Flaming Gorge Reservoir

This large reservoir on the Green River in Utah and Wyoming is kind of a special place. First, it has a really deep canyon with red rocks (it's called Red Canyon). You can walk right up to the edge, although I don't recommend that for people with a fear of heights. It's 1,500 feet straight down to the water. Secondly, there's a tributary of the Green called Sheep Creek where native species like Bighorn sheep have been reintroduced.

It's good that humans are trying to restore the environments they have disturbed.

Arches National Park

It's actually been a long time since I've visited Arches National Park in Utah. The last time was back in 2006 with my dad and my brother. I was just a kid.

See that rock behind me? It's called Balanced Rock. It looks like it's about to fall over at any moment. It's actually been there for a very long time, but one day erosion will topple it. I just hope I'm not here when it happens.

M.O.A.B.

I'm not sure where the town of Moab, Utah got it's name, but I am guessing it stands for Mecca for Outdoor Adventures on Bikes. The slickrock trails here attract mountain bikers from all over the world.

We had a hotel stay here and got the explore the town. It's a beautiful place.

Protect Your Right To Bears Ears

The two prominent buttes in the background are called the Bears Ears. They overlook Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah. In 2016 President Obama declared a national monument in this area, named after the buttes. One year later, President Trump shrank the area of the monument by 85%. I'm not really sure why...

Now, I've heard people say that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms, but I'm not sure that I'm interested in bear arms (they have claws attached at the ends). I think bear ears are much cuter. They remind me of Pooh Bear.

Perhaps I'm missing something here.

Pack It Out

Unfortunately, one of the consistent features of the spectacular Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation is lots of roadside trash. I noticed this when I was last here in 2015. Doesn't anybody care?

Glen Canyon Dam

Behind me you can see 27 million acre feet of H2O, courtesy of the Colorado River watershed. That's enough to cover the entire state of Tennessee in a foot of water (sorry Tennessee!). This dam is an impressive engineering feat anyway you look at it. Without it, this region would have a much lower population.

We tried to visit the John Wesley Powell museum in nearby Page, Arizona but it was closed for renovation. Powell certainly saw a different Glen Canyon when his crew explored it in boats back in 1869. Very lyrically, he described a world that is now underwater. That part is sad.

Powell did all this with one arm. He lost a limb during the Civil War when he fought for the Union. Remarkable guy.

I noticed he spelled his name a little differently from mine.

Dry Lands

When traveling through the Southwest, especially if you go hiking, here are my top three rules:
#1: Drink water
#2: Drink water
#3: Drink water

And here's a supplementary piece of wisdom: nobody, and I do mean nobody, wants to see your initials carved on the rocks.

Don't Worry About The Government

If you're traveling out in the middle of nowhere and happen to run across a well-built trail or excellent stone masonry in a national or state park, chances are that it was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. It was an elegant solution to a big problem. People were out of work due to the Great Depression, so the CCC was established by the federal government to employ folks to build public works that we still use today. It's too bad that we live in a time when many Americans have forgotten that "we the people" have a government that is supposed to do good stuff for everyone.

This stone restroom behind me has withstood 80 years of fires and flash floods. They don't make 'em like they used to.

Sword Of Damocles

This is my second drive on the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada (see Blogpost #77). This time we had rain, thunder and lightning. Scary but exhilarating.

All of the Area 51 and space alien hype is lots of fun, but let's remember that over that ridge behind me is where the early atomic bombs were tested during the Cold War. Sure, our country gained the ability to blow up tbe world several times over and to deter the Soviet Union from attacking, but there was a cost. For example, people who lived downwind in Nevada and Utah suffered elevated risks of cancer.

The Soviet Union fell apart a few years before I was born so I never experienced that sense of dread that others felt, but it sure looks like a mutual suicide pact to me. I hope we humans learn to make peace in the future.

The Water Is Wide

...and I cannot cross over... and neither have I wings to fly...

The West Walker River in the Eastern Sierra is running high this season. In past years when Dad and I have camped here we've been able to dip our toes in the water. Not now. That current is swift and ice cold. In fact there's still so much snow in the high country that the road over Tioga Pass is still closed. That's unusual for mid-June.

I heard that the mountain rescue people are training intensively right now to save folks who do foolish things around rivers. They won't have to worry about me. I'm no dummy. Have adventures but by all means safety first!

Carrizo Plain National Monument

Memorial Day weekend and  Dad and I took a little trip south. This place is quiet and peaceful, but also windy and rainy.

Not very many people know about this place in eastern San Luis Obispo county. It's sometimes called the "Serengetti of California" because a lot of wildlife pass through here. We saw a hawk up really close which was way cool.

Come here but don't tell too many of your friends.