Our trip to the Southwest: September 16: Wayne's World Redux

Relaxing in Moab was a good decision. Janet started to feel better about life, but hiking was out of the question.

We decided to revisit some of our favorite Moab haunts. In particular, we drove down the "River Road" that winds northeast of Moab for twenty-six miles along the Colorado River.

You may remember the road from the opening of the Austin Power's film, Goldmember, where Tom Cruise, his Spielberg stand-in, is attacked by heliocopters firing missiles. That's the road.

It is also one of the most scenic roads in America, cutting through red rock mesas the whole way.

It is also a popular location for river runners and adventurers.

It isn't the Grand Canyon, but is more accessible.

Even old-timers liked to use it.

(This photo is from an old movie made in the very same spot.)

Where the river widens are old cattle ranches,

many now turned into resorts. There is even the Castle Creek Winery that makes rather nice red wines (Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons) from grapes grown on location.

One of our favorite spots is the Red Cliffs Lodge,

sitting on a big bend in the river.

It used to be the "White Ranch," and used for a number of John Wayne/John Ford pictures.

As many Ford Westerns were made in Moab at this location as were made in Monument Valley, 100 miles to the south--although most film critics assume they were all made in the latter place.

This is the White Ranch as a movie set in 1950.

You would not know it today, but the entrance to Red Cliff Lodge

is the remains of the entrance to the "fort" through which John Wayne led his troops in the film Rio Grande and first laid eyes on Maureen O'Hara.

(Actually, he spied on her earlier in The Quiet Man.) The road is to the lodge is the road along which Wayne marched his men.

A museum in the lodge commemorates Wayne

and over three dozen films and commercials made in this region.

John Wayne stayed in Moab during these filmings. Moab residents worked as crew and stand-ins. Wayne characterized the Moab/Canyonlands area as the place "Where God put the West." He should know.

Speaking of commemorating John Wayne, let's not forget lung cancer. George White's son, Tommy White,

was one of the original Marlboro Men. Many of the Marlboro commercials were filmed on or near the ranch.

(That's Fisher Towers in the background--5 miles down the road.) This small cemetery at the entrance to the lodge is placed there in honor of Tommy. He is buried here.

Like Wayne, he was a star in his own right. Like Wayne, he died of lung cancer.

Across the highway from the lodge is Castle Valley. Two miles down the Castle Valley road is Castle Rock,

rising like a pillar next to a formation called Priests and Nuns. Castle Rock may look familiar if you are a person who actually watches commercials.

Chevrolet put a car and a model up there in the 1960s.

There was not much room and the model was terrified.

But they chained her to the car and everything was fine until it got too windy for the heliocopter to come and remove her. She earned her pay.

Izusu also made a similar commercial for its trooper a decade later. Joe Isuzu was so terrified that he refused to continue the shoot. Later, Miller Lite used it to get a bunch of college kids to sky dive. You have also seen it in Westerns and thought it was a midden in Monument Valley. You'll see it again.

One of the most photographed spot is near Castle Rock: Fisher Towers.

It's in all the old Westerns. Those are the LaSal Laccoliths in the background. Fisher Towers is actually a set of several free-standing sandstone structures, among the highest in the world, they say.

The narrow spiral of stone at the pinnacle is valhalla for rock climbers.

Sandstone makes ordinary climbing equipment useless. My understanding is that the young woman in this year's Capital One commercial really did climb it. She was a capital venturer. So was Bert Reynolds in the movie Blue.