FINDING GRAFTON
To find Grafton, you will have to find the east end of Rockville which is just west of Springdale and Zion National Park! That should be as clear as mud! I am supposing you are heading TO Zion National Park, heading east through Rockville. Ok now, slow down... Rockville has a serious speed limit of 40 mph and a cop ready to enforce it!
Entering Rockville
Headed east on Highway 9. To the right is a beautiful horse farm and longhorn steers in the pasture!
Watch your speed here!
When you are almost at the end of town, look on the right for Bridge Road and a small brown sign that says Grafton. Turn right.
As soon as you cross the bridge you will meet a sharp right hand curve, follow it!
THE ROAD TO GRAFTON IS BEAUTIFUL!
There are signs along the way just follow them...
Hard to notice signs when your eyes are so distracted by the beauty surrounding you!
The rock formations are odd shaped and eye catchers. You will actually drive between these rock formations.
Almost as soon as you turn right you will cross a small bridge. If you look to your right, you will see the old bridge foundations that used to carry the pioneers to their homes.
Both the Schoolhouse/Church and adobe home have been restored.
If you saw the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"........ Paul Newman rode Kathern Ross on the handlebars of his bike in front of the old schoolhouse/church!
Radar exploring!
I loved the swing hanging from the tree of the Alonzo Russell home! Then I realized this was the family who lost their 14 year old daughter Loretta and her best friend, Elizabeth Woodbury from an "accident, swing broke as cause of death". They are listed on the cemetery page as buried together as best friends.
Can you imagine living like this... beautiful scenery all around you?
After you have finished exploring the town, you really should visit the cemetery! This is where the history of Grafton is told.
The best part of this journey? The ride back is just as pretty as the ride to Grafton!
We hope you think so too!
Reporting from the MotherShip, Geri, Chuck and the HoundHerd, Scotty, DoogieBowser and Radar.
PS: A good friend mentioned to me that my photographs may need to be downsized because they took a very long time for her to download. If you are experiencing the same problem, please let me know.
I thought I had downsized them enough, however it's certainly not fair to make you wait! Thank you!
Geri
We visited Grafton about this time, last year. Hard to imagine all the hardships those folks experienced. I found the cemetery the most fascinating. Reading the tombstones was really sobering. Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you and your Casita Group Tour got the chance to visit Grafton!
DeleteKelly & I generally always make it a point to find the cemeteries when visiting old ghost towns. Sometimes it is the only written history left of a place. Hopefully we will make it back up to the Zion area again sometime in the future & have us a more extensive look around at everything. Grafton would be a place of interest for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting piece of local history!
DeleteThe two girls that died from the "broke swing" were best friends and buried together.
I was there last year with Jerry and our Casita group. We even got pictures of a couple of the gals riding a bike in front of the old store. Not easy to find but was well worth it. Great pictures.'Thanks
ReplyDeleteI've been through Rockville several times but not to Grafton. Another new place to put on the Utah list. The renovations are very well done and I do remember the bike scene in front of the church/school house.
ReplyDeleteGrafton is worth a detour!
DeleteJust beautiful. . . . thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYour scenery pictures are just beautiful--so vivid.
ReplyDeletehttp://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com
Boy, what a great trip report you gave us today. I never heard of Grafton until today thank you.
ReplyDeleteGlad ya'll have enjoyed road tripping with is!
ReplyDeleteGeri, I was just in this area hiking, but did not make it to Grafton - may go back in the fall and will have a look. Your photos are outstanding, and I liked the history lesson. No problem loading them for me.
ReplyDeleteFall would be a good time to visit this area! Hope you get to see it!
DeleteWow, I feel like I've been to Grafton now! :-)
ReplyDeleteGrafton is just one of those out of the way places that gets missed in the trample of tourist feet to Zion National Park!
DeleteI loved this post on Grafton, jut the type of place I would like to see. Geri, your photos are wonderful, Utah is beautiful. As I think I said before our 2011 trip to Utah is what inspired us to buy the RV. We are just doing weekends in NM and southern CO this year, but I am chomping at the bit to get back to Utah. Keep up the posts so I can learn all about the wonderful places to go and see there.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed it Maribeth!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are just fine AND they loaded quickly.
ReplyDeleteYour friend who loves history, has a historic internet set-up ;)
Glad you found us Kris!
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