The town formerly known as Thompson Spgs

The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was constructed through Thompson Springs, UT, in 1883, opening the area to commerce.  As railroad towns are wont to experience ups and downs, so did Thompson; today it is largely uninhabited, except for a few roosters I heard, three houses which looked to be occupied, and about eight trailer homes that are nowhere near new.  I saw no people.  The dilapidated Thompson Motel must have been a hotspot a half century ago, but now its painted wooden doors swing open in the noonday sun, and broken windows add to the sad air.  A toilet sits dustily in the bathroom of Unit 6, visible from my car.  Nearby, one of the few residents’ yards is fenced in chain link, from which neatly hang nearly a dozen bony pelvises of, I’m guessing, cattle.  Eerie.  Silent.  Absent.  Empty.  But, it is the portal to some very significant rock art, and the one road into and out of town (with the four-way stop sign utterly ignored) carries rock art fans from all over.  This is what they pass through.

native art in Thompson Springs

 

free accommodations -- BYO bed

 

I truly wonder what's inside