My girls and I just returned from a week long trip to St George, Utah. The vacation was mostly about relaxing and taking things slow so we spent a lot of time at the condo swimming and reading, but we also took the opportunity to go out and explore the surrounding areas. I have been to Grafton, Utah several times but no one else in my family had been and so we got the kids excited by telling them that we were going to visit a ghost town. The older kids rode in my sister's car and she told me that they had quite the discussion about what the ghost town would be like on the way out. There was a big debate about whether the "ghosts were real or not."
Grafton is a ghost town located near the town of Rockville, just outside of Zion National Park on the banks of the Virgin River. It is said to be the "most photographed ghost town in the West," and parts of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were filmed there. It was originally settled in 1859 to grow cotton and at its' peak it was home to twenty-eight families. For various reasons, namely flooding and fear of Indian attacks the town was slowly evacuated. The last residents left in 1944.
The area where the town is located is spectacularly beautiful and the historical buildings and cemetery are quaint and charming. I especially love the old school house where they held school, dances, church, meetings, etc. The Ballard home is also cool because there is a swing hanging from a tree in the yard. Every time I visit I have to take a quick ride. As I swing the song "Singing in the Rain," runs through my head and it is pretty impossible to get it out of my system without watching the movie.
One other thing that is fun to do while in Grafton, wait for the sunset. I've witnessed amazing sunsets every single time I've been to Grafton. Here is a photo from my first trip, the summer a few months after we got married. Good times!
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