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As I continue my journey to organize the jeep office, I stumped upon this May 1963 Four Wheeler article about Kent Frost. You can learn more about him here: http://www.ewillys.com/2020/11/11/kent-frost-a-man-of-canyonlands/ and here http://www.ewillys.com/tag/kent-frost/.
The Huntington Digital Library has some more Kent Frost photos from his trips through Canyonlands and other southern Utah places. The photos represent two different trips. Most pics are from an October of 1955 jeep excursion, while one photo is from May of 1957.
This first photo from October of 1955 is a great photo that shows Kent and Fern Frost standing in front of a CJ-2A with a Porter & Reed hardtop. I’m not sure if this was one of their jeeps or not.
CREDIT: None …. Caption: Fern and Kent Frost next to a CJ-2A. DATE: Oct. 1955.
CREDIT: J. Ballard Atherton …. Caption: Frost Jeep Party. DATE: Oct. 1955.
CREDIT: Dudziak, Joseph Lawrence …. Caption: Camp of Kent Frost jeep party near Lizard Rock.. DATE: 1957-05-01
CREDIT: J. Ballard Atherton …. Caption: Frost Jeep Party. DATE: Oct. 1955.
UPDATE: I’ve added two newspaper photos to this post about Kent. One shows him signing copies of his autobiography. The other depicts him with a huge walking stick, one I’m sure could come in handy while exploring ‘his’ beloved canyons.
Even today, Kent’s shadow looms large over the area. Just this last week the Moab Museum screened the “My Canyonlands” film about him.
June 17, 1971, The San Juan Record: Kent Frost signing books.
February 11, 2004, The San Juan Record: Kent Frost holding a walking stick.
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Originally published April 1, 2013:
(Above: Kent Frost on the front of his CJ-5 probably helping the driver negotiate an awkward angle)
(Originally Published April 2011) Without a doubt, my favorite part about running this website are the unexpected, interesting people to whom I’m introduced (if only virtually). One of those people is Kent Frost, a product of the Four Corners area and whom we caught glimpses of in Alan’s color photos of the 1961 Four Corners trip.
Doug commented on one of the Four Corner posts that he had read a book by Kent Frost called “My Canyonlands”, published in 1971. I’m very happy that Doug mentioned the book, because I ordered it and have enjoyed it immensely. Kent describes all kinds of adventures and early trips into remote areas of the four corners region. He loved to explore and hike, later jeep and river run, and that remote area has given him a lifetime of experiences.
UPDATE: This article from the San Juan Record dated October 22, 1965, provides more information on Kent Frost’s jeep Ruby and his treks over Elephant Hill.
A better example of the photo appeared in the January 1966 Four Wheeler Magazine
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Original Post November 08, 2016: In January of 1966, Four Wheeler Magazine reported that Kent Frost’s CJ-5 Ruby had surpassed 100,00 miles. During that time Frost estimated he had crossed Elephant Hill 195 times through all kinds of weather, both day and night. Fittingly, the birthday celebration was held at the top of the hill. Here are a few pics of Ruby:
Continue reading
Here’s another photo of Kent Frost and his CJ-5 at the Needles in Canyonlands National Park, probably before it was a park.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/USHS_Morton/id/595/rec/4
This eight-page issue of the 1965 Jeep News volume 11 Number 4 begins with the Vigilante engine billboards, along with a strange story of a hardware merchant using pennies and dollars to buy a jeep only for the jeep dealer to return the favor and buy a washer and dryer from said merchant using pennies, but this time ones bathed in syrup and oil!
Page two contains various pics, while page three includes the story of a Jeepster that looked like new despite having been driven 332,800 miles! His rigorous attention to maintenance was key to his Jeepster’s great condition; it may not surprise you to learn that he worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I wonder what happened to that Kentucky-based jeep.
Page four showcases some international stories, while page five contains another story about Kent Frost and his southern Utah tours out of Monticello, Utah. Page six includes an article about the use of f-head engines in Miller’s Trailblazer welders, while page seven highlights Allen and Phyllis Ellis, who travelled extensively in Mexico in their 1959 CJ-5 (which may have been nicknamed El Osito, which apparently translates to ‘the bear’). Page eight highlights the use of Wagoneers at the 1964-1965 New York City World’s Fair.
“Before Canyonlands Was a Park” is a story built around a presentation given by Alan “Tug” Bates in 2014 and published January 07, 2024, by the Canyon Country Zephyr. It includes a variety of jeep photos from the Canyonlands area.
You can read the story and see pics here: https://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/2024/01/07/1950-before-canyonlands-was-a-park-the-other-place-no-one-knew-by-tug-wilson/
Kent Frost (L), Bates Wilson (Second from right) and friends in the late 1950s. (Photo Credit: NPS)
One excerpt is particularly interesting:
“In the first 10 years of exploring what would become Canyonlands National Park, we encountered a total of five people: We encountered one party of two in 1952; Dad gave them directions to find what later became known as Angel Arch, the icon of Canyonlands. Once, in 1953, we came across a lonesome cowboy, on his way from the West fork of Salt Creek to Cave Springs. And finally, in the fall of 1958, we met up with Kent and Fern Frost. They were in their green jeep, in Horse Canyon, checking out the area for future tours. But that was it…. FIVE.”
When my ex-wife and I moved to Utah thirty years ago (Yikes!!) in the summer of 1994 the population was 1.9 million (by comparison, as of 2021, the population was 3.38 million and the state is still one of the top five growing states). Lacking a jeep at that time, I got to explore southern Utah when you could still hike Desolate Arch in Arches NP and not see anyone! The experience Bates describes was mine at times. There were no signs stopping me from unrolling a sleeping bag on a piece of slick rock outside Moab and spending the night (now, lots of no-camping signs), which I did several times, with stars so bright I didn’t need a flashlight. And, if off the beaten path, you were guaranteed to feel all alone in desolate country.
Thirty years later, the Utah I experienced has changed dramatically. The restaurants are way better, the culture more diverse, the events more varied, but the resulting traffic and the crowds have become, at times, too much for my tastes. I guess I am getting old!!
UPDATE: This post was originally published 12/26/2018:
This article about exploring southern Utah in a jeep was published in the October 1958 issue of Sunset Magazine. You’ll see a nod to Kent Frost’s guide company and a photo of the front of one of his CJ-5s.
This article featuring a Kent Frost jeep tour through Needles was published on May 2, 1958, in the San Juan-Record out of Monticello, Utah. At the bottom I’ve included an image of the whole paper as I thought the illustrated header of the paper was well done.
Searching for more information on Kent Frost, explorer by foot and jeep of Canyonland National Park, I found this article about a man who was injured by an exploding water tank in this unusual turn of events in the normally dull town (probably) of Monticello. The instigator of the fire was only try to fix a lamp….
CREDIT: November 26, 1935, Salt Lake Tribune
This photo of a CJ-5 with a bed extension (possibly Kent Frost’s jeep) was taken in the Needles District of Canyonlands in 1963 or 1964. It can be viewed more in-depth at the Utah State Historical Society’s website.
CREDIT: Utah State Historical — Society https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6zw391g .. “Jeep party is shown ascending steep pitch through Needles area of projected Canyonlands National Park.”
For five days in July of 1961, then-Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Canyonland-legend Kent Frost, and a posse of government folks toured the Caynyonlands area by jeep, boat and helicopter. The huge tour was Udall’s idea, which probably explains why National Geographic was invited on the trip. Udall’s efforts paid off with Utah Democratic Senator Frank Moss proposing Canyonlands National Park (learn more here). The bill was signed on September 12, 1964. What an amazing trip that must have been.
The National Geographic published the story in the May 1962 issue under the title, Cities of Stone in Utah’s Canyonland. The magazine only published one jeep photo, but they did include a map with tiny jeeps showing the route taken.
View all the May 1962 National Geographics on ebay
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1200.
(03/16/2014) I think this is the sixth different wagon-into-trailer that I’ve listed (see here for the others). Kent Frost‘s has been the nicest I’ve seen.
“Willy’s wagon made into pull behind camper in the 1960’s. Has the hard to find ambulance or ‘barn doors’ in back. I used to pull it behind my Willys to swap meets. Have the parts to make this complete for street rod / rat rod / rock climber / etc. $1200. as is.”
As a former Utahn, I found this video interesting. I never knew that Mexican Hat was named for a rock formation (but I’ve only been through there once). The video is a half hour. To view it, click the photo below. Then, click the “Play” button.
Travelogue produced and narrated by Al Morton for San Juan County, Utah, in 1961. It covers the scenic sights of San Juan County, including Rainbow Bridge, Looking Glass Rock, Monticello, Blanding, Bluff, Recapture Canyon, the Valley of the Gods, Mexican Hat, the Goosenecks of the San Juan, Monument Valley; Hovenweep National Monument; Newspaper Rock; Natural Bridges National Monument; the Canyonlands Needles area, Angel Arch, and Dead Horse Point. A significant portion of the film involves a Jeep tour run by Kent and Fern Frost. Includes references to local industries, the Navajo Indians, and the settlement by the San Juan Mission in 1878-1879. Run time: 30 minutes, 3 seconds;
