Chapter from Lost Landscapes: Utah's ghosts, mysteries, creatures, aliens

              The Bear Lake Monster
My uncle had an old log cabin on Bear Lake in the little town
of Garden City for many years. We often held family reunions there.
Eventually, he built a big fancy home where the cabin had been and
moved there permanently. I have many fond memories not only of boating on the lake, but also of hiking and exploring some old mine shafts
that I am sure we shouldn't have been in. The road to Bear Lake from
Logan is a dangerous one, and many people have been killed or injured
while traveling it. My uncle and aunt lost a son to this road many years
ago, when he was driving with his girlfriend around those curves on
his way home. They were both high school kids. She survived but he
did not. Some people consider it a cursed road and it does have a feel
to it, perhaps because Logan Canyon is one of the longest canyons in
the state, extending more than thirty miles. It is part of the northeast
end of the Wasatch Range, called the Bear River Range. My aunt and
uncle are gone now. They raised a wonderfully close and loving family.
Some of their children still have strong ties to Garden City, and at least
one of them is raising his family there. At their mother's funeral, all
of them spoke about how she always told them never to fight among
themselves because they only had each other to get through life with.
Although I am not sure, Garden City is probably the only place
that can boast of a huge monument to a grizzly bear. It is back in the
woods on the way to Bear Lake, a short hike from a two-lane highway.
Old Ephraim" was the largest grizzly ever shot. Frank Clark got him
m 1923 after tracking him for ten years. The bear's skull was placed in
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