Rock Art, Outlaws and Brothels...
October 14-15, 2007

Enjoy some of Utah's most diverse scenery and cultures with an overnight tour of spectacular Carbon County. Located a short 123 miles from Salt Lake City, Carbon County is rich with prehistoric and historic sites.

Begin your tour with a scenic drive from Salt lake City to Helper, Utah. This winding route follows the original Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad through Spanish Fork Canyon to the 7,740-foot summit of Soldier Summit and then down past the sheer rock walls of Price Canyon before ending at the historic railroad yards of Helper. A short 6-mile drive takes you to Price, the base camp for this trip back in time.

From Price, a guided tour will take you to Nine Mile Canyon. Called the "World's Longest Art Gallery", Nine Mile Canyon is a treasure trove of prehistoric rock art left behind between 1,000 and 8,000 years ago. In the 40-mile long canyon, not only will you see scores of rock art panels, but you will also hike to village sites, see granaries, and historic ranches. After a pleasant lunch and some hiking you will return to Price and get ready for dinner at one of the most unusual places you have ever eaten.

Historic Helper Main Street is a National Historic District. Founded iin 1881 as a division point for the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, Helper gets its name from the "helper" engines that were needed for the steep climb up to Soldier Summit. Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch roamed the streets and over 27 different ethnic groups called Helper home. Unlike the typical Utah town, Helper was rough and rowdy with 44 bars and saloons lining its streets and brothels that stayed in business until the 1970s. In 2006 True West Magazine named Helper, Utah as one of the Top 10 True Western Towns in the Untied States. In 2007, they named Helper as the #1 True Western Town in the United States.

An authentic Old West style barbeque awaits you at Helper. Dinner will be served up in the Carbon Hotel, Helper's most famous brothel. After dinner you will tour the Carbon Hotel that is currently being restored to its original grandeur. The building houses the Matt Warner Chapter of the fraternal E. Clampus Vitus who will host us for dinner.

After the tour of the brothel, join us for and informative tour through the Western Mining & Railroad Museum. Named one of the best historic museum's in America and housed in a hotel built in 1913, the Western Mining & Railroad Museum has 4 floors of artifacts detailing the railroading, coal mining and immigrant past of Utah. After your tours you will retire to your comfortable hotel room in Price.

The next morning after a continental breakfast you will receive a guided tour of the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum. The CEU Museum is a world-class facility that features real dinosaur bone skeletons, an 11,500-year-old Columbian Mammoth and artifacts from the 1,000-year-old Fremont culture. Following your tour, you will depart for Salt Lake City and arrive at your hotels in plenty of time to relax and prepare for your opening sessions.

Maximum occupancy is 30 particpants, minimum number of 10 participants.

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