressure). I hope I can eventually 'branch out' and do some of the hikes that you and Steve have done. We are truly blessed with that place...
ReplyDelete