Kaysville: Our Home Base in Utah

March 1983

We’d decided early on that we didn’t want to live on base, so the day after we arrived in Utah, we started to search for a place not far from Hill AFB.  Within a few days, we’d found the perfect place — a two-bedroom basement apartment in nearby Kaysville.

The map shows Kaysville in relation to Salt Lake City
to the south and Hill AFB to the north.

Sure, Bill and Shirley, the owners of the apartment, wanted a bit of rental income, but more than that, they wanted a trustworthy couple who would house-sit for them during their frequent escapes to the warmer climes of southern Utah.  As such, they gave us the run of their home, generously inviting us to use the entire house in their absence.  That must be why I have no photos of our apartment — at least not in the photo album I’m presently scanning.

Settling into our first place in Utah, Mui began his daily routine at the base while I started one of the things that I have always dreaded (and still do) — searching for a job.  I was lucky and within a few weeks, I was gainfully employed at Petrolex, a small company in Salt Lake City.  I mean it when I say a small company — there were just three employees: Burke, the president; Dave, the vice president; and me, the corporate and administrative secretary.  The company represented the owners of oil and gas land leases.  It was my job to prepare the submissions we made to big oil companies that might have an interest in acquiring the drilling rights to such land.

Life was good.

Hill Air Force Base

March 1983

With orders in hand, we drove from Washington to Utah and arrived at Hill Air Force Base, located 29 miles (46 km) north of Salt Lake City.

The base was Named Hill Field in December 1939 for Major
Ployer P. Hill, who lost his life in 1935 while piloting the
famous B-17 Flying Fortress at Wright-Patterson AFB (Ohio).
[scanned from an air force magazine]

Hill Field was officially activated in November 1940.
In February 1948, following the 1947 change from
Army Air Corps to USAF, the name was changed to Hill AFB.
[scanned from an air force magazine]

The news that there was no vacancy at the inn was not what we were expecting to hear at the end of a long day’s drive.  But fear not, there was temporary lodging available in the flight line bunker where pilots were housed.  And a bunker it was.  No windows; thick, concrete walls — all designed to minimize any effects from aircraft operations!

Under the circumstances, is it any wonder we had no idea that a blizzard had raged overnight until we stepped out the door the next morning to start our search for off-base housing?

From Washington to Utah

10-12 March, 1983

The passage of time has blurred the details of many past events and adventures. I so wish that I had gotten into journaling much earlier than I did. As it is, I’ll have to rely on pictures to tell the story as I count through the years.

Mui returned from basic training with orders to report to Hill AFB in Utah. We packed our belongings, turned some of our stuff over to the Air Force for transport, rented a car-top carrier to take the must-haves with us, and got on the road.

From Washington to Utah via Oregon and Idaho

If the dates on the back of the few photos I have are anything to go by, we took three days to make the trip, stopping in Oregon and Idaho to do some sightseeing along the way. We spent one of the nights on the road at the Indian Hills Red Lion Inn in Pendleton, Oregon. I only know that from a note scribbled on the back of a photo. Mui tells me we stayed the second night at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho; I'll have to take his word for that as I have no recollection of it myself.

Columbia River Gorge from Crown State Park — Oregon

Latourell Falls — Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Unique among the best-known Columbia Gorge waterfalls
in that it drops straight down from an overhanging basalt cliff.

Multnomah Falls — Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
The fourth highest falls in the us.
(upper falls: 549 ft [167 m]; lower falls: 69 ft [21 m])

There is an Indian legend associated with Multnomah Falls. This is how I recorded it in my photo album:

When the Multnomah people were stricken with sickness and many were dying, the Medicine Man told the Chief that a virgin maiden had to throw herself from the cliff overlooking the “Big River.” The Chief, however, was reluctant to ask any of the maidens for such a sacrifice. The decision was taken out of his hands when his daughter decided to sacrifice herself so that her lover, overtaken by this sickness, might live. As a token of the maiden’s welcome by the “Great Spirit,” a stream of water started to cascade from the point where she threw herself down. And thus the falls were born.

Bonneville Dam Spillway — Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Named for Army Captain Benjamin Bonneville, an early explorer
credited with charting much of the Oregon Trail.

Shoshone Falls — Twin Falls, Idaho
At 212 ft (64 M), they are higher than Niagara Falls.

And so our eight-year stint in Utah began.

Thank You and Goodbye

February & March 1983

Lee (or Leon — as Jean, his wife, prefers to call him) was my boss for most of my brief stint at KCPQ TV, Channel 13. While Mui was doing his basic training at Lackland AFB, Lee and his family took me under their wing. Jean took on the role of an older sister, looking out for me in Mui’s absence. I became an older sister to their four children — Mac, Katie, Doug, and Robbie. I spent many weekends at their home, sleeping on the trundle bed in Katie’s room and participating in their family activities.

(Remember to click any photo for a larger version.)

Cuddling with Robbie.

Their farewell gift to us was this coffee table book filled with images of the state that we’d come to love during our 13 months living there.

Despite our best intentions, we haven’t made it back to visit with our friends since we left the state in March 1983. We promise we’ll go back soon after we retire and have time on our hands to renew old-but-not-forgotten relationships. In the meantime, Christmas cards keep the connection alive.