On The Road to Sego Canyon and Back to Canyonlands National Park
/I am always up for a good adventure, so when my friend Ted Wulfers suggested on Facebook that we visit Sego Canyon, I didn’t have to think twice! Sego Canyon has rock art from three different Native American Cultures, a well preserved ghost town and remnants of a coal mine!
Driving through the canyon was an experience on its own. We were the ONLY car on the desolate road for the better part of our visit. When we stood quietly near the side of the road, looking in awe at what was left of the buildings in this ghost town, it was absolutely silent - a bird chirping here and there or a light gust of wind - otherwise eerily silent!
It was an adventure, wondering who these people were, and what happened to them. According to Climb-Utah.com, “A rancher named Harry Ballard discovered coal in the early 1890s. Ballard bought the land surrounding his find and started operations on a small scale. In 1911, he sold the mine to a group of Salt Lake City investors. Production started with grand plans for a long and prosperous run of coal production. The new owners built a store, a boarding house and other buildings all with their own water supply. Trouble started almost immediately when the water supply started to dry up. There were other problems as well, all of which contributed to little or no profit for the investors. On November 1,1947, the mine was closed and the property sold at auction.” We spent several hours exploring this fascinating piece of the past.
The second half of our day was spent revisiting Canyonlands National Park, this time taking a longer hike along the edge of White Rim Canyon! Even with sizzling temperatures in the upper 90s, the stunning scenery made this hike one of the best I’ve ever done.
Tomorrow we head to Zion National Park, our final destination. Can’t wait to see what we’ll discover!