“Glad you’ve found the magic.” That’s what the owner of Bob’s Station and Motel told me after I checked in for the night on a recent 2,000-mile journey from Arizona and Wyoming and back. He was right – and I never thought I would find such a unique treasure in the middle of nowhere.
After all, the town of Kanosh, Utah, is home to fewer than 500 people. It is located several miles away from a major north-south interstate; I lived in Utah for over 20 years and had driven past the exit sign a hundred times or more, but I never had a reason to check it out. I’m glad that I finally took the time to venture off the beaten path and explore it this time.
There isn’t much hustle and bustle in Millard County, although the area is home to some of Utah’s most rugged recreational areas, like Great Basin National Park and Meadow Hot Springs. My overnight stay led me to Bob’s Sinclair Station when I needed to find a place to stay that was close to my travel route and wanted to experience something a little different.
The motel has just seven rooms, and I was the only guest for the night. Parked out front was a worn and weathered 1979 Ford F-350 tow truck – its registration sticker expired in 2013. The story goes that Bob Nafus and his wife Valyrie bought the service station in 1986 and operated it as a wrecker facility and small equipment rental store. Not long afterward, the adjacent Kanosh Motel was purchased by the Nafus family as well. In Bob’s obituary (he passed in 2020), it reads, “Bob liked to think of Kanosh as a destination.” He came to the aid of many travelers over the years.
I have a particular fascination with vintage service stations, and that’s in large part because it runs in the family. Back in late 2022, I wrote a story on my late great-grandfather’s station. Then last year, I featured a unique Art Deco station in Tucson. So, the story of Bob’s station was of particular interest to me.
The current property owner told me he believes the service station and motel both date back to the 1950s. Most impressive to me was how original they both looked. The Sinclair received a new paint job a few years ago, but its floor plan (including outside-access restrooms), roll-up doors and mercantile-style shelving in the front office probably look the same today as they did 75 years ago. It felt like I was traveling back in time to admire it all.
When dusk started to set in, the clouds made for some striking photo opportunities, and I wandered out of my motel room to capture the moment. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing place to spend the night – aside from the occasional car driving past, the only thing I could hear was the sound of a neighbor’s sprinklers. When compared to the fast pace and stress that many of us deal with in the modern world, it was a welcome contrast.
My experience at Bob’s and the Kanosh Motel made me reflect on what it might have been like to visit a Sinclair station 50 or more years ago. The stories it could tell!
Magical, indeed.