Dart and Map

St. George, Utah

In the early 1900s, mail carriers flew small planes across the country. Aviation arrows were placed along the route across the USA to help the pilots safely find their way. Many of these arrows are on private land, but there are some that are on public land that you can visit!  I am not entirely sure how to know which are on public vs. private, yet. There are a few sites out there that help find them all, but it is up to you to research which you can actually see.

On the day we arrived in Utah, my boyfriend, Brian, and I attempted to see one that was possibly on private property. Since it also happened to be really hot outside, my interest waned quickly. I didn’t want to start hiking uphill just to find out we weren’t allowed to go farther. We skipped that arrow so we could go off to Zion. Saving that one for the next time.

Determined to visit a cool piece of history, Brian found another arrow that we could attempt to see at the end of our trip, on our way back to SGU.

The aviation arrow he found is up atop a hill in a suburban enclave. We started up the dirt hill in the hot sun. There was not much of a path when we went, but it may not be the case now. There were some parts that I got concerned about since we also had to walk back down. Slippery dirt and all. Also, I wasn’t super excited about getting completely sweaty before a flight, but persisted. I was excited that Brian was so determined to see the arrow because that forced me to climb. This was not the easiest hike, but also not the most awful, in the end. I think I was slightly panicked about making our flight and therefore felt like the hike was harder than it was.

Finally, we got to the top and saw the arrow. There was a guest book, which was really neat since I have never done any type of hike or activity that had one.

I am very glad we put forth effort to see this incredibly cool piece of American history. We hope to be able to see as many as possible. It is a great idea to plan a whole trip around, actually. Pick an arrow and explore the whole area around said arrow.

“Thanks for helping my planecestors, arrow!” said the plane.

You can see the arrow at the top of the hill. It is realllly tiny in this picture.

(click the photos for the captions)

I pretty much whined about possibly being late for our flight for the entire hike. SGU is a really small airport. We returned the car and were at the gate in probably 10 minutes. I am such a baby sometimes.

-jenn

A cat got loose on our plane.