By PETE THUNELL
thunell@du2.byu.edu
These days, Utah has more mazes than the back of a Honey Combs cereal box. In our area you would think that farmers had all but given up on corn as a crop, and turned their focus to twisting and turning mazes.
I know what you're thinking right now, 'Haven't I already seen a number of corn maze stories in the past few weeks?' True, but it seems that some out there are pretty confused as to which maze is what and where. Others of the more conspiracy-theory type might believe another corn maze story to be a plot so that we at The Daily Universe can write one more headline with a 'corn'y pun. I can't deny that this could be a subliminal reason.
Friday night I went through the three main corn mazes in the area. When I was given this charge of reviewing the corn mazes, I felt like someone had just asked me to compare and contrast all of Elvis' movies. Who can tell the difference? What I was surprised to find is that each maze is very unique in its own way and has a variety of things to offer.
Two of the mazes, The Maize in Lindon and The Crazy Corn Maze in Salt Lake, have engaged in a little rivalry for the title of the biggest in Utah. According to the owner of The Crazy Corn Maze, the Lindon one has the most path yardage, whereas his maze takes up the most square yardage. I guess it all lies in what you count as the 'biggest.'
The first stop on my corn pilgrimage was The Maize in Lindon/American Fork, just a little northwest of the Geneva plant. This maze is a bit off the beaten path, but not too hard to find.
Of the three, The Maize has the most defined paths and look. All the corn is pulled to the side with plastic netting and The Maize will most likely hold up the best through the next few months. The maze is set up in three phases that take about a half hour to 45 minutes apiece.
The three-phase advantage is you never get completely lost or fed up. There are also four towers you can get up on to see progress and chart where you want to go. It makes the whole game a bit more cerebral and little less luck.
Another gimmick of The Maize is the little cards with questions that give you hints at certain points. Some of the questions weren't exactly helpful, (You try and answer 'How many times is corn mentioned in the Bible?' They then list answers, and depending on what you think, you turn right or left.)
The next maze I visited is The Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point, right next to I-15 in north Lehi. Even though this maze seems to be geared toward younger kids, don't be fooled. I found this one to be the most maddening of them all. The maze is cut out in the shapes of barnyard animals and has, along the way, pictures of what animals you are at and signs with old Laughy Taffy jokes about barnyard animals.
The real frustration of The Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point is that you have no idea where the end is and what you are shooting for. Don't bother asking the workers either, because they're not telling.
If you are looking to get very lost, though, this one delivers. The corn is high, the paths are narrow, and there is just one really powerful light coming from one side. There is also a 'chicken path' that runs down the middle, in case you want to give up or your date tries to get too fresh at one of the dead ends.
The final maze I visited was The Crazy Corn Maze at 9000 S. Bangerter Hwy. in West Jordan. This one benefits greatly from its location. Where the other two are off to the side of I-15, The Crazy Corn Maze is right in the thick of things in Salt Lake.
The Crazy Corn Maze is a long one that takes an hour or so to finish. Unlike the other two, The Crazy Corn Maze has no ways to cheat or give up. Just like the mafia, once you're in, you're in. This one has a lot more dead ends than the other two, but isn't too confusing.
Some of the corn rows are spaced a bit too much and look like paths, but The Crazy Corn maze has an impressively large staff wandering around and helping out, if you want them too.
If you go to any of the corn mazes, be sure to bring a flashlight and especially mosquito repellant. I'm scratching as I write this.
Ticket prices for The Maize and The Crazy Corn Maze are $6 for adults. The Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point is $5 for adults. The Maize is open 4-10 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 4-11 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday. For more information and directions call 356-0530 or go to their Web site at www.cornfieldmaze.com.
The Crazy Corn Maze is open from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Mon.-Fri. and 12 p.m.-12 a.m. on Saturday. For more information about The Crazy Corn Maze, call (801) 569-2356 or see their Web site at www.utahmaze.com. For more information on the Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point call (801) 786-4916.