As a Kid they seemed much bigger. Dad use to tell that they would put hay on top of the rocks where the horses and cows couldn't reach it. Then they could have some hay for their camp animals when they were herding sheep.So they wouldn't have to let them graze. They also put grain there if they had it. It was kind of a community thing. If there was hay there, you could use it as long as it was replaced.
If you look close you can see the old road along the other side of this wash. This was called the dug way. Ray explained that the road was dug in the side of the hill which is why it was called a dug way. As we rode along we discussed how the Arizona strip was Dad's escape. When things got too much to handle he would make a trip to the strip. One occasion was after one of his kids was born. He had a big Doctor bill and no way to pay it. He took his team and went out on the strip. He came across a bunch of wood that a forest fire had burned through. He loaded a load on his wagon and took it to St. George. That was no small feat when you consider he had to cut the wood with a hand ax. There was a man who sold wood in St. George and Dad talked to him and he told Dad He would take all the wood he could bring him. That was Dads answer. That was during WW2 and the depression. Dad had a team of horses so he didn't qualify to get a job like many men did. His team was made up of miss matched horses because the government had taken any of the good horses that were around. Dad had a horse named Herman and a mare named Molly who had a club foot. He got a horse named Queenie we thought it was given to him. Queenie could not be tied up by her neck. She would rear back and break anything that was put on her neck. Dad thought he would break her of that so he tied her up with a chain. He was sick when she wore her neck raw trying to break the chain. But he discovered he could tie her up with a string if he just put it around her front foot.
On one trip with a load of wood. Dad was headed down this dug way. The hold backs broke which would normally mean a runaway but which ever horse he had (I thought Molly)(Ray thought Queenie). The horse put her rump against the wagon and held it back all the way down the dug way. Saving Dad's life.
We also remembered Jim Copley being taken out to the dug way, beat up close to death put in the seat of the old KDXU VW bus and with the throttle blocked open sent down the dug way. It was to make his death look like an accident. He did crash but wasn't killed. We didn't ever know what was going on. His story was he was an informant for the FBI. They put up a street light across from the house in St. George so they could watch our house and bugged our phone. The kids were not allowed to answer the phone or tell anyone anything about Jim.
This is the infamous Wolf hole. Anyone who hears about wolf hole thinks of a wolf's hole but it is really a valley. It use to have a corral and a store of sorts. The valley use to hold water and was a way station for people going and coming from the strip.
We visited the school house and took advantage of the restroom facilities. Beth asked does anyone need some hand sanitizer? Dawna was the only one that said yes then Beth announced she had M&M salad but you have to have hand sanitizer to have any. When the dust settled everyone was in line to get it. After a little salad we drove back the direction we had come maybe 1/4 mile went through a gate, climbed through a fence and headed out through the country.
At first you couldn't even tell we were headed to a house. That is how well it is hidden right in plain sight.
We found the old Jones home. It has been plastered but was originally made of Quaken aspen. They would drag them in and let the animals eat the bark off when they would. Then they would peel off the remaining bark, notch them and lay them together to make a log cabin of sorts. We could identify the house because of the windows.
Ray showed us the dugout where the Jones family lived when they first arrived. We marveled when we thought of a family of 7 or more living in it through the first winter. It was just behind the Jones home.
Here you can see some of the Descendants of Eddie Lee Jones standing in front of the Jones home. Dad helped built this house and we felt him close as we pictured Him with his dad building the roof and nailing on the home made shingles. Everyone that went was glad they were there. Even though it meant a quick trip and a long day.
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