Utah
Exploring The “Mighty Five”
By Jim & Sue Wall, F542044
In the spring and summer of 2024, we took a trip west in our Grand Design Momentum fifth-wheel and our new-to-us towing vehicle, a 2011 Freightliner SportChassis.
The highlight of our journey was seeing the “Mighty Five” national parks in Utah: Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion.
After spending a week between Zion and Bryce, in the southwestern part of the state, we headed next to the town of Torrey, where we would spend some time at nearby Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef is just as amazing as the other parks we have visited and a must-see for everyone. It did not disappoint with its magnificent views, trails, and raw natural beauty.
The day came to leave Torrey and make our way northeast to Moab, where we would get to see Arches and Canyonlands national parks.
As we headed out of Torrey, the most direct highway to take was Utah State Route 24 to start. This route traversed Capitol Reef at the start of our drive. We left early in the morning, and passing some of the park’s stunning rock formations as the sun was rising was something to behold. We stopped at several pull-outs to capture some pictures, but this time with our RV and truck as the subjects instead of us. The picture on the cover of this magazine was taken with a formation named “The Castle,” not far off State Route 24 heading east a little before the Capitol Reef visitor center entrance. The Castle, like many other viewpoints, was just too beautiful to pass up and not get a picture of that morning.
During our 10-week trip from Florida to as far west as Utah, we visited 21 national parks and monuments and drove over 8,000 miles.
With this trip in mind, last year we opted to upgrade our towing vehicle from a 2017 Ford F-350 King Ranch dually to the SportChassis. Driving the Freightliner required a short learning curve. We both love that when you are sitting up so high, the view through the bigger windshield allows for some terrific sights. Not to mention, with 100 gallons of diesel, we don’t have to worry about the next fuel stop.
Music
Bob Dylan Walking Tour: Hibbing, Minnesota
By Josephine Matyas, F468364
Hibbing, Minnesota, pays tribute to musician Bob Dylan, its most famous resident, with a walking tour that passes his boyhood home.
When you think of notable crosswalks, London’s Abbey Road may be one that springs to mind. Closer to home, there’s one festooned with a music staff and notes at Seventh Avenue East in the town of Hibbing, Minnesota. It marks the crossing in front of the boyhood home of Robert Zimmerman — aka Bob Dylan — where the family moved when Bob entered grade school.
In honor of the Nobel-prize-winning musician, Hibbing has made it easy to lace up your runners and follow the free Bob Dylan Walking Tour. Start at the Hibbing Public Library and peruse the Bob Dylan Collection, an exhibit of books, newspaper and magazine articles, movies, and posters. The library and many shops in town have free copies of the walking tour map.
Hibbing, Minnesota, pays tribute to musician Bob Dylan, its most famous resident, with a display wall in front of the high school where he graduated in 1959.
While you’re strolling (almost 6,000 steps), hum a few of the artist’s famous tunes, like Blowin’ in the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man, and Forever Young. Dylan’s songs helped define a generation and a tumultuous time in American history.
Highlighted stops on the walking tour include Dylan’s grade school; the L&B Café, where he and friends fed coins into the jukebox; the bowling center, where his team, the Gutter Boys, won the 1955-56 teenage bowling competition; and the family store, Zimmerman Furniture and Electric, where Bob helped with deliveries.
But two stops stand out above the rest.
The back of the display wall at Hibbing High School features lyrics to Bob Dylan songs.
If your timing is lucky, owner and mega fan Bill Pagel will give you a tour of Dylan’s boyhood home at 2425 Seventh Ave. E., a property he’s carefully restored and stocked with a large collection of Dylan memorabilia (a modest donation is suggested). A plaque on the Italian Modern-style house identifies it as the “Childhood Home of Bob Dylan from 1948 to 1959.” The three-bedroom residence has been restored to the 1950s and includes original furnishings, such as the piano Dylan played and his personal record collection. Display cases are filled with original handwritten song lyrics, LPs, concert and festival posters, and paperwork documenting when Bob changed his surname. One of Dylan’s high school bands, The Golden Chords, usually practiced in the attached garage.
Close by, in front of Hibbing High School, is a beautiful, curved brick wall inscribed with Dylan’s poetic song lyrics. Sit for a few minutes and appreciate the brilliance of his Nobel Prize in Literature-winning words, such as: “May your heart always be joyful, may your song always be sung, may you stay forever young”; “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind”; and “Blame it on a simple twist of fate.”
It’s a pilgrimage worth taking.
hibbingmn.gov/217/Bob-Dylan-Walking-Tour