A "Spook"tacular Good Time - October 2011

By: Angela Hanberg
Bluebell Corn Maze    

    Hot chocolate, pumpkins and corn. These are just a few of the items on the menu for the annual Bluebell Corn Maze. Mark and Lori Monson of the Monson Farm in Bluebell jumped on the corn maze wagon in 2000 and locals have been addicted ever since.
    Founder of "The Maize," BYU Agriculture graduate Brett Hurbst of Salmon, ID was influenced by a similar venture he had read about in a farming magazine. Brett's original labyrinth in American Fork, Utah was the largest corn maze created in the western United States. The Bluebell Corn Maze is independently owned, but the Monson family uses The Maize organization for support. It is a large group of people with the same purpose who meet for conferences and connect through the website to help and support each other in their a-MAIZE-ing yearly undertakings.
    It was also because inquiring minds wanted to know, (ok mostly me) I asked Mark about the actual design and completion of the maze. This is something that has had me stumped for 11 years now, since my first trip through the maze. Where some are using GPS technology integrated into their machinery during planting and cutting, the Monson's do it old school: During planting, the corn goes in east and west, then north and south. This assures that there is a grid to work with when it starts to grow. Once a pattern or theme is agreed on, they work with a designer who draws up the final plans and puts it on graph paper. While the stalks are still small, they do a walk-through and mark the layout of the maze, then clear out the plants needed to make a walkway. It's a lot like the art projects they used to make us do in school - a combination of connect-the-dots and copy-one-part-of-a-picture-into-the-little-boxes-on-your-paper-and-hope-it-turns-out-to-look-remotely-close-to-a-picture game. Not nearly as intense as the picture I had of someone driving a swather through an 8 ft. high corn field trying to follow a map, but still quite a feat.
    Just some of the designs we have seen over the years is an oil field roughneck, a milk cow, the Statue of Liberty and American flag, bluebells for Bluebell, American gothic, a donkey and an elephant for the 2008 election, and the Duchesne and Uintah county seals. This year it includes a pumpkin patch and the Mountain American Credit Union insignia.
    Attendance has grown every year, booming three years ago along with the oil field growth. They are open to the public every Thursday through Friday from September 24 to October 29th. Reservations for youth groups, field trips, church groups and others can be made for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
    "We are really proud of our field trips." Mark says, "We try to educate the kids about farming in the basin. We've covered dairy cows, beef cows, the farming process and even worms. This year we are teaching the kids about the water cycle."
    The maze being the main attraction, there is still plenty of other activities to enjoy as well. This year is the maiden voyage of their Big Bertha the Pumpkin Canon. Anyone familiar with Pumpkin Chunkin won't want to miss this!
    Another first for this year is a 5k benefit run around the Monson Farm. Lose Yourself will be held on October 8th and the proceeds will go to the Josh and Kristen Baumgarten family.


Haunted Woods
    Certain types of fear are not for the feint of heart. Certain individuals are not equipped to handle that type of fear - I admit I am one of those people. However, I am positively in the minority on that subject. I'm the one who has nightmares for a month if I accidentally see a few minutes of [insert low-budget horror film here.] For those who like, desire, or even THRIVE on such things, I give you the Haunted Woods.
    Open for the first time in 1998, the Haunted Woods has been terrifying young and old for 13 years. It all started when Dave Davis, owner and operator of the woods, acquired twelve acres of ground from his mom and turned it into an annual fright-mare. The actual woods takes up about five acres and around 35 minutes to get through it. I have to assume this is an average - taking into account the ones who fly through it at a dead run and others who may take their time huddled on the ground in the fetal position until they can catch their breath and continue.
    Dave and a few friends constitutes the full time crew that works on buildings and sets. They usually start building the middle of August so they're ready to open the end of September. This year, the full-time LDS missionaries have come on board twice a week to help out as well. Although the buildings are supplied, each group of "scarers" still comes up with their own theme, costumes and props to complete each scene and compete in the scare competition. Each visitor to the woods receives a ticket and votes for their favorite at the end of the trail. A few of the gory sites include: Palace of Pain, where everyone is being tortured; Psycho, Squish-O-Matic Illusion, Monster Morph Illusion and the Gothic Chamber.
    There's something slightly disturbing about a man who talks about this creepy business and can't stop laughing. I asked Dave if maybe he'd been dropped as a small child, he said he couldn't be sure, but he remembers being terrified of such things when he was younger. His inspiration came from visiting a large haunted house in Salt Lake where he actually had fun and was inspired to create something of his own. "It's fun to scare people," he says. "Sometimes we even videotape different parts of the trail and then get together later to watch it and laugh."
    I admitted I thought I could probably handle a walk in the woods as long as I knew I had my bubble and no one would invade my personal space (and if it was the middle of the day, and if I had my bodyguard husband along, and...) I am honestly afraid I would start throwing punches if I attempted this. Dave tells his scarers if they're not getting hit, kicked, punched or kneed in unmentionable places at least 20 times a night, they're not doing their jobs. "One year, a friend of mine from Salt Lake came and helped me. He'd always have an ugly awful mask. He would find a couple then sneak along behind them for awhile. While the woman was distracted, he would trade places with her man and walk along for a ways before saying something to her like 'hey baby'. One time this gal kneed him in the groin then punched him and knocked him out."
    It's not only the fairer sex who can't handle their panic mode. Take for instance the big burly football player-type who was so hell bent on getting out of the woods, he dragged his girlfriend almost back to the gate and didn't realize she was even there. The couple was rewarded with an escort to help them get to the end of the trail.
    I asked him what he felt the scariest part of it was. Dave admits that it's going up there alone, even during the day. He remembers taking a girl up there on a date years ago with the intention of scaring her. Instead, he freaked himself out and was more than accommodating when she said she'd like to leave now.
    If you feel you're up to the challenge, the Haunted Woods (5000 W. 12000 North; Roosevelt, UT)will open September 30 and run through October 29. Open Fridays and Saturdays only from dark to 11pm. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. 5-yr olds and under get in free. Nightmare Before Christmas runs November 4, 5, 11 and 12.
    Oh, and for those who think 'not my kid' rest assured some of them will handle it better than you. Dave got a chuckle over a tiny one who's mom was busy selling tickets. No more than three and she spent the night wandering down the trail alone, not phased in the least.