Utah Stamp Series - #7 - Utah - "Our Home"
(Source: Nick Matej on Dribble.com)
Utah Stamp Series
Originally these stamps were created by madambutterfly1822 to serve as a stamp on the Utah Geotour Passport, back when the idea was that each cacher would go to the local county location to pick up their patch. That process was scrapped and changed to be online and via mail, so the stamps languished, until her son railroader921 thought we ought to do something with them, and I volunteered to place them as best as I could, so here we are! There will hopefully be 29 caches when all is said and done, so look out for others in your caching travels! Happy Hunting!
Scenery from Mount Timpanogos, located in Utah County. Mt. Nebo is actually a bit taller, but due to its location nearby the heavily populated portion of the Wasatch Front, Mount Timpanogos is more popular (source: Samuel Gonzalez)
#7 - Utah - "Our Home"
This stamp was originally meant for Utah County, named for the local Ute tribe that lived in the area. The county has always been a fertile land for agriculture and fishing. In 1776 Fathers Domingues and Escalante traveled through the area on their way to California. In 1849, Mormon settlers came to live in the area and choose the same fertile ground as the earlier Utes. Both fished for blue ribbon cutthroat trout in Utah Lake, but after the introduction of carp in 1880, the trout were overfished, and the carp, today considered a trash fish, left the lake inhospitable to trophy trout production. In recent years, efforts have been made to return the lake to its former glory, but this effort is ongoing.
In 1875 Brigham Young Academy was established as a High School academy but later grew into Brigham Young University (BYU). In 1941, Central Utah Vocational School was established in Provo. Over the years, it has changed locations and names, but today it is called Utah Valley University (UVU), and it serves over 30,000 students.
Each year Provo, the county seat, holds the annual "America's Freedom Festival", which is described as the “largest 4th of July celebration in the United States.” For something a little quieter one can find, tucked up in the Provo Canyon, the Sundance Resort, which provides year-round entertainment and recreation. The county helped host the 2002 Winter Olympics in Provo at the Peaks Ice Arena. Another memorable site in Utah County is Timpanogas Cave, a National Monument that is a well- paved, 2-hour hike up the Timpanogas Mountain. A visit to Utah County wouldn’t be complete without a reflective visit to the Springville Museum of Art. More recent developments in the area would be Thanksgiving Point with its movie theaters, enormous dinosaur museum, and so much more. There's obviously lots to enjoy in Utah County!
While Utah County is much more populated (and growing) than it was in years past, it still retains much of its original beauty (source: neighbor.com)
Geocache Description:
I have hiked a lot of areas around, and this site reminded me a lot of what the Native Americans / Early Anglo Explorers / Settlers must have seen when they first explored the Utah County region (like the image on the stamp, as you'll see). It is a beautiful site, and I think worthy of the honor. The road to this spot can be a bit troublesome, especially when it gets muddy, but in dry weather should be easy to handle.
Note that you'll want to bring your own stamp pad, if you want to make your mark.
Happy Hunting!