Day 29 Junction and Circleville



Piute Reservoir

Day 29, Friday, was my longest walking day so far. I Started out by Piute reservoir before sunrise. Soon the sun was up and coming through the aspens along the lake. The colors were spectacular. Before long I had made it to Junction, the county seat. There wasn’t much here but they have a beautiful new county building and they are currently building onto the high school. I didn’t talk to anyone all morning until I got to Circleville. Circleville is an interesting place. It was originally settled in 1864 but abandoned soon after in the midst of the Black Hawk War after being the scene of one of the worst episodes in Utah history. Most people don’t even know what happened here. Years later, Circleville was resettled by “Gentiles” and not long after, Mormon settlers moved back in.



Butch Cassidy's boyhood home



Two miles south of downtown Circleville is the boyhood home of Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy. He left Circleville in his teens to follow a life of crime, but the townsfolk here are proud of their connection with this bit of Western history, and his name and likeness can be seen on displays in local businesses and on storefronts. The house itself still stands. It is small – maybe 15 x 30, with flagstones near the middle of the plank floor where a stove once stood and a loft above which spanned the house on either side of the chimney. I could imagine a barefoot boy being sent into town on errands and I wondered what had happened in his life that led to the choices he made.



South of Circleville the road narrows as it winds through the canyon with the Sevier River running along the East side leaving little room for a road with a good shoulder. As cars approached I would have to press against the guardrail to stay out of the way. While walking through one of these narrow, winding passes, cars started pulling to a stop in the road to ask me what I was doing and see if I needed help. At one point I had three cars lined up. Folks were nice, but no donations.

It was a long day for me - 13 miles, but I have been walking through some amazing scenery and interesting history. So far the weather and the people have been kind.