Three States

We traveled in three states yesterday. Our first stop was at the nearby Maverick fuel station to fill our tank. The utility trailer ahead of us had this sign posted on the back doors.

Getting underway, it was only just a few miles down the road to cross over the state line into Utah again.

We were surprised to realize we'd be driving through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We traveled through this area many years ago...maybe 20 years ago...and then again a few years back. On our first trip, it had yet to be designated a national monument. On our second trip through, it was a national monument, but there were no visitor centers. We decided to stop here.

Even though this was our third visit, it was my first chance to obtain a refrigerator magnet. No shot glasses...bummer.

And then we got on our way and just enjoyed the scenery. I don't have a lot to say about these pictures, and so I'll just let you look.

How'd you like to live out here with these incredible red cliffs as your backdrop?

Eventually, we passed through the town of Kanab. We've stayed here twice before.

On this trip, I inquired of The Google to see what I could learn about this town. Here's what I learned:

[T]he town was founded in 1870 when 10 Mormon families moved into the area. Named for a Paiute word meaning "place of the willows," Fort Kanab was built on the east bank of Kanab Creek in 1864 for offensive operations against the original inhabitants of the area and as a base for the exploration....

Kanab is situated in the "Grand Circle" area, centrally located among Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim), Zion National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and Lake Powell. Other nearby attractions include Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the privately owned Moqui Cave, and the largest animal sanctuary in the United States, Best Friends Animal Society.

Referring to Kanab's proximity to the many spectacular rock formations, a welcome sign to the town calls it "The Greatest Earth on Show." Locals refer to Kanab as "Little Hollywood" due to its history as a filming location for many movies and television series....

Kanab has had its share of controversy, which I won't go into. However, this one gave me a chuckle:

In June 2008, Kanab's city council voted to prohibit the wearing of bikinis and men's swim briefs at the city's new swimming pool. The ban was rescinded within a month.

Sheesh. Welcome to the 21st century.

Okay, and so a few more miles down the road, we crossed the state line back into Arizona again. 

There wasn't much to say about this area. However, when we reached Colorado City, I had to look it up.

If you're familiar with the name Warren Jeffs, then be advised that Colorado City is where he did a lot of his dirty work. I won't go into the whole sordid affair, but you can read more about Warren Jeffs at the link I've given you. And if you want to know how his brand of mischief influenced Colorado City, you can read more about it right here.

Just a few miles down the road, we crossed back into the state of Utah again.

Eventually, we passed through the town of Hurricane.

Here's what I learned about Hurricane:

Hurricane is known for its historic peach and pecan orchards, open space, and green fields. [It] was first settled in 1896 and received its name after a whirlwind blew the top off a buggy in which Erastus Snow was riding. Snow exclaimed, "Well, that was a Hurricane. We'll name this 'Hurricane Hill'."

Hurricane, which is pronounced "Her-ah-kun" by local residents.... The community was settled as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints's (LDS Church) President Brigham Young's "Cotton Mission", intended to establish the southern end of Utah for agricultural purposes. The town once operated a large peach and apricot orchard for the LDS Church and is historically known for small farms of peaches, pecans, and pistachio nuts.

As we passed through town, I noticed this "historic wayside." 

Trying to gain a little more information about what made this "historic," I checked in again with The Google. I couldn't find anything I was certain referred to this spot, but you can read more about Hurricane City Parks right here. It seems to be a place that honors the original settlers, a canal they built, and a historic jailhouse, but I wasn't able to sort it all out. Maybe you'll have better luck.

With barely any distance from Hurricane, we passed through La Verkin, Utah.

Here's what I learned about La Verkin:

Theories about the origin of the city's name suggest that it may be a corruption of the Spanish la virgen, after the nearby Virgin River, or possibly an error in the transcription of the term "beaver skin." The city made national headlines in 2001 when the City Council passed an ordinance declaring La Verkin a "United Nations-free zone".

Okay, then.

We still had some distance to drive, but eventually crossed the state line into Nevada. We'll be in Nevada for the next three days. No more of this back and forth between states. 

The first place we passed through was Panaca. 

It was founded as a Mormon colony in 1864. It began as part of Washington County, Utah, but the congressional redrawing of boundaries in 1866 shifted Panaca into Nevada. It is the only community in Nevada to be "dry" (forbidding the sale of alcoholic beverages), and the only community in Nevada, besides Boulder City, that prohibits gambling.

From there, we were approaching our final destination of Caliente.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we've stayed here before when we wanted to visit nearby Cathedral Gorge State Park. Caliente has it's own history. If you missed my link from before, here's the post I wrote on a previous visit. For such a small place, it has a lot of history.

Okay, and we arrived early enough in the evening to have some time to relax. The laundry was open and empty, and so I took an opportunity to wash another load of socks and underwear. It'll mean less to do when we get home. 

Today we'll head on down the dusty trail to Goldfield, Nevada. I'm a little confused about what we'll see there. Goldfield is just a little north of Death Valley National Park. On our last visit to Death Valley, we visited the Goldfield Open Air Museum where there is an interesting art installation. You can read my post about that right here. So I'm not sure what we'll find at the RV park, but I'm assuming it's unrelated to the "museum." Time will tell. 

Speaking of time, it's time for me to start getting ready and buttoning things up to go. We have three more days of driving ahead of us, and still a long way to go. But right now...pancakes. It's a good way to start a new week.