Our Backyard
Our Backyard is a new regional travel magazine published monthly during the summer. With a backyard as spectacular as Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, there’s no shortage of fabulous sights to see or fun things to do.
Making History with Prehistory
Price history has a habit of making notable discoveries; River runner history flows through river museum
Basecamp: Ouray
These hiking trails are easily accessed from town
Cove Fort protects Utah's pioneer spirit
Cove Fort’s appearance is deceiving.
With its thick, 18-foot walls, gun ports and gate doors built to absorb arrows and bullets, the fort looks as if it withstood countless attacks from Wild West marauders.
Not so. Though the fort offered protection, there was only one incident of “gun play” in the 20-plus years that Ira Hinckley and his family lived there.
In 1867 Brigham Young asked Hinckley to establish a fort near Cove Creek in what was then a territory and what is now western Utah. Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wanted to establish outposts roughly 30 miles apart. This distance was about the mileage that horses pulling a loaded wagon could make in a day.
Though Hinckley had no experience in surveying, engineering or building, he accepted the request without hesitation, left his family in Coalville and relied on his faith to see the endeavor through.
In about a year his family joined him. They then became hosts for more than two decades to a constant stream of travelers coming from both north and south once a day. Travelers were happy to not only find beds for the night, but well-chosen books, hearty meals and lively conversation around the dinner table.
“Our supper was excellent. I marveled at such dainties in that inhospitable spot,” one guest noted.
Sister Vitkauskas, a tour guide at the fort, said that cost of lodging was $1 a night for three square meals and a bed, though not necessarily a bed all to one’s self.
The fort has 12 rooms arranged around a square courtyard. Three grand black locusts, planted in 1868 and now about 30 feet tall, stand sentry there.
The gate doors are 14-feet square and hollow. They were built hollow so that straw could be stuffed into them to impede bullets or arrows. The fort’s walls are made of limestone and rock from a volcano that is visible in the distance.
The fort’s telegraph still taps. Its message: “Hello, Cove Fort.”
“News of the West throbbed over the lines into the telegraph office. It was magic watching the dots and dashes turn into words,” said Ira, one of the Hinckley sons, in a 14-minute video that visitors may view in the cabin that the family had in Coalville but now is part of the historic site’s attractions.
Besides touring the Hinckley cabin and the telegraph room, visitors may inspect the wash room, the kitchen and dining area, the post office and bedrooms for family members and guests. The guest bedrooms include one chamber set aside for visiting dignitaries such as Young or territorial officials. In the back are the barn and the blacksmith building.
The washroom demonstrates pioneer recycling. Blue and white striped mattress ticks (still on display) were used as long as possible. When the ticks began to show signs of wear, they were converted to pants. When the pants wore out, they were cut into strips and made into rugs. (Visitors can still view a barn loom for this process.) When the rugs wore out, they were burned. Their ashes were added to fat to make soap.
The rooms all contain numerous authentic furnishings and artifacts from that age. Not on display, though, is the pistol that two of the Hinckley boys found. What ensued would be the only episode of gun trouble at the fort; Edward accidentally shot Ira in the knee. “Father walked the floor all night with me to ease the pain,” Ira said in the video.
As times changed, church leaders decided there was no longer a need for the fort. In 1890 the structure was leased out and the family moved north to Fillmore. After the turn of the century, the fort was sold.
“I’ll always remember those days at Cove Fort,” Ira said, adding that it was a place for safety and rest run by men and women of refinement.
The Hinckley family bought the fort back in 1988 and gave it to their church as a historic site. It was dedicated in May 1994.
“It is our hope that Cove Fort will serve as a modern way station – not as a shelter from physical fatigue or protection from the elements,” said Elder Stephen Nadauld, one of the speakers at the dedication.
“Rather, we hope it will serve as a spiritual way station where we can be reminded of the faith of our forefathers, where we can refresh our sense of sacrifice and obedience and our dedication to duty, where we can be reminded of the values of work, provident living, self-sufficiency and family unity.”
High on Utah
Beat the heat in the rarified air of the Tusher Range and Markagunt Plateau
Lunkers Lurking
Record brown, rainbow and kokanee common in Flaming Gorge Reservoir
The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam
Bliss on a true dream stream
Dazed by Durango
It's a mountain town, a river town, a desert town, a college town and a lot of fun
California Dreamin'
Forget the beach, this Sierra Nevada trip is packed with natural wonders
Back in Time of the Durango-Silverton Line
Some of Colorado's finest scenery visible to train passengers
Cedar City
Culture al fresco and classic natural beauty
Flaming Gorge is a real hot spot
Surrounding Ashley National Forest makes this an outdoor paradise
Museum of Western Colorado
Stay home and be a time traveler this summer
Music in the Mountains
June's music scene: Somewhere 'between the real and sublime'
South Shale Ridge
Nearby but out of this world
CarCare
Keep your cool, check your aid conditioner
Tours welcome at Palisade organic CSA Cameron Place
The Cameron Place in Palisade is the Grand Valley’s sole organic CSA farm and another proponent of a growing agri-tourism industry.
A Sustainable Life
The Living Farm in Paonia, Colo., offers tours and tips for a better way of life
Valley of Fire
Minutes from Vegas, lightyears from the strip
Terrific Tucson and the Sensational Sonoran Desert
Tucson, Ariz., residents sometimes refer to their city as Old Pueblo, but there really isn’t much that is old in this sprawling, fast growing and often glitzy town.
Rifle Rendezvous returns May 14-16
The Rifle Rendezvous Festival returns May 14 -16 with a few new twists but the same old focus on Western heritage.
Festival promoters this year are aiming at a return to a local community focus.
“We’re trying to take it back to what it originally was back 12 or 13 years ago,” said Brook Loving, who is spearheading this year’s organizational effort. A big part of that is involving local clubs and the Rifle High School athletic department.
The weekend festival kicks off Friday at the Garfield County Fairgrounds with Rifle High School Athletes sponsoring a dunk tank. From 6 to 8 p.m. food will be available in the form of “BBQ Hamburgers ‘n’ More.”
The carnival opens on Friday and will continue throughout the weekend. On display will be rock crawlers, 4x4s and snowmobiles showcased by local clubs. In the Indoor Arena will be various exhibitors and vendor booths. Like the carnival, the vendors and exhibitors will be open throughout the weekend.
Action starts Saturday with the Rockin’ Little Wranglers Ranch for the youngsters. The annual Outhouse Race begins at 11 a.m. This outrageous event pits local teams who have built and will race outhouses. Registration and rules for the race can be obtained online.
A strong musical line-up begins at noon with Dan Sheridan. Sheridan’s performance will be followed by Leo LaBranche, Jimmy Dykann, Tonoee Jones and Nashville recording artist Jenna Zablocki. Zablocki will headline the musical line-up and finish just prior to the Bullwars bull riding competition at 7:30 p.m.
The Bullwars competition will be this season’s first competition on the summer Bullwars riding circuit.
Meanwhile on Saturday over at the Rifle Skate Park will be a variety of BMX and skate contests and exhibitions.
Saturday’s special exhibits will include race cars and motorcycles from local clubs.
The action winds down on Sunday morning with the annual Cowboy Food and Fellowship breakfast that will include gospel music, fellowship and testimonials. Vendor booths, exhibits and the carnival will continue throughout the day.
