On June 1, 1925, a 315-car caravan led by Governor George Dean arrived at the Red Canyon tunnels to celebrate the opening of Utah National Park, later renamed Bryce Canyon National Park. At the second tunnel, a flower-strewn gate and a banner welcoming visitors to Utah's Fairyland framed an elaborate ceremony in which children dressed as fairies tied flowers and ribbons to the governor's car. After the governor declared his belief in fairies, two young elves opened the gates, a band played from atop the tunnel, and dancing fairies, helped by men pushing from behind, drew the car through. Since that celebration, the tunnels have served as an entrance to Red and Bryce Canyons. The road through Red Canyon fulfilled the long-sought goal of Powell National Forest Supervisor W.J. Humphrey, who after first seeing Bryce Canyon around 1915 began working to make it reachable by automobile, a project that took nearly a decade. The bright formations of Red Canyon are largely limestone formed from sediment in a lake that covered the region 35 to 50 million years ago, and their pink, orange, and red hues come from oxidized iron in the rock.