After staying in Kanab, Utah a few days I went to what is known as the Paria Movie Set around 30 miles from Kanab. I read where you could boondock there and saw pictures on a web site of where a man and his wife drove their motorhome there. There is a turnout on the highway with information about the area. You have to drive over a 5 mile washboard road, then over and down a steep hill to get to a self registration site that has a few picnic tables. About one-third of the names on the registration sheet were people from Europe. Know I have seen a lot of European tourists in Utah, many in rented rv’s.
Pahreah was established as a town in the 1800′s. It had been used by Paiute indians before that. The town had a Mormon church and schoolhouse, along with a post office. The settlers did not realize the area was on a flood plain and recurrent flooding forced them out. Movie and television crews used the area in the 50′s and 60′s. The last movie shot in the area was The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976. The movie set was moved in 1999 to a site less likely to flood, but in 2006 vandals burned it down.
Pahreah Cemetary with plaque added by relatives of the original settlers.
On the afternoon of my second day at Paria, three trucks towing large horse carrying rigs and a LARGE tour bus drove in. Really surprised at the tour bus driving over the road. A few hours later a large group of people riding mules started arriving. Guess they started at another point and ended at Paria. Then they were all gone and it was quite again.
The road to Paria. Around 20 passenger cars drove over it both days I was there. When I was leaving I had some trouble in soft dirt going up a hill. Wondered if the large bus the previous day had contributed to it. Would not want to drive the road when there has been any rain, or camp in the rain with its history of flooding.
