Carol Judd , Vernal Utah Real Estate

Each Spring the Ashley National Forest sell minimally priced permits to obtain different varieties of trees for your own yard.

When we built our current home we took advantage of this opportunity and now have many beautiful Aspens etc to enjoy. They remind us of the adventures we had and make interesting stories to tell our visitors.

The annual event of ChristmasTtree hunting is a big deal with our family. The first year we lived in Vernal, Utah we had two little girls getting over chicken pox and decided not too drive to the family Thanksgiving dinner 3 hours away. We headed up the mountain in our Granada and had the most wonderful time. That was over 26 years ago and we have not missed a year of capturing the "best tree" on the mountain.

When it comes to Christmas and my husband finding the tree is the part that counts. We do not even need to decorate it in his opinion. (which has never happened by the way)

Family members have joined in over the years and it is a super anticipated event. It is not a matter of if they will come Thanksgiving weekend to capture their tree but when.

Take some turkey sandwhiches(preferably on rolls) hot chocolate and warm clothes and you are set. Make sure also to bring your $10 permit, a saw, measuring tape (trees appear smaller in the wild) a tarp in case you need to drag it and a tree hauling vehicle. (depends on size and how many trees the crew is harvesting) Guidelines

If the conditions are right take the snowmobile or four wheeling and your hunt is that much more of an adventure. We can direct you to The Best Locations so Have A Great Hunt!

I have walked properties up and down and over and over figuring out the terrain, uses, accesses etc. I love it! I love helping with a development entitlement and studying in and out the laws of accesses and uses for a parcel of land.

I list large properties and find land not listed for buyers searching.

Using local knowledge and advise there are still great opportunities in the Uintah Basin.

We even have beautiful agricultural land that can remain that way for use and enjoyment.

A party off Spaniards known as the Escalante Expedition seeking a more direct route to Monterey, California came upon the Green River. They camped there for two days and moved on. Soon after they came to a little hill and gazed down on the Ashley Valley. The land was dry , arid and the soil sandy with the vegetation consisting mainly of sage brush, cactus and other desert plants. The creek they saw in the northern section is now called Ashley Creek.

That is the only record of the valley being visited by white men until 1825 when a fur trader named William H. Ashley entered the area In his party was Jim Bridger who who received much fame later.

In 1861 Abraham Lincoln set the area aside as the Uintah Indian Reservation. Captain Pardon Dodds was appointed Indian agent.

After Pardon Dodds ended his agency in 1872 he came back in 1873 with Morris Evans and Dick Huffaker and they errected the first house built by white men. All of the work from timber to dirt floor was done by them. The windows were brought in from Salt Lake City. The house which was four miles northwest of present day Vernal served as a home for the Dodds family from 1873 to 1897.

There were no women in the area until 1876 with the first white child born here on May 11, 1878. He was named Robert Ashely Snyder. On June 16, 1878 his father Robert Snyder was killed by lightning in his dooryard, leaving Mrs. Snyder with two children to pioneer the wilderness.

The fall of 1879 brought many settlers to the valley, In 1880 the residents applied for a post office. The name Ashley Center was requested, but it was too similar to the town of Ahsley and the name Vernal was assigned to the community by the U.S. Postal Department. The town of Vernal was incorporated in 1897.

The settlers developed a basic irrigation system and because of distance they produced, manufactured, and developed about everything they needed. The main livelihood was cattle, sheep, milling, the production of honey and the farming of grains and alfalfa.

With the Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge in 1964 more tourists have come to the area. The activities here are varied and many. There are many colorful characters in the history of the area to be discussed in future writings.