Orem resident Merlin Ross plans to buy Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. Although the $3.4 million price tag is a bit steep for him, he said it is just something he wants to do.

"You've got to have a dream," he said.

Ross is fascinated by the original owner of the falls, who had a dream to create a recreational area for people to enjoy. It is a valuable part of the community, and fixing it up would be a good thing, he said. An avalanche destroyed the resort in 1996.

"Of course, there's no guarantee that even if it's avalanche-proof that nature won't beat it up," Ross said.

The falls is a rejuvenating place, even though it is in poor condition, he said.

"The waterfall has a positive effect on the spirit," Ross said.

David and Judy Grow ran Bridal Veil Falls for about 25 years, Judy Grow said. Running it again would take more money and energy then they are willing to put into it, she said.

"It's just time for someone else to have the opportunity to develop it and make it a wonderful place for the community," Judy Grow said.

David Grow wants to sell Bridal Veil Falls so somebody can do something nice with it, he said. Because he is a real estate investor, anything he owns is always for sale, he said.

"I guess it's been for sale since the day I bought it 30 years ago," he said.

A person wanting to buy the falls would go through normal real estate process, David Grow said. Someone has to make an offer and then go from there.

Provo City has an option to purchase the falls, he said. They would make it part of a chain of parks throughout the canyon. However, the option has expired, and the situation should resolve itself in the next few months, he said.

"Governments are notoriously slow and convoluted, and I don't know what to expect," David Grow said.

"We hope they don't buy it unless they want to make it something beautiful," he said.

Ross plans to bring the falls back to life by making a few changes, he said. He would move the gift shop and the bridge out of the "hit zone." He wants a restaurant in the building with the gift shop.

Ross said he hopes to close off the road, since it is no longer a main highway, and make it into a fun park. He would like the river to be a lookout point. He would have a portable caboose to sell hot dogs, which could be moved during the off-season, he said.

"There can be community dances in the evening," Ross said. "Dancing in the street, so to speak."

Ross would like booths so artists can sell their wares, he said. He plans on selling Bridal Veil mineral water, made with water from the falls.

He would like to renovate the vandalized building on top of the cliff, he said.

"I want to re-fix that up and have kind of like a historical wall that has the previous owners - all the dreamers who've built it and owned it," Ross said.

People are welcome to visit the falls now, although it is a half-mile walk because there is no longer a bridge, David Grow said.

"We don't object," he said. "We just don't want them scampering all over the mountain getting hurt."

There is a green park that hits the trail leading to the falls, said Roger Thomas, Provo Parks and Recreation director. There is also a parking lot, picnicking areas and a trail.

"Our little grassed park area there is treated like any other city park," he said.

Ross plans to purchase the falls with the money he earns from selling one million copies of his new book, "The Power of Positive Emotions."

"I think it's possible to sell a million books in a year, so that's my goal," he said.

Ross wrote his book in order to rebuild his life, he said. It is a collection of ideas and inspirations, all of which helped him through the healing process after a divorce.

"I didn't want to become bitter and angry, which I was for a long time," Ross said. "I hope it can help other people like it has me."

Ross found ideas from reading, counselors and friends, he said. He uses harmonic clichés, which communicate feelings, to focus on certain emotions for the reader to feel.

"A part of you comes back to life that may have been shut down after tragedy," Ross said.

He carried a notebook around for three years, and wrote down clichés he heard people using, he said.

"Just wherever I could collect them, and I had thousands of them," Ross said.

He sorted through them, and found those with the best feelings, he said. The book focuses on 18 different emotions, with a grand finale tuning hundreds of emotions.

"It opens your mind and your heart up to how much feeling is a part of your life," Ross said.

"You have to learn to deal with them."

Ross calls his project "The tram that thinks you can," inspired by the two tram cars at the falls, he said. He plans on naming one of the tramcars George, for President George W. Bush's fight against terrorism. The other car will be named Elizabeth, in honor of Elizabeth Smart, the Salt Lake girl taken from her home on June 5.



Copyright Brigham Young University 17 Sep 2002