My Grandfather, Earl Budge Cragun, had an orchard and owned a lot of property in Pleasant View, Utah. The orchard was passed down to a son-in-law and has since been demolished for development. But when the orchard was in the family and I was growing up, we had a yearly Easter egg hunt right next to the orchard. The land where the orchard was located was actually littered with large rocks (which were worth far more than the orchard, much to my Grandfather’s chagrin). The orchard and surrounding area were referred to collectively as “The Good Earth.” Right next to the orchard were several very large rock outcroppings, the largest rising about 15 feet into the air. The rock field made for a particularly challenging Easter egg hunt as candy and treats could be hidden all over the big rock and surrounding rock fields. I always recall the Easter hunts with fondness as they really were a lot of fun, particularly once Mark and I were teenagers as the most challenging rocks to scale were reserved for the athletic teenagers as their hunting ground.
I tried to find an areal view of the large rock where we used to hunt for Easter treats, but it appears to have fallen prey to rock excavation and development. It was right about here. I did, however, find a picture of me and Josh on top of the main rock:
This actually jutted out of the ground about 15 feet or so. Mark and I, along with our cousins around our age – Brian and Nate Belnap – were very competitive in trying to gather the most loot. We would also occasionally have competitions to see who could climb the face of the rock the fastest. Good times!
