The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

PIPE SPRINGS, ARIZONA

Out on the dry, high elevation chaparral of Northern Arizona, along the road between Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon . . . a remnant of a bygone era . . . The Wild West . . . Pipe Springs National Monument.

My road trip took me along many wonderful roads.

Pipe Springs is established as a grasslands preservation area to reestablish the area as it was before settlers arrived in 1850.

In addition to very informative signage, there was also a fine visitors center.

A nice place for a walk to nowhere.

Pipe springs was established at a natural spring as a U.S. Army Calvary Fort, but it was also a self-sustaining farm to support the soldiers stationed there during 'The Indian Wars' in the region.

The National Monument still maintains a farm on site in the manner of the settlers and soldiers around 1850.  A very nice depiction of the living conditions and methods of the early Western settlers.

A nicely restored period blacksmith shop and tack house.

Beautiful stone construction.

It was a hot day near noon when we arrive . . . wonderful shadows on the orange stone tack house.

There were some beautiful antique wagons sitting about the grounds.  This buggy was fantastic.

The classic western covered wagon.

Can you imagine being one of the many thousands who crossed the breadth of America in one of these covered wagons.  The faith, hope, and fortitude they must have had!

One of the park staff dressed in period costume displaying the kind of textiles the pioneers there would have been making in the 1860s.

The real purpose of Pipe Springs was as a military fort to provide safety and security for settlers and ranchers during periods of 'Indian trouble.'

It looks very secure to me.  We did not go on the inside.

A very photogenic old door at Pipe Springs Fort.

This photo represents, for me,  the isolation of the fort within the vast western landscape.

Yep, the outhouse.

And so we left Pipe Springs to drive on toward the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Driving along Arizona Highway 389 trough beautiful mesa country . . .with sunflowers?

"Just another roadside attraction" . . . a "Wild West Souvenir Store" out along the highway with a cartoonish Wild West Town "Photograph You Family and Friends!" the sign said.  I didn't pay the US$5.oo, but instead took photos through the fence . . . duh!

There was a magnificent antique water wagon out back of the store . . . a reminder of the realities of trying to survive in such a dry climate a century-and-a-half ago.

The Western Store was trying to lure tourists from the UK apparently.

There was a fantastic clump of prickly pear cactus next to their fence.

"The fruit of prickly pears (Opunita), commonly called cactus fruit, cactus fig, Indian fig, nopales or tuna in Spanish, is edible, although it must be peeled carefully to remove the small spines on the outer skin before consumption. If the outer layer is not properly removed, glochids can be ingested, causing discomfort of the throat, lips, and tongue, as the small spines are easily lodged in the skin. Native Americans like the Tequesta would roll the fruit around in a suitable medium (e.g. grit) to "sand" off the glochids. Alternatively, rotating the fruit in the flame of a campfire or torch has been used to remove the glochids. Today, parthenocarpic (seedless) cultivars are also available. The seeds can be used for flour." ****

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COVE FORT, UTAH

One of the joys of a road trip in the USA are the highway signs announcing "Historic Site Next Right Exit. Fort Cove". So, you take the next right off of I-15.

"Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distinctive features is the use of volcanic rock in the construction of the walls, rather than the wood used in many mid-19th-century western forts. This difference in construction is the reason it is one of very few forts of this period still surviving." ***

A very nice recreation of an early pioneer cabin. 

There was a fine reproduction barn, nearly new.

The interior of the big barn had displays of period items, well, related to barns.

Fort Cove, Utah (Photo from Wikipedia)

The 1867 Fort Cove gate.

I was surprised by the verdant green, lush lawn in the fort's inner courtyard.  Imagine how wonderful this would have been to the soldiers posted here and the passing visitors in their covered wagons!

We went up the stairs to the roof of the fort for the view.

Behind the fort was the vegetable garden.

The garden path leading to displays of various Mormon settler shacks, sheds, and cabins that were trucked to the site and restored.

A superb scarecrow!

Then back out on the highway I-15 north . . . and an Allison Krauss and Willy Nelson concert in Bend, Oregon!!!