Silver Reef

The story begins in the year 1880 and is based on a silver mining town, called Silver Reef, that was located near present day Zion National Park in southwestern Utah. During the height of this silver boom the payroll is stolen from the bank at Silver Reef and the thieves head east into the unexplored canyons of Utah. These outlaws follow a course recently explored by Mormon settlers to a place called Hole In The Rock. It is here that they abuse cause a conflict with Native Americans and are eventually killed by these Indians. A traveler headed west comes across the stolen payroll but, for the sake of weight and safety, he brings only a sample with him, leaving most of the payroll in its hidden location. He sets out to find the town of Silver Reef, leaving sequential clues in various locations about the resting place of the stolen payroll. Significant adventures ensue. This man, a spy in the Civil War leaves his journal, coded with a first clue, which is passed on to his modern day descendants. They are able to crack the code and learn that something valuable may have never been recovered. The magnificent canyons of southern Utah are the back-drop for hiking adventures, rappelling in slot canyons, a devastating flash flood, scuba diving beneath a significant lake, and other dramatic experiences. In search of what may now be worth a small fortune, unknowingly they attract the attention of others who have been gathering clues to, the whereabouts of, the lost riches of Silver Reef.