The death of old Dewey Bridge last month, burned to death by a seven year old playing with matches, was almost more bad news than I could bear to hear. As one relic after another of the rural West’s past vanishes, this was one remnant I thought would survive. It was just a few years ago that Jennifer Speers, the millionaire with a soul, bought up the adjacent Dewy Bridge subdivision from a developer, plowed under the roads, dismantled the infrastructure and tore down a $600,000 home in order to restore the area to the way it had been.
It was a rare place of Hope. Now this. The fire triggered memories of my first visit to Dewey, more than 30 years ago.
I first heard about Dewey Bridge, believe it or not, from my mother. In 1973, I was still living in Kentucky, trying to scrape together enough money to come West again, if only for a month or so. The previous winter, I’d passed through Moab for the first time, on one of the coldest days in recorded history. With a can of flaming Sterno on the floorboard of my VW Squareback (the damn heater never worked), I stopped only long enough to gas up and then drove all the way to Grand Junction, where I used my dad’s Gulf Oil credit card for a warm bed at the Holiday Inn.
But I’d seen enough of this country to plan a return visit under better conditions. I’d hoped to leave in July for SE Utah, but my parents had booked a raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with their friends, Bill and Vera Parker, and they asked me if I’d stay at their farm and keep an eye on the place. In exchange, they offered to help me out with gas money when I came West in August.
When they arrived home, I was eager to hear of their adventures on the river, and they had plenty to tell. But the highlight of their trip, it seemed, had been a 50 mile drive down a Utah back road, a dusty unpaved, corrugated “highway,” designated State Route 128. And they told me of a one-lane suspension bridge, Dewey Bridge, that crossed the river 30 miles upstream from Moab.
Weeks later, when they came home to the farm, and my dog Muckluk and I prepared to leave, my mom gave me very careful directions—it was the first exit to Cisco, not the second, she insisted. Look for the dirt road on the left, a couple miles west of the town.
I followed her directions and, incredibly, they were accurate (my mother has never been known for her navigational skills). We passed through Cisco—there was one café still open then, Ethel’s I later learned, but didn’t stop. Just as my ma had predicted, I spotted the gravel and dirt road, Utah 128, and turned left toward the river. I saw no one. Not a car or motorhome. No trucks or RVs. No ATVs. Nothing.
We came to the river, my dog and I, and figured the bridge was just ahead, but it was late afternoon, so I pulled into a stand of cottonwoods to make a camp. I pitched my cheap little blue nylon tent, fed Muck, cooked some beans on my Coleman stove and walked over to the Colorado to eat. The river was low, but the current was swift. I saw a Great Blue Heron, heard other birds whose songs I could not identify. And I could hear the rustle of the leaves in the great cottonwoods above me.
Finally, as the canyon filled with shadows, I heard the whine of a motor, coming down the grade from Cisco. It was a pickup truck, a local rancher I guessed. He saw me and waved and kept going. I could hear his truck for a few minutes and then the silence returned.
That night was one of the happiest of my life. An evening of “quiet exaltation” as someone once said.
The next morning, I found the bridge, just where my mom said it would be. We stopped for a while, Muckluk jumped in the river for a swim so she could later smell up the upholstery on my car. It was a glorious morning.
I knew it would be the first of many visits to Dewey Bridge. It never occurred to me that any of this would change or disappear.
But in 1974, much of the gravel and dirt road from Cisco to Moab was paved, though the asphalt was rough and pitted, and the “improvements” were negligible. Even better, because Dewey Bridge was only one lane wide, barely eight feet, large vehicles could not get across it. It was one kind of discrimination I could live with and even applaud. For another decade the road from Moab to Cisco remained quiet.
In 1985, however, UDOT construction began on a new bridge, just down river from the old one. And a year later, when it opened, traffic on highway 128 increased dramatically. Further “improvements” have brought still more traffic. Sometimes it is downright congested. Still, it’s a beautiful drive and those discovering it for the first time will be awestruck. But they’ll never be able to understand just what it felt like on that summer night in 1973. I’m not even sure they’d care to.
Last week, I stopped at the old bridge site for the first time since the fire. I could still smell the ash. The parking lot adjacent to it is now a staging area for mountain bicyclists and on this day, about a hundred brightly clad participants were prepping themselves and their bikes for a ride over the Kokopelli Trail. I felt peculiarly out of place in my Wranglers and Redwings—as much of an anachronism as the old bridge once was. I walked to the south abutment. The fire had burned every sliver of wood; all that remains are the cables. I stood there for several minutes, almost paralyzed by the sight.
One of the bikers walked up to me and said, “Hey I hear they might rebuild it…It’ll be just like it was before.”
I looked at him, smiled, and went back to my car.
The Feb/Mar Z (click the cover)
Awesome article.
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you are utilizing?
I’m experiencing some small security issues with
my latest website and I’d like to find something more risk-free.
Do you have any suggestions?
bookmarked!!, I really like your site!
Sehr interessante Webseite mit vielen nützlichen Beiträgen. Danke für die Arbeit.
Hello there, You have done an excellent job.
I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends.
I am sure they will be benefited from this web site.
Hmm it appears like your site ate my first comment (it
was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote
and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but
I’m still new to everything. Do you have any recommendations for first-time blog writers?
I’d definitely appreciate it.
Команда ZaimHub рассказала о завершении
самого крупного обновления за всю
историю и запуске новой версии
финансового маркетплейса. Платформа работает
с 2017 года, и за это время она превратилась из
информационного каталога в современный
сервис, который даёт пользователям возможность быстро ориентироваться на рынке микрофинансовых организаций.
Новый этап развития стал наиболее масштабным за всю историю проекта
и затронул практически все основные
элементы сайта.
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog so i
came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to improve my website!I suppose its
ok to use some of your ideas!!
Команда ZaimHub сообщила, что масштабное обновление проекта завершено и представлена новая версия финансового маркетплейса.
Платформа ведёт свою историю с 2017 года, и за это время
ей удалось пройти путь от информационного
каталога до современного сервиса, который помогает пользователям быстро ориентироваться на рынке микрофинансовых организаций.
Новый этап развития стал крупнейшим за всю историю проекта и
охватил практически все ключевые элементы сайта.
Доступ к onion darknet сайту Mega Маркетплейс — через Tor
http://to.nnov.org/common/redir.php?https://wiki.reddcoin.com/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BA_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%82%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_darknet_%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82_Mega_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B7_VPN
I know this website provides quality dependent posts and extra stuff, is there any
other web page which presents these kinds of things in quality?
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after
I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m
not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say excellent blog!
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group?
There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content.
Please let me know. Cheers
It is the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.
I’ve read this put up and if I may I want to recommend you some interesting things or suggestions.
Perhaps you could write subsequent articles regarding this article.
I want to learn more things about it!
Nice blog right here! Also your website quite a bit up fast!
What web host are you the usage of? Can I get your affiliate hyperlink in your host?
I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
It’s enormous that you are getting ideas from this article as well
as from our argument made at this place.
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me.
Many thanks!
Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you
get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you stop
it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any support is very much appreciated.
Механическая прочность и износостойкость задают толщину плит.
I was recommended this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about
my difficulty. You are incredible! Thanks!
Because the admin of this web page is working,
no doubt very quickly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.
I needed to thank you for this great read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of
it. I’ve got you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…
That is really interesting, You are an overly professional blogger.
I have joined your rss feed and sit up for in the hunt for more of your great post.
Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am actually impressed to read all
at one place.
my page Crypto
I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This paragraph posted at this web page is truly nice.
What’s up, I log on to your new stuff daily. Your writing style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
It’s awesome to visit this site and reading the views of all mates
concerning this article, while I am also zealous of getting knowledge.
Stop by my blog post; MMA prediction
Thank you for another informative website. Where else may I get that type of information written in such an ideal method?
I’ve a venture that I’m just now running on, and I’ve been on the glance out
for such info.
Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.
Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with?
I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard
time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most
blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Those are the standards utilized in this COA transparency evaluation.
Your style is so unique compared to other folks I’ve read stuff from.
I appreciate you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this blog. https://lat-betano.com/retirar/
Почему пользователи выбирают площадку KRAKEN?
Маркетплейс KRAKEN заслужил доверие многочисленной аудитории благодаря сочетанию ключевых факторов.
Во-первых, это широкий и разнообразный ассортимент, представленный сотнями продавцов.
Во-вторых, интуитивно понятный интерфейс KRAKEN, который упрощает навигацию, поиск товаров и управление заказами даже для новых пользователей.
В-третьих, продуманная система безопасных транзакций, включающая механизмы разрешения споров (диспутов) и возможность использования условного депонирования, что
минимизирует риски для обеих сторон
сделки. На KRAKEN функциональность сочетается с внимательным отношением к
безопасности клиентов, что делает
процесс покупок более предсказуемым, защищенным и, как следствие,
популярным среди пользователей,
ценящих анонимность и надежность.
First off I would like to say awesome blog! I had a quick question that
I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you center
yourself and clear your head before writing. I’ve had difficulty
clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there.
I truly do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints?
Many thanks!
Someone necessarily assist to make significantly posts I would state.
This is the very first time I frequented your website page and up to now?
I surprised with the research you made to make this actual put
up extraordinary. Wonderful task!
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m certainly happy I stumbled upon it
and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back frequently!
https://casino-en-lignes-france.fr/
Really lots of terrific facts.
You are so awesome! I don’t believe I’ve truly read something like this before.
So great to find someone with some unique thoughts on this topic.
Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that is required on the web, someone with some originality!
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your
blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.
I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but great topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for great information I was looking for this info for my mission.
La possibilité de découvrir des stations internationales est un avantage intéressant des webradios.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site?
My website is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from some of the information you present here.
Please let me know if this okay with you. Regards!
Hi there to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more
from this website, and your views are pleasant for new users.
I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This type of clever work and exposure!
Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve you guys to my personal blogroll.
We stumbled over here different page and thought I may
as well check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you.
Look forward to exploring your web page again.
Hi! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way
of content so people could connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only having
1 or 2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?
hi!,I like your writing so a lot! proportion we
be in contact extra approximately your post on AOL? I require an expert on this space to resolve my problem.
May be that is you! Looking ahead to look you.
I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This paragraph posted
at this website is truly pleasant.
Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading
it, you will be a great author.I will remember to bookmark
your blog and will eventually come back down the road.
I want to encourage you continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!