ON UTAH'S OUTLAW TRAIL : EXPLORING THE RUGGED HIGHWAYS OF BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.

Byline: Lisa Thatcher Kresl Dallas Morning News

Butch and Sundance are riding horses up a sun-dappled stream, surrounded on both sides by red canyons, when Butch looks up at the scenery, cocks his head and says, ``Boy, you know every time I see Hole in the Wall again, it's like seeing it fresh for the first time. And every time that happens, I keep asking myself the same question: `How can I be so damn stupid as to keep coming back here?' ''

Ever since my friend Barbara and I lusted over the two outlaws in ``Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,'' I've wanted to see some of that southern Utah scenery for myself. We watched the 1969 Paul Newman and Robert Redford film over and over, memorizing the canyons - even reciting bits of dialogue.

Twenty years later, I'm Butch-beguiled again on the Outlaw Trail, a tour through scenic parks and small towns from St. George to Richfield and beyond.

I've cruised by Grafton, the picturesque ghost town where raindrops kept falling on their heads in the Paul Newman and Katharine Ross bicycle scene, walked across a field to pay my respects at the one-room cabin where the real outlaw lived as a child, and heard enough Butch Cassidy tales to make Barb real jealous.

Between outlaw thrills, there are desert hikes, historic homes - even Shakespearean plays. But always, there's Butch.

Butch was born in a town called Beaver (about 100 miles north of the Arizona border) in 1864 to Maximillian and Ann Parker. Named Robert Leroy Parker, the boy moved with his family across the mountains and grew up in Circleville further north. The oldest child, Robert was expected to help with the farm work. At harvest time, the family needed extra help and Robert's father hired an itinerant part-time ranch hand, Mike Cassidy. The two became friends.

One day, Mike Cassidy asked Robert to go south to Panguitch. Turns out he was a part-time outlaw who intended to rob the bank.

The marshal recognized Cassidy as a wanted man and put up a fight. Not wanting his friend to be arrested, young Robert fought the marshal, then he and Cassidy escaped, riding out through Red Canyon and Capitol Reef to the caves known as Robber's Roost.

Now a wanted man, Robert joined up with the outlaws, changing his name to George Cassidy so as not to embarrass his family.

A secret to Butch's success was the Outlaw Trail, which stretched from Canada to Mexico through some of the most primitive country in America.

Butch had hideouts that are still hard to find, including Robber's Roost between Hanksville and Moab.

Our Outlaw Trail guide, John Warner, says only a few people know now how to get there. ``It's still some of the most primitive land in the country,'' he says. ``It was Butch's safest hideout.''

(The Bureau of Land Management in Hanksville may be able to help find the cave. Call [phone] for directions.)

You can start exploring southern Utah and Butch's trail in St. George, right over the border from Arizona. It was the Mormons' cotton connection in those early years of self-sufficiency. Its wintertime warmth has made it the Palm Beach of these parts, a mecca for sun-seekers.

Brigham Young's Winter Home (67 W. 200 North) is here with its groomed green yard and garden. Sister Barlow conducts a tour of the Mormon leader's house, including the parlor, kitchen, really steep stairs and three bedrooms. Check out the rocking chair made especially for Brigham Young (he weighed 250 to 300 pounds).

Nine miles northwest of St. George, the red sand dunes at Snow Canyon State Park should look familiar. As Butch and Sundance, Paul Newman and Robert Redford rode their horses through this very sand early on in the ``Who are those guys?'' chase scene.

The Outlaw Trail leads by Zion National Park, Utah's oldest national park and one of its most crowded, especially in summer. Known for its magnificent valley views, this canyon's 2,000- to 3,000-foot sandstone walls tower above you.

The park plans to ban cars as early as summer 1997 and a new shuttle service will transport visitors instead. Once inside, though, there are plenty of places to hike, such as Weeping Rock, a half-hour walk to a rock alcove with dripping springs, and Lower Emerald Pools, an easy stroll on a paved trail to a waterfall. Horseback riding also is available and there are scenic roads to drive or bike, such as Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, a seven-mile route along the canyon floor, and the road from the east entrance, a 13-mile steep drive up switchbacks and through tunnels.

Back to Butch. George Cassidy earned a reputation for his ability to plan robberies, and he eventually became the outlaws' leader. He was known for moving to a town and living there long enough to size up the situation. In one Wyoming town, he worked as a butcher for three months. That's when friends started calling him ``Butch.''

In the movie, Butch gives Sundance's girl, Etta Place, a morning bike ride on his handlebars. They flirt, they frolic.

You can re-create these magical moments in Grafton, where this scene was filmed (from Springdale, follow Route 9 southwest to Rockville; turn south on Bridge Road.) One of the best-preserved ghost towns in Utah, Grafton was founded by Mormon families in 1859. A schoolhouse, store and houses still stand.

Back on Highway 15 going north, you'll come to Cedar City, home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

There's also a museum to check out. After you've seen the stagecoach that Butch supposedly sprayed with bullets and read some of the nine rules of stagecoach etiquette (``Spit with the wind, not against it'' and ``In the event of runaway horses, remain calm''), there's a carriage collection and more to see at the Iron Mission State Park on North Main Street.

Here's a little Butch trivia: Butch soon developed a reputation for being a Robin Hood among outlaws.

``The secret to his success was his generosity,'' says guide John Warner. ``He was generous with his money and people didn't turn him in.''

One Utah widow met up with Butch when she couldn't pay her $500 mortgage and her ranch was threatened by foreclosure. Butch and the boys robbed the local bank and delivered the cash to the woman. She used the money to pay off the surprised banker when he came to the ranch to evict her.

On the way back to town, Butch held up the banker again and kept the money for himself.

Cedar Breaks National Monument is a 9.5-square-mile park 23 miles east of Cedar City. It's similar geologically to Bryce Canyon, but doesn't have as many hoodoos - rock pinnacles - as Bryce, although some say the formations are more varied in color. A five-mile drive along the rim offers views of the amphitheater below. Summer, when wildflowers cover the meadows and forest floor, is said to be the best time to visit.

Unlike Zion, where the views leave you forever leaning your head back, the splendors at Bryce have you looking down.

In fact, Bryce Canyon National Park is not really a canyon at all, but a bunch of amphitheaters cut into pink and white limestone cliffs. Water and weather have sculpted towers and spires said to resemble everything from Queen Victoria to lovers kissing. The colors are the attraction here, changing throughout the day as cloud shadows and the sun's rays move across the scenery.

Some of the trails provide views from the rim; others take you among the spires and hoodoos below. One of the easiest hikes is the 1-1/2-mile Queen's Garden Trail, which begins at Sunrise Point and takes you below the rim.

Off we go to Cove Fort north of Cedar City at the junction of Interstates 15 and 70.

Built in 1867 to protect travelers on the journey between Fillmore and Beaver, Cove Fort has been restored to the 1867-1877 period. There are free guided tours between 8 a.m. and dusk.

To the west of Highway 89 just south of Circleville is all that's left of Butch's boyhood home, the little log cabin where he and the other Parkers grew up.

The sign says ``Butch Cassidy Home.'' That's it. No tourist booth, no souvenirs, no tickets sold. But sightseers pull to the side of the highway nonetheless and walk across the field, dodging cow patties, to see if the old house provides any clue, any whisper of Butch.

Across the hills from Circleville is Fremont Indian State Park, a good spot to see some rock art. Clear Creek Canyon here has more than 1,000 rock art panels by the prehistoric Fremont people. The ``Show Me'' trail (a paved sidewalk) is just one of the paths taking you past some of the easy-to-spot petroglyphs. The largest known Fremont village was uncovered during construction of Interstate 70 in 1983. Material excavated is now on display in the visitors center.

Capital Reef National Park is not far from Fremont on Highway 24. The view above the picnic area is red-rock relief, but all around you are fields of grass, deer grazing around a tree-shrouded stream and acres of blossoming fruit trees.

The park was named Capitol Reef because the mountains reminded early settlers of a coral reef and one of the rounded sandstone hills resembled the Capitol Dome in Washington.

Mormon settlers left their mark in the now-deserted town of Fruita: A one-room schoolhouse, barn, rock fences and acres of fruit orchards still stand. Petroglyphs and storage bins along the walls of the canyons reflect the presence of Fremont Indians in A.D. 800. And legends tell of Butch and other members of the Wild Bunch hiding out in these remote canyons in the 1890s.

By the early 1900s, Butch and Sundance had moved to Bolivia and continued their robbing ways. The film's version of events shows them in a freeze-frame of glory, minutes before the Bolivian Army blows them away.

But was that really the end of the famous outlaw? Most people in these parts have their own theories or at least a tale to tell.

John Warner says he knows for a fact Butch did not die in South America in 1909.

``I knew that as a young boy,'' he says. ``Richfield is my hometown. My father was the mortician. When someone died in the early days of my father's business, he would often go to the town, embalm the body and return home.

``In those days in the Capitol Reef area, there were no hotels. But there was a lady in Bicknell with a boardinghouse and she gave him a room whenever he wanted.

``One time she opened the door a crack and wouldn't let him in. This was unusual because she had always given him a bed in the past. From then on after that, she always had a room for him, just as before. Years later, he asked the woman about that night.

`` `I had someone here who needed some privacy,' she explained.

``My father asked her right out if the person was Butch and she said it was. Now, this was after the time Butch was said to have died in Bolivia.

``But now, I ask you this,'' Warner says. ``Who do you think the woman who ran the boardinghouse was? It was the lady who couldn't pay her $500 mortgage. Butch knew he had a friend there and a place to stay.''

On Location

``The Outlaw Trail'' tour is offered by Wonderland Tours, 77 W. 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101; [phone].

The Zion National Park visitors center at the south entrance is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (longer in summer). A seven-day entrance pass is $5 per passenger vehicle. Write for more information before you go: Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah 84767-1099; [phone].

Cedar Breaks National Monument visitors center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from late May to mid-October; $4 per car entrance fee. Information: [phone].

Bryce Canyon National Park is seven miles south of Panguitch on U.S. Highway 89, then 17 miles southeast on Highway 12 to Highway 63. Then it's three miles to the entrance. The visitors center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (longer in summer); the park is open 24 hours a day. Entrance fee is $5 per car. Information: [phone].

You'll find Fremont Indian State Park near Interstate 70, Exit 17, and five miles west of U.S. 89. It's open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (until 6 p.m. in summer). Admission: $1.50, adults; $1, children 6 to 16; $6 for the whole family. Call [phone].

Capitol Reef visitors center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (longer in summer). A $4 fee per vehicle is collected on Scenic Drive. Information: [phone].

Iron Mission State Park is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., June through August; until 5 p.m. otherwise. Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--color) A hiker is dwarfed by fanciful ro ck formations in the Queen's Gardens area of Bryce Canyon National Park.

(2--color) Butch Cassidy grew up in this cabin near Circleville, Utah.

Lisa Thatcher Kresl/Dallas Morning News

(3--color) no caption (Utah Wildflowers)

(4) Hikers are dwarfed by the towering walls of Zion Narrows in Utah's Zion National Park.

Utah Travel Council

Box: On Location (see text)