Max Bertola's southern Utah

Join Jeanette and Marv Evans on a tour of the interesting Nine Mile Canyon. Filled with Rock Art, this canyon requires the help of a professional guides like the Evans to be sure you catch all the best sites.

Jeanette and Marv Evans, P.O. Box 444, Wellington, Utah 84542, (801) 637-5801.

Nine Mile Canyon, sometimes referred to as the world's longest art gallery, has one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world. The rock art (ancient Indian writings) and the ruins of several prehistoric cultures are well represented in the Canyon. Nine Mile Canyon is over forty miles long. Why in the world do they call it Nine Mile?

When we first moved to Utah some twenty years ago, my family and I spent a week exploring the Canyon. We intended to find all the sites in the Canyon. Armed with a guide book and a lot of energy, we did manage to find a few sites. Actually we thought we had found most of what was there.

A few years ago our local archaeology society joined several archaeologists to work on a survey in the Canyon. We explored all levels of the Canyon in a defined area. When we found a site, we recorded it. By doing this survey we hoped to become more aware of the prehistoric and historic sites that exist in the Canyon and to aid in their preservation.

Since I started working on the survey, I am absolutely astounded at the amount of cultural resources in the Canyon. We realize now there are thousands of sites, many of which are well preserved. The Desert Archaic and Fremont cultures are the most prominent. Besides the ancient cultures, our historic past is also well represented with old homesteads, stagecoach stops and cattle empires. The Canyon has its own mystic with the remnants of prehistoric and historic cultures nestled among high cliffs with the high desert flora and abundant wildlife.

After working in the Canyon for several years and thoroughly enjoying it, I decided to start a tour business guiding people into Nine Mile Canyon. I find a great deal of satisfaction in sharing what we have found in the Canyon along with the stories of the historic Western past. We visit hundreds of sites on our tours. As I stated the Canyon has its own mystic, and I want others to share this mystic with me. My tours are not only enjoyable, but educational with an emphasis on preservation for future generations.

Nine Mile Canyon is finally coming into its own not only as a major archaeological area, but it is also a photographer's dream. It is an area so unique that the casual tourist also finds it an exciting place to visit, to return and to re-explore.