Utah has a lot of old mining cities, ghost towns, and a lot of interesting legends.
Beehive mentioned the Spanish Mines and the Lost Rhoades (sp) mines. There are dozens of claims to have found these mines over the years, and they are scattered all over the Uinta Basin and surrounding areas. Nothing has ever panned out.
There are a lot interesting tales and legends associated with these mines. There are some who believe that they are connected to gold that was originally hidden from Cortez when he invaded the Aztecs. Some think that they could be associated with El Dorado/Cibola. Others believe that the sacred cave or caves that the Aztec and Mayan people’s ancestors emerged from in their creation legend, is in fact Timpanogos cave.
Why would the Escalante/Dominguez party come so far north from Santa Fe when they were trying to reach Califonia, witch lies West? Seems like some pretty bad navigating if you ask me. I can’t help but think they were actually looking for those lost gold mines that Spain had records of from Cortez and company.
Weather or not any of these things are actually true, and if you even believe the stories is not relevant. What is neat are the stories and legends themselves. After I read books about these subjects, the state of Utah just got a lot more interesting and mysterious.
Take all this for what it’s worth.
Utah @ 
Baylor 
