Amanda Blazzard 5 posts 0 comments

The scene before me is reminiscent of the old Western song lyrics, “empty saddles in the old corral.” Saddles, tack, and spurs now sit quiet and gather dust, guitars lie where memories of Western melodies waft, but Bob’s eyes still twinkle. Bob McPhie is one of the few great American Cowboys left in the Heber Valley, not to mention, one of my childhood idols. I fondly recall sitting in the grandstands of the old local rodeo arena beside my grandpa. I would balance my popcorn on my lap and clap for Bob as he rode in the…

What stands 11,749’ high, has a heart, a saddle, an emerald, a shack, and some goats? If you’ve been in Heber for even a short time, you’ll know the valley’s pride lies in the great mountain that sprawls to the west where the sun settles each night. Mount Timpanogos creates a portion of the eastern wall of the Wasatch Front. Often folks claim we, here in Heber, reside on the backside of the great Timpanogos. We’d like to beg their pardon. They happen to be discombobulated, not realizing that we have the front seat to…

Not For The Faint Of Heart

By Amanda Blazzard With the words, “Send the kids’ iPads and chargers home with them today. Just in case.” spoken calmly by my principle, I knew something was wrong — very wrong — we don’t just send iPads home with our Kindergarten students. Little did I know how current events were about to rock everyone’s world. A WORLD CHANGED FOREVER The week of March 9, 2020 was one for the records. We began with the time change messing with our sleep cycles, by mid-week the population was wolfishly hoarding toilet paper under a…

The giants of Heber Valley Railroad were sleeping the day I visited them. Standing in majesty, quietly waiting for another day when the crowds would throng to join them on the platform. Grand engines and breathtaking cars rested silently in the yard as soft snow settled around them. Mount Timpanogos stood like a sentinel on the west, smiling down gently on the railroad yard, a friend of many years. In the calm, I imagine the distant echoing of times past and future; excited crowds awaiting their turn to present their ticket…