When I’m Old and Wise

As far as my eyes can see
There are Shadows approaching me
And to those I left behind
I wanted you to Know
You’ve always shared my deepest thoughts
You follow where I go

And oh when I’m old and wise
Bitter words mean little to me
Autumn Winds will blow right through me
And someday in the mist of time
When they asked me if I knew you
I’d smile and say you were a friend of mine
And the sadness would be Lifted from my eyes
Oh when I’m old and wise

As far as my Eyes can see
There are shadows surrounding me
And to those I leave behind
I want you all to know
You’ve always Shared my darkest hours
I’ll miss you when I go.

~Alan Parson’s Project,  Old and Wise

 

Fantasy Canyon, Utah

Fantasy Canyon is a Bureau of Land Management-managed area located about 27 miles (43 km) south of Vernal, in Uintah County, Utah. Even though the area is only about 10 acres (40,000 m2) in size, it contains some of the most unusual geologic features in the world. The site was officially documented by early explorer and paleontologist Earl Douglass, who recorded the area by other names such as “The Devil’s Playground” and “Hades Pit.” He published photographs of this area in a 1909 publication called “The Columbian Magazine.”

The rocks of Fantasy Canyon, quartzose sandstones, were deposited during the Eocene Epoch. They date from around 38 to 50 million years ago. During the geologic period, the Uinta Basin was occupied by a large lake called Lake Uinta. The lake extended 120 miles (190 km) west to Heber City, 30 miles (48 km) east to Rangely, Colorado, south to the Book Cliff Divide, north to the Uinta Mountains, and was about a half mile deep.

Fantasy Canyon is along the east shore of what was once Lake Uinta, where the sediments eroded from the surrounding high lands. Sediments were deposited and the once loose sands, silts, and clays were forged into sandstone and shale. Because of different rates of weathering, the more durable sandstone remained while the more easily weathered siltstone and shale washed away, yielding this spectacular scenery. Today’s geologic formations of Fantasy Canyon will eventually give way to weather and then topple and erode into sand, but new formations will appear as the topsoil washes away. Because the delicate formations are so fragile the area is referred to as “Nature’s China Shop.”

There are black ribbons of coal-like material along the small washes on the trail or as horizontal stripes in the rocks. This magnetic material is called magnetite (iron oxide).

There are inch-wide, black-colored, subvertical, northwest-southeast trending gilsonite dikes that have intruded the rocks at Fantasy Canyon. Gilsonite, named after U.S. Marshall Samuel H. Gilson, is a type of asphaltite – solidified hydrocarbons. Gilsonite was discovered in the early 1860s. Starting in the mid-1880s, Gilson promoted the material as a waterproof coating for wooden pilings, as an insulation for wire cable, and as a unique varnish.

The Eocene-aged Uinta Formation is fossiliferous. It contains widely scattered bones, mostly mammals, which roamed the Basin during the Eocene. Fossilized turtle shells are visible in the area.

Cottonwood Paper Mill

The Cottonwood Paper Mill is an old abandoned stone structure located at the mouth of the Big Cottonwood Canyon in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. It is located at the intersection of Wasatch and Fort Union Boulevard. (6900 Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd) and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is also known as the Granite Paper Mill.

The Cottonwood Paper Mill was built in 1883 by the Deseret News. Workers used paper making equipment brought in from the old Sugar House Paper Mill to grind logs from nearby canyons into pulp. Rags that were gathered from old clothes were also used to produce the pulp, which was then placed into molds and dried. When it was still in operation, the Cottonwood Paper Mill could produce up to five tons of paper per day.

The Old Cottonwood Paper Mill was in operation for about 10 years. The completion of the railroad made paper much cheaper to obtain, though, and in 1892, the mill was sold to Granite Paper Mills Company. On April 1, 1893, a fire broke out inside the building. There was a huge stockpile of paper that fed the fire and, many who heard the alarm though it to be an April Fool’s Day joke and so did not respond appropriately. The Old Mill was thus destroyed, leaving only a stone skeleton.
In 1927, the building was partially rebuilt for use as an open-air dance hall, known as The Old Mill Club. It remained until the 1940′s. In the 1970′s and 1980′s, the structure was used as a haunted house as well as a craft boutique. In 1966, it was declared an historic site by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. It was officially condemned by the city of Cottonwood Heights in 2005. In 2006, a newspaper interview indicated that there were no future plans for development for the old structure.
Ghosts and the Paranormal at The Old Mill | Cottonwood Paper Mill in Salt Lake City, Utah:
According to one report, two squatters and their dog were killed in a fire at The Old Mill in Salt Lake City. The ghosts of these entities is said to thus, haunt the premises.
Visitors to the Cottonwood Paper Mill have reported cold spots, strange growling sounds, and strong feelings of uneasiness. Some have reported seeing light coming from inside the building, even though there is no electricity to The Old Mill. Electrical equipment failures and battery draining have allegedly been seen.

Tower

Broken windows

Insignia

Tower

Back North side

Back stairwell satanic graffiti

Western border wall

Main structure

Many No Trespassing Signs

Icy puddles.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers Plaque

I spent about a half hour at the site.  There are very visibly posted No Trespassing signs and two layers of fences to get to the structure. Unfortunately I was unable to get past the second fence.  I think it is important to go in and photograph the building before it totally crumbles to the ground so am reaching out for that request.  Until then, these photos of the grand structure will have to suffice.

Marshes

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.

~Walt Whitman

Two Roads Diverged in a Wood, and I

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Winter Twilight

“It is the quietening of the day that most appeals.”
~Fennel Hudson

 

Photo taken at Sandy Urban Fishery, South Jordan, Utah