The town itself was a surprise; we found it to be very much up-to-date considering its isolated position.  Two of the streets were paved and oiled and were supplied with drinking fountains.  There were two prosperous looking banks, two well-stocked and up-to-date drug stores, several mercantile stores, and many others, all busy.  Many of the buildings were of brick; all were substantial.

Near a hotel we observed a group of men surrounding some one who was evidently keeping them interested.  On approaching them we found it was Jimmy, giving a graphic description of some of our difficulties.  His story was not finished, for he saw us and ran to greet us, as pleased to see us as we were to see him.  He had little idea we would be along for two or three days and naturally was much surprised.

On entering the hotel we were greeted by an old Grand Canyon friend, a civil engineer named Duff, who with a crew of men had been mapping the mountains near Whirlpool Canyon.  You can imagine that it was a gratifying surprise to all concerned to find we were not altogether among strangers, though they were as hospitable as strangers could be.  The hotel was a lively place that night.  There was some musical talent among Duff’s men, and Duff himself was an artist on the piano.  Many of the young people of the town had dropped in that evening, as some one had passed the word that there might be an impromptu entertainment at the hotel.  There was.  Duff played and the boys sang.  Jimmy was himself again and added his rich baritone.  The town itself was not without musical talent, and altogether it was a restful change for us.

Perhaps we should have felt even better if we had been dressed differently, for we wore much the same clothes as those in which we did our work on the river—­a woollen shirt and overalls.  Besides, neither Emery nor I had shaved since starting, and it is quite likely that we looked just a little uncouth.  Appearances count for little with these people in the little-settled districts, and it is a common enough sight to them to see men dressed as we were.  They did everything they could to make us feel at ease.  As one person remarked, “The wealthiest cattle man, or the owner of the richest mine in the country, usually looks worse than all others after a month on the range or in the hills.”

If wealth were indicated on an inverse ratio to one’s good appearance, we should have been very wealthy indeed.  We felt as if it would take us a week to get rested and lost little time in getting to bed when the party broke up.  We imagine most of the residents of Vernal were Mormons.  It is part of their creed to give “the stranger within their gates” a cordial welcome.  This however, was accorded to us, not only among the Mormons, but in every section of our journey on the Green and Colorado rivers.

The following day was a busy one.  Arrangements had been made with a local photographer to get the use of his dark room, and we proceeded to develop all plates and many of our films.  These were then to be packed and shipped out.  We were informed at the local express office, that it might be some time before they would go, as the recent rains had been very bad in Colorado and had washed out most of the bridges.