Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-06-22
INITIAL TRIP; MON
UMENTAL HIGHWA
Report of the Initial Trip Over the
Monumental Highway.

(By Dolph Andrus, driver of the
Maxwell Roadster that made the pio-
neer Journey
Before starting on the real trip
would like to give a brief sketch Of
the different situations that brought
about the desire to make this trip a
cross a "hoodoo" wilderness and thus
connect up in a chain the best scenery
of the west.
| grew up in the southwestern corn
er of this State (Utah) and early
became familiar with its many points
of scenic interest. Two years ago !
accepted the principalship offered me
by the public schools of Bluff, San
Juan county. | thus became a%cquaint-
ed with the wonderful scenery held by
the opposite corner Of this state. All
that lay between the two corners was
a mystery. From the vague reports
that leaked through | was satisfied
that it was a wonderland. | vas soon
to get a chance to view the little
known.
In August of last summer, D. d.
Rust of Kanab, Utah, arrived in Bluff
with a party of New York tourists.
They had come by pack train from
the Grand Canyon across the wonder
land. They loudly voiced their praises
of what they had seen. They went so
far as to say that in all their travels
) in foreign lands they had seen moth
ing to equal it. The tourists boarded
an automobile for the railroad and
Rust prepared to return to Kanab
with empty saddles. / limited for an
! invitation to return with him; the
/ hint fell on fertile soil and sprang
; into a warm invitation that ended in
my returning with him.
, The entire trip was full of sur
prises and was full of interest from
|, start to finish. From the time we
: crossed the wash of Bluff and started
down the San Juan River until we
halted under the Vermillion Cliffs of
Kanab there interviewed not a single
dull moment. The eye had more than
it could do to keep tab or the swiftly
changing panorama that passed be-
fore us as we logged along the trail.
The scenes Of that trip and the
mystery of the wild wonderland went
:. through me like chain lightning ana
burned out everything except a single
g idea; the solitary idea that stood out
I was that a car could be driven across
there and the wilderness be opened
for the adventurous automobile tour
: list. In the trail of the venturesome
e motorist would come Federal aid and
a great national highway would con-
meet up with the National Parks of
. Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
! From then on / began to keep
watch of the different situations and
| found that my little scheme amount
ed to nothing. | discovered that forces
y were at work that would bring the
highway about sooner or later in spite
of anything any individual could do
or say. Tourists were coming To
" Mesa Verda Park in southwestern
Colorado by the thousands; a few
came to Bluff and went to the natural
bridges in White Canyon; wealthy
eastern tourists were coming to John
Wetherill at Kayenta to be taken by
pack train to the Great Rainbow
Bridge; the Grand Canyon was the
Mecca for all western tourists and
was being approached from both
sides; Little Zion was to be opened
in the spring. A glance could te!
" one that o someone would jumy
the gaps and then the thing wouIt
be on with a sweep.
In December Of 1916, II. Stanley
Heinrich, Chief of the field division
u. S. Land office, came down to visit
the three natural bridges in Whit,
IS Canyon. He brought with him, DR.
is w. II. Hopkins and o. c. Hansen Of
II Salt Lake City. ! found that they
h. were making inquiries about the same
proposition that / was interested in
IF After a brief consultation it wa
agreed that | should take the part!
or over the route on their return iron
er the bridges.
On their return from the bridg'
trip, letters We're awaiting the Chic
which urged his early return to Sal
la Lake. However, he consented to e