"On the 16th of October they entered unto a large plain strewn with the skulls and bones of the, bison, indicative of large hunts held there recently by the sav-[??] courses, traveling in North East direction from the Spanish river. Then, they crossed a sizable watercourse bordered by pines. On the Eastern shore of the stream they found the remains of a huge Indian encampment. In the centre of the encampment there remained a singular lodge one hundred and fifty feet in diameter and made of slender tree trunks about twelve inches in diameter and forty four feet long.  These were covered by the limbs of the pine trees and willow trees so as to yield tolerable shade.  At the West end, immediately opposite the door, three bodies lay interred with their feet facing the East.  At the head of each grave was a red cedar branch firmly entrenched in the ground.  At the foot was a large buffalo skull painted black.  Savage ornaments were suspended in various parts of the edifice and a great number of children’s moccasins.  From the magnitude of this building and the time and energy that must have been used in building it, the bodies that it contained must have been those of noted hunters and warriors.”

Thus wrote Washington Irving from the Journals of Robert Stuart.  Mr. Stuart wrote his journals on his return to New York, via Pine Creek in the Green River Valley, with the message that John Jacob Astor’s expedition to Astoria on the mouth of the Columbia River had arrived safely.  That was in the Fall of 1811, and a burial place no matter how ornate was at best a poor place for weary travelers.  However, had Mr. Stuart and his company arrived on the “stream bordered by pines” anywhere within the recent years they would have surely found vastly different accommodations.

            And, if they will wait only until the Spring of ‘54 they (if lucky) will be able to house themselves in the brand new ALPINE Apartments right in the pines and near the pebble-strewn stream of Pine Creek.   For at that time Lloyd Alexander's new apartment house will be completed ready for tenants, from bottom to top.

            Lloyd likes to build things. He started in on boats on his father's  ranch on New Fork when he was about fourteen. Ever since then he has been building something.  In 1950, he, with the help of his brother Earl (Tuffy) built the Riviera Lodge. Lloyd had a planing mill to finish native lumber  at the same time. In 1952 he sold  the Riviera to Buzz Burzlander,  keeping the planing mill. Well, with that planing mill on hand,  Lloyd just had to do something  so he bought a lot of native lumber and made it into a lot of  beautiful knotty pine paneling  and log siding. This called for  some sort of definite action, so, on what will some time Elma St.,  since February, Lloyd Alexander  'has erected single-handed, a handsome ten unit apartment building that would be a credit to any  town in the U. S.

            The log-siding exterior fits perfectly in its background of pines  and distant mountains. The modern interior will meet with the most discriminating taste in the  country. Of course, in February, Lloyd didn't do anything drastic  like pouring foundations; what he  did then was to make all his door  and window frames and the tasty  Western style bedroom furniture  for his new project. When Spring  came, he was ready for the big job and went right into it from foundation up.

            Now, from the outside, the job  looks to be just about done. As of now it represents 98,000 feet of  lumber (only 5,000 ft. imported),  1100 pounds of nails, 17,000 ft. of  insulation and 1,000 ft. of plumbing pipe. On the spur of the moment Lloyd wouldn't give an estimate of the yards of wiring cable that have gone into his new project. The outstanding feature of  the Alpine Apartments is the 56 ft. up-stairs sun porch balcony approach to the upstairs apartments.  This balcony is enclosed with a  continuous line of windows and  faces onto the Wind River Mts.  Whoever gets one of those upstairs apartments is going to get  a real break in scenic views every morning that the sun shines.

            All ten of the new apartments  will be completely furnished,  heated and lighted. The first three  will be ready for  inhabitation  soon. When they are all done  Lloyd (Shimmy, as he is known  to his old time friends) says that  he is going fishing.

-SMOKE SIGNALS    Wednesday, December 2, 1953