Travels with Twinkles: Price, Helper and Nine mile Canyon, Utah

July 13 - 16, 2022:

I arrive in Price, Utah about 1 PM and stop on Main Street to take a look around. There are several attractive old buildings of interest such as the Crown Theater, the Price Theater, the Silver Dollar Restaurant and a couple nice murals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page,_Arizona

Price main Street view

I love the weird figures on the facade

The Crown Theater

The Silver Dollar next door

I then continue on six miles to Helper, Utah where the Main Street shows much improvement, many new shops with an artistic element and considerable restoration of original buildings. Helper was settled in 1881 by Teancum Pratt and his two wives and many children. There is a totally restored 1950’s vintage gas station equipped with all period shop equipment, near total perfection. There is a very cool vibe about downtown Helper, something that Moab is totally missing. I roam around taking far too many phots as normal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helper,_Utah

Big John, the statue

The history

Lots of art shops in Helper

Also theaters that are aren't currently functional

Great signs are abundant, see more below

Helper City was loaded with mechanical treasures

The Main Street

Restored service shop

Helper lights up at night

On day 2, I’m off to the Prehistoric Museum in Price, it’s an excellent museum on area geology, paleontology and indigenous American cultures.

Coal is everywhere here

Many dinosaur remains also

Very interesting when facial features are added

Fremont painted animal skin

I then spend about an hour at the library and then drive back to Helper to go to the Helper Western Mining and Railroad Museum which is quite amazing with about 40 rooms of historical artifacts, but focused mostly on local area mining towns, the Railroad and Helper’s fascinating history and the multi ethnic (27 languages were spoken) mine workers. This area is rich in coal and is surrounded by several coal mines who were the primary employer. The job market drew people of many European countries here for a way to improve their lives. The railroad also came for the coal business and it was necessary to couple a second engine to the coal trains to get up Soldier Hill, thus the town became known as Helper. The railroad back in the days of the Steam Engine was a division point which also employed many workers. The advent of the Diesel Engine after WW2 was a game changer, greatly reducing maintenace and eliminating many division points such as Helper. The railroad still operates in Helper but at a much smaller level, as most of the mines are now closed and with todays modern engines a helper engine is no longer required.

Mormon Teancum Pratt settled Helper with his two wives in the 1880's

Immigrants were the life blood of this town

Many languages spoken

Photojournalist Dorothea Lange spent time in Helper

Nice photo platform

The boy, name unknown, has become a poster boy

Mother Jones was here for miners rights

Madam Babe took care of people in a different way, but effective

I then walk around the downtown again when the garage doors are open and a man invites me in to look around and gives me a tour. This building in incredible inside, it’s a museum actually with an old 1940’s GMC pickup truck, a 1930’s Ford woodside wagon, two sixties Corvettes, several other cars and then a showroom area with dozens of classic motorcycles along with a basement filled with parts. The man tells me it’s his brothers stuff, but he knows it intimately, obviously they work together. The immaculately restored gas station previously mentioned is also theirs. His brother is also working on an even older gas station in another area of town which will be totally restored as well.

At the museum, I learned that the post office has an original WPA mural inside, so that’s my next stop, I’m now starting to love this town.

Post Office

On Day 3, I do a road tour through the Nine Mile Canyon, (that’s what they call it), something to do with the John Wesley Powell expedition, but it’s actually more like 45 miles to see the all the featured Fremont rock art sites. The ride through this canyon alone is worth the time, it is spectacular with incredible views in all directions. The Fremont people, are quite a mystery, their name is based on their geographic proximity to the Fremont River, which was named for US explorer John Fremont, no one knows what the Fremont people actually called themselves. What is known is that they heavily populated this canyon area, and many areas of Utah for about a thousand years before they disappeared in the 1300’s. The most believed theory on why they left was climate change and possibly the intrusion on their home land by other aggressive tribes. (History always repeats itself) The Fremont remains have been looted heavily and little remains except for their impressive rock art petroglyphs which puzzle us today.

Perhaps a thousand years from now, people from another galaxy will look at our civilizations ruins and wonder about us ? I have become slightly addicted to this stuff, yes I’m taking far too many photos with mostly the same figures and shapes. I know it seems a little goofy, but when I walk along these rock walls, I feel like I’m walking in a sacred place with my feet standing on the same rocks they stood on a thousand years ago. There are several special rock art panels here that have received considerably attention such as the Great Hunt panel and the Owl Panel. As I approached the Great Hunt panel, a Big Horn Sheep was standing nearby, he saw me, stopped and starred, almost as if he was guarding it, then slowly moved away. It was a bit of a spiritual moment.

A nice grove of Aspen trees

Towering rock walls are everywhere

The panel with the Owls in very special

The Great Hunt art panel

Coyote placing the stars

On my return to Price, I have a lousy pizza at an uninspired restaurant about ready to close at 8 PM, the service pleasant but rushed, they brought my check before I even finished the meal, it seems to be the norm here. I then went to Helper to see how the town looks at night as they have several old signs and lights strung on buildings. It gives the town a more colorful frontier it, it like it. I then went into the one bar in Helper, which doesn’t require a food purchase, unusual in Utah. It appears to be an original bar, a very limited beer selection, served in a plastic cup with two pool tables and about two customers. One of the customers took a look at me and came right over, I suppose to see if I was a kindred spirit. He turned out to be a real character who worked for many years as a roadie for rock bands, traveled everywhere it seems and got to hang out with many notable musicians. He had a particularly interesting story on a relationship between himself and Sheryl Crow which ended badly. He was pleased though that he suspected one of her songs was about him. After this crazy interesting lifestyle, I kind of wondered why he is in Helper, Utah or if any of this true ?

On day 4, I return to Helper for a walk on the town park foot path that runs along the Price Creek. It has a number of signs giving some history of surrounding mining towns, most of which are now ghost towns. Afterwards I go to Marsha's Sammich Shop & Bakery for lunch, probably my best lunch on this trip, real sliced turkey on real homemade bread with cheese and a big glass of real ice tea.

Price Creek

I then drive further north on route 6 up the big hill and over Soldier Summit, I had to see this notable hill. Near the top they have a pullout with several monuments honoring the the area mines and the miners and several mine disasters. I turn around at the top then take an exit part way down for the Bristlecone Camp Road where I drove the winding road to the top of the mountain. There were some good views looking down into the canyon along the road and a few picnic tables at the top, but nothing else of interest.