Pioneer pathways — Enthusiast's guidebook offers adventures for present-day travelers

"The Mormon Trail Revisited" lets travelers do as much or as little of the trail as they want. Be aware, says Franzwa, that much of the path is on back roads that are often unpaved. Some is on private land, and you must ask permission to cross it. "But I've never meet anyone who wasn't proud of their trail land. Some will even take you out and show you. I knocked on one door, and the guy looked at my camera and said, 'I know what you want.' He took us to see the ruts."

And as someone who got stuck in an April blizzard in Wyoming, he advises you to watch the weather carefully. He also includes a "speed trip," which points out the most important locations for those who don't have the time or inclination to follow the entire route. It will take a good couple of weeks to experiences it all, he says. The speed trip can be done in five or six days.

But just the Utah part is "incredibly picturesque," he says. "From The Needles to Echo Canyon to the Hogback to East Canyon Creek — absolutely easy and a delightful drive all the way."

Those who visit any of the trail sites will be rewarded, he says. Sugar Creek. Garden Grove. The very place where "Come, Come Ye Saints" was written. The place where William Clayton's odometer was put into use. The North Platte. Fort Laramie.

They are all names and places that resound with history and meaning, where you can hear the echoes of yesteryear and feel the presence of what went before. You think about those people and you appreciate their sacrifices even more. That, he says, is what the "power of place" does to you. "It's one tremendous adventure."

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