It's Day 114....It's also August 28, 2019......and we are in Duchesne Utah

It's Day 114....It's also August 28, 2019......and we are in Duchesne Utah

Decided to hang out in Rangely for a few more days....that place is just to fun if your thing is exploring wide open wilderness! Hard to leave! But....with some work scheduled on he Rig back in Tacoma......it was time to hit the road again. This time....drove through Vernal and continued west a bit before turning north...making sure we saw different scenery. At one point...saw a sign that said Skinwalker Ranch....hmmm.....needed to check that out.

Why would a ranch be called "Skinwalker?"

Interesting place to read about. If paranormal activity is your thing....you may already have heard of this 500 or so acres in the Uintah basin of Utah. Also known as the Sherman Ranch, this spot has been the site of numerous documented encounters with sightings that have yet to be explained by modern science....or so they say... Ranging from UFO sightings, Mysterious Creatures passing through what appear to be time portals and even Cattle Mutilations....seemingly done with surgical precision so as to indicate that these incidents did not occur at the hands of nature.....to Poltergeist Activity, Crop Circles, Orbs and Strange lights and Shadow People....as referred to by native Americans in the area...all of this....has drawn a ton of attention to the area over the years.

So here's an outline of the story....as I've read it....The ranch was established in the 1930's by Kenneth and Edith Myers. The Myers actually lived on and worked the ranch for decades with no unusual activity reported...at least publicly...so It's left to history, and I guess... known only by the Myers as to whether or not odd things took place and they kept it to themselves.....Or was it truly the quiet ranch life it appeared to have been for them. Edith Meyers would leave the ranch in the 80's after the passing of her husband Kenneth.......the ranch would sit vacant for 7 years or more before being sold to the Shermans. The reasons for Ediths departure...and why the ranch sat empty for so long....just ads to the speculation around the Ranch. That said....as time goes on and deeper investigations take place....there are reports out there that claim the Meyers did have conversations with neighbors and local authorities about odd things happening around them on the ranch. Reports of such activity in the Uintah basin can be traced back to the 50's 60's and 70's in which local authorities were contacted in relation to unexplained sightings and happenings in the area. There is even one line of thought out there that claims a belief that the US Military has used the remote area for decades to test advanced military equipment that the general public has no knowledge of.

Once the Shermans had purchased the ranch and moved in....unusual activity began to be reported, and documented nearly immediately...ramping up public awareness to the area. The unexplained nature of the UFO sightings, crop circles, huge wolflike creatures disappearing into the woods... and cattle mutilation would make the Shermans stay on the ranch relatively short. In 1996 the Shermans sold the ranch to a Real Estate professional named Robert Bigelow, His personal interest in the paranormal....would lead to him setting up the National Institute for Discovery Science to study the paranormal claims associated with the property. In 2016 the ranch would change hands again when it was purchased by a real estate company named Adamantium.

The reporting's throughout the 90's would lead to the ranch being called Skinwalker Ranch....which is a native American term referring to a shape shifting creature said to have roamed the area according to Navajo legend dating back centuries. The Ute tribe in the area have their own beliefs in reference to the land as well...they simply believe it to be cursed, and more importantly..... to be avoided.

As I said...Interesting to read about, and regardless of your personal belief's, it becomes evident quickly that odd things have happened in the area. Skeptics say that monetization is at the core of the folklore....can you say "bigfoot"...and it is indeed true that books have been written about the area....movies made....and as recently as the 2000's documentaries have been published..., and even a History Channel series has been produced and currently airs. Two things appear to be fact....strange creatures and activity are documented dating back centuries in local native American folklore....these people saw something....but were they things that modern day science could explain? It appears it hasn't yet. The other fact...to date....this 500 acre ranch in Utah is ranked as the most scientifically studied area on the planet. Admittedly....I've watched only a portion of the History channel series....but suffice it to say that it will be left to your own interpretation as to how "Scientific" some of these studies actually are?

For perspective....or even just perhaps to see how our society today can take most anything and turn it into a monetized form of entertainment....heres a look at the trailer for the upcoming season of the History Channel Series....Secrets of the Skinwalker Ranch....

(insert trailer)

Admittedly.....I might have gotten sucked into this for a bit longer than necessary.....but once you have read that an area has been dubbed UFO Alley.....and you read a quote from a local filmmaker stating "you can't throw a rock in this part of Utah without hitting someone that has been abducted".....it's hard to put it down. hehe....guess I can see how a few unexplained shadows in the night....or lights reflecting off a mountain ridge could result in the History Channel paying some unknown millions for a series in which the cast members reportedly make 5K per episode? It might also explain why a 500 acre ranch in Utah that sold for less than 200k in the 90s....could fetch some 4.5 million during the last change in ownership. Capitalism? Or Paranormal? and what's the difference really....both can get pretty far out there and nutty when imagination is applied!

Our drive through the area on an August afternoon was just that...an enjoyable drive through the wide open spaces of Utah's Uintah Basin.....no strange orbs glowing in the sky....no shapeshifting creatures emerging from time portals allowing us a peek into another dimension.....no glowing mountaintops ... no unexplained cattle mutilations....nuthin......hmmmph...of course....most of these things happen in the dark...sooooo....maybe next time?

$ $ Heading north, It was mid afternoon when we came upon a scenic overlook just outside Duchesne Utah alongside the Strawberry Reservoir. Didn't really plan on spending the night when we stopped....but after a long walk with the boys and a bunch of photo's...figured why not? With Strawberry lake just below us....a great place to cook up some dinner....enjoy the views while reading about the area....and waking up to the scenery around here is pretty cool too.....plus....I had to learn about this name...Duchesne? It looks like Duchesne on the sign....but when hearing folks pronounce it Dushane?? I wanted to dig in a bit more and learn about how this name became a part of Utah.

The history of this little piece of Utah digs deep into the 1700's...1776 is a year we all know well....the year of our Declaration of Independance...it also happens to be the same year that a Spanish missionary expedition would discover the area we now call Duchesne Utah. Their goal at the time was to find an overland route from Santa Fe New Mexico, to their Roman Catholic mission in Monterey, on the coast of what is now central California. This group of missionaries worked with the Ute tribes of the area exploring and documenting many unexplored portions of the American west. In the end...the harsh and unforgiving lands would force them to return to Santa Fe ....never reaching California via this route. But the maps and documentation produced by this expedition were significant for future travelers and quickly became the template for the Old Spanish Trail...which nearly immediately....become a dominant trade route from Santa Fe to Pacific Coast Settlements. A journal kept by Escalante, a member of the expedition, is one of the best known documents describing the western regions of the United States....and the indigenous people that inhabited it at the time.

The area would remain under the control of the Ute Indians for over a century with the trade industry flourishing in the area.

Things would begin to shift in the region, as western expansion continued in the US. During the late 19th, and early 20th century the United States government would begin to exert more influence over the area, in particular, after the passage of the allotment Act in the late 1800's which opened the region up to homesteading dramatically increasing settlement activity in the area. The area would enter a period of extreme turmoil during the 1850's and 60's as did many parts of the country. For Utah....the conflicts would escalate as settlement activity continued to encroach on their lands....and the US government would begin executing forced relocation of native Americans off of their lands in more desirable areas of the state....and into much harsher and rugged terrains like the Uinta Basin. Names like The Blackhawk War....and the Walker War come up in history leading to conflicts that lasted years. As I read through all this I began to paint an image in my mind...an image of the United States during the 1800's....conflicts with Native Americans all across the west....and lets not forget that for four years in the middle of all this....The US was also at war with itself....The Civil War. You begin to see the image of a young country literally on fire....wars in nearly every region of the country...regardless of the conflict...both sides fighting to the death....literally...dyeing to protect what they believed was right. If I didn't fully understand the significance of what happened here before....I think I do now.

A trading post would be established in what is now called Duchesne in late 1905 and would mark the beginning of the end.....of the transition from Native American Lands to that of pioneer settlements, setting the stage for future growth.

And growth would indeed be in the areas future. Early prosperity would be found in farming, and ranching... which would continue through the discovery of oil in the area.... that opened a new era of growth and opportunity.

The name Duchesne was first given to the river that runs through the area in the 1820's by French Fur Trappers. The name is believed to honor Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne, a Catholic nun known for her missionary work.

The settlement of Duchesne City is unique in Utah history because it did not occur under the direction of Brigham Young or the Mormon church....I didn't even know that was a thing.....but some reading would tell me that Instead, it was settled by individuals who obtained land under the Homestead Act. The town would go through a couple of names...first settled as Dora....in honor of an early settlers daughter. For a brief period it would be known as Theodore, in honor of president Theodore Roosevelt. Eventually, it would be renamed again to avoid confusion with the nearby town of Roosevelt....this time, the county, and the town would be named Duchesne, after the river running through it.

The High Uinta's Primitive Area, situated in the northern portion of the county, is known for its beautiful alpine forests and lakes. Duchesne is also the gateway to the Uinta Basin and is bordered by major rivers, and streams like the Strawberry, Duchesne, Lake Fork, and Yellowstone.

The Strawberry Reservoir we woke up gazing over this morning has an interesting history of it's own. Spanning nearly 11 miles and covering over 17000 acres, the lake is among Utah's largest freshwater lakes. Interestingly, if you remove lakes that cross state borders... Strawberry Reservoir is the states second largest freshwater lake, behind Utah Lake. What's interesting is that The soldier dam, which creates the strawberry reservoir, contains an aqueduct system that diverts some of the lakes volume back into tributaries that ultimately feed Utah lake...contributing to that lakes water volume and size. An impressive example of man's ingenuity when it comes to relocating water sources from one area to another....bringing life to high desert regions like this one.

The name Strawberry dates back to the early explorations of the region....likely in reference to the abundance of wild Strawberries in the area. The Strawberry river, the name we know it as today...was originally named on maps as "El Rio de Santa Catarina de Sena" by the Spanish expedition documented as the first European missionaries to explore the area. This name reflects the historical practice of Spanish explorers naming geographical features after saints and religious figures during the expeditions. Santa Catarina de Sena, or Saint Catherine of Siena, was a prominent Catholic saint and philosopher of the era making the name fitting for the time.

The river would later be called the Uintah River by the Fremont People, as well as the Ute Indians.....Uinta is a Ute word which loosely translated means pine tree...or pine forest. Ultimately the river would be renamed Strawberry River lending it's name to the surrounding valley....as well as the reservoir itself upon completion of the Strawberry dam.

Another interesting part is that The original Strawberry Dam was completed in 1913 on the Strawberry River, about 24 miles east of Heber City. This would be an earth fill dam and the reservoir began to fill as dam construction started in 1911. The first irrigation water began to flow...a couple years later... 1915. Starting around 1945, non-game fish, specifically chubs, were illegally introduced into Strawberry lake, and by 1960, they made up 90% of the fish in the reservoir. The reservoir was treated with a poison in 1961 to kill the chubs, but they were reintroduced ...and by the mid 80's they would again make up over 90% of the lakes fish population. These "chubs" referred to are indeed native to the area's freshwaters streams, rivers and lakes. The challenge is that in large bodies of water, they quickly overpopulate causing an imbalance in the lakes ecosystem by impairing the population of other species of fish.

Broader, more effective efforts would be implemented when the Soldier Creek Dam was installed in 1974 to increase the the lakes capture area and over all size....thus increasing irrigation opportunities through the hot dry summers. Upon this dam's completion, the Strawberry Dam was breached increasing the size of the reservoir, nearly doubling it to it's current 17 thousand acres or so.

In 1990, Strawberry Reservoir was again treated with rotenone, the poison used to kill off the chub population...this time, it would be the largest of such treatments ever implemented, in the world. Rotenone is actually a naturally occurring chemical when extracted from the roots of certain tropical plants. It's used pretty universally to control specific aquatic species with no effect on other forms of wildlife...or humans. Even still....it's use it carefully monitored when administered.

After this treatment, biologists would introduce Bonneville cutthroat trout, a voracious chub predator...which has proven extremely effective in controlling the chub numbers and revitalizing the fishery.

So much so...that in 2006 the Reservoir would be the recipient of the American Fishing Society's outstanding sport fish development, and restoration project of the year award.

Today, Strawberry Reservoir is Utah's most popular fishery, receiving over 1.5 million angling hours annually. It's part of the Blue Ribbon Fisheries program and is known for its trout, including sterilized rainbow trout, Bear Lake cutthroat trout, kokanee salmon, and crayfish. This being the second lake in the area we have visited listed as a Blue Ribbon Fishery....I had to go look up what that was.

A Blue Ribbon fishery is a designation made in the United States by government and other authorities to identify recreational fisheries of extremely high quality. Official Blue Ribbon status is generally based on a set of established criteria which typically addresses things like....

Water Quality and Quantity

Water Accessibility

Natural Reproduction Capacity

Angling Pressure

And...Specific Species

I didn't see any information around how many Blue Ribbon fisheries exist in the country....seems that criteria can vary by state .... but I did see that the status has only been awarded to bodies of water in a handful of states. Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Wisconson, Wyoming...and of course Utah. That said...it seems that the more you ask....the more confusing it gets. In Colorado, for example....there are several bodies of water that hold a designation very similiar to Blue Ribbon Fishery...however....in that state,they are called Gold Medal Waters. My guess is that under whatever name....you can likely find great fishing just about anywhere in these United States.

Having known none of this before sitting along side the Strawberry Reservior, in Duchesne Utah....and learning of the challenges ..... I came to appreciate the complexities involved in managing a large, man made body of water....and it appears these challenges are even greater when that body of water was created in the middle of the arid high deserts of the western US.

Tomorrow.....we'll drive northwest again.....Leaving behind us....Utahs most popular fishery.....an understanding of how man has continued to learn and get better at harnessing the power of water.....another experience of sitting in the middle of a land that was once entrenched in war.....and maybe even a few ufo's and shapeshifting creatures.....

Whats in front of us? I dunno.....but I wonder what we'll learn there?