Distant Views

Distant Views. . This vast scene holds many intriguing stories. If the land could speak, it would tell of pioneers and wagons crossing the wide Ralf River Valley from Strevell Pass to Emigrant Canyon bound for California in 1843-1882. The land would speak of stage coaches, racing from the transcontinental railroad station of Kelton, Utah to the City of Rocks stage station a few miles south of here. They carried supplies and payroll for gold miners in the Boise Basin, still a 15-day ride from here. , The land would also tell of a century past when the pinyon-juniper foothills below were more open, and the herbs and grassed sustained the livestock of emigrants, stage runners, cattle and sheep drives, and sellers. The sagebrush expanse before you was also dry-land farmed through the 1920s. , The hills speak of a northern pinyon pine forest invasion 2,700 years ago into present-day Idaho. Older still are the ancient Albion Mountains on which you stand, uplifted to expose a grant pluton from the most ancient days. This story is best revealed along the 1/4-mile self-guided geology trail that begins at the trailhead behind you. Come, let the land reveal its secret to you.