Things to do in Duchesne - and Midway

The last time we went to Duchesne, we were disgusted with the whole trip - we even got a flat tire. This time, I had to work in town, so I took Janene along for the ride. I can't believe that she didn't turn me down flat. We found a few things to do in town. We went to Al's Grocery and made ourselves a couple of salads and picked up a couple of pieces of barbecue chicken. " We sell a lot of this and it's really good" had been the recommendation. It's probably the best BBQ chicken in town, by default since there is no other chicken in town. We went to a park and sat down with our lunch. To our surprise we were picnicking on the very spot where Father Escalante had camped in 1776. While the Founding Fathers were sweltering in muggy Philadelphia heat, the Spaniards had a better idea - Let's go to Duchesne and meet up with Joaquin, our trusty Ute guide. Duchesne is such a happening place". I guess there is a reason we don't speak Spanish.

After we chased a blue pigeon around a bridge over the Duchesne River, ( this pigeon would not get out of the road even when big oil trucks came rattling down the road), we headed for home. The first historical marker we came to celebrated that same crazy Spaniard. It seems that Fr. Escalante must have wandered around at the bottom of Starvation Reservoir for a while. I can just hear his guide telling him " Get used to disappointment, Senor". We drove to Strawberry Pinnacles and drove several miles past it before we realized we had. That was memorable enough that I don't think we will do that again.

When we got to Heber City, we found out that we were there during Swiss Days. "Gosh, Honey, we have to go to Swiss Days!" We did. We won't be doing that for another ten years. We did get a snow cone out of the whole experience. Next, we headed up Snake Creek Canyon past our property to the area by the big white cliffs at the top. We found an area of twisted quakies that was kind of weird, and climbed to the top of a ridge.

We had a great view of the whole Heber Valley and heard a bunch of wild turkeys ( is it a flock, a gaggle, or what?). We never saw them, though, so, to the sound of Janene making turkey noises and pulling on the loose skin under her chin, we headed down the hill to Midway for dinner. Tarahumara Restaurant - it's the best!
In the end, we did get a couple of pictures of two homes that were built by my great great grandfather, John Watkins. ( there could be another great in there) This one was one he built for himself.

The other is this one he built for George Bonner and his wife. Both homes are landmarks in the Heber Valley. As you look around town, it's not hard to find other homes he built, some for others and some for other wives. If he could see Midway now, he would probably be turning over in his grave. Every one of his homes is valued at over a million dollars today.