Skull Valley

Last week I wanted to get out with Charlotte again. I decided to take a drive out to Skull Valley since I had never been and then visit the cemetery at Iosepa (pronounced yo-say-pa). To read a short historical description click here. So we headed out. We took a little longer way driving through Grantsville out to I80. We got to see the buffalo out there too. I should've taken a pic. So once we get off the exit to Skull Valley I see some signs. I had to get pics because it was just too funny. Here they are:
The first was for Iosepa, the second for the many cows seen out there, then the speed limit, then (my favorite) a nuclear dumping sign. My picture wasn't super clear but you can still read it. It's like, yeah, I was thinking about dumping my high level nuclear waste out here but looks like I need a permit first.... really? Duh. Is that seriously a problem? Who just has high level nuclear waste laying around? Weird.

So we saw a lot of cows just roaming around. Some walked in the road in front of us including this guy

Then as were driving I see this rock just kind of out there and I wondered if we could climb it. So when I saw the turn off for Lone Rock I took it. Probably a little too bumpy and I almost got stuck in some mud. But it was really pretty. With the way some of the rocks and flowers were it almost reminded me of a Lord of the Rings type thing. It was really pretty. Charlotte loved climbing on the rocks. We didn't try climbing Lone Rock itself. It just didn't look like I could do it with Charlotte but we still had fun wandering around.

Then we hopped back in the car to find Iosepa. It was a few more miles down the road and you had to take this dirt road to go back to it. Luckily they have some signs otherwise I'd be so lost. There is hardly anything out here!

I wasn't really sure what was going to be here but I discovered there were some memorial markers and it was basically a cemetery. Some are from the 2000s. Just a handful. But a lot were children from the late 1800s when the Hawaiians settled this area. So sad. Neat history though. It's such a small cemetery but there are a lot of graves there. The red rock one is from a still born that was just a few years ago.

These are some of the markers that have been placed there. Hopefully you can read some of them.

So after Iosepa I continued south. I kinda had an idea where I was going but not positive. So we're driving along and all of a sudden there are signs telling me I'm about to enter a military base. Yeah I got scared. I was like ok, where the heck am I? I had never been out there and had no idea there was something out there. I guess that's what Dugway is. I didn't know that then. So I'm all paranoid and then I see this other road coming off at a funny angle so I turn around. There was this building before the gate too. I think its a church building but it didn't looked maintained very well. The roof was having some issues so not sure but it had a gate around it. So then I take this road. I knew there was a road that would take me back to highway 36 (which takes me into Tooele) and it ran east to west but I didn't think there were any roads that went through mountain ranges and the one I was on either did or ended at the mountains. So I just kept heading east. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to go back the other way because I only had like a quarter tank and just thought it'd be pushing it. So I kept on and lo and behold the road I was on is a remnant of the Lincoln Highway which you can read about here. So we took it through the mountains and found this marker and a sign marking Fisher pass named after the guy that conceived the Lincoln Highway idea. It's a neat drive through the Stansbury Mtns and even saw some picnic areas and a stream. Might need to go here during the summer some time. So finally I end up in Rush Valley (had never been there or seen it so now I know where that is too!). I was able to connect to the 36 and make it home.

It was quite the adventure and I was a little nervous not knowing the area and fearing I'd get lost on the Indian Reservation but I didn't. Their no trespassing signs and what not are not very welcoming. But I had fun. I'd like to take the Lincoln Highway again too. I think there is another place there in Skull Valley to see off the highway. Hopefully this summer I can get around to it all in Tooele County.