Hanksville Area

My childhood home of Hanksville, Utah is a small remote country community surrounded by a unique environment.  The town was a settlement of early pioneers and is nestled in the desert canyon area of Wayne County near the four-corner region of Southern Utah.  The community’s environmental seclusion, the town’s heritage of farming, cattle ranching, and mining offered valuable lessons during my childhood.  It offered me the serenity of a close family relationship, of pride in community service, respect for the beauty of nature, and respect for the value of hard work.

San Rafael Swell

2002

Robbers Roost

1978, 2002, 2010

Goblin Valley

2002, 2010

Hanksville

2002, 2010

 2018 - Poison Springs Trip

Capital Reef

2003, 2010

Henry Mountains

1968, 1970, 1978, 2002, 2018

Many changes to the region occurred during my youth.  I was, however, fortunate to live and experience the land and its beauty before the influence of commercialization of the Glenn Canyon, Lake Powell, Capitol Reef National Park, and Canyonlands National Park.  The small town and its environment were unique because I began my childhood before asphalt highways, before commercial utility poles dotted the landscape, and without the influence of television or even telephones.  Without those modern conveniences, our family spent a considerable amount of time together involved in outdoor activities.

My father was an avid outdoorsman.  I truly enjoyed learning the skills of fishing, hunting, trapping, camping, Dutch oven cooking, and exploring the vast canyon country of Southern Utah.

The basic economy of the area evolved around mining, farming, and ranching.  That trend changed during the years of my childhood by the construction of the Glenn Canyon Dam and the construction to provide access to the beautiful recreational area of Lake Powell.  That period of construction, building asphalt highways, power lines, telephone service, oil exploration, geological surveying, along with all the mining interests, influenced major decisions in my life to pursue a higher education in engineering and architectural drafting.

Due to the remoteness, along with a small population of some 80 residents, education in Hanksville was only offered at the grade school level.  Hanksville students usually boarded out with relatives to attend junior high and high school.  Towns nearest to Hanksville, Green River 54 miles to the north and Bicknell 72 miles to the west, were the usual options for boarding Hanksville children.  My uncle Ted and his wife Ion offered to have me live with them in Green River while I attended junior high and high school.

2010 - While making a trip to Lake Powell in June, we stayed the night in Price, Utah.  Before going on to Goblin Valley and Hanksville, we spend some time at the Price Museum.  Price is where Perry attended college at the College of Eastern Utah in 1966.