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| EMERY CO. ALKALI |
(Maybe a little bit exaggerated)
First off I need to establish that I know that anyone acquainted with Emery Co. Alkali will know about it's dangers before reading this blog.
Before my wife and I were married I spent some time in Emery County, Castle Dale to be more specific. In fact I spent A LOT of time there. There seemed to be a little magnetism that kept pulling me there.
On one trip while we were there visiting we went out to Feno's field to get something. (I can't remember what it was now.) Anyway, as we were going down the dirt road to the field there was an Alkali patch about ten feet long in the middle of the road.
I pulled up to it and stopped to see if I could judge how deep it was. I decided it was just a surface patch and we could easily drive through it. Donnie suggested that perhaps we should go up and come in on the other road. I told her I was sure there was no problem as we were in a Mercury with a V-8 engine and if we backed up a little and got a run at it I would be through it before she even knew we had hit it.
I had heard about Emery Co. alkali before. In fact I had hunted pheasants near Deseret Lake (A ghost town) I was aware it was a ghost town mainly because of Emery Co. alkali. I don't mean to presume that all of Emery Co. is covered with it, but only that I knew it was there and it had a reputation for being real "sticky stuff."
Well we backed up--- I gunned the motor and even before we got to the Alkali, it seemed to jump out and grab all four wheels of the Mighty Mercury. I don't even remember that happening but it must have because in a matter of seconds we were in the middle of the alkali and it was up to the axles of the car with a firm grip on all four wheels. I gunned the big V-8 engine but nothing happened. In fact I may have heard a "sucking noise" as we went down a little more?
Well no one had ever told me that the "stuff" could reach out and grab you and pull you in. Also no one had ever told me that it was a cousin to quick sand, which just keeps pulling you in deeper and deeper.
I finally had to admit that I had made a big mistake. I asked Donnie if she could open her door and get out without the "stuff" grabbing her foot and pulling her in.
She did get out OK. I got out on the drivers side (a little worried that I might get sucked in, because I could not make the leap from the car to dry ground without stepping once in the alkali.
We stood and looked at the big powerful Mercury V-8 stuck in a little patch of alkali up to it's axles not knowing whether to laugh or kick it.
With no other alternatives we started walking toward town to see if Feno had any ideas as to what we could do about our situation. We got to the house and explained our situation. I think the only reaction from Feno was to take his hat off---slap it on the table--and tell one of his sons to get the tractor and take it out to the field.
We all got in the old Farm Truck and headed for the field and the infamous Emery Co. Alkali patch. I think Feno was mumbling quite a bit all the way to the field, but I only caught a few words, dumb, city slickers and "don't they know about alkali."
At least the story has a good ending. The tractor pulled the Mercury out and we finally got back home to Salt Lake with no damage except my hurt pride and a memory never to mess with EMERY COUNTY ALKALI.
W.R. Baldwin
18 Oct 2014
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