Simpson Springs is a former Pony Express Station in the Great Salt Lake Desert of northern Utah. The Pony Express, was an express mail system that operated for a year and a half between 1860 and 1861. It reduced the time required to deliver mail from the East to West Coast to 10 days. However the endeavor quickly proved unprofitable, and was rapidly replaced by the telegraph, which could deliver messages across the continental United States almost immediately.
In the 1930’s and early 40’s Simpson Springs was used as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. The current building on the site, which is a replica of what was originally built by the Pony Express, was constructed in 1975.
A view of Split Mountain in Dinosaur National Monument during a summer storm as sunset approaches. Split Mountain is a sharp meander, carved out of the surrounding desert landscape by the Green River, a tributary of the mighty Colorado River. The Green River originates in the Wind River Mountain Range in southeastern Wyoming to the north. Dinosaur National Monument as the name suggests is a world renowned locality for dinosaur fossils, with nearly 800 paleontological sites located in the park. It is known for the Allosaurus, Deinonychus, and Abydosaurus dinosaurs.
Dinosaur National Monument is located on the Utah/Colorado border.
A winter view of Mt. Timpanogos from the backside, near Sundance and the Alpine Loop. Both Sundance and the Alpine Loop can be reached from either Provo Canyon to the south, or American Fork Canyon to the North. Heber, Utah sits directly east of here, across several foothills of the Wasatch mountains.
Mt Timpanogos is an 11,752 ft peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range that rises above the surrounding Utah and Heber Valleys. Even though the shortest hike to its summit is more than 14 miles, it is one of the most hiked mountain peaks in the Rocky Mountains. The two primary trails to it summit are from Aspen Grove via Provo Canyon and the Alpine Loop near Sundance Resort, and the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon.
The mountain derives its name from a native american tribe that inhabited the area around the mountain at the time of the arrival of Mormon pioneers in Utah.
In addition to being a designated wilderness area, the mountain also hosts a national monument near its base, that was setup to protect beautiful cave system discovered by various individuals between 1887 and 1921.
It has been said that the mountain resembles a sleeping indian princess, and that its a legend that came from local tribes, but its more likely the tale as its known today came from Eugene Lusk “Timp” Roberts, a professor at Brigham Young University, who was trying to promote the mountain to the world. Roberts was also the creator of an annual one day hike that attracted thousands of people between 1911 and 1970. The hiking event was ultimately cancelled due to the damage done being to the mountain over the years.
