A chapter from the old West will come to life as Pony Express riders embark on a six-day, 400-mile trek from Kanab to Logan beginning Monday, July 22.
More than 100 riders will carry saddlebags filled with mail from across the state.Utahns can join the fun by purchasing a Utah Centennial Pony Express Ride envelope for $1 at Utah post offices. The envelopes, the only ones to be carried on the ride, will be available through Thursday, July 18, at all post offices.
"This is an opportunity for all Utahns to relive part of the Wild West and our early Utah history," said Kanab Postmaster Randy Stevens, who is coordinating the ride. "It will make a nice, yet inexpensive, souvenir of the Utah centennial."
Customers should address envelopes, apply first-class postage and give them to a retail clerk at any post office. A special postmark commemorating the event will be applied to each letter. Riders will also carry proclamations signed by mayors along the route.
Riders will travel on the 22nd from Kanab to Panguitch, where LDS Primary children will sing and a holdup will be staged about 3 p.m. Panguitch Mayor Elaine Baldwin will sign a proclamation Tuesday before a rider takes off for Monroe, Sevier County. Riders will travel from there to Fairview, Sanpete County, on the 24th; from Fairview to Provo on the 25th; from Provo to Ogden on the 26th; and from Ogden to Logan on the 27th, said Panguitch Postmaster Dennis Armstrong.
Pony Express riders will pass through or stop at a number of other cities or towns along the route, including Ephraim, Manti, Mayfield, Mt. Pleasant, Ogden, Provo, Richfield, Salina, Salt Lake City, Sandy and Spring City, Sanpete County.
A Pony Express rider is scheduled to arrive in time for a parade that begins 10 a.m. Saturday at the Fred Meyer store, 750 N. Main in Logan. The rider will also visit the Festival of the American West, which kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 26, at Utah State University. The festival concludes Aug. 3. Special stamp cancellations will be held in Kanab and at the festival in Logan.