tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46231224148672160112024-03-19T12:09:12.525-07:00The Booby HatcherA discussion of whatever strikes my fancy.Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-66979424832494514322024-02-06T07:59:00.000-08:002024-02-06T07:59:25.086-08:00The Cooke's Range, New Mexico<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX8jQS2_0pdGbYg7lKyHo_wQNbiLtJVYv1K6TI67bJ8jYNOo2YWXvfkV2RGJyHYzJPiJtwi2IBB2kcKGl6Ytc31ilKNH6AUvgZoetwmcOYHFD46CWFC2nXvutxfrluHdK5oRoaGNklO69czrL8fpIf5lciDL8CTEPg-1uIQ-uTnXcPy9w6vmVtogLdKM/s1800/DSC04560_ocotillo_and_florida_mts_from_massacre.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX8jQS2_0pdGbYg7lKyHo_wQNbiLtJVYv1K6TI67bJ8jYNOo2YWXvfkV2RGJyHYzJPiJtwi2IBB2kcKGl6Ytc31ilKNH6AUvgZoetwmcOYHFD46CWFC2nXvutxfrluHdK5oRoaGNklO69czrL8fpIf5lciDL8CTEPg-1uIQ-uTnXcPy9w6vmVtogLdKM/w400-h266/DSC04560_ocotillo_and_florida_mts_from_massacre.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ocotillo on Massacre Peak in the southern part of the Cooke's Range. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Cooke’s Peak rises 2,400 feet above the remote trailhead where seven of us (and three dogs) gathered on a chilly January day for a long-anticipated hike to the top. The route climbs an alluvial fan and turns into OK Canyon where it winds through oak, sotol, and juniper before launching steeply upwards over two saddles to a short third-</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">class summit scramble. We hoisted our daypacks and set off up the trail while the dogs ran around finding old bones and muddy puddles, covering at least twice the distance we did during an already long day.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kihnP0yjpLYwXWxAtei3wFn2778lpxDB2PXhyphenhyphenD24Ip307HPBVDAxsqBw6jHZvnS6oP_mztKMa3jnpafH2LlLcKMX9akvGpvyHnq-KM50trCMi5sfSCIdu9RoJ0G5IVYioxVSoH246m_ZoZowfgfhpj3tVRhPNGXTtIbQ7TC0DART9rZEk07_uC4HsNA/s1800/DSC_5381_cook_mountain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kihnP0yjpLYwXWxAtei3wFn2778lpxDB2PXhyphenhyphenD24Ip307HPBVDAxsqBw6jHZvnS6oP_mztKMa3jnpafH2LlLcKMX9akvGpvyHnq-KM50trCMi5sfSCIdu9RoJ0G5IVYioxVSoH246m_ZoZowfgfhpj3tVRhPNGXTtIbQ7TC0DART9rZEk07_uC4HsNA/w400-h200/DSC_5381_cook_mountain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cooke's Peak (the pointy one) viewed from Mimbres Valley northwest of the range.</i></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqY35uyqOIZ45IqFMFs1eISmBq0A0RkyChBcsyD4wV6pJYaqDJESX1UKosEKc2LpITj8iYXkTllY-or6DEF1ROoghil2GQXFap0B4xi7ohTdshAa_xO2Zb3MM6LzT2rC1pfnwvxvIBAsG6loFzY56yVtyJA9sriFdI5glRZclDB0FOTrPyqa2gpQjlLD0/s1800/DSC04583_cookes_peak_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqY35uyqOIZ45IqFMFs1eISmBq0A0RkyChBcsyD4wV6pJYaqDJESX1UKosEKc2LpITj8iYXkTllY-or6DEF1ROoghil2GQXFap0B4xi7ohTdshAa_xO2Zb3MM6LzT2rC1pfnwvxvIBAsG6loFzY56yVtyJA9sriFdI5glRZclDB0FOTrPyqa2gpQjlLD0/w400-h266/DSC04583_cookes_peak_hike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On the trail to Cooke's Peak with the Chihuahuan Desert far below.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdj-5jAPcuEuCtidtUhVSuqC57tbIhU5dF31z7_0Kt3o00HH0KU4zlXMTah4ppev4O9D_c2UVGoL_hf8aWKl57UUn4i1h4ogt1Ty1adueKBv9_rHWL3V_UXa7XS4U_ahHnApAsfkfDL3GLkquF1xnffnroMtr7ycX9Q1VLa-1LrsxfgMceNPNwVQBU2Q/s1800/DSC04595_cookes_peak_hike_view_west.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdj-5jAPcuEuCtidtUhVSuqC57tbIhU5dF31z7_0Kt3o00HH0KU4zlXMTah4ppev4O9D_c2UVGoL_hf8aWKl57UUn4i1h4ogt1Ty1adueKBv9_rHWL3V_UXa7XS4U_ahHnApAsfkfDL3GLkquF1xnffnroMtr7ycX9Q1VLa-1LrsxfgMceNPNwVQBU2Q/w400-h266/DSC04595_cookes_peak_hike_view_west.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The view east from near the summit of Cooke's Peak.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The peak dominates the northern end of the Cooke’s Range, one of many obscure “sky islands” rising from the desert basins of Southern New Mexico. Thanks to a perennial spring, it played a disproportionate role in U.S. and Mexican history and the U.S. doctrine of manifest destiny. Military, mail, and passenger routes between the East and California stopped at Cooke’s spring rather than bypassing the mountains because it offered the only reliable water between the Rio Grande and the Mimbres River. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmJTGiEX9RowNZWgmLShNq6xVqnCe_BwBQ0bnTfKOrjnuK7M5jO9Q0XHo4oqsh3HG45ieeNM3UKro2L05zJSGwM0QnSKA_1dj1TeucXp-cGDkkGiPq53L-J3Gpdx-3KEt6VVvzL8d9koxz9fOHTegiKluMNze5Gr5u9qYzqdbPWGsBzo6cRpEbr_Fj1U/s1800/DSC04561_ocotillo_massacre_peak.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmJTGiEX9RowNZWgmLShNq6xVqnCe_BwBQ0bnTfKOrjnuK7M5jO9Q0XHo4oqsh3HG45ieeNM3UKro2L05zJSGwM0QnSKA_1dj1TeucXp-cGDkkGiPq53L-J3Gpdx-3KEt6VVvzL8d9koxz9fOHTegiKluMNze5Gr5u9qYzqdbPWGsBzo6cRpEbr_Fj1U/w400-h266/DSC04561_ocotillo_massacre_peak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A lone ocotillo on Massacre Peak in the southern Cooke's Range with the Florida Mountains in the distant background. The easiest east-west route is between the Floridas and the Cooke's Range, but there isn't any water.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke traveled the route in 1846-47 with a ragtag battalion of Mormon “soldiers” recruited in Iowa to bolster the U.S. military presence in the southwest, much of which was still owned by Mexico, and to diffuse tensions with the Mormons. They welcomed this because it gave them a chance to travel west funded by the military, escaping persecution in Iowa. <span>After prolonged conflict and negotiation with Mexico, the Gadsen Treaty established the international border about where it is today, and the U.S. gained possession of Cooke's route.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51qGsEAT03z4wIEjHTGOCbDRBtlo5mvmtPaKnIQLObXh6AG1xDshNJjP2k2cSeMvixwJ68hRzORJFUHhUl4VjGO_k6cvkBZXXYEsuoeJBJcMUUgD_aYJcC32OQCKK3FTEjBsIPk07GdzH43rrpz5pZ9gxpdP9IMVRrDgz4FNy6ksnIf-TK_THKXrbo_4/s1800/DSC04553_ellen_massacre_peak.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51qGsEAT03z4wIEjHTGOCbDRBtlo5mvmtPaKnIQLObXh6AG1xDshNJjP2k2cSeMvixwJ68hRzORJFUHhUl4VjGO_k6cvkBZXXYEsuoeJBJcMUUgD_aYJcC32OQCKK3FTEjBsIPk07GdzH43rrpz5pZ9gxpdP9IMVRrDgz4FNy6ksnIf-TK_THKXrbo_4/w400-h266/DSC04553_ellen_massacre_peak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen near the summit of Massacre Peak just south of Cooke's Gap and west of the spring. A plaque commemorated the Cooke expedition as well as a group of boy scouts who visited the summit more recently, presumably to install the plaque.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Long before Europeans started arguing over ownership, the Mimbres chipped petroglyphs in the hills and canyons of the range. They are often fantastical, though some depict easily recognized rattlesnakes, sheep, bear prints, and yuccas. There are even the outlines of scarlet macaws on boulders in at least two sites. These tropical birds were traded (and maybe bred?) as far north as Chaco Canyon and its outliers and clearly had religious and cultural significance. Their feathers have been found attached to prayer sticks and ceremonial clothing. The Mimbres abandoned the area around 1150 AD, perhaps migrating south into Mexico. Bands of Apaches later established ephemeral camps in and around the Cooke's Range where they hunted and organized raids.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETVHxkfHMWY-nmovkh0nB7UYFPiCuQsUacCE5dumSat7vwuZgP6TY9K1_hr4BSWgHMAwWixMechznVpEGvpe6POJuRe98czIoR4Ug2ZolbQ1oCHjQHN4X5yaMtny9_aDpGuC5PIlnuVekAAnngbP8WAJchvOP7JQnltTGZkK641ebgKN-aR2hQwpuyzg/s1800/DSC_6000_petroglyphs_pony_hills.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETVHxkfHMWY-nmovkh0nB7UYFPiCuQsUacCE5dumSat7vwuZgP6TY9K1_hr4BSWgHMAwWixMechznVpEGvpe6POJuRe98czIoR4Ug2ZolbQ1oCHjQHN4X5yaMtny9_aDpGuC5PIlnuVekAAnngbP8WAJchvOP7JQnltTGZkK641ebgKN-aR2hQwpuyzg/w400-h266/DSC_6000_petroglyphs_pony_hills.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Petroglyphs in the Cooke's Range.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNixIhLO91EncCdLT400iryhgPS1SU6YPZdATTympxBKy3LksqqwryCBL7QcNiqheGndykbNZsZ0AZZt9TRCpqrqIPAB84PQUFRMLZt9H4Kep1j_TNkQuH-XPnvkbPL9qyy1IEfY-KOWoQpHgBi_lpyeL86kitRnfVJLymjhfKboXZ38fE5gX2UO6XtyI/s1800/DSC_6024_macaw_roasting_rat_petroglyph_frying_pan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNixIhLO91EncCdLT400iryhgPS1SU6YPZdATTympxBKy3LksqqwryCBL7QcNiqheGndykbNZsZ0AZZt9TRCpqrqIPAB84PQUFRMLZt9H4Kep1j_TNkQuH-XPnvkbPL9qyy1IEfY-KOWoQpHgBi_lpyeL86kitRnfVJLymjhfKboXZ38fE5gX2UO6XtyI/w400-h266/DSC_6024_macaw_roasting_rat_petroglyph_frying_pan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More petroglyphs including a possible macaw and Santa Claus roasting a dead rat over a fire??!!</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0t7-HcN19av650U-UL70T5H_QjVSuu3g1w_m0PF7GPpabf7CrMfXnjR1ae6YqFOJWZAHf-14a0hmcqv8yx5qyOWbi49bQh7JNVZvzhPJxudbQk59GtbG9CdeOZqPTK-lIdInEVQzNRNU0r0jo4Jo1jAEQVBERNgYRY3eLuxkE_DPCBKrS47BHcRlpvI/s1800/DSC_6032_grinding_holes_frying_pan_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0t7-HcN19av650U-UL70T5H_QjVSuu3g1w_m0PF7GPpabf7CrMfXnjR1ae6YqFOJWZAHf-14a0hmcqv8yx5qyOWbi49bQh7JNVZvzhPJxudbQk59GtbG9CdeOZqPTK-lIdInEVQzNRNU0r0jo4Jo1jAEQVBERNgYRY3eLuxkE_DPCBKrS47BHcRlpvI/w400-h266/DSC_6032_grinding_holes_frying_pan_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Grinding holes in sandstone.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The Apaches were antagonized by the stream of Europeans threatening their sovereignty. Cooke’s Pass, just west of the spring and sandwiched between steep cliffs and hills for over a mile, was a perfect place to attack travelers, and the Apaches took full advantage. During one well-known attack in July of 1861, Mangas Coloradas and Cochise, two famous Apache leaders, ambushed seven members of the Freeman Thomas Mail Party as they entered the canyon, forcing them up a side canyon to the south where they built rudimentary rock shelters and fought the warriors until their inevitable deaths. According to an account by <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/desert-new-mexico/cookes-canyon.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Jay Sharp</a>, the stripped and mutilated bodies of Thomas and his companions were found two days later by passing freighters who described the scene:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>The ferocity of the battle, the freighters said, could be measured by the numerous shell casings littering the ground and the bullet marks covering the rocks and trees around the stone barricades</i>.” </blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cq5EKYzdgu5bQxPDm1otWgmwhR73a-pCiHSSzIS32BuRkjkl24mHWVnXjzrd7iVgCqS3C2QU5-pPMcjeNdUqpJP__kkMIH09ndMhjS-mBDPrOIkVeF_uWU3-G09yF-Jf1VZmCXwU9CCHcV686W95bFKko6TdOMd7XP9vI4CcAndHZNEKP7dElA8okzM/s1800/DSC_5973_ellen_cookes_pass.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cq5EKYzdgu5bQxPDm1otWgmwhR73a-pCiHSSzIS32BuRkjkl24mHWVnXjzrd7iVgCqS3C2QU5-pPMcjeNdUqpJP__kkMIH09ndMhjS-mBDPrOIkVeF_uWU3-G09yF-Jf1VZmCXwU9CCHcV686W95bFKko6TdOMd7XP9vI4CcAndHZNEKP7dElA8okzM/w400-h266/DSC_5973_ellen_cookes_pass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen hiking through Cooke's Pass in November and feeling somewhat less terrified than travelers 150 years earlier, despite the 8-mile shadeless round-trip. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We spent a day trying to find the site of this attack, but aside from a few ambiguous rock shelters, any signs of the battle have been erased by 160 years of weather and scavenging. This and many other attacks led to the construction of Fort Cummings near the spring in 1863 and deployment of military personnel to protect the vital transportation route. Today, all that remains of the fort are a few decaying adobe walls and a barren cemetery. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5YSjeL4nIHOlytTIZPUBbnZXa6cRjqVr1V1ZoA_i1NlTpsqF7OwZMul6N79p4UTypn_5l4z4x76b2J0J1OTc8LgujhwbBKbFyFnS3eX35CdBQClGEkNEOPtZ0jtiibaA6F_7jjXJKuFVfKyUAPk5rvWwu_S4djJIax51i8vsJ9iJyZHB2uc4_cTn4T8/s1800/DSC_5967_fort_cummings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5YSjeL4nIHOlytTIZPUBbnZXa6cRjqVr1V1ZoA_i1NlTpsqF7OwZMul6N79p4UTypn_5l4z4x76b2J0J1OTc8LgujhwbBKbFyFnS3eX35CdBQClGEkNEOPtZ0jtiibaA6F_7jjXJKuFVfKyUAPk5rvWwu_S4djJIax51i8vsJ9iJyZHB2uc4_cTn4T8/w400-h266/DSC_5967_fort_cummings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Decaying adobe walls at Ft. Cummings, once a busy military outpost positioned to protect travelers from Apache attacks.</i></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoDReZaZApvFv8hV_cYjpI-fmvrll5MXTSUMd1rzmK-m6FABNhZJ0vJ4DOZ1eqWGQE31BPoco_sr6F2U07vCri6IwXcg2dJZmgP6YSvc6WUFQSE5bXOsEsPSmcIDSF7EqhDDtclximKdMwP1ZZBXeNZITojFMmv7aQC-97JE6KbofbXJBQYXMvZQqIcQ/s1800/DSC_5964_graves_fort_cummings_cemetary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoDReZaZApvFv8hV_cYjpI-fmvrll5MXTSUMd1rzmK-m6FABNhZJ0vJ4DOZ1eqWGQE31BPoco_sr6F2U07vCri6IwXcg2dJZmgP6YSvc6WUFQSE5bXOsEsPSmcIDSF7EqhDDtclximKdMwP1ZZBXeNZITojFMmv7aQC-97JE6KbofbXJBQYXMvZQqIcQ/w400-h266/DSC_5964_graves_fort_cummings_cemetary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lonely graves at the Ft. Cummings cemetery. The military was tasked with collecting human remains that had been left scattered along the route through Cooke's Pass and relocating them to this cemetery. The bones and bodies contributed to the terror travelers felt as they passed through the canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After the Indian Wars, the Cooke’s Range was occupied by miners, goat herders, and ranchers. Abandoned towns dot the foothills today, and old mines are everywhere. To the west, Flourite Ridge is riddled with adits where miners extracted its namesake mineral, used to make steel, especially during WWII. Also during WWII, in the basin to the east, pilots dropped bombs containing small amounts of explosive and a lot of flour to mark the spots where they exploded, helping them evaluate their aim.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccmUTqwKSGpAJ-cPW2yfFQr1V39gg0LOgnjg61I4lU2qHzmuopFQOB3kc3PTy6mVp1dBExZMxH868Qz9zHkAV5FTnGCK15ScMrWlGV-XOaCh4HWvt37kE1gjYjECCINH77x-klYFCMHdAcXsKSPDIS0JpgbEO6kBx47XRNj4RlagBMfEcJ3_-qE9eN0c/s1800/DSC04630_stone_house_ruin_north_end_flourite_ridge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccmUTqwKSGpAJ-cPW2yfFQr1V39gg0LOgnjg61I4lU2qHzmuopFQOB3kc3PTy6mVp1dBExZMxH868Qz9zHkAV5FTnGCK15ScMrWlGV-XOaCh4HWvt37kE1gjYjECCINH77x-klYFCMHdAcXsKSPDIS0JpgbEO6kBx47XRNj4RlagBMfEcJ3_-qE9eN0c/w400-h266/DSC04630_stone_house_ruin_north_end_flourite_ridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A stone house probably used by miners near the north end of Fluorite Ridge.</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;">On the northeast flanks of the range, the once prosperous mining town of Cooks Town (spelled without the “e”) is mostly gone save for remnants of a few buildings. The town was established in 1876 and mostly abandoned by the beginning of WWII but it once had as many as sixteen saloons (and no churches!). Donald Couchman (</span><a href="http://www.blackrange.org/the-human-history-of-the/towns-of-the-black-range/ft-cummings-and-cookes/cookes-peak---pasaron-por.pdf" style="color: #954f72; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Couchman 1990</a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;">), in his comprehensive Master’s thesis on the history of the region, tells a story of intrepid partiers from Cooks Town:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>Many of the community social functions were conducted at the schoolhouse…People would come from as far away as Deming, Lake Valley, Las Cruces, Hatch, Hatchita, and the settlements along the Mimbres River. The revelers pushed the school furniture against the wall for room to dance and used the seats for beds for the children when they could no longer stay awake…Sometimes after dancing all night, the participants would climb the remaining distance to Cooke’s Peak and enjoy the dawning of a new day together.</i>”<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We stopped for a snack below the summit headwall and then scrambled to the top where a little snow and rime from the previous night’s storm clung to rock and a few hardy desert plants. To the south, the craggy Florida (pronounced <i>Flor-eed-ah</i>) and Tres Hermanas Mountains rose behind the town of Deming; to the west the Big Burro Mountains and Apache Peak guarded the New Mexico-Arizona border; sixty miles to the east, the Organ Mountains stood behind Las Cruces; and to the north lay Silver City and the vast Gila National Forest. A lot had happened in the country visible from the peak since humans found their way into the southwest. A little reluctantly, we started down, tired from the hike even without having danced all night. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_CvJYO5SznO6PTavqml3sOfq-DJ-QfrHdQxSKmkqQH43b8wz5sJ2iiDOlbL-_bM4WMSyTeHGhPhaAr2kCs-m92RWiMwrUUTzU_68syje-59-wDIsHwnXEiRkVW5HS1SDEMMguRgJubigFDi8CH37SRQHI1DOuFSuO0mRfawdJEI3lGla5ShJ1C8qrao/s1800/DSC04608_ellen_beth_cable_cookes_peak_summit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_CvJYO5SznO6PTavqml3sOfq-DJ-QfrHdQxSKmkqQH43b8wz5sJ2iiDOlbL-_bM4WMSyTeHGhPhaAr2kCs-m92RWiMwrUUTzU_68syje-59-wDIsHwnXEiRkVW5HS1SDEMMguRgJubigFDi8CH37SRQHI1DOuFSuO0mRfawdJEI3lGla5ShJ1C8qrao/w400-h266/DSC04608_ellen_beth_cable_cookes_peak_summit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and our friend, Beth, at the summit of Cooke's Peak.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhV-Dez1YvZgXn-3Dya4U1OQFtaWkUVyxbBlvflGxx45WnUqL193ccrVxwzltINfZLKd6kxF3nvqkf4lUtYtk921rqI4DQJIsR-Hr39J5yHibEY4IPcs1cMMBcLN-reX740zYyjBEckEHE4NufTURPexUhptChee-OnSMRLo3yA6gxpDAX4M6CWyOkUg/s1800/DSC04613_carlos_beth__ellen_cookes_peak_summit_ridge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhV-Dez1YvZgXn-3Dya4U1OQFtaWkUVyxbBlvflGxx45WnUqL193ccrVxwzltINfZLKd6kxF3nvqkf4lUtYtk921rqI4DQJIsR-Hr39J5yHibEY4IPcs1cMMBcLN-reX740zYyjBEckEHE4NufTURPexUhptChee-OnSMRLo3yA6gxpDAX4M6CWyOkUg/w400-h266/DSC04613_carlos_beth__ellen_cookes_peak_summit_ridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carlos, Beth, and Ellen, starting the descent from the summit.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRe8Kwid1mKoJjFJvYtRvzzj6GS53arL3iO9i9CRAakmajuJnpAnHM9YkCbkpEzYKvvI3f6iKax0S9TIm_gMjxeSPLYTPfh7Y8t6DjP1NTKxH2zioT999JnNUXvnHFj7MiJ9ZLfwpHylovQyvp26bXD0WrIGhuYqJ_uMlRZdBjO718yNZ5xPCFggNPY_I/s1800/DSC04619_view_west_cookes_peak_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRe8Kwid1mKoJjFJvYtRvzzj6GS53arL3iO9i9CRAakmajuJnpAnHM9YkCbkpEzYKvvI3f6iKax0S9TIm_gMjxeSPLYTPfh7Y8t6DjP1NTKxH2zioT999JnNUXvnHFj7MiJ9ZLfwpHylovQyvp26bXD0WrIGhuYqJ_uMlRZdBjO718yNZ5xPCFggNPY_I/w400-h266/DSC04619_view_west_cookes_peak_hike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A last view to the east during the descent back to the trailhead.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Proposed Mimbres Peaks National Monument<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Along with the Floridas, the Tres Hermanas, and the Goodsight Mountains, the Cooke’s Range is included in a proposed <a href="https://protectmimbrespeaks.org/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Mimbres Peaks National Monument</a>, which would include just over 245,000 acres. Together, these sky islands account for remarkable biological diversity, numerous cultural sites, and unlimited opportunities for adventure. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>References<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Barbour, Matthew J. 2014. Journey Through the Mining Camps of Cookes Peak in New Mexico Where Mineral Riches Once Thrived. <span style="color: #954f72;"><a href="http://Miningconnection.com" target="_blank">Miningconnection.com</a></span>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Couchman, Donald Howard. 1990. <a href="http://www.blackrange.org/the-human-history-of-the/towns-of-the-black-range/ft-cummings-and-cookes/cookes-peak---pasaron-por.pdf" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Cooke’s Peak – Pasaron Por Aqui. A Focus on United States History in Southwestern New Mexico.</a> Cultural Resources No. 7. Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces, New Mexico.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Sharp, Jay. Cooke’s Canyon. Journey of Death. <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/desert-new-mexico/cookes-canyon.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">DesertUSA.com</a>.</p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-40663487005663300282024-01-02T08:54:00.000-08:002024-01-02T08:54:05.113-08:00Exploring Fable Valley<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_2gcsH8rQ8_YPyc8opzuxtpUx9n_SayFYErgUa5dk1XI88S5bHz6xY72gjBkIzySeV_GcX8_Ed6nuu4JBVh7_McF_Tu9IP7uuegTU8nk6PQwRm0gfKAaHk2x-bscsoVz3Fg26IXnPdmDcb18RZlRtT_6nMVjEjUJHao4WA53VUXtAyGT6Sqh7GpL3GM/s1800/DSC_5815_fable_valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_2gcsH8rQ8_YPyc8opzuxtpUx9n_SayFYErgUa5dk1XI88S5bHz6xY72gjBkIzySeV_GcX8_Ed6nuu4JBVh7_McF_Tu9IP7uuegTU8nk6PQwRm0gfKAaHk2x-bscsoVz3Fg26IXnPdmDcb18RZlRtT_6nMVjEjUJHao4WA53VUXtAyGT6Sqh7GpL3GM/w400-h266/DSC_5815_fable_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fable Valley in fall color. Archaeological sites occupy both sides of the canyon, the sagebrush flats, and even the tops of sandstone towers like the one in the distant background.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Fable Valley cuts into the Dark Canyon Plateau joining Gypsum Canyon before emptying into the Colorado River deep in Cataract Canyon. In 1869, during his descent of the Green and Colorado, the one-armed John Wesley Powell hiked into Gypsum from the river, nearly getting caught in a flash flood and turning back before reaching the mouth of Fable Valley. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our trip last October was less dramatic than Powell’s, but it required driving 40 miles on occasionally narrow and exposed dirt roads to reach the trailhead. I was grateful for both arms as I gripped the steering wheel of our van, hoping not to encounter oncoming traffic (we didn’t). We spent four days in the valley and two full days searching for archaeology, wandering up- and down-canyon from camp, scrambling up boulder-studded slopes to ruins or rock art sites and never traveling more than a couple of miles as the crow flies because there was so much to see.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Had Powell made it into Fable over 150 years ago, he would have found mostly undisturbed remnants of a substantial Ancestral Puebloan community spread from one end of the canyon to the other, with Mesa Verde style cliff dwellings and granaries in high alcoves and multi-room settlements in the sagebrush below. In the interval between 1869 and 2023, most of the ruins were scavenged, though pot sherds and lithics remain. Gordon Baldwin superficially surveyed the valley in 1949, describing 24 sites but noting even then that “…<i>from the number of ruins that show signs of digging, it is evident that pot hunters, including a number of unauthorized expeditions, have been active in certain sections for some time</i>.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Even during Baldwin’s trip, a few remnants of settlements stood where today there is only sagebrush. We searched actively for a “ground ruin” below the largest cliff dwelling a mile or so upcanyon from our camp and found only pot sherds and a few low walls. Baldwin observed that the same site “<i>seemingly contained more than 200 rooms and probably stood more than two stories in height</i>,” while also describing a seven-foot-high corner wall that “<i>may represent all that remains of the rectangular towers noted by</i> [Dr. Byron] <i>Cummings.</i>” Cummings visited the valley in 1909, only 40 years before Baldwin when the ruins were less disturbed. When we visited, even the corner wall was gone. Despite that, finding what remains was exciting and fun.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Baldwin published his findings in the <i>Southwestern Journal of Anthropology</i> but admitted that “<i>Due to the hurried nature of the trip and <u>other phases of the recreational aspects of the region that had also to be investigated</u> </i>[emphasis mine]<i> comparatively little time could actually be devoted to archaeological exploration.</i>” Despite those weasel words, his paper contributed to our then sparse knowledge of the region. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Like Baldwin, we were a little hurried, spending only four days car-to-car since some of our group of six had to return to work and others had plans to “<i>investigate other phases of the recreational aspects of the region</i>,” as Baldwin so eloquently put it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKMBikidig8zgFu5uq6-thfkjoI83pVqBe2_f8roYB_t7VTuRGUUkV2WyCNkxLgIlx3goZUiysNRPXWQx8JGdEpojR6KEMbKshlzA-c5ZjSJf4Uq91NNfPodKMnaraXbuYpGynGC730JLZN1YSQIhro_CQMk3GqJxI694wU-a4a3Zl73T3wDTO5_5XbU/s1800/DSC_5793_fable_ruin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKMBikidig8zgFu5uq6-thfkjoI83pVqBe2_f8roYB_t7VTuRGUUkV2WyCNkxLgIlx3goZUiysNRPXWQx8JGdEpojR6KEMbKshlzA-c5ZjSJf4Uq91NNfPodKMnaraXbuYpGynGC730JLZN1YSQIhro_CQMk3GqJxI694wU-a4a3Zl73T3wDTO5_5XbU/w400-h266/DSC_5793_fable_ruin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A structure in an alcove down-canyon from our camp, accessed by scrambling from above and traversing across a ledge.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoEYNurLomz1dYNmrh5RisCWKx1Q8U92Pb_v7Fyjswpfs6-msG_fC7P91ZGjbR33L1R99i9BnmtsoJ6sMe3kiMd-p_kjkxzk2d8UJwrgVi65q963nbVzCFg8gEJAEtKuQ3DerMyqFS9T0Gxq9M6qIMcttwR_H4GgfJu4THPFChflIzcoQOcXdPnv28LE/s1800/DSC_5795_fable_canyon_ruin_ellen_bay_jane_steve_larry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoEYNurLomz1dYNmrh5RisCWKx1Q8U92Pb_v7Fyjswpfs6-msG_fC7P91ZGjbR33L1R99i9BnmtsoJ6sMe3kiMd-p_kjkxzk2d8UJwrgVi65q963nbVzCFg8gEJAEtKuQ3DerMyqFS9T0Gxq9M6qIMcttwR_H4GgfJu4THPFChflIzcoQOcXdPnv28LE/w400-h266/DSC_5795_fable_canyon_ruin_ellen_bay_jane_steve_larry.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The group at the structure in the previous picture. Left to right: Ellen, Bay, Jane, Steve, and Larry.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC0gLwor1WDBoICdoILo-frq79dqyt4ByFPH2XWXY7M2IeWNKkizLeCHVlQtT2a-uWJxK8Mk8MPcuOdDiRl9K1R-koyqnGkXyBxIQtd1h3MCeyswyYM9fUD4v_uGUdFiRLR6JClsrY2LY1HBZPYkNc_02dlfGKWUHVaXhUqP_-4lewS2H_G8dqrxbvxQ/s1800/DSC_5804_fable_hand_pictographs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC0gLwor1WDBoICdoILo-frq79dqyt4ByFPH2XWXY7M2IeWNKkizLeCHVlQtT2a-uWJxK8Mk8MPcuOdDiRl9K1R-koyqnGkXyBxIQtd1h3MCeyswyYM9fUD4v_uGUdFiRLR6JClsrY2LY1HBZPYkNc_02dlfGKWUHVaXhUqP_-4lewS2H_G8dqrxbvxQ/w400-h266/DSC_5804_fable_hand_pictographs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A handprint panel with stylized hands painted with concentric lines.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsCESpyWH5MqKMX8ANhXUEtgf0ldTqz4oJlClCtYS8Y5qm4LNrKHfaUykg4Q7Da3Mf8lwoophHpFv9re4tA3HwlaESMOvAjSoLXQ7w2aA_vfbIRLxMVUdxsyh1SXr4_iC77yOWy498rBsB60pJ7u_d56rZeOHLSz03orqAdYnEPQmBgdRu2ml1AjuuTk/s1800/DSC_5812_potsherd_and_snakeskin_fable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsCESpyWH5MqKMX8ANhXUEtgf0ldTqz4oJlClCtYS8Y5qm4LNrKHfaUykg4Q7Da3Mf8lwoophHpFv9re4tA3HwlaESMOvAjSoLXQ7w2aA_vfbIRLxMVUdxsyh1SXr4_iC77yOWy498rBsB60pJ7u_d56rZeOHLSz03orqAdYnEPQmBgdRu2ml1AjuuTk/w266-h400/DSC_5812_potsherd_and_snakeskin_fable.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We saw many pot sherds but no snakes, probably because the fall nights were getting cold.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLGKsRTd8zI314VzXCj45W4IJng_JGo4VzlZWPiYjanPA3NibBV6shZ-WFUnZ7VMJWtbHSUC-qXCaeHtxbZct4CajaHOHjGWJrpoEN59druRg4e5KZHRB_j74Q2r1JVV0soO5q3zwxhr6MDjMsBRDAlXEfVgA3fQaSNDcWRB_DBguF931ACWJAchnW9U/s1800/DSC_5863_ellen_bay_ruin_scouting_fable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLGKsRTd8zI314VzXCj45W4IJng_JGo4VzlZWPiYjanPA3NibBV6shZ-WFUnZ7VMJWtbHSUC-qXCaeHtxbZct4CajaHOHjGWJrpoEN59druRg4e5KZHRB_j74Q2r1JVV0soO5q3zwxhr6MDjMsBRDAlXEfVgA3fQaSNDcWRB_DBguF931ACWJAchnW9U/w400-h266/DSC_5863_ellen_bay_ruin_scouting_fable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bay (left) and Ellen scouting for sites.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbbEnluR0da9nUL4pNV52hMdCl3Xp79gbcoJV3JK-QQQdEPSLCw4sC3Wy88TIgMKnd9GntSsEi8YihU0Ei8dOpLtfj7F-cnfHbJ3JyQ-rasZfp0FYA_OIWHiaQxUUQjYd1HTXeKPuMKHp6FZehJ9clLWgmOWmlv1hllR3mYTfaQWPyOws0etYsDyO870/s1800/DSC_5843_ruin_on_tower_fable_valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbbEnluR0da9nUL4pNV52hMdCl3Xp79gbcoJV3JK-QQQdEPSLCw4sC3Wy88TIgMKnd9GntSsEi8YihU0Ei8dOpLtfj7F-cnfHbJ3JyQ-rasZfp0FYA_OIWHiaQxUUQjYd1HTXeKPuMKHp6FZehJ9clLWgmOWmlv1hllR3mYTfaQWPyOws0etYsDyO870/w400-h266/DSC_5843_ruin_on_tower_fable_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A circular wall on top of the tower visible in the photo at the top of this post. Accessing it required an easy 4th-class scramble up a ledgy weakness. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVBRjUBv_KEThiPBGIuJ97AxeY9a76OO75t_PGu2RzedhDPxKQOG2EeprPDxrRvVJCC_OKObeBRS1ZPJIDlO95iMqT7RVsKFf71pX9awzAhW0Fd10cWVikhJblg7Qwp6TNw8_-2KQ5at1KcrPbLvCUlFtNO4fsr7X6mHyXobv9BCBIn6lOMCaA2BemXA/s1800/DSC_5845_bay_jane_descending_tower_ruin_fable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVBRjUBv_KEThiPBGIuJ97AxeY9a76OO75t_PGu2RzedhDPxKQOG2EeprPDxrRvVJCC_OKObeBRS1ZPJIDlO95iMqT7RVsKFf71pX9awzAhW0Fd10cWVikhJblg7Qwp6TNw8_-2KQ5at1KcrPbLvCUlFtNO4fsr7X6mHyXobv9BCBIn6lOMCaA2BemXA/w400-h266/DSC_5845_bay_jane_descending_tower_ruin_fable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bay and Jane descending from the tower.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXVrjp5rflT5bNdvTodl-sQU2TlElliO45_l0rKN-9PVdcziWIa-vy5GkgMy2V8DYu-0rM2KAfsGLUTNtB_i1rgkjSbacAqOXkekrOb-FA6nHTbL87cssJBCyYsZlXMbwR4Od4tqhzAAaNwwuMtPRmRAE-NgRW8uCletGootdkmhoEIL533d9KxfW454/s1800/DSC_5854_fable_pictographs_near_spring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXVrjp5rflT5bNdvTodl-sQU2TlElliO45_l0rKN-9PVdcziWIa-vy5GkgMy2V8DYu-0rM2KAfsGLUTNtB_i1rgkjSbacAqOXkekrOb-FA6nHTbL87cssJBCyYsZlXMbwR4Od4tqhzAAaNwwuMtPRmRAE-NgRW8uCletGootdkmhoEIL533d9KxfW454/w400-h266/DSC_5854_fable_pictographs_near_spring.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pictographs near our camp. All of the figures are connected.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcqVkATsTJ9BZjX1b9zTuFhY0JqGaWJUD8qyJoSyHNp00o0YAbojaPyVanFe8KgySl-vfSi1gyb9LZMspMz0_smBYWC0y72vnyP0gupHswO0-4ESncTxdEsY2YrCBdJpwykWHfmLNf1cRKZBRuaYttzdCsuJbnLvfP_DE5XtVV5h4Sl_Vfu9saPLdFtg/s1800/DSC_5850_fable_cottonwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcqVkATsTJ9BZjX1b9zTuFhY0JqGaWJUD8qyJoSyHNp00o0YAbojaPyVanFe8KgySl-vfSi1gyb9LZMspMz0_smBYWC0y72vnyP0gupHswO0-4ESncTxdEsY2YrCBdJpwykWHfmLNf1cRKZBRuaYttzdCsuJbnLvfP_DE5XtVV5h4Sl_Vfu9saPLdFtg/w400-h266/DSC_5850_fable_cottonwood.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fable Valley itself is appealing even without the lure of archaeology. In October, cottonwood trees were approaching peak color.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgkmBmA-T2l94fvjKJDKlyM27w6_pyujU7WuiZQ26AfchwCe4dXCw19dy3dLffbIb_GlhVXIp4C1UV1iQS3rXlcB7lNPv1QMeDOqRovLBqVLHbkVSSBvM3BNhS6LtNjx_1AOSxFGoI2uogzVSF_rq3iHT05cNac7-cDX9X7ZA7nUJLCr3splq2D9_wM8/s1800/DSC_5877_larry_ellen_bay_jane_fable_morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgkmBmA-T2l94fvjKJDKlyM27w6_pyujU7WuiZQ26AfchwCe4dXCw19dy3dLffbIb_GlhVXIp4C1UV1iQS3rXlcB7lNPv1QMeDOqRovLBqVLHbkVSSBvM3BNhS6LtNjx_1AOSxFGoI2uogzVSF_rq3iHT05cNac7-cDX9X7ZA7nUJLCr3splq2D9_wM8/w400-h266/DSC_5877_larry_ellen_bay_jane_fable_morning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On our second full day we explored up-valley from our camp, hiking towards the sun through backlit grasses and shrubs.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpEyHyZIdVRrPjBj2KFoTF78JHmrQuu21CLvY2EfPHHKgeImBXq7g-0WcbFlE5DoWvmAY4HwQb4tup6ZH4x_RDmP_S3d2igXBVNOLBNhj34vXU4ajJWzXzC9Gir5UnmbnlAH94BKY43eYjOojDr40Ch01gMVq0mdMFqt0WgNRte6RihDMp6WnWBGQgoo/s1800/DSC_5871_fable_valley_grasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpEyHyZIdVRrPjBj2KFoTF78JHmrQuu21CLvY2EfPHHKgeImBXq7g-0WcbFlE5DoWvmAY4HwQb4tup6ZH4x_RDmP_S3d2igXBVNOLBNhj34vXU4ajJWzXzC9Gir5UnmbnlAH94BKY43eYjOojDr40Ch01gMVq0mdMFqt0WgNRte6RihDMp6WnWBGQgoo/w400-h266/DSC_5871_fable_valley_grasses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Indian rice grass and other grasses and shrubs in the morning sun.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQn3SCrFFyrB14CNzF4SSkTsmW4o7vC4i4xNSriVL9gI6CPtpOnWSv4RYNVZ7cH0-7FNp9wDOUFl77-HWpC7U4rmqCKGyhLXe6pYAgUZQnhYhTxP4cSRrnNwLcOHD1igDXVvsiPeKrrLNbHhfAQQYYM-F_KHbVR1POm2YZcEs6b1aq8w8RI5XcKuslLk/s1800/DSC_5885_fable_valley_pictographs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQn3SCrFFyrB14CNzF4SSkTsmW4o7vC4i4xNSriVL9gI6CPtpOnWSv4RYNVZ7cH0-7FNp9wDOUFl77-HWpC7U4rmqCKGyhLXe6pYAgUZQnhYhTxP4cSRrnNwLcOHD1igDXVvsiPeKrrLNbHhfAQQYYM-F_KHbVR1POm2YZcEs6b1aq8w8RI5XcKuslLk/w400-h200/DSC_5885_fable_valley_pictographs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pictographs and handprints.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhm0Cm4mDtRpXp5FDCXdSbsDEXxqhZyydfYX47NLn04GrXox9EMK1g8-JllLHF4xbzgeQpK4OFLkRPZiwf5FLSbDflgS4W50oCi1o0wzcjh_zGNVIeysSaGff8A1tMozhI_DCpfSXHzkpQBzp5XlKgZQajJFBP5W2R61Kj7LSvBlLDVKNy4bXEV72UYA/s1800/DSC_5894_granary_near_big_ruin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhm0Cm4mDtRpXp5FDCXdSbsDEXxqhZyydfYX47NLn04GrXox9EMK1g8-JllLHF4xbzgeQpK4OFLkRPZiwf5FLSbDflgS4W50oCi1o0wzcjh_zGNVIeysSaGff8A1tMozhI_DCpfSXHzkpQBzp5XlKgZQajJFBP5W2R61Kj7LSvBlLDVKNy4bXEV72UYA/w400-h266/DSC_5894_granary_near_big_ruin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A granary looks out over Fable Valley from an alcove in a side canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlf1UlXzgMxQmXHbSLppiNI9383K8qdGJmc4mL_nBRYOKppiUZX2ShK2q5r1jGHkncU0D0nyh19uy5nIXxcR264XtgV4FUar85VopHIO48cBNz-R1PwZbPG3UmL9sISU-DbiKUZdqBmpW57OSmKb62-V5iYbE23zaYPTgd6ZBs2snv8Cjm9bVmGzBo8A/s1800/DSC_5900_larry_fable_valley_ruin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlf1UlXzgMxQmXHbSLppiNI9383K8qdGJmc4mL_nBRYOKppiUZX2ShK2q5r1jGHkncU0D0nyh19uy5nIXxcR264XtgV4FUar85VopHIO48cBNz-R1PwZbPG3UmL9sISU-DbiKUZdqBmpW57OSmKb62-V5iYbE23zaYPTgd6ZBs2snv8Cjm9bVmGzBo8A/w400-h266/DSC_5900_larry_fable_valley_ruin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry entering the most prominent ruin we visited, high above the valley floor. This ruin has been preserved to some extent. Replaced roof logs were cut with saws rather than fire, and portions of walls were rebuilt. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-15pprePO_GuuPQ8pmenxWwlx_BZAH4QVQhcqw73j1WJImbjyeC2Inh6EZuWyx90B9ztWnO6OuGWMUGUtfMGBjGHRKWBFPiR2oF8zFfIFM0esTAlO7bJ8I_9y08TKEBrTBz_f5oS_lM7Z96ZQqN6oYQQOLQmioGpD3qI87bRQr9Qt2_6qHk60Nzs7tA/s1800/DSC_5924_ellen_larry_bay_jane_fable_valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-15pprePO_GuuPQ8pmenxWwlx_BZAH4QVQhcqw73j1WJImbjyeC2Inh6EZuWyx90B9ztWnO6OuGWMUGUtfMGBjGHRKWBFPiR2oF8zFfIFM0esTAlO7bJ8I_9y08TKEBrTBz_f5oS_lM7Z96ZQqN6oYQQOLQmioGpD3qI87bRQr9Qt2_6qHk60Nzs7tA/w400-h266/DSC_5924_ellen_larry_bay_jane_fable_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen, Larry, and Bay approaching a ruin. Steve had hiked out earlier that day to return to work. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6u6fcaYYHUiQrABVyxgMBEqZCmqhwJqOnOwiCIpS-SjNkbbwXL566tLuLRQ-MEQ7RTub4_ytQboWr0XvtKWtHvu_8_2s8n2-p5pew5cjtaIekPPgK1weu8ExcK8sK6lymMMiJuEB4oVv5OKO9gKSE0JBANuf5y0Mbbk1sfbf1CPwfi8syCXlg1ILv48/s1800/DSC_5926_jane_larry_hiking_out_of_fable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6u6fcaYYHUiQrABVyxgMBEqZCmqhwJqOnOwiCIpS-SjNkbbwXL566tLuLRQ-MEQ7RTub4_ytQboWr0XvtKWtHvu_8_2s8n2-p5pew5cjtaIekPPgK1weu8ExcK8sK6lymMMiJuEB4oVv5OKO9gKSE0JBANuf5y0Mbbk1sfbf1CPwfi8syCXlg1ILv48/w400-h266/DSC_5926_jane_larry_hiking_out_of_fable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jane and Larry clawing their way out of a gully in the valley on the hike out. The deeply incised creek and its side drainages were hard to cross. I suspect that when the valley was occupied, they were shallower.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Pqvl5zZdm5UcECIfJK4ABECVh7ozFUzvJeN7VL-yHBAmGfLCocAKCa6JDL1onWMwx2OZrouMQdGj7u8gaNPzla-bGVHQyzYmN9hZZqrgKRcE4sQ0rFIlVgEfYHZdquaIex_AKUNyhZl3AMkI9z5tq8RHvG-1fw1ICK6vVsyO81bDxkH3ao7-ErrQi0/s1800/DSC_5931_bay_larry_jane_ellen_after_fable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Pqvl5zZdm5UcECIfJK4ABECVh7ozFUzvJeN7VL-yHBAmGfLCocAKCa6JDL1onWMwx2OZrouMQdGj7u8gaNPzla-bGVHQyzYmN9hZZqrgKRcE4sQ0rFIlVgEfYHZdquaIex_AKUNyhZl3AMkI9z5tq8RHvG-1fw1ICK6vVsyO81bDxkH3ao7-ErrQi0/w400-h266/DSC_5931_bay_larry_jane_ellen_after_fable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Back at the trailhead and ready to "investigate other phases of recreational aspects of the region." </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>L to R: Bay, Larry, Jane, Ellen.</i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>References</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Adkison, Ron. 1998. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Staircase-Escalante-Canyon-Region-Regional/dp/1560446455" target="_blank">Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region</a>. A Falcon Guide.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Baldwin, Gordon C. 1949. <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/soutjanth.5.4.3628598" target="_blank">Archaeological survey in Southeastern Utah</a>. <i>Southwestern Journal of Anthropology</i> 5(4):393-404.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cummings, Byron. 1910. The ancient inhabitants of the San Juan Valley. <i>Bulletin, University of Utah</i> 3(3) Part 2.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Midwest Archaeological Center National Park Service, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1978. <a href="http://npshistory.com/publications/cany/arch-res-1978-v1.pdf" target="_blank">Archaeological resources of Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Arches National Parks and Natural Bridges National Monument</a>, Southeastern Utah. Vol. 1. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Road Trip Ryan (<a href="https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/cedar-mesa/fable-valley" target="_blank">website</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-64349187816337602532023-11-22T15:25:00.000-08:002023-11-22T20:12:39.707-08:00Silver City, New Mexico<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQC7PaNkLysNefal81yyfTDI0rUwztMQptKeZchB-WAAwepPFNu5DTX7ocGiz98Iv2n8quGPhu_FecPDFqs4MuaBYRQWYPi_MxJudX7OyFc46LktVMOtME0tfmkl3TxzIL5iYnYjImp3Ej4_BiqstfdAh7cilESNf72WbLYbZDVnIlQYT-OOErF7LF-lQ/s1800/DSC_5461_highway_90.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQC7PaNkLysNefal81yyfTDI0rUwztMQptKeZchB-WAAwepPFNu5DTX7ocGiz98Iv2n8quGPhu_FecPDFqs4MuaBYRQWYPi_MxJudX7OyFc46LktVMOtME0tfmkl3TxzIL5iYnYjImp3Ej4_BiqstfdAh7cilESNf72WbLYbZDVnIlQYT-OOErF7LF-lQ/w400-h266/DSC_5461_highway_90.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking southwest down Highway 90, the road connecting Silver City to Lordsburg. Desert mountain ranges stretch southward through New Mexico's "bootheel" and into Mexico, waiting to be explored. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ellen and I moved from Laramie to Silver City, New Mexico in August (2023). After over 40 years in Wyoming, I never thought I’d leave, but once the notion of a new geography got a toe in the door, it grew into a plan and culminated in a summer of packing, house-selling, and Uhaul-driving. Once moved, we weren’t in Silver City for long before we left to spend October in Utah (more on that later), so we are only now settling into our new home for the “winter.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">At about 6,000’ in the foothills of the Gila National Forest, Silver City has winter, but it’s shorter than Wyoming’s and maybe less windy (we’ll see). It snows, but not a lot, and the snow doesn’t stay around too long (we’re told). We’ll miss the skiing, but my knees are happier hiking, and the diversity of trails, plants, and animals in this ecotone between deserts and mountains is remarkable. We miss our Wyoming and Colorado friends more than the skiing, but a few of them already live here having migrated south before us, and we hope others will visit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It's invigorating to make a new home in an unfamiliar place. The <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/gila" target="_blank">Gila National Forest</a>, with over 3 million acres of mountains and canyons and the first <a href="https://www.newmexico.org/the-gila/" target="_blank">Wilderness Area</a> in the U.S., is on our doorstep. It’s laced with 2,000 miles of trails, including part of the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/trails/cdt" target="_blank">Continental Divide Trail</a> that passes within a few miles of our new house on its way north, eventually crossing Wyoming before reaching Canada. South of Silver City, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/ecoregion.htm" target="_blank">Chihuahuan Desert</a> extends through the New Mexico “bootheel” and into Old Mexico, with innumerable mountain ranges waiting to be explored. The <a href="https://www.desertmuseum.org/desert/sonora.php" target="_blank">Sonoran Desert</a> (saguaros!) is not far to the southwest; <a href="https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm" target="_blank">White Sands National Park</a>, the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/new-mexico/organ-mountains-desert-peaks-national-monument" target="_blank">Organ Mountains</a>, and West Texas are not far to the southeast. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With the upheaval of moving, I haven’t taken many photographs yet, but I’ll post a few below with some first impressions of Silver City and SW New Mexico. I’m looking forward to more focused (no pun) photography missions in the months and years to come.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpslM1jwcvg5zql0RlA7URypq86u8XDiwTvSPxz4SfnzhqDYcSHnBUWsHMQakWx8Ni8S-3YUyA7ZBEnXXBNU-R2kSZKaSkw3DzXpHEmwKPIOWC9SzWisK1BAOIShYtYOZlqxfWLmeufm2QdWTcl_WqzO_jZCJYkF49HknWm8u6OQ5ltjSftYx4uZcKGYg/s1800/DSC04438_ellen_north_twin_sister.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpslM1jwcvg5zql0RlA7URypq86u8XDiwTvSPxz4SfnzhqDYcSHnBUWsHMQakWx8Ni8S-3YUyA7ZBEnXXBNU-R2kSZKaSkw3DzXpHEmwKPIOWC9SzWisK1BAOIShYtYOZlqxfWLmeufm2QdWTcl_WqzO_jZCJYkF49HknWm8u6OQ5ltjSftYx4uZcKGYg/w266-h400/DSC04438_ellen_north_twin_sister.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen </i><i>on one of our early hikes here</i><i>, off-trail, approaching the summit of the north Twin Sister Peak which overlooks Silver City. Shortly before taking this picture, I was buzzed by a rattler. Shortly after taking it, Ellen was buzzed by a different rattler. </i><i>We aren't in Laramie anymore! </i><i>Since our heads were higher than the summit, we decided to turn back. That counts, right? </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_znAe8XNluN-vNEJrIsX12bKvJAmTLNrhEreXOl2zXOygsX2YtdYycY7rTrdtvA0DsNhDsswuGGNDOoNCJakF4wLnUdGiOYafHjjkOCuK6jnBwBnYLsHAnySbzNu075-cwMNZFyebkMcIE3j1CSCEzjaWIbvaYL4Z5elDc4pw3AyHaTi_1Dg1xPSNm5E/s1800/DSC_6015_rattlesnake_petroglyph_pony_hills.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_znAe8XNluN-vNEJrIsX12bKvJAmTLNrhEreXOl2zXOygsX2YtdYycY7rTrdtvA0DsNhDsswuGGNDOoNCJakF4wLnUdGiOYafHjjkOCuK6jnBwBnYLsHAnySbzNu075-cwMNZFyebkMcIE3j1CSCEzjaWIbvaYL4Z5elDc4pw3AyHaTi_1Dg1xPSNm5E/w400-h266/DSC_6015_rattlesnake_petroglyph_pony_hills.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Silver City is thick with <a href="https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/free-resources/fact-sheets/who-or-what-is-mimbres/" target="_blank">Mimbres archaeology</a>, including settlements, rock art, and artifacts. The Mimbres were well aware of rattlesnakes too, but they're famous for their exquisite pottery (see below). We joined the local archaeological society (<a href="https://www.gcasnm.org" target="_blank">GCAS</a>) and look forward to field trips and talks.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58sVsHohYa9I0QKxueczcrMO8Ua8Lv-hLDbtO9P0j3Dy_yd_haaQp3QTxrxKaxSjHoIVT6d_NFJ1BC3Kf_wpu5FLK4_IRqasbCloMJaZuJyijaM8IWsFU2YHVYM66nl2K6j3w830VanNPwNpYPfZxiXjQU9OFZzUkFvU_syuQ6E-rXhZX0wB_hx1M4Xk/s4032/IMG_2799_mimbres_bowl_WNMU_museum.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58sVsHohYa9I0QKxueczcrMO8Ua8Lv-hLDbtO9P0j3Dy_yd_haaQp3QTxrxKaxSjHoIVT6d_NFJ1BC3Kf_wpu5FLK4_IRqasbCloMJaZuJyijaM8IWsFU2YHVYM66nl2K6j3w830VanNPwNpYPfZxiXjQU9OFZzUkFvU_syuQ6E-rXhZX0wB_hx1M4Xk/w300-h400/IMG_2799_mimbres_bowl_WNMU_museum.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A Mimbres bowl featuring a turkey morphing into a rattlesnake. This is housed in the museum at the <a href="https://museum.wnmu.edu/?lang=en" target="_blank">Western New Mexico University</a> campus in Silver City. Unfortunately, many (most?) Mimbres sites have been looted, so many artifacts lack provenience (information about their origin). </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighNig7hThaoncYdIto0t0sBZzk8MYusMTPAeqDJTVhS1iGKLRABOD7gM9rSjVByg04DeIJ_vN_HswOvmvZEwtecj9v2CK3tOR1S2zGt4qedCLLc6MQRzlk76WuqWELtvL69_-CaCe7Jk6CrfDOXljVBCgssGQq5aV0sC-zFHr03m-ShPUSH2HWV6LH6I/s1800/DSC_6032_grinding_holes_frying_pan_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighNig7hThaoncYdIto0t0sBZzk8MYusMTPAeqDJTVhS1iGKLRABOD7gM9rSjVByg04DeIJ_vN_HswOvmvZEwtecj9v2CK3tOR1S2zGt4qedCLLc6MQRzlk76WuqWELtvL69_-CaCe7Jk6CrfDOXljVBCgssGQq5aV0sC-zFHr03m-ShPUSH2HWV6LH6I/w400-h266/DSC_6032_grinding_holes_frying_pan_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mimbres grinding holes south of Silver City. These are deeper and more vertically-sided than the grooves we often see in SE Utah. Perhaps the Mimbres were grinding different seeds (mesquite?) than the corn that was commonly ground in Utah?</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkStW5EbYe2g97ZVInay78mheGCs307ej55Q80rUQ5WG8W9Mr827NITblKBcVXNW0v-SX1N7pBqOxSXvtYmsl4qPBarxqcRlsY7GwaLD74cCOWBhof_GRCnmRiERBBEBKlOklXJxzGdp4SNcvyUQq_zSzjhY05wiu0TJah2Vk1PyZ1KZNfrK62Tqu-wCM/s1800/DSC_5316_apache_pictographs_spirit_canyon_lake_roberts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkStW5EbYe2g97ZVInay78mheGCs307ej55Q80rUQ5WG8W9Mr827NITblKBcVXNW0v-SX1N7pBqOxSXvtYmsl4qPBarxqcRlsY7GwaLD74cCOWBhof_GRCnmRiERBBEBKlOklXJxzGdp4SNcvyUQq_zSzjhY05wiu0TJah2Vk1PyZ1KZNfrK62Tqu-wCM/w400-h266/DSC_5316_apache_pictographs_spirit_canyon_lake_roberts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More recently, Apaches dominated SW New Mexico, and they also left pictographs. The Apaches tried to hold onto their land, particularly in the late 1800s when mining for precious metals drew a rush of newcomers to the Gila country. David Roberts' book, "<u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Once-They-Moved-Like-Wind/dp/0671885561" target="_blank">Once They Moved Like the Wind: Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars</a></u>", tells the story well, and is recommended even if you don't live here.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieeujIIze-PT0W2hmdI5K2434DoInYiFGIVQYdh2pGhWbsDDQuQ30pY7-xSkParBF9iLEtmigK8LcwgyoNRkkuvrEzNnohSvO5ftOZ_q-z96vNo5h2OsHLdY2hc0Cq0bSzkEyDzGp6YZ5OrryeUIMbmWFUfCBNDSCTUeEvYth2CvoLIWz4LSmSWrsnCo/s1800/DSC_5311_santa_clara_mine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieeujIIze-PT0W2hmdI5K2434DoInYiFGIVQYdh2pGhWbsDDQuQ30pY7-xSkParBF9iLEtmigK8LcwgyoNRkkuvrEzNnohSvO5ftOZ_q-z96vNo5h2OsHLdY2hc0Cq0bSzkEyDzGp6YZ5OrryeUIMbmWFUfCBNDSCTUeEvYth2CvoLIWz4LSmSWrsnCo/w400-h266/DSC_5311_santa_clara_mine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Speaking of mining, Silver City is adjacent to enormous open-pit copper mines, and the mountains are riddled with small prospects (and ghost towns) from the days of silver and gold mining. This image shows a portion of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chino_mine" target="_blank">Santa Rita mine</a> east of town. The <a href="https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/tour/landmarks/tyrone_mine/home.html" target="_blank">Tyrone mine</a>, also huge, is southwest of Silver City. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tjU0uAfnP6DHWcb2NofqoCGTbSVm5Jnv23hdb60CZrdmuLqyMcw3HX2Updo2VSTsuthpVOJOPLGe0KNmLOPTs9LOQK8aQq5e-Ohyectj8O_0hgKS1zKVnqU9cT5qvrR2dWg2YaVd2fZWhCyOpoOPXqf0GU2H81C1fLHreO9PmPFTQ5M-LBLDdfSPqzY/s1800/DSC_6125_mine_adit_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tjU0uAfnP6DHWcb2NofqoCGTbSVm5Jnv23hdb60CZrdmuLqyMcw3HX2Updo2VSTsuthpVOJOPLGe0KNmLOPTs9LOQK8aQq5e-Ohyectj8O_0hgKS1zKVnqU9cT5qvrR2dWg2YaVd2fZWhCyOpoOPXqf0GU2H81C1fLHreO9PmPFTQ5M-LBLDdfSPqzY/w400-h266/DSC_6125_mine_adit_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Before industrial mining, individual prospectors tried to make their fortunes in the Gila. This adit is near the <a href="https://casitasdegila.com/blog/a-time-travel-hike-up-mineral-creek-to-cooney-camp-mine-2/" target="_blank">Cooney mine</a>, named for a soldier who found silver in Mineral Creek while on patrol in 1870. After leaving the army, he successfully mined in the area until he was killed by Apaches and interred inside a nearby boulder, hollowed out for that purpose by family and friends. "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Range-Tales-James-McKenna/dp/0944383602/ref=asc_df_0944383602/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312021455910&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13093280603423598398&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030646&hvtargid=pla-572225515577&psc=1&mcid=537680aaf9d03c3fa8e9430fe7fc9996&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6kNRK4X2iNKdHqHtRodIKiUeLQTffG5NJLienPDcPUSLuuXSs6kXOUaAuaUEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Black Range Tales</a>," by James McKenna, paints a vivid picture of mining towns in the late 1800s. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaq236h1vJ1UEEOu6AimQ3QnwliHUMYnLbq_l9Ze0bNRacyTKuw4r6y2oR-rqH36GvRF0jX9C19bq9qF5MYAxIm0HGw9DO7imstbO0gjKlCJdTRodCujqSfof5Pe56R4_pZTyVwkZs9vCRMzjNVDqTNKXijC3-ZxQfAdUQVQlV7qd99jImx1LvSJBo9sc/s1800/DSC_5367_bayard_cemetary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaq236h1vJ1UEEOu6AimQ3QnwliHUMYnLbq_l9Ze0bNRacyTKuw4r6y2oR-rqH36GvRF0jX9C19bq9qF5MYAxIm0HGw9DO7imstbO0gjKlCJdTRodCujqSfof5Pe56R4_pZTyVwkZs9vCRMzjNVDqTNKXijC3-ZxQfAdUQVQlV7qd99jImx1LvSJBo9sc/w400-h266/DSC_5367_bayard_cemetary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A cemetery near the Santa Rita mine east of Silver City.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFFEXtUhWCLvtYWLMi0hTEp5x9AHhFF9j2JlVe0TLFJawADE8C6vZWMOUuGc8xhjBlx5ipLPNuVBnCY0r1sxXoVaFshWXu7v3o9ItQGZ2UYRNATbqTDC-zPVODjPIkIZ6CB0kvn5_kvmyQscy0Cqu2ml2g-GdTEhvdJ7ntfYbdbqZc81OkU-BCw8znHo/s1800/DSC_5395_lower_mimbres_cemetary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFFEXtUhWCLvtYWLMi0hTEp5x9AHhFF9j2JlVe0TLFJawADE8C6vZWMOUuGc8xhjBlx5ipLPNuVBnCY0r1sxXoVaFshWXu7v3o9ItQGZ2UYRNATbqTDC-zPVODjPIkIZ6CB0kvn5_kvmyQscy0Cqu2ml2g-GdTEhvdJ7ntfYbdbqZc81OkU-BCw8znHo/w400-h266/DSC_5395_lower_mimbres_cemetary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another cemetery in the Lower Mimbres Valley, SE of Silver City. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAE43KiKLFYMDpaWVI6CQbRIfg-8hoUA5DR_Gz7v_OwEGmG9jtNH_rVxUshjbC0xCzrwODEkPk-YVj-eDenNu7tREMI1byFVYeo3PfY30UK7R7Y7UPUsOoiCDJ354dJXnJk5vPbrLv7zBaaUFMrK358FAg5QNL0nIZL-knFAErcByda2X4PLOkb0hcxE/s1800/DSC_5456_lordsburg_hotel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAE43KiKLFYMDpaWVI6CQbRIfg-8hoUA5DR_Gz7v_OwEGmG9jtNH_rVxUshjbC0xCzrwODEkPk-YVj-eDenNu7tREMI1byFVYeo3PfY30UK7R7Y7UPUsOoiCDJ354dJXnJk5vPbrLv7zBaaUFMrK358FAg5QNL0nIZL-knFAErcByda2X4PLOkb0hcxE/w400-h266/DSC_5456_lordsburg_hotel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There are interesting towns nearby. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordsburg,_New_Mexico" target="_blank">Lordsburg</a> is about 50 miles SW of Silver City. Motel Drive in Lordsburg is lined with old motels, many abandoned.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMc0CORxidgw80_BkHZaDHogB4WvlV10GiBmgSH9t_1FYnuArs_MEaIHZYx0JuVbjXOY32h3YROeOfq_8adqRYebsqJNGbTkO1b38AYx0vOp3cqv5vuIRi4xqqIGzghvLD348nJMMtdc1xBHdiEPfX5_UEn-1w1uLs1uJylrf20_wUia5eTlKagsSR1Yg/s1800/DSC_5429_mine_building_road_to_black_mountain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMc0CORxidgw80_BkHZaDHogB4WvlV10GiBmgSH9t_1FYnuArs_MEaIHZYx0JuVbjXOY32h3YROeOfq_8adqRYebsqJNGbTkO1b38AYx0vOp3cqv5vuIRi4xqqIGzghvLD348nJMMtdc1xBHdiEPfX5_UEn-1w1uLs1uJylrf20_wUia5eTlKagsSR1Yg/w400-h266/DSC_5429_mine_building_road_to_black_mountain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deming,_New_Mexico" target="_blank">Deming</a>, about 50 miles to the SE, is bigger and more prosperous than Lordsburg. North of Deming in the desert I ran across this less than prosperous old mining facility (I think). </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXQpsVqPy56G8QJ6zw2mLePbn-QsK9MSEZutIITLKCJfA8gYxrmgUszaKoM4hpcR-pvtd7Rp37G8_3ZOFxErgkGtBpYqPwUjfTG2AwfLcfKSoM97sNMp_A218l6F8SUjTHE0Hd7zOEReH2qHGeCHkpFRa6E-V2PeM9eq-zPMcXOZcuqj8S2zQTWUPe3s/s1800/DSC_6057_ellen_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXQpsVqPy56G8QJ6zw2mLePbn-QsK9MSEZutIITLKCJfA8gYxrmgUszaKoM4hpcR-pvtd7Rp37G8_3ZOFxErgkGtBpYqPwUjfTG2AwfLcfKSoM97sNMp_A218l6F8SUjTHE0Hd7zOEReH2qHGeCHkpFRa6E-V2PeM9eq-zPMcXOZcuqj8S2zQTWUPe3s/w400-h266/DSC_6057_ellen_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>But the mines, abandoned motels, and cemeteries aren't why we moved. Instead, it was the diversity of hiking, biking, flora, and fauna that drew us here. The landscape ranges from sparse Chihuahuan desert, to pine forests and lush riparian zones where streams flow out of the mountains. Here Ellen enjoys fall colors along Mineral Creek.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwytZDyIOr9wdMLWli05NaKlLnF8AOBtwJEiVWdLoYJ1_Xhl2YrdAQcsvHkOt_xTH60OR_yvM8ehbq_cQ9xRB7VNAHaOvy2V-Hhl-BVo5oVbLWC3cIJ1gFlcmuEoMxr-rL8x5vIOvvIrFqAzr0ALrHDEnH0Gajjkre971XwFPBtiI03A5qb1TGLYzpMM/s1800/DSC_5381_cook_mountain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwytZDyIOr9wdMLWli05NaKlLnF8AOBtwJEiVWdLoYJ1_Xhl2YrdAQcsvHkOt_xTH60OR_yvM8ehbq_cQ9xRB7VNAHaOvy2V-Hhl-BVo5oVbLWC3cIJ1gFlcmuEoMxr-rL8x5vIOvvIrFqAzr0ALrHDEnH0Gajjkre971XwFPBtiI03A5qb1TGLYzpMM/w400-h200/DSC_5381_cook_mountain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking south from the Mimbres Valley to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookes_Range" target="_blank">Cooke's Peak</a> (the pointy one), a prominent landmark between Silver City and Deming. We look forward to climbing it now that it's cooled down. </i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM7WL2d0lSXOiKEwcXNiz7a_bxwQy99h99zW4KLL45PMCCGfeVSXPMR85H8dmJYzBK6UO57rifye8Cu-SfiEaP6gIrRSNc9qDwj-9Sdo_gkk5HqNobH1gUf7rFy1XaZxttulHr1kO-pkBUqXbSrhlSBvt4BB2IYNBO8SEJEuxR1uOGtbcDr5HIxK4zVo/s1800/DSC_5427_hawk_on_yucca_near_city_of_rocks_nm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM7WL2d0lSXOiKEwcXNiz7a_bxwQy99h99zW4KLL45PMCCGfeVSXPMR85H8dmJYzBK6UO57rifye8Cu-SfiEaP6gIrRSNc9qDwj-9Sdo_gkk5HqNobH1gUf7rFy1XaZxttulHr1kO-pkBUqXbSrhlSBvt4BB2IYNBO8SEJEuxR1uOGtbcDr5HIxK4zVo/w266-h400/DSC_5427_hawk_on_yucca_near_city_of_rocks_nm.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><i>We've never been birders, but SW New Mexico and Southern Arizona are hotspots, and we're trying to learn. Here, a Swainson's Hawk perches on a yucca near New Mexico's City of Rocks between Silver City and Deming. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/bird-watching-at-chiricahua.htm" target="_blank">Chiricahua Mountains</a>, less than 2 hours southwest of Silver City, attract birders from all over the world. </i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69O8xz4hSh6uOyfsNlRGu3-TDmKsfAw4MZVLCXGaTJ7qYh4vJSDOGjLO1ewLRtUG_ZJCgp7ajiBdHEougi9ddKA_GQg6rYUJOB8g6laYvW0Kwtjplu86jnq3VL_QSklSPYqJJd5OSs9qzBf18eyhl1JS8Q_c2KXQajnhbM87Z9wFVphA4FCw58dwJUNE/s1800/DSC04442_agave_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69O8xz4hSh6uOyfsNlRGu3-TDmKsfAw4MZVLCXGaTJ7qYh4vJSDOGjLO1ewLRtUG_ZJCgp7ajiBdHEougi9ddKA_GQg6rYUJOB8g6laYvW0Kwtjplu86jnq3VL_QSklSPYqJJd5OSs9qzBf18eyhl1JS8Q_c2KXQajnhbM87Z9wFVphA4FCw58dwJUNE/w400-h266/DSC04442_agave_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We're learning new plants too. Agaves, though not new to us, are a favorite, even when they are past their prime. </i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKtxUWtOd55JcWODFea3OVsjEsXzNwJCw_kjIOmgCpqWts2s84zaww63z3F387UX-FnhBLb6juSk-YFuoCkGIAWe6bOCD7KBfiiYt3_8tvaRRiqDmHkkHrZWt_TaQwYzHPLgEgtJb6z9fASJj4ChG8jpGjFL22RguIot5pPJSGxSjhHb4hm_erIL6V2Y/s1800/DSC_6068_fall_foliage_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKtxUWtOd55JcWODFea3OVsjEsXzNwJCw_kjIOmgCpqWts2s84zaww63z3F387UX-FnhBLb6juSk-YFuoCkGIAWe6bOCD7KBfiiYt3_8tvaRRiqDmHkkHrZWt_TaQwYzHPLgEgtJb6z9fASJj4ChG8jpGjFL22RguIot5pPJSGxSjhHb4hm_erIL6V2Y/w400-h266/DSC_6068_fall_foliage_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Riparian areas are surprisingly lush. This sumac lit up our recent hike into Mineral Creek.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnNeKOKlP06rZlBbnj6ZgTrQQTcfqxm0W9PJicfkBYdPCS1OaOfczIjMGl49DcYFhdv4ZWLY-gQk8dhpMbskpgyXcb2AKlDMgoeQ2vn1b9sOXYndeIiYwXUUtYywMe5r-oT6LHgAdx0SC8bGS2pvp2uYB24OW7_e2jlkGjg4CfY42CxqJ4VmEVE9b_wM/s1800/DSC04484_bret_judy_bouldering_city_of_rocks_nm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnNeKOKlP06rZlBbnj6ZgTrQQTcfqxm0W9PJicfkBYdPCS1OaOfczIjMGl49DcYFhdv4ZWLY-gQk8dhpMbskpgyXcb2AKlDMgoeQ2vn1b9sOXYndeIiYwXUUtYywMe5r-oT6LHgAdx0SC8bGS2pvp2uYB24OW7_e2jlkGjg4CfY42CxqJ4VmEVE9b_wM/w266-h400/DSC04484_bret_judy_bouldering_city_of_rocks_nm.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Silver City is not a rock climbing destination, but there is bouldering at <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106077527/city-of-rocks" target="_blank">City of Rocks</a> (New Mexico, not Idaho) just south of here and potential for routes in canyons near town (yet to be explored). <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/108351201/truth-or-consequences-area" target="_blank">Truth or Consequences</a> has established climbing, Tucson is less than three hours away as is Hueco Tanks, and there are many other areas within easy weekend distance. Here our friends Bret and Judy Ruckman boulder at the City of Rocks. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM84h_SABm3lvWpQzcjbFsUddv4MeKBCmjQsEZIJ8dGxPRUjftvBLp3jSgYhJhd3ARrOdL_jNYogBhpX8M_cGeiiSq8nasV9SnjenuYBTTeWQ9d-AvRYxMVYMn7Z34HFvaeTpECL2tHCJm8irEw2aO4g2KtnOVxRuYQYDiR_GfiQBtGAPrnOkXl2vPw2E/s1800/DSC_6159_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM84h_SABm3lvWpQzcjbFsUddv4MeKBCmjQsEZIJ8dGxPRUjftvBLp3jSgYhJhd3ARrOdL_jNYogBhpX8M_cGeiiSq8nasV9SnjenuYBTTeWQ9d-AvRYxMVYMn7Z34HFvaeTpECL2tHCJm8irEw2aO4g2KtnOVxRuYQYDiR_GfiQBtGAPrnOkXl2vPw2E/w266-h400/DSC_6159_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An unclimbed spire in the Gila, or is that a mine adit two-thirds of the way up?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvgh5vVZf4QJUkkDSZx0ZViuYWKkI3eFsbZbdnu-jLjIb_7MCwlFTldLke9ZTUP97fkXHkd_hRwgp6EC1f6c_t-Ra0bklqWVTErHlU-M5aZxeQX1Ba-m8-eWZdikox-3ohDOsuiSLUHPveOLHvUUKAPGOmvXKWdAlBmiwa9ZtkYtfCkJ2uIvtpiEJHhQ/s1800/DSC_6116_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvgh5vVZf4QJUkkDSZx0ZViuYWKkI3eFsbZbdnu-jLjIb_7MCwlFTldLke9ZTUP97fkXHkd_hRwgp6EC1f6c_t-Ra0bklqWVTErHlU-M5aZxeQX1Ba-m8-eWZdikox-3ohDOsuiSLUHPveOLHvUUKAPGOmvXKWdAlBmiwa9ZtkYtfCkJ2uIvtpiEJHhQ/w400-h266/DSC_6116_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And, it's beautiful here. Another fall shot from Mineral Creek.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzbI0dfhP_Bwo5aKuDwRapQFoTLzA7Z5-Bmhbjiu3IzeZLT7XX2d_iZbM_o8iSg6Jiiyc7kMm-a2G8coorUiv1a80VMSUqOivKdO-IZpTvgZWmNOdP8JufBw-sVnfgZ1BG_6GZYY10bA5xdo__3G_DL340374J8CXd1wNS4vAaxclWTDih0_GxwlZC0c/s1800/DSC_6156_mineral_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzbI0dfhP_Bwo5aKuDwRapQFoTLzA7Z5-Bmhbjiu3IzeZLT7XX2d_iZbM_o8iSg6Jiiyc7kMm-a2G8coorUiv1a80VMSUqOivKdO-IZpTvgZWmNOdP8JufBw-sVnfgZ1BG_6GZYY10bA5xdo__3G_DL340374J8CXd1wNS4vAaxclWTDih0_GxwlZC0c/w400-h266/DSC_6156_mineral_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A sycamore tree, also in Mineral Creek.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq1YzKT-KLqUyF4pMtP2tHjaQyIx6Pl8VuLK57PdsWE6hNxr3upYCVzqhAB7nyN3ITg8mcFnAg2DjrCURwkzeDkM6PzOoo3_3xErr4GNQ1ZNZuN0HHXJvdLBhNR9XQFXVByEuGGIjavP-qdG975K9hngCWTmRADFmNmWE-I-SO2LVebvQplYJPDuxUpo/s1800/DSC_6163_bird_sanctuary_trail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq1YzKT-KLqUyF4pMtP2tHjaQyIx6Pl8VuLK57PdsWE6hNxr3upYCVzqhAB7nyN3ITg8mcFnAg2DjrCURwkzeDkM6PzOoo3_3xErr4GNQ1ZNZuN0HHXJvdLBhNR9XQFXVByEuGGIjavP-qdG975K9hngCWTmRADFmNmWE-I-SO2LVebvQplYJPDuxUpo/w400-h266/DSC_6163_bird_sanctuary_trail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And finally, a shot from a recent (mid-November) walk along the Gila River not far west of Silver City. We've barely begun to scratch the surface.</i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p></div><p><br /></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-5177576014060796282023-07-05T11:08:00.003-07:002023-07-05T11:38:42.563-07:00Desert Packrafting: Escalante, San Juan, and San Rafael Rivers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvR711LkB_c1B0p84VZCscSVqtwQ2369J45bCM8Pq-DNryrPq14Lo_EuFKgHz6n79wcIWG17z-6Ysj--K4OjxSW9w3jIShcOZTYOZHGCrGJa8TKA4WjPQ2WW62lX5lE74_VKEPEz4rdmR9W9qtKw3sFqB4dbxpS_h60rHhmO-EzaUAlW51fCkOKrW8ww/s1800/DSC04251_kachina_panel_landing_san_juan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvR711LkB_c1B0p84VZCscSVqtwQ2369J45bCM8Pq-DNryrPq14Lo_EuFKgHz6n79wcIWG17z-6Ysj--K4OjxSW9w3jIShcOZTYOZHGCrGJa8TKA4WjPQ2WW62lX5lE74_VKEPEz4rdmR9W9qtKw3sFqB4dbxpS_h60rHhmO-EzaUAlW51fCkOKrW8ww/w400-h266/DSC04251_kachina_panel_landing_san_juan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our boats beached to walk to a rock art panel on the San Juan River.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">For much of my life, desert rivers have been obstacles or sources of silty water, difficult to cross and hard to filter. The small ones, frigid in the spring, could </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">be waded. Big ones were hiked along, often arduously, or approached, camped beside, and left behind to return the way you came. They are also beautiful green corridors through arid landscapes, lined with cottonwoods and punctuated by rock art galleries and ruins. Sitting on a canyon rim in the hot sun, cliffed-out high above an impossibly green river bottom, you ache to be down in the cool shade.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Packrafts transform rivers from barriers into people-movers. This spring while drifting along on the San Juan several days into a week-long float, I realized how relaxed I felt, deep in the canyon and far from cell coverage, watching one sandstone formation dip into the river to reveal the younger one above it as we traveled downstream. It was like a days-long sigh of relief.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Kevin Fedarko in his book, <i>The Emerald Mile</i>, about boating in the Grand Canyon, wrote:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>To float, to drift, savoring the pulse of the river on its odyssey through the canyon, and above all, to postpone the unwelcome and distinctly unpleasant moment when one is forced to reemerge and reenter the world beyond the rim—that is the paramount goal.</i>”</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">Our <a href="https://alpackaraft.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Alpacka</a> Explorers, weighing about 7 pounds, plus the paddles, PFDs (life vests), and dry bags, all added to standard backpacking gear, make for heavy packs. We haven’t been ambitious about carrying our rafts very far, instead opting for short approaches. If one <i><u>is</u></i> willing to carry the gear, even more terrain opens. Either way, once on the water, you spend your days watching the scenery scroll by. If it’s hot, you swim. If it’s cold, you try not to. Camps are often idyllic with sandy beaches, shade, and side-canyons to explore.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve written before about our first two packraft trips (Oregon’s <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2021/11/packrafting-oregons-john-day-river.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">John Day River</a> and <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2022/11/packrafting-boquillas-canyon-in-big.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Boquillas Canyon</a> on the Rio Grande) but during the last two spring boating seasons (2022 and 2023), we’ve added the Escalante, San Juan, and San Rafael to our resumes. All of these are exceptional trips in different ways, and there is no shortage of YouTube videos and trip reports, so I won’t add to that pantheon, but I’ll share a few photos and some basic logistics.</span></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH30O2oilHEMq1bNzT4wIXlRpGC8RiXAbPfQ_y3QEwgRqIFfrRtYOzdiOfxVoEkJG3S79vOBgb4yoEiZv1t1Yk8dOo8clyOwTrT6wPenqHEoJ4tjnwY_m1C7oHQFlD56lOoWjy4yZPRElXcwrn5F09FNcFwqEtA04h7OMV753DcOgYKdNsYnITH106Ds/s1800/DSC03869_larry_brian_ellen_ken_egypt_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH30O2oilHEMq1bNzT4wIXlRpGC8RiXAbPfQ_y3QEwgRqIFfrRtYOzdiOfxVoEkJG3S79vOBgb4yoEiZv1t1Yk8dOo8clyOwTrT6wPenqHEoJ4tjnwY_m1C7oHQFlD56lOoWjy4yZPRElXcwrn5F09FNcFwqEtA04h7OMV753DcOgYKdNsYnITH106Ds/w400-h266/DSC03869_larry_brian_ellen_ken_egypt_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Left to Right: Larry Scritchfield, Brian Collins, Ellen, and me, savoring the wind and our heavy packs at the Egypt Trailhead as we set out to Fence Canyon where we put onto the Escalante in April, 2022.</i></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJ8EKujS70kWlnOS0n5FN-aGNN1XE-A4V-D4yZGLMuco35E6LI7kosYOFY3m-UhJyvyVF8PojBQzOTzk5c6pr5KaPS1_iLrYltpLveojeAeoB-2weDQ5ssTgx5r2adWlSZl3RwEJgm27LTUwcFE3uldOVpvQ2L40jfRZfLswQKirkYgoO4MujU3nQ4c/s1800/DSC03876_ellen_larry_fence_put-in_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJ8EKujS70kWlnOS0n5FN-aGNN1XE-A4V-D4yZGLMuco35E6LI7kosYOFY3m-UhJyvyVF8PojBQzOTzk5c6pr5KaPS1_iLrYltpLveojeAeoB-2weDQ5ssTgx5r2adWlSZl3RwEJgm27LTUwcFE3uldOVpvQ2L40jfRZfLswQKirkYgoO4MujU3nQ4c/w400-h266/DSC03876_ellen_larry_fence_put-in_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rigging boats for the Escalante at the Fence Canyon put-in.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtGkMBuVQlMwado16WN2QWJUSJ4K9-kqiud_KGMHmYr3pKzMfaaNPZCpGaeHxcPWKnkKsBbpK9J8dGP8CG_5vOHN8rEzPJipS-BtrJdSBeENTGACdmEYQ6bHxsAoLR_hQKEGV-9sRUiCxJQDtLWB2Beag7v5iMnOrigNc5jhmdKwqI-_kYJzFZx5vZ4g/s1800/DSC03887_neon_canyon_day2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtGkMBuVQlMwado16WN2QWJUSJ4K9-kqiud_KGMHmYr3pKzMfaaNPZCpGaeHxcPWKnkKsBbpK9J8dGP8CG_5vOHN8rEzPJipS-BtrJdSBeENTGACdmEYQ6bHxsAoLR_hQKEGV-9sRUiCxJQDtLWB2Beag7v5iMnOrigNc5jhmdKwqI-_kYJzFZx5vZ4g/w400-h266/DSC03887_neon_canyon_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Branches and clear water in Neon Canyon during a side hike from the Escalante.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-NLBDfhmp7tYo9nmXOb3dWjOCYKj8aN6CE27l3qavxGPlJneH7oJTZcfIU7Sf7oKWWbEMv_VZViNLkvssOjji8l8n3b31kcfiUXm60v2aWCOF64bijIcqEgS5UJTTtLB61jO9aIO0SAQi1g5RgtgFvdcf_aQ9cB2XhLEqiF7vgaoD8EGbOxZrHO2E_s/s1800/DSC03905_ellen_brian_escalante_packraft_day2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-NLBDfhmp7tYo9nmXOb3dWjOCYKj8aN6CE27l3qavxGPlJneH7oJTZcfIU7Sf7oKWWbEMv_VZViNLkvssOjji8l8n3b31kcfiUXm60v2aWCOF64bijIcqEgS5UJTTtLB61jO9aIO0SAQi1g5RgtgFvdcf_aQ9cB2XhLEqiF7vgaoD8EGbOxZrHO2E_s/w400-h266/DSC03905_ellen_brian_escalante_packraft_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Brian on the Escalante, more a creek than a river below Fence Canyon at 6-10 cfs.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v34_Y1Er87fKLP0UMiYIKrZKDCRn2xrXd49wPZHKZxu7Zd5J-mItMEetB_vZdc21GD-gAOnIgBKOpJn09JqsBVxiIvCaEH3W8-3nOONzKmSlIL3itQStvplxmNwfZ2mclSAne_qdEwhonKSrpNx2wfK3BFJqOyrngoNXAMpgw8NPuMkvUMTk4CkZtPY/s1800/DSC03923_larry_packraft_dragging.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v34_Y1Er87fKLP0UMiYIKrZKDCRn2xrXd49wPZHKZxu7Zd5J-mItMEetB_vZdc21GD-gAOnIgBKOpJn09JqsBVxiIvCaEH3W8-3nOONzKmSlIL3itQStvplxmNwfZ2mclSAne_qdEwhonKSrpNx2wfK3BFJqOyrngoNXAMpgw8NPuMkvUMTk4CkZtPY/w400-h266/DSC03923_larry_packraft_dragging.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry during one of many low water boat drags on the Escalante.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw9kmVi-cMeWjBMXiZYnbKZkz_6oF9gX0AUzlJYzAp02VEtQRMOlZdExDdplZJLEsCX_P8t0fF-2RMkos5WCvpGooHQSZsD7eMJHb81BUm97aW-lsWZUke26ktB3Z8m8wgk0-MNh7qI0L9r8P6uMRYfCROLoGjXmM4UUiGadeBP54rUI6bZnUCwwm5ng/s1800/DSC03968_ellen_escalante_packraft.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw9kmVi-cMeWjBMXiZYnbKZkz_6oF9gX0AUzlJYzAp02VEtQRMOlZdExDdplZJLEsCX_P8t0fF-2RMkos5WCvpGooHQSZsD7eMJHb81BUm97aW-lsWZUke26ktB3Z8m8wgk0-MNh7qI0L9r8P6uMRYfCROLoGjXmM4UUiGadeBP54rUI6bZnUCwwm5ng/w400-h266/DSC03968_ellen_escalante_packraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen enjoying water stained Escalante cliffs.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSo7GoeB7NDdXr0xiDzVhYT6zSbx6It9S1vHfxN3mdPIGi5wCz2gCRWi8DsCI6N2Eg6Q08xE6o0oXTQq_oLePmjj2vLOmNykLC-Rl9nJXOlPFj-HLLze0xIQHO9kJ3gmuwYHrGuoCRO0J617GJZZ7Miz9vb8iCvHNQcaycgdAp_bwkpbmG8AXVQ671f4/s1800/DSC03993_ellen_escalante_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSo7GoeB7NDdXr0xiDzVhYT6zSbx6It9S1vHfxN3mdPIGi5wCz2gCRWi8DsCI6N2Eg6Q08xE6o0oXTQq_oLePmjj2vLOmNykLC-Rl9nJXOlPFj-HLLze0xIQHO9kJ3gmuwYHrGuoCRO0J617GJZZ7Miz9vb8iCvHNQcaycgdAp_bwkpbmG8AXVQ671f4/w400-h266/DSC03993_ellen_escalante_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen in one of the many small rapids on the Escalante. The river at low water was very busy--nothing especially hard, but requiring constant route finding to avoid hanging up on rocks.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuA_GECtCJSItZ-tbrVM_q1ruNbCgVMoJqjlu9_sDsiOczFq4VKsta__DANWhNk8Zs84x2TEEJFaPBESzkMLZAq9FhluedpNgTG-ZPfZby1rPp-qqYfOIH0Ox4oN6IfyTwVKhMttL6UrGY3MgZ9Aa1xldYN5ohaQdWM_oXINbuiQTDYGBYNz_Pqfenw3s/s1800/DSC04220_kachina_panel_san_juan_river_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuA_GECtCJSItZ-tbrVM_q1ruNbCgVMoJqjlu9_sDsiOczFq4VKsta__DANWhNk8Zs84x2TEEJFaPBESzkMLZAq9FhluedpNgTG-ZPfZby1rPp-qqYfOIH0Ox4oN6IfyTwVKhMttL6UrGY3MgZ9Aa1xldYN5ohaQdWM_oXINbuiQTDYGBYNz_Pqfenw3s/w400-h266/DSC04220_kachina_panel_san_juan_river_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The spectacular Kachina Panel on the San Juan River, less than a day's float from the Sand Island put-in. We ran the San Juan in early April 2023.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv81wMUanvO2G4nDmmgLeMj9vh64SzPIFiCwKktr8zWntBLqYCFyGUdf037dyI8A_gZamqSYyoYuaLhvK9WCVQSjFji-sw9oMj021I5ysFrJ8_W0rrOY_AsaMDdQfxkoow8GyScdZovqDZYQVH3K92Z9zzhhjUyzUtEBYf8aQuKdrD0jNgAEZi96RArQ/s1800/DSC04238_larry_jane_kachina_panel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv81wMUanvO2G4nDmmgLeMj9vh64SzPIFiCwKktr8zWntBLqYCFyGUdf037dyI8A_gZamqSYyoYuaLhvK9WCVQSjFji-sw9oMj021I5ysFrJ8_W0rrOY_AsaMDdQfxkoow8GyScdZovqDZYQVH3K92Z9zzhhjUyzUtEBYf8aQuKdrD0jNgAEZi96RArQ/w400-h266/DSC04238_larry_jane_kachina_panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry Scritchfield and Jane Addis eating lunch at the Kachina Panel.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLj2ndut281lAS1gIkIcTf34cOyw7XqiXWGQz_zodP8SxoseupYXzs7K2s1apCDNus-SSdh5rXMwyacJoKj3ClaaXUyvvdBmoW3q7TuR8639zjpWGUGp58s8emSBO2-Dfxn0FvjK0IE20aA_BSEtMP06lfSYpPz7b1H76IRFWZWsP1NOrnv5CKctcIuVA/s1800/DSC04244_near_kachina_panel_san_juan_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLj2ndut281lAS1gIkIcTf34cOyw7XqiXWGQz_zodP8SxoseupYXzs7K2s1apCDNus-SSdh5rXMwyacJoKj3ClaaXUyvvdBmoW3q7TuR8639zjpWGUGp58s8emSBO2-Dfxn0FvjK0IE20aA_BSEtMP06lfSYpPz7b1H76IRFWZWsP1NOrnv5CKctcIuVA/w400-h266/DSC04244_near_kachina_panel_san_juan_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Spring was late coming to the desert this year, and our first days on the San Juan were cold. This tree knew better than to leaf out.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwubRHpmr1I5f-RcE9DLAlFJrMUOLj2LxEB8w4Rf8f48ejdibPnB3Rm_IXxb13AG1d0ScFP9dbOm1rZVcT8o1bwLPoThhJPshAmokkMY4zn1xgyCPiKHbTvXAOFwmJHlDY8gntX_Ejvxjlneafrb6ujl20h_ZGb-m9Zn4lWFHXiYPCAMJ1Zur9WYYZxw/s1800/DSC04247_arrowhead_near_kachina_panel_san_juan_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwubRHpmr1I5f-RcE9DLAlFJrMUOLj2LxEB8w4Rf8f48ejdibPnB3Rm_IXxb13AG1d0ScFP9dbOm1rZVcT8o1bwLPoThhJPshAmokkMY4zn1xgyCPiKHbTvXAOFwmJHlDY8gntX_Ejvxjlneafrb6ujl20h_ZGb-m9Zn4lWFHXiYPCAMJ1Zur9WYYZxw/w400-h266/DSC04247_arrowhead_near_kachina_panel_san_juan_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An arrowhead, left where I found it. The San Juan between Sand Island and Mexican Hat is rich with archaeology. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaNp16cFgzFsCHvHMZVMeOmBPB5rHm_J8XDDeTD4QkYWNYCAnTLKsZbK1a0OMVSYvdpn7cP0tkTZkjhYyCxX434ZtZ6ZUm9WumCD9I-ty-M07KPXWSpJN0j48iSq2F2wUGx7th2pEyl0XP06ilYPqhwcguw8cdNlxj8PKFNq9yNgVd9ILOFij27jzl1o/s1800/DSC04258_ellen_bay_river_house_day2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaNp16cFgzFsCHvHMZVMeOmBPB5rHm_J8XDDeTD4QkYWNYCAnTLKsZbK1a0OMVSYvdpn7cP0tkTZkjhYyCxX434ZtZ6ZUm9WumCD9I-ty-M07KPXWSpJN0j48iSq2F2wUGx7th2pEyl0XP06ilYPqhwcguw8cdNlxj8PKFNq9yNgVd9ILOFij27jzl1o/w266-h400/DSC04258_ellen_bay_river_house_day2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Bay Roberts at the River House ruin on the San Juan.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ycR7cCS5nBrnzlhImPujUA5fNCInzkuHSwDgyfAq4BkZ55u3042udgiZM4F1ZfmKsHLI8C5quLzpKbFR4Apg1yzddyR2ztROCqsNtZGZOV40z5j-JFdCCB2EFo5rQKdFag-G4V5qlXELjNmubn80gzBcFcH7umRD5lFdGGSRZ3PN5FNIaPDstmjv-_w/s1800/DSC04295_river_otter_san_juan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ycR7cCS5nBrnzlhImPujUA5fNCInzkuHSwDgyfAq4BkZ55u3042udgiZM4F1ZfmKsHLI8C5quLzpKbFR4Apg1yzddyR2ztROCqsNtZGZOV40z5j-JFdCCB2EFo5rQKdFag-G4V5qlXELjNmubn80gzBcFcH7umRD5lFdGGSRZ3PN5FNIaPDstmjv-_w/w400-h266/DSC04295_river_otter_san_juan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An otter accompanied us downriver for a quite a while before climbing onto the shore and running back upstream. We wondered if it was just curious or chaperoning us away from its family.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwW2bqboKi89Sbx6Tbgiwx6QbeF2nHqV99RxZkEV137_GuXnmeZ9fe_7msUSxxXs_0Ozfs9kxGMvuM6s9JtNGIJYk9l2Cy5e0a79H3grCwbZgyK-m9XRjuibucM7ISX7Wb5Z50YWovQVhVoAz9jAl_MZHVEl3_W2DiARcGj5tzGOfIJZezGjofJj8LRs/s1800/DSC04339_ellen_government_rapid_san_juan_day5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwW2bqboKi89Sbx6Tbgiwx6QbeF2nHqV99RxZkEV137_GuXnmeZ9fe_7msUSxxXs_0Ozfs9kxGMvuM6s9JtNGIJYk9l2Cy5e0a79H3grCwbZgyK-m9XRjuibucM7ISX7Wb5Z50YWovQVhVoAz9jAl_MZHVEl3_W2DiARcGj5tzGOfIJZezGjofJj8LRs/w400-h266/DSC04339_ellen_government_rapid_san_juan_day5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen in Government Rapid, one of a couple of Class 3 drops on the river. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YJAlHMdSCLe5YjEEaXQLG7DaUM6ZrBDunSLPi6umZX1W61ptFbgWLldAGvX-GqBFefY1-NH9ISnbMcE4rxROf--FfypHZg2ZtSWR48_mWNW-G8Ax_CBNS7Fs2ROcgOeOzkhZxGREa1LfhyKNy4dNys_-VjKYozTsneM0_Wxd5vO6TkGvs42IPjVC3Qo/s1800/IMG_2530_upstream_view_from_oljeto_wash_san_juan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YJAlHMdSCLe5YjEEaXQLG7DaUM6ZrBDunSLPi6umZX1W61ptFbgWLldAGvX-GqBFefY1-NH9ISnbMcE4rxROf--FfypHZg2ZtSWR48_mWNW-G8Ax_CBNS7Fs2ROcgOeOzkhZxGREa1LfhyKNy4dNys_-VjKYozTsneM0_Wxd5vO6TkGvs42IPjVC3Qo/w400-h300/IMG_2530_upstream_view_from_oljeto_wash_san_juan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The view upstream from our last camp at the mouth of Oljeto Wash. Below Slickhorn Canyon, the river is placid. It was once subsumed by Lake Powell, but has reemerged from the shrinking reservoir.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggj42VTfm-Vckkwt5ZsR5XaPoj8J_w0hyy_O0uuh6Hgv8sa5NRotwNU2yQiNMs5Fz4TO7aP1gllDsRgNntCMpMl2Il3zxVDlE-WJs3GRkAe88froSfzJIBdjVtq2bMThAY2HqFY08cnHEKyHIbYDSIUzxWF9gGdNNesF8cDEDA7m0yjJyhqaWLT-Soii0/s1800/DSC_5082_san_rafael_150cfs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggj42VTfm-Vckkwt5ZsR5XaPoj8J_w0hyy_O0uuh6Hgv8sa5NRotwNU2yQiNMs5Fz4TO7aP1gllDsRgNntCMpMl2Il3zxVDlE-WJs3GRkAe88froSfzJIBdjVtq2bMThAY2HqFY08cnHEKyHIbYDSIUzxWF9gGdNNesF8cDEDA7m0yjJyhqaWLT-Soii0/w400-h266/DSC_5082_san_rafael_150cfs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The San Rafael River in May 2023 at about 150 cfs when we ran it. It later came up to 1,000 before dropping. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYq3_VArR90t87Gb-GEd76_vscqk3ssrRf6ZGjIG-NSrtf6F7El57Ol_ZdlbPNIiTWja8UToenEA3u0kzrVMJWPe7gfGroPGbJvAk9027Fvy2trGrbl-Ii3lXxYOgfRSsMK0V3g8GNLpXvUgs13YRODw5Or0ZQcxC_FuJkzYWZWssvkHwfg_hT7o0ksA/s1800/DSC_5106_claret_cup_base_cedar_mt_swell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYq3_VArR90t87Gb-GEd76_vscqk3ssrRf6ZGjIG-NSrtf6F7El57Ol_ZdlbPNIiTWja8UToenEA3u0kzrVMJWPe7gfGroPGbJvAk9027Fvy2trGrbl-Ii3lXxYOgfRSsMK0V3g8GNLpXvUgs13YRODw5Or0ZQcxC_FuJkzYWZWssvkHwfg_hT7o0ksA/w400-h266/DSC_5106_claret_cup_base_cedar_mt_swell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Claret Cup Cactus in the San Rafael Swell.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IYP5hJEI39f1si-SSGU5oe1U-otyIt9r0NmkQVoC4ITjjv-m_V80XkZrbfJlz1lvT0zqcWX_Z0dVLSxBoc0PVpKgH3dE_XL4KKALpJQtBxRmh9iMbcSzaXBalpQPkG5DcsDS4JCdkg8qrKUhWU0DNkX9doNG4_ewFpvVcVkqSZl4jVnyeE2ifpkhIfY/s1800/DSC04418_bay_ellen_san_rafael_packraft.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IYP5hJEI39f1si-SSGU5oe1U-otyIt9r0NmkQVoC4ITjjv-m_V80XkZrbfJlz1lvT0zqcWX_Z0dVLSxBoc0PVpKgH3dE_XL4KKALpJQtBxRmh9iMbcSzaXBalpQPkG5DcsDS4JCdkg8qrKUhWU0DNkX9doNG4_ewFpvVcVkqSZl4jVnyeE2ifpkhIfY/w400-h266/DSC04418_bay_ellen_san_rafael_packraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ellen and Bay Roberts on the San Rafael.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjiyhueEruNZaqZx5rM6JwIiRxXr_Hz88jxuXbyG7ILTuicMYh9p6YZc7iaPYnETo7q53-Tduorp0_4ngVSNYmIUwaQldWCb2RxSdVlTAjBuKVoiLuVn_hLmgG211rG7n9p8j05XmOE_TNKT-1wpQ3rc7Y_Tkmgtj24ZHtHKNxQzvl-6vkznEQIc37bc/s1800/DSC04422_ellen_bay_virgin_springs_canyon_san_rafael.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjiyhueEruNZaqZx5rM6JwIiRxXr_Hz88jxuXbyG7ILTuicMYh9p6YZc7iaPYnETo7q53-Tduorp0_4ngVSNYmIUwaQldWCb2RxSdVlTAjBuKVoiLuVn_hLmgG211rG7n9p8j05XmOE_TNKT-1wpQ3rc7Y_Tkmgtj24ZHtHKNxQzvl-6vkznEQIc37bc/w266-h400/DSC04422_ellen_bay_virgin_springs_canyon_san_rafael.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ellen and Bay eating lunch in Virgin Springs Canyon on the San Rafael.</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Logistics</span><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b><u>Escalante</u><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Permits:</b> Required backcountry permit is easily obtained from the Ranger Station in Escalante on your arrival (no lottery, etc.).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Recommended water level:</b> We ran this section when the river was peaking at 6 cfs and it was often lower than that, which was marginal but obviously doable. The recommended water level is at least 50 cfs, but people run it at 2 cfs. The low water made the trip a little more arduous but it was still great.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Shuttle: </b>Our shuttle was from the Egypt Trailhead to the 40-mile Ridge Trailhead. Both are accessed from the Hole in the Rock Road outside of Escalante, which is usually ok for passenger cars (but it can get rough or muddy depending on weather). The spur roads into Egypt and 40-mile Ridge require some clearance and there's sand on the 40-mile Ridge road. We were fine with a Subaru and an AWD van. The shuttle is tedious and takes a couple of hours if I remember correctly.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>River info: </b>If there’s enough water, you can put in at the Highway 12 bridge near Escalante, but at lower water Fence Canyon is the recommended put in. We started at Fence and took out at Coyote Gulch where we hiked out via the crack in the wall (strenuous hike up a dune but technically easy). Some people float all the way to Lake Powell and get picked up there. The main challenge for us was the low water. We did a lot of butt-scooting and some dragging of boats. Rapids were easy at low water but hard to get through without hanging up. There are two mandatory portages.<b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Online info:</b> <a href="https://www.packraft.org/post/packrafting-the-escalante-river" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">American Packrafting Association</a>, <a href="https://bearfoottheory.com/packrafting-escalante-river-tips/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Bearfoot Theory</a> blog, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/floating-the-escalante-river.htm" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">National Park Service</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b><u>San Juan<o:p></o:p></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Permits: </b>Required. You can enter the lottery for trip dates between April 15 and July 15 at <a href="https://www.recreation.gov/permits/250986" style="color: #954f72;">recreation.gov</a>. For earlier trips, you don’t have to enter the lottery, but you must apply for a permit starting December 1. That’s what we did, and we got a permit, but it was cold for the first few days in April. Later dates are likely to have more water and warmer temperatures.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Recommended water level: </b>>500 cfs. When we were on the river, it was running about 1,000 cfs which was a nice level. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Shuttle:</b> We paid for the shuttle using <a href="https://www.riversandruins.com/?utm_source=gmb%20listing&utm_medium=organic" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Wild Expeditions</a> in Bluff. They drove our van to Clay Hills and left it there for us. Cost was about $250.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>River info:</b> The San Juan is usually boated either from Sand Island to Mexican Hat or from Sand Island all the way to Clay Hills. We took out at Clay Hills. The best archaeology is before Mexican Hat, so plan to spend more time on that section if you can. Also, the left bank of the river is on Navajo lands, and if you want to hike there, you need a special permit (recommended). Chinle Wash is particularly interesting. Call the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department in Window Rock at 928-871-6647.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Online Info: </b><a href="https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/utah_river_sanjuanriver_tripplanner.pdf" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">BLM</a><b>, </b><a href="https://danransom.com/2021/07/packrafting-san-juan-river/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Dan Ransom video</a>, <a href="https://www.downriverequip.com/more/books/guides-and-maps/rivermaps/the-san-juan-river-by-rivermaps-pid-1722" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Guidebook</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b><u>San Rafael<o:p></o:p></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Permits:</b> None required.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Recommended water level:</b> >100 cfs (we ran it at 150 and it was great). They say over 1,000 is not recommended, but I don’t know why not.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Shuttle:</b> Put in is at Fuller Bottom and take out is just upstream from the bridge at the Swinging Bridge Campground. Shuttle by car takes a half-hour or so. Some people do a bicycle shuttle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>River info:</b> Mellow, fun river with no significant rapids (just riffles). Nice side canyon hikes with ruins and rock art. Most do this as a one-day trip, but it can be floated as an overnight. There are lots of nice campsites at side canyons. <o:p></o:p></p><b style="font-style: normal;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Online info: </span></b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://bearfoottheory.com/packrafting-the-san-rafael-river-utah/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Bearfoot Theory</a> blog, <a href="https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/san-rafael-swell/sanrafaelgorge" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Road Trip Ryan</a>, <a href="http://www.zacharykenney.com/2020/adventures/guide-to-floating-the-san-rafael-river-low-flow-100-cfs/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Zachary Kenney blog</a>.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></div></i></div><br /></div>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-60964808217968622182023-06-07T11:32:00.000-07:002023-06-07T11:32:38.336-07:00Attic Life<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsCK2J9ad-70nQpSOZI8A9IO1OkPoIz1V0go9s9vA37IxBgtgWqWJOK7kmycOwbFzyKCuZi0Y_EbAIb39EHM8naolpu1AT_w--EseyjappO_1YJqtcbR2BDugDa66TZr_KhDyy2Ks5JXZ2NealyIhO1UZ3xw7kzwggApGa1xScHRoAlPVq6JVM1pT/s1800/out_west_from_dad_ken_process_6x300dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="1800" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsCK2J9ad-70nQpSOZI8A9IO1OkPoIz1V0go9s9vA37IxBgtgWqWJOK7kmycOwbFzyKCuZi0Y_EbAIb39EHM8naolpu1AT_w--EseyjappO_1YJqtcbR2BDugDa66TZr_KhDyy2Ks5JXZ2NealyIhO1UZ3xw7kzwggApGa1xScHRoAlPVq6JVM1pT/w400-h215/out_west_from_dad_ken_process_6x300dpi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My dad and grandmother "Out West" probably in the late 1930s or very early 1940's. His family lived in Dearborn, Michigan but loved to visit the Tetons.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(click photos to view larger)</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Last summer, while helping move my mother from the Chesapeake Bay to an assisted living community in Austin, Texas near my sister, my three siblings and I sat in my parents' sunroom sorting pictures and letters before the house was sold. It was painful to cull family photos, and there were thousands of them. Letters were even worse.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipddCNsNvFSrxJeD5gXTAnppPvzNVvtcYrSlv4QD14D0haP7wxEf17l3hziKgO7_RDc_03NNHix-_eQGYG73G85rGC0SAYIlfWn-M40GrPr5dQOeDyAnxDKu-9TL65jmHMNM0Ni8tX8bjfOfavmeexnlQckFXq_UKgDlgw1_C4ZFIT_o8pvYO7DJoR/s1800/danley_furniture_ken_kim_grandaddy_mccall_x6x300dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1227" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipddCNsNvFSrxJeD5gXTAnppPvzNVvtcYrSlv4QD14D0haP7wxEf17l3hziKgO7_RDc_03NNHix-_eQGYG73G85rGC0SAYIlfWn-M40GrPr5dQOeDyAnxDKu-9TL65jmHMNM0Ni8tX8bjfOfavmeexnlQckFXq_UKgDlgw1_C4ZFIT_o8pvYO7DJoR/w273-h400/danley_furniture_ken_kim_grandaddy_mccall_x6x300dpi.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My sister, Kim, and me with my Grandfather, Oscar McCall, at his furniture store in Enterprise Alabama. 1960s.</i></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Generations of photographs ended up in my parents’ attic, where it was too hot in the Virginia summer to work, so we hauled decaying bins downstairs and sat, each of us with boxes for keepers and garbage bags for tossers. At the end of summer, the house sold, we left Virginia with photos of ourselves and our kids. I became the keeper of the family archive because I had enough room in the back of my Subaru.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmPyA_7e9A_t7N467LMwkpz6A8SUArixvEdUA-p4SYD6PEIkUF6cHK2oFK-MIEqv7eoZ2obl7uMKtgKZ1dXsy4t5afqS72DP-JfaEIYwBJwKHOGKsVEpjoV62ybGd1BHRWTz-ZDjxxtMAYQchorZOMzMsHE-bkGUTuAZfCHvWzs59Il9U7tgsdd4V/s1800/DSC_5234_great_uncle_henry_driese_3rd_from_left.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmPyA_7e9A_t7N467LMwkpz6A8SUArixvEdUA-p4SYD6PEIkUF6cHK2oFK-MIEqv7eoZ2obl7uMKtgKZ1dXsy4t5afqS72DP-JfaEIYwBJwKHOGKsVEpjoV62ybGd1BHRWTz-ZDjxxtMAYQchorZOMzMsHE-bkGUTuAZfCHvWzs59Il9U7tgsdd4V/w400-h266/DSC_5234_great_uncle_henry_driese_3rd_from_left.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My great-uncle Henry Driese (3rd from left) was a railroad engineer for the Pere Marquette Railway in Michigan. He died long before I was born, but my grandfather (also Ken) worked for the railroad too, and my father (Ed) loved trains all of his life. This is one of many prints in a box that I brought back to Wyoming with me.</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;">This summer, Ellen and I are tackling our own attic, sorting and tossing, preparing to move to New Mexico after over twenty years in our Laramie house. Like my parents, we’ve accumulated extended family histories and our own: photos of Bei growing up, letters from friends and family, journals, artwork, climbing magazines, books, diplomas, annotated calendars.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtE3Psv8o8biIAqQAxmFehZvxenRSO8Hc03alpMzw6lPTcbXRa8OergIH_Z0JXIcrWXeioL8Tv1oKssPWgsHWGUv12hWrpyzaWbZujGP-Z2vj9ZtIxoaky9SXN1VnpFbbNPYh1s6MW8PkPjU8RVmEJK8sRZ606kxaoPlR6lVNi4UBcTazDQLHMjdI/s1800/IMG_2169.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1266" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtE3Psv8o8biIAqQAxmFehZvxenRSO8Hc03alpMzw6lPTcbXRa8OergIH_Z0JXIcrWXeioL8Tv1oKssPWgsHWGUv12hWrpyzaWbZujGP-Z2vj9ZtIxoaky9SXN1VnpFbbNPYh1s6MW8PkPjU8RVmEJK8sRZ606kxaoPlR6lVNi4UBcTazDQLHMjdI/w281-h400/IMG_2169.jpg" width="281" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Bei in Baja, California around 2003.</i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ngfJ0Vo5H4xC9U-6U9c9Ij_vGezVemFFwpbMOgqzVsd8qI4UtE70aaZT1zMD__vn4DgQKrI3igvuG-E1nXC1Z-XwcYrmJeOVRQIABNC7MkbBpBvuOkyRhVX0GD5s28fG9236AzlDq8TE9UfXlk2vCVTU6q6PjdFE0umVblnDgQnlCFAZPm3UWCwS/s1800/IMG_2168.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1235" data-original-width="1800" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ngfJ0Vo5H4xC9U-6U9c9Ij_vGezVemFFwpbMOgqzVsd8qI4UtE70aaZT1zMD__vn4DgQKrI3igvuG-E1nXC1Z-XwcYrmJeOVRQIABNC7MkbBpBvuOkyRhVX0GD5s28fG9236AzlDq8TE9UfXlk2vCVTU6q6PjdFE0umVblnDgQnlCFAZPm3UWCwS/w400-h275/IMG_2168.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Me and Bei at the same spot.</i></div></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In Sally Mann’s autobiography, “<i>Hold Still</i>,” she begins with boxes in her own attic, lamenting:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“<i>They had come to my attic in stages—first from Larry’s parents and grandparents and then from my father and mother—and they had not been opened since the deaths that necessitated boxing up a life. In them was all that remained in the world of these people, their entire lives crammed into boxes that would barely hold a twelve-pack.</i>” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">-Sally Mann from <i>Hold Still</i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Years ago, Ellen received a box in the mail from the nuns who had cared for her Uncle Bob in his later years. It’s been in our attic ever since, the last belongings of a man who lived a full life, married, worked for Boeing, but never had kids. By the time he died in his nineties, he had no other family, and Ellen had stayed in touch, so she became the keeper of his things and the carrier of that burden. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxpgMggFkEMyl30NYWS_0cAqxBxl-liRI7bBGDQS7xWGTTJMjozIV43-6Lb_rMlkeGXEuanw1R6pYqc8YDU5jcSsFwpZr66XHvVaJZKpD_h6mV0w7mBeKqj0RPZaO_O0UbpIFLLf8gKdNG2txy8UaFkOVi1_MtaWFlWNYhcbNEuEy5TtXdd8QQ0tZ/s1800/DSC_5235_uncle_bob_box_boeing_1947_c-97%20mockup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1445" data-original-width="1800" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxpgMggFkEMyl30NYWS_0cAqxBxl-liRI7bBGDQS7xWGTTJMjozIV43-6Lb_rMlkeGXEuanw1R6pYqc8YDU5jcSsFwpZr66XHvVaJZKpD_h6mV0w7mBeKqj0RPZaO_O0UbpIFLLf8gKdNG2txy8UaFkOVi1_MtaWFlWNYhcbNEuEy5TtXdd8QQ0tZ/w400-h321/DSC_5235_uncle_bob_box_boeing_1947_c-97%20mockup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A photo from Uncle Bob's box, carefully labeled on the back as the "interior view of C-97 mockup taken April 17, 1945." Back in those days, the entire cabin was first class! We've come so far.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Part of what we are saving for Bei are photographs and documents from before she was old enough to form lifelong memories—her early childhood, the year spent in China when she was five, her adoption. I’m certain that some of her “memories” come directly from these images rather than from actual experience. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“<i>Photography would seem to preserve our past and make it invulnerable to the distortions of repeated memorial superimpositions, but I think that is a fallacy: photographs supplant and corrupt the past, all while creating their own memories. As I held my childhood pictures in my hands, in the tenderness of my “remembering,” I also knew that with each photograph I was forgetting. --</i>Sally Mann from <i>Hold Still</i></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Our memories can be as much formed by photographs as captured by them, and photos are an interpretation by the photographer rather than perfect rendition of a moment. Discarding an old photo is like erasing a memory.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM58C0UlhYHtYrA_gGqKp__TxhuMI5_MIDkWgxCW3b8Skaq9sVMWnaTcuhtvybLTEotY2laVFJOlvnpxRWsVnq1AbcXgFyrX7hTmbtPQ4Um7D94gLfGpJIofrlwp6k136Fzrievy14yVU6r_md76jNBc-hR-2kms5EcX9k2F1GrtCEqzZ_OQKDzh0t/s1800/DSC_7113_bei_naxi_men_yulong.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM58C0UlhYHtYrA_gGqKp__TxhuMI5_MIDkWgxCW3b8Skaq9sVMWnaTcuhtvybLTEotY2laVFJOlvnpxRWsVnq1AbcXgFyrX7hTmbtPQ4Um7D94gLfGpJIofrlwp6k136Fzrievy14yVU6r_md76jNBc-hR-2kms5EcX9k2F1GrtCEqzZ_OQKDzh0t/w400-h266/DSC_7113_bei_naxi_men_yulong.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bei with Naxi men in Baisha, Yunnan when we lived in China. She was probably 4 when this was taken and I'm sure she doesn't remember that day except as it is captured in this image.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Recently, I sorted a banker’s box densely packed with letters from old friends spanning my life from college well into the recent past. Despite being dirtbags in our 20s and 30s, we were prolific writers, before emails and texts replaced letters and post cards. In those days, I was immersed in rock climbing culture, and the letters capture adventures with friends in Yosemite, Indian Creek, Europe, Thailand, and a hundred other places. They also remind me of how bonded we were--sleeping on each other’s floors, lamenting failed romances, and reveling in our freedom before dispersing in our 40s. I recycled some of the letters and kept others. They'll mean little to Bei and I’ll be unlikely to read them again once they're back in boxes in whatever attic we own next. But throwing them away felt like excising part of my life.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOEXeWU8RGfQqHUDX998TDh68dv1rCPh_dPV-s02tUbAoGb5OiJflYllciiATMIWBBlNyebA3OPU30PYpsXn7cubSO7R14t2YarrMraGx-xf4Nr-yXutXyfsgfx1jWAQT3Iy3YwIWja2W2rXDSl05pJuivv7-bIcj8QZVJkjEWAdmxxvlOTnnL4w-/s1800/DSC_5236_larry_letter_zodiac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOEXeWU8RGfQqHUDX998TDh68dv1rCPh_dPV-s02tUbAoGb5OiJflYllciiATMIWBBlNyebA3OPU30PYpsXn7cubSO7R14t2YarrMraGx-xf4Nr-yXutXyfsgfx1jWAQT3Iy3YwIWja2W2rXDSl05pJuivv7-bIcj8QZVJkjEWAdmxxvlOTnnL4w-/w400-h400/DSC_5236_larry_letter_zodiac.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>An enthusiastic letter from Larry Scritchfield back when we were getting ready to attempt to climb The Zodiac on El Capitan (we got stormed off 5 pitches up). </i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The late David Roberts, in his book about his audacious ascent of Mt. Huntington in Alaska as a young man in the 1960s, wrote:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>A man’s best moments seem to go by before he notices them; and he spends a large part of his life reaching back for them, like a runner for a baton that will never come. In disappointment, he grows nostalgic; and nostalgia inevitably blurs the memory of the immediate thrill, which, simply because it had to be instantaneous, could not have lasted.</i>” David Roberts from <i>The Mountain of My Fear</i> </blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OTwWaYP3XDTWO25gH0F80P8Zig6meERvxKahmqmtTGZEVCQ6wLoMOTIWeyhIvj_JLE_JuWIGIZ_ckMnUoNoAyraSahXrv8yrnqEZeiMvXqMpRwKIUrVXsBV-Jh4EmpfWh7aJSCn9502NXeMAps3Z37fnbPvTz5VejqBXdyvRQdH4ivdA1Yj_ukFL/s1800/IMG_1194_salathe_1982.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1380" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OTwWaYP3XDTWO25gH0F80P8Zig6meERvxKahmqmtTGZEVCQ6wLoMOTIWeyhIvj_JLE_JuWIGIZ_ckMnUoNoAyraSahXrv8yrnqEZeiMvXqMpRwKIUrVXsBV-Jh4EmpfWh7aJSCn9502NXeMAps3Z37fnbPvTz5VejqBXdyvRQdH4ivdA1Yj_ukFL/w306-h400/IMG_1194_salathe_1982.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On El Capitan, Yosemite. </i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There’s more to it for me than nostalgia, and I’m far from disappointed with the path I’ve taken, but fear of mortality gnaws a little as I look back at youth from my mid-60s. Milan Kundera wrote: </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>To be mortal is the most basic human experience, and yet man has never been able to accept it, grasp it, and behave accordingly.</i>” -from <i>Immortality</i></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">"<i>Behaving accordingly</i>" might be exhausting, and maybe our photographs, letters, and other of life’s flotsam, carefully stored in our attics, is an effort to be just a <i><u>little</u></i> immortal, remembered for a while longer than we would be without that evidence that we were here. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Jane Shilling, writing for The Daily Mail while decluttering uncertainly after her son left for college observed: </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>When you write letters, either by email or on paper, you write, without knowing it, your life story, and one rarely emerges well from the account. But it is the human condition to be ridiculous and I may as well embrace it...</i><i>Cupboard space is precious in a house as small as mine. But so are memories. And just at the moment, I can’t decide which I need more</i>.” </blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cupboard space and memories are precious in our house too, so we’re taking the middle path with our things, recycling some and keeping others. Maybe if we leave our children just enough (if they choose to open the boxes) to learn about what we were like before we were their parents but not enough to overwhelm their attics, we’ve done the best we can.</span></div><p></p><br /><p><br /> </p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-38514037209619937172023-06-02T08:05:00.000-07:002023-06-02T08:05:24.125-07:00Greece Part 2: Athens and Nafplio<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKNsPgwgC-9OqXvyXeBY17a799xIshVhZ1no3c_It80r6LaMUxCQRXNPyfTTsOU3jWOnrx9FnW6lkEj0WwtU1GBRJQ_HXRoUmuKtHnX9_6ko7ZC17adFJ2TeqFYwOJWnPRtQ3pjfE7xR76uHu_AQgtPvoAIntHpLCKRg5I2HRQzfYlKFe-QfhVmnn/s1800/DSC_4832_parthenon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKNsPgwgC-9OqXvyXeBY17a799xIshVhZ1no3c_It80r6LaMUxCQRXNPyfTTsOU3jWOnrx9FnW6lkEj0WwtU1GBRJQ_HXRoUmuKtHnX9_6ko7ZC17adFJ2TeqFYwOJWnPRtQ3pjfE7xR76uHu_AQgtPvoAIntHpLCKRg5I2HRQzfYlKFe-QfhVmnn/w400-h266/DSC_4832_parthenon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Parthenon dominating the Acropolis. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Before we left for Greece in April, I dutifully purchased Anthony Everitt’s, “</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Rise of Athens</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">,” and carried it with me into the Grand Canyon and on the San Juan River. Despite reviews touting its readability, I never made it past the first few chapters. Greek history isn’t as compelling when you’re deep in the U.S. desert southwest looking at petroglyphs. But even more</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">daunting </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">for me, the</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">list of “characters,” mythical and historic, mentioned in the introduction alone included:</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Alexander the Great, Phillip, Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Odysseus, Homer, Chryseis, Apollo, Zeus, Hera, Athena, Paris, Aphrodite, Helen, King Menelaus, Briseis, Thetis, Aias, </i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">and many more, all interacting in complicated and magical ways while wandering through Athens, Sparta, Macedon, Phrygia, Troy, and Persia (another partial list), all places unfamiliar to me. And don’t even ask about the Ionic vs. Corinthian vs. Doric columns.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">So, with apologies to Greek historians, after two weeks of happy mindless climbing on Kalymnos, I stepped off the twin-engine Aegean Air prop plane in Athens with little knowledge of the city’s thousands of years of history, intent, along with the tourist throng, on visiting the Acropolis and the Peloponnese Peninsula, while secretly looking forward to a meal or two that was neither Greek nor Mediterranean. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We stayed in a nice retro-themed apartment in the Kerameikos District of Athens (<i>Kerameikos</i> is the root of our word "ceramics") within walking distance of the Acropolis and set out the day after we arrived. The centerpiece is the Parthenon, the famous temple dedicated to Athena. It dominates the polished limestone fortress atop the famous hill even as modern Athens laps at it from all sides, a sea of white buildings fading into the distant smog. Despite the crowds, it’s breathtaking. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Immediately surrounding the Acropolis are narrow streets lined with cafes, some serving cheeseburgers and fries. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Although one could spend weeks exploring Athens, we knew better, having long ago probed our tolerance (low) for big cities, so we rented a car and drove two hours to Nafplio, a much smaller tourist town beside the Mediterranean, where the Peloponnese Peninsula meets the Greek mainland. Pre-trip research touted Nafplio as a convenient base for visits to ancient Corinth, the theater at Epidaurus, and the ruins of Mycenae, and it wasn’t lost on us that it is only two hours from Leonidio, another huge Greek sport climbing destination. An old castle looking down on Nafplio can be accessed from town by climbing 999 steps (I didn’t count), and Nafplio's narrow streets are packed with upscale shops, restaurants, and gelato stands. We spent four days in the area before returning to Athens to catch our flight back to Denver.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">It's easy to understand why expats retire in Greece and climbers spend months there. The weather is mild, it’s relatively inexpensive, the food is good, and the people are genuinely friendly. Of course that’s a superficial view; Greece has seen more than its share of political and economic upheaval. But I can’t say that I was in a hurry to fly home after our short visit.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The pictures below are from our tourist week on the Greek mainland after Kalymnos, and I’ve included a little logistical info at the end.</span></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiN9oNt4bUP7F1h-MCgzybY2nbZSrFjNZMe5e4jYKizBRMh9TOj5_xSSRyuqVBbOniyOqHiVL6O039D5234JJaiJl5R1sI4j9mC4MQBsxWSZbpJcXbrotaqrvYFfvz4T1jrT2ypjfigKJS0DQxXNo9_Ii8K3lWNAUvTEhEJtBEWlaE7zOHBfOYtzl/s1800/DSC_4759_playground_mastichari_kos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiN9oNt4bUP7F1h-MCgzybY2nbZSrFjNZMe5e4jYKizBRMh9TOj5_xSSRyuqVBbOniyOqHiVL6O039D5234JJaiJl5R1sI4j9mC4MQBsxWSZbpJcXbrotaqrvYFfvz4T1jrT2ypjfigKJS0DQxXNo9_Ii8K3lWNAUvTEhEJtBEWlaE7zOHBfOYtzl/w400-h266/DSC_4759_playground_mastichari_kos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A playground on Kos, where we spent a night after leaving Kalymnos before flying back to Athens. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37rBQEK_5jmpvkPFCdKHzmRI7O0_1t-smIIO5Oryn7YKu7LO7oVOxUbcTiiRRlHZ4BEySr3iemTXiBfBVvWBRusfOhEiXhU_KKtmAcpywrBiS3TsZ5Km7UAAo860E34gyV4Iz5ELC1hxH7QtccmqIKyJoBh9tNZgxTj-5stpYSEetJUUenWiKOrAm/s1800/DSC_4768Z_ellen_mastichari_kos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37rBQEK_5jmpvkPFCdKHzmRI7O0_1t-smIIO5Oryn7YKu7LO7oVOxUbcTiiRRlHZ4BEySr3iemTXiBfBVvWBRusfOhEiXhU_KKtmAcpywrBiS3TsZ5Km7UAAo860E34gyV4Iz5ELC1hxH7QtccmqIKyJoBh9tNZgxTj-5stpYSEetJUUenWiKOrAm/w400-h266/DSC_4768Z_ellen_mastichari_kos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen wading in the Aegean Sea on Kos.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERpeYbddF9DogqdFwUgsvT2sNHnvCowUmBU08Zheec-Bfi9SGZs3GKCSDyITjxsqgiGZyrfhU3LxfaU5neqLwTEZJpAVGpwqMxniXoEPjyw2HnCNx4fWQMWXRcVswSa-3aeByFFf0V9N3_hVVUP5mNpppO7q4U01vJczGcpfS9vJdfT0sreQwamNZ/s1800/DSC_4802_athens_graffiti.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERpeYbddF9DogqdFwUgsvT2sNHnvCowUmBU08Zheec-Bfi9SGZs3GKCSDyITjxsqgiGZyrfhU3LxfaU5neqLwTEZJpAVGpwqMxniXoEPjyw2HnCNx4fWQMWXRcVswSa-3aeByFFf0V9N3_hVVUP5mNpppO7q4U01vJczGcpfS9vJdfT0sreQwamNZ/w266-h400/DSC_4802_athens_graffiti.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Grafitti in Athens. In Kerameikos, where we stayed, every surface was covered, some more artfully than others. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB2puQ8k-yOQ3X8Tid0l3mhUeXsJiAr1yp71ryu05YtgElq5UVtczaRNPbfsiMSaNaikqMdt5-R6WMI90o20RZja1jt2A1o9n6jclrzwu_iQsP5h3QuKVfCDP-T1kqRi3o-cE3nszrdBR44BPGLdIkc8k1BDn5BCAPdtEQ1T_n047KdU_djRi6QN5/s1800/DSC_4789_rock_kerameikos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB2puQ8k-yOQ3X8Tid0l3mhUeXsJiAr1yp71ryu05YtgElq5UVtczaRNPbfsiMSaNaikqMdt5-R6WMI90o20RZja1jt2A1o9n6jclrzwu_iQsP5h3QuKVfCDP-T1kqRi3o-cE3nszrdBR44BPGLdIkc8k1BDn5BCAPdtEQ1T_n047KdU_djRi6QN5/w400-h266/DSC_4789_rock_kerameikos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A metaphor for my knowledge of Greek history. This compelling relic is in the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos that we visited on our first evening in Athens.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPh2txGkiZe8VuJCugYPoJSnNDt7rb2RbZ32rrQlVXBhxGNchuT0wotex9-t0cy2823d7EDFvoJ5VTltzhyGewpVEiLXGtOoCZQR5C_kZNlkn6mO0iH_dDEVnJ8yJ27y7duBN741G2e28_TwbWn8erAydZ0Klh0FL8cfA_83hagaFnjNXEBEDz-fl/s1800/DSC_4836_acropolis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPh2txGkiZe8VuJCugYPoJSnNDt7rb2RbZ32rrQlVXBhxGNchuT0wotex9-t0cy2823d7EDFvoJ5VTltzhyGewpVEiLXGtOoCZQR5C_kZNlkn6mO0iH_dDEVnJ8yJ27y7duBN741G2e28_TwbWn8erAydZ0Klh0FL8cfA_83hagaFnjNXEBEDz-fl/w400-h266/DSC_4836_acropolis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Acropolis" means a fort built on a hill, but <u>The Acropolis</u> in Athens is the most famous.</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPko8VPI3jAJrWpJx9KCYxs8xjfsvVb3wAFuDRY4PlW_bvbTz9VzvA5XYSammncCbpgQxs2HB7dtScsJ7YFC2HkGr8R4F11CJewvpneAFmPETkUUldOZ6BNVFS5UiJtRFz2jkcyg9-VlQOHOwbV5ewo_0CjVW1PJsHNGu3z9fWY-b7H9iYohCb8PE4/s1800/DSC_4812_ellen_acropolis_crowd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPko8VPI3jAJrWpJx9KCYxs8xjfsvVb3wAFuDRY4PlW_bvbTz9VzvA5XYSammncCbpgQxs2HB7dtScsJ7YFC2HkGr8R4F11CJewvpneAFmPETkUUldOZ6BNVFS5UiJtRFz2jkcyg9-VlQOHOwbV5ewo_0CjVW1PJsHNGu3z9fWY-b7H9iYohCb8PE4/w400-h266/DSC_4812_ellen_acropolis_crowd.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen (left with black shorts) approaching the crowd at the entrance to the Acropolis. Even with the hordes, the site is inspiring. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHk58Iw5vvbontPv_-iO6iPG1-fUkzUXNSiavJs0CsblVrLjaJdDfIvDMXiY_Xd1AW6R987mZ4dUrzW0OphpznJ7LLUZnOgG2uYAUwh3AVNAIzkd9-D5Zi_OlokVbKTzYqJ5hcWiviErcygo6S-RrqC1Mc4NGgNM3WwLswEq48me6HG31iNHkj-3M/s1800/DSC_4818_acropolis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHk58Iw5vvbontPv_-iO6iPG1-fUkzUXNSiavJs0CsblVrLjaJdDfIvDMXiY_Xd1AW6R987mZ4dUrzW0OphpznJ7LLUZnOgG2uYAUwh3AVNAIzkd9-D5Zi_OlokVbKTzYqJ5hcWiviErcygo6S-RrqC1Mc4NGgNM3WwLswEq48me6HG31iNHkj-3M/w400-h266/DSC_4818_acropolis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Acropolis entrance with a small lobe of modern Athens in the background.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsACBAvG93FsIdxq6txJwZv_ceP6VGgjDawvk_G-4WdhduEVaS80YBd0gOCNLGJKCMpW0BKEzbVma1C18b3Qd4_HYVwnqsEcyk5HO2mKBOD_J6p0OKf_1X0XSS_EFXZyq1vT7VX8uCOivT6dc3fBvkFXa_f-c3T7RFbRQzq7iEoMMj_d82A_Hf9i04/s1800/DSC_4828_cat_acropolis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsACBAvG93FsIdxq6txJwZv_ceP6VGgjDawvk_G-4WdhduEVaS80YBd0gOCNLGJKCMpW0BKEzbVma1C18b3Qd4_HYVwnqsEcyk5HO2mKBOD_J6p0OKf_1X0XSS_EFXZyq1vT7VX8uCOivT6dc3fBvkFXa_f-c3T7RFbRQzq7iEoMMj_d82A_Hf9i04/w400-h266/DSC_4828_cat_acropolis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cats are everywhere in Greece, and the Acropolis was no exception. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOird7ssv1R7oLkM4c1U3YZ0ssYWaRF_G5EKI3rOVn14Z7gToWm2JQar7L2xyre26cCZKCuczbRpvdA9a7zrQIpn-cDlKGyuroM_BH85dhB2zJ_mKyAlZdvhkxuERC9lAyJiupc_7UxXkcAQTiyorVogHz-5FkW2AytHEq0qukR-N_ujdekUl0NYb/s1800/DSC_4837_poppies_near_acropolis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOird7ssv1R7oLkM4c1U3YZ0ssYWaRF_G5EKI3rOVn14Z7gToWm2JQar7L2xyre26cCZKCuczbRpvdA9a7zrQIpn-cDlKGyuroM_BH85dhB2zJ_mKyAlZdvhkxuERC9lAyJiupc_7UxXkcAQTiyorVogHz-5FkW2AytHEq0qukR-N_ujdekUl0NYb/w400-h266/DSC_4837_poppies_near_acropolis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Poppies near the Acropolis.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT43zURnfDb_4ebyOiN_0zQt84IHs8G97pfDBMep3gqwGsv4e1cg_apSzZNAJfysXWNIBCeeM9gscJmNXzzI8a-wr3q5vqc0_GhXiLQ194lX24_Vkp-ySveGxrcehAA0sy7x1iarMJUNINjbWEr6IH9KT6Sm7EewiDPAFayUGLO6eCFpY7OJUkAYm4/s1800/DSC_4856_agora_museum.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT43zURnfDb_4ebyOiN_0zQt84IHs8G97pfDBMep3gqwGsv4e1cg_apSzZNAJfysXWNIBCeeM9gscJmNXzzI8a-wr3q5vqc0_GhXiLQ194lX24_Vkp-ySveGxrcehAA0sy7x1iarMJUNINjbWEr6IH9KT6Sm7EewiDPAFayUGLO6eCFpY7OJUkAYm4/w400-h266/DSC_4856_agora_museum.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Just as we move our friend's heads around using modern photo editing software, the Greeks moved heads from one statue to another. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVrV2UUZb7D-HbD4Hao-Cih2m7Lm8OZOYTmddz-xLtaQZZe60L10wOFIfA8J-g-HOL826nXuQ_87mmmIoOObfb9XTgyJ_vnOskmewgt5qTEudSQZZyzy31u4iVCtOaSWvpGITCh3Un6dMGHyEHGuthSnJH4VrgwZCHlM9-17vQQ2ojpwnHnyLzcAc/s1800/IMG_2642_acropolis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVrV2UUZb7D-HbD4Hao-Cih2m7Lm8OZOYTmddz-xLtaQZZe60L10wOFIfA8J-g-HOL826nXuQ_87mmmIoOObfb9XTgyJ_vnOskmewgt5qTEudSQZZyzy31u4iVCtOaSWvpGITCh3Un6dMGHyEHGuthSnJH4VrgwZCHlM9-17vQQ2ojpwnHnyLzcAc/w300-h400/IMG_2642_acropolis.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Another head.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSAeZp5NY6XerL1CojKk1QS--Peov1mdtdLwhCYkZPCc1PHyv1exvBBf-0_XrOm3CwSwmPTFFW1GHlrQBulxLp_a2kow9BbGZb-vdWMJk7N72QYIt5S7a3KI3BlFpsEVUsoFYyWoTwsRp0_WvGSoDR5LzyyfDKRf9Xw5cJfXV_4IxoiVouV-MW4_I/s1800/DSC_4870_love_cafe_athens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSAeZp5NY6XerL1CojKk1QS--Peov1mdtdLwhCYkZPCc1PHyv1exvBBf-0_XrOm3CwSwmPTFFW1GHlrQBulxLp_a2kow9BbGZb-vdWMJk7N72QYIt5S7a3KI3BlFpsEVUsoFYyWoTwsRp0_WvGSoDR5LzyyfDKRf9Xw5cJfXV_4IxoiVouV-MW4_I/w400-h266/DSC_4870_love_cafe_athens.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>One of many streetside cafes below the Acropolis.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zrGJE6HH-U1YqDuPA828Wh_zISSSuq1fp0ThLASf-wOKhsNHH7Th75zTLGuMMz95BW5SUDR6s6jhXTtXbG4rtP8OFHXqt5Kcok-jO5qxfZR3LPJf4NKigd89xaOGTtqSu5CwDMq-Qq7GAY6UtM7vtz4IrsL19oFUSlDdYYozopYqdHJEYicZ_22h/s1800/DSC_4873_boarded_window_athens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zrGJE6HH-U1YqDuPA828Wh_zISSSuq1fp0ThLASf-wOKhsNHH7Th75zTLGuMMz95BW5SUDR6s6jhXTtXbG4rtP8OFHXqt5Kcok-jO5qxfZR3LPJf4NKigd89xaOGTtqSu5CwDMq-Qq7GAY6UtM7vtz4IrsL19oFUSlDdYYozopYqdHJEYicZ_22h/w400-h400/DSC_4873_boarded_window_athens.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A boarded up window in Kerameikos perhaps speaks to the 10 years of economic crisis weathered by the Greeks. Many old buildings near where we stayed were abandoned and decrepit.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRRaVKUCd1XBt1ajm-4MmlKDAmSyz4K8Tpw6ZJIiffObYfVlpbHQ999zHM2yWTAdrmn9kIyBcBnvEguHmpnkCVaNT3uWVao84SycUKeWC9emr-PjX79h5FF1usN0C2Av3oAIQaZA6EklHo-Rys4i_V9jKwMQyOubpycDWkRZb-WQ34oGs869-kmc9/s1800/DSC_4875_corinth_ruins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRRaVKUCd1XBt1ajm-4MmlKDAmSyz4K8Tpw6ZJIiffObYfVlpbHQ999zHM2yWTAdrmn9kIyBcBnvEguHmpnkCVaNT3uWVao84SycUKeWC9emr-PjX79h5FF1usN0C2Av3oAIQaZA6EklHo-Rys4i_V9jKwMQyOubpycDWkRZb-WQ34oGs869-kmc9/w400-h266/DSC_4875_corinth_ruins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We stopped at ancient Corinth on the only rainy day we had in Greece and enjoyed the cloudy mood. Corinth is between Athens and Nafplio and has been occupied since 3,000 BC.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v3_qkM4lMPFIDjOTbwc92T1e_JcDxbrinLQFkFY5JSONYXlS5fueFdnDyfcBX5Fk09ztqjypeBIb9o-09os-IzqRAu85M8kH3llLT3tCgnubwkQhurlDgYd4sQ3eAATFj7fo2csY7VaiTuY7_2XkFIcqveB3RpgmRBYOqTUgwYIsh2rn0mQQMx9i/s1800/DSC_4879_flowers_corinth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v3_qkM4lMPFIDjOTbwc92T1e_JcDxbrinLQFkFY5JSONYXlS5fueFdnDyfcBX5Fk09ztqjypeBIb9o-09os-IzqRAu85M8kH3llLT3tCgnubwkQhurlDgYd4sQ3eAATFj7fo2csY7VaiTuY7_2XkFIcqveB3RpgmRBYOqTUgwYIsh2rn0mQQMx9i/w400-h266/DSC_4879_flowers_corinth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Flowers at Ancient Corinth.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia08LUrW4GVPpkEoKj-BCdxYNzXj8BqricF8dwFu4FOa5BhBa0NHQ7ktBuw_IdfMTfOey9PoLaxOVx6sE_i03bUlWz5l1u9BcXISNnsVUNe-U5hD7f13nSDQ7LSxoawqPnDOVzBqSyqdAzMVpZDMN8v4604NtwQKAl1ROrEPCA6_5wS9hhTbVH0pZK/s1800/DSC_4887_columns_corinth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia08LUrW4GVPpkEoKj-BCdxYNzXj8BqricF8dwFu4FOa5BhBa0NHQ7ktBuw_IdfMTfOey9PoLaxOVx6sE_i03bUlWz5l1u9BcXISNnsVUNe-U5hD7f13nSDQ7LSxoawqPnDOVzBqSyqdAzMVpZDMN8v4604NtwQKAl1ROrEPCA6_5wS9hhTbVH0pZK/w400-h266/DSC_4887_columns_corinth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fallen columns (Corinthian??) at Corinth.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOHye6qKzWpklziZB1sbYRVqBFmDXxF4k0sBHxmu75dISoHvXFpreut3EGglS28sOzLtlxgnmOKKqxZ3cxVgxJ-baL82_buzPQSafBVMF2iZagSJAPMHT2PSp4i7FwQwHhD7X_UjSrXAZcdxwbD1vgHS-jpD1r42EZFVkkLo5WSuoKJLN-6GxJwmz/s1800/DSC_4933_nafplio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOHye6qKzWpklziZB1sbYRVqBFmDXxF4k0sBHxmu75dISoHvXFpreut3EGglS28sOzLtlxgnmOKKqxZ3cxVgxJ-baL82_buzPQSafBVMF2iZagSJAPMHT2PSp4i7FwQwHhD7X_UjSrXAZcdxwbD1vgHS-jpD1r42EZFVkkLo5WSuoKJLN-6GxJwmz/w400-h266/DSC_4933_nafplio.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Nafplio viewed from the castle that looms above it. There's another castle visible in the harbor to the right of the peninsula. There's some climbing on the limestone on the left side of the peninsula, but it was too hot in the sun to climb there.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTNTymFM__tww_gCCRAh7wUzWuV07R5_08P6MyoAq-FnQCbeqlLHzSwN-ZxXbrr2TlFFX3z28m_GRqqUi9s5baQBxrEzSLy5rbRZngpc0bB3rJwEcwxwOt1740DgJqeaE6OSBWJRy0K2XFsZqkZlO6OLRKbNSzXSujMRbKGktPQgrJQruisx-1alq/s1800/IMG_2665_nafplio_citrus_grove_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTNTymFM__tww_gCCRAh7wUzWuV07R5_08P6MyoAq-FnQCbeqlLHzSwN-ZxXbrr2TlFFX3z28m_GRqqUi9s5baQBxrEzSLy5rbRZngpc0bB3rJwEcwxwOt1740DgJqeaE6OSBWJRy0K2XFsZqkZlO6OLRKbNSzXSujMRbKGktPQgrJQruisx-1alq/w400-h300/IMG_2665_nafplio_citrus_grove_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A citrus grove in a Nafplio courtyard. The town is surrounded by orange orchards and smelled of orange blossoms.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpd0Ryq25P-5DquMxyXQN4Y-p5_Z6EhP2R3BwoA5DMfp751VK5emwkcX9tzyVL08wX2H0e2Wd-xdGcq2iIU5XXjO0yMSQZnPP-DYncEI-QmPrnVxNdL8AIOAsPA38XaBnV-UqnpDHrAeqq6ueJYZgMHZxOuWAYkIJNQyuPg2eeWa39hO1ebsKqLp_0/s1800/DSC_4924_nafplio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpd0Ryq25P-5DquMxyXQN4Y-p5_Z6EhP2R3BwoA5DMfp751VK5emwkcX9tzyVL08wX2H0e2Wd-xdGcq2iIU5XXjO0yMSQZnPP-DYncEI-QmPrnVxNdL8AIOAsPA38XaBnV-UqnpDHrAeqq6ueJYZgMHZxOuWAYkIJNQyuPg2eeWa39hO1ebsKqLp_0/w266-h400/DSC_4924_nafplio.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A doorway on a narrow street in Nafplio.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy42ZShg8GGvUPm0QBL4cu7cvTtGazBYpymMKoNBFfkl_LopRTpp4gjpcZsCO70s5KAkqC0YCvrywFmyAZdMUK9ZLvBK8P6Mn2gempIfW5YQ9MKJcsR44bOP8wCGYRPIqK80gl_akLf5yevLCRwlbFM2fcLWZaE2OceeDXrEkRkvCDPEsTwYmswRNq/s1800/DSC_4944_ellen_nafplio_castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy42ZShg8GGvUPm0QBL4cu7cvTtGazBYpymMKoNBFfkl_LopRTpp4gjpcZsCO70s5KAkqC0YCvrywFmyAZdMUK9ZLvBK8P6Mn2gempIfW5YQ9MKJcsR44bOP8wCGYRPIqK80gl_akLf5yevLCRwlbFM2fcLWZaE2OceeDXrEkRkvCDPEsTwYmswRNq/w400-h266/DSC_4944_ellen_nafplio_castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen at the castle above Nafplio.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMR1NAO5IPq6sujB4iPvNsqPq4JXOowlQ4YF79SoZd13oucim_fx-4VbPMKNi41CafFCmt_G4DMOORlelwERO1vSCwgfc2-vyxDpeu1wegwsN68E0gjbnsRjxKqn_C8imn7bM2po8TGp0jseFAGay14rn3xGkXu2c4Kn6_2jyvOwbTTiLhiQNicQH/s1800/DSC_4973_epidaurus_theater.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMR1NAO5IPq6sujB4iPvNsqPq4JXOowlQ4YF79SoZd13oucim_fx-4VbPMKNi41CafFCmt_G4DMOORlelwERO1vSCwgfc2-vyxDpeu1wegwsN68E0gjbnsRjxKqn_C8imn7bM2po8TGp0jseFAGay14rn3xGkXu2c4Kn6_2jyvOwbTTiLhiQNicQH/w400-h266/DSC_4973_epidaurus_theater.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The ancient theater at Epidaurus is still used today. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GB5s3UrxPO24gbz4ocQYf8Ne3KR-15P0D8flqTRYEceODu6IPL-yfKb-7Lrj3k9ZChu6CFuG1sX9qGAlK74sZ1Vj0Jvw50cWmwfj37oSbBqM4gliLjtsCm-vqfDKXJdqPJDEHdShkWI5GU5xf18kABRb7nHZF6rci1hUgYCQxXH5iXiC-ZynhTO4/s1800/DSC_4969_epidautus_theater.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GB5s3UrxPO24gbz4ocQYf8Ne3KR-15P0D8flqTRYEceODu6IPL-yfKb-7Lrj3k9ZChu6CFuG1sX9qGAlK74sZ1Vj0Jvw50cWmwfj37oSbBqM4gliLjtsCm-vqfDKXJdqPJDEHdShkWI5GU5xf18kABRb7nHZF6rci1hUgYCQxXH5iXiC-ZynhTO4/w400-h266/DSC_4969_epidautus_theater.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Epidaurus Theater.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WfyrNWyjSzKkc0x33fUK9bR9qnvQGViOgaSBIcqNNVRaB8JtBgfEcL4YqCbdC4fOhMxePOnirteKt7qw-pOBKbhH_ZAXsihjzlDkO6mxnKEfUWCQQdoxiEr87hbN8r_qHQ804UGD7phPFtENPJyDlVRab0Fuvfm7uOJwX-7oAK2eLqmbV997PguF/s1800/DSC_4957_ellen_leonidio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WfyrNWyjSzKkc0x33fUK9bR9qnvQGViOgaSBIcqNNVRaB8JtBgfEcL4YqCbdC4fOhMxePOnirteKt7qw-pOBKbhH_ZAXsihjzlDkO6mxnKEfUWCQQdoxiEr87hbN8r_qHQ804UGD7phPFtENPJyDlVRab0Fuvfm7uOJwX-7oAK2eLqmbV997PguF/w400-h266/DSC_4957_ellen_leonidio.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I'll finish up with a climbing shot--Ellen at Leonidio. Leonidio is mostly a winter area because most of the sectors face south, but there is some shady climbing. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Logistics</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Athens Airport to Athens</b>: The airport is far outside of downtown Athens, but it's easy to take the <a href="https://www.athenstransport.com/english/" target="_blank">metro</a>. Follow the signs and purchase a "30-minute" ticket at the kiosk (9 euros, takes credit cards). A 40-minute ride took us to within walking distance of our apartment.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Athens:</b> We stayed in the Kerameikos District which has lots of restaurants and places to stay and is within walking distance of the metro and the Acropolis. There are other popular districts close to the Acropolis. The Plaka area NE of the Acropolis is apparently nice but we didn't stay there. Our apartment was called <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g189400-d21430199-Reviews-Keramos_Athens-Athens_Attica.html" target="_blank">Karamos Athens</a> and was very comfortable. There are many lodging options.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Car Rental:</b> We returned to the airport (metro) to rent a car and then drove to Nafplio via Corinth. The driving is easy on freeways the whole way (you don't have to drive through downtown Athens). Freeway tolls can be paid with a credit card or cash. Our rental car company (AutoUnion) turned out not to be at the airport proper (they shuttled us to their office). It would have been more convenient to have picked a rental car company that was actually at the airport, so pay attention to that if it matters to you.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Nafplio:</b> Nafplio is touristy but enjoyable for a short visit. There are hundreds of places to stay there. We booked the <a href="https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/kallisti-pension.html?aid=311088&label=kallisti-pension-vpdYKGlDyO2GlbWtlufPSAS590560829426%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atikwd-1463489832844%3Alp9029246%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm%3Appccp%3DUmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YV19IumoQ3O5SGaqnztlLZw&sid=c152e8e930733a9bd2cbf58b45848a7f&dest_id=-824497;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1685398989;srpvid=d5039d65f00d0172;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl" target="_blank">Kallisti Pension</a> which was very nice, centrally located, and served a huge breakfast every day (included). </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Leonidio:</b> From Nafplio it was about a 2-hour drive to Leonidio, a smaller town on the coast to the southwest. Leonidio is another major Greek climbing destination (see <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/112079025/leonidio" target="_blank">Mountain Project</a> or <a href="http://climbinleonidio.com" target="_blank">climbinleonidio.com</a>) but we only spent a day there. There are 1,500+ routes on high quality limestone with steep tufa caves (<i>e.g</i>., <a href="https://www.inleonidio.gr/en/places/mars-sector/" target="_blank">Sector Mars</a>). It's primarily a winter area since most cliffs face south but there are shady sectors. </p><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-54343087128918452932023-05-15T05:25:00.001-07:002023-05-17T16:01:19.392-07:00Greece Part 1: Kalymnos<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHk2X7ilOSTUBMuCWFg_dnNdTeW9BdizSfqZOh3DZqK4xErUCh4BaCOtrWLS3-zqwu22-NN0t14AYxX9gHTu9F4eQ2gi9PHBG4nahkf0aeAP1-IFxdn_CJcmaxUKJJzACwJ0SXH1f10wnpDsYsat6WT3OcqVeQrgHJmddcna81x_xjEwJ9JpwwSGAt/s1800/DSC_4540_jack_ellen_dana_emporios_ruin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHk2X7ilOSTUBMuCWFg_dnNdTeW9BdizSfqZOh3DZqK4xErUCh4BaCOtrWLS3-zqwu22-NN0t14AYxX9gHTu9F4eQ2gi9PHBG4nahkf0aeAP1-IFxdn_CJcmaxUKJJzACwJ0SXH1f10wnpDsYsat6WT3OcqVeQrgHJmddcna81x_xjEwJ9JpwwSGAt/w400-h266/DSC_4540_jack_ellen_dana_emporios_ruin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Jack, Ellen, and Dana at a ruin guarding a climbing area above Emporios.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">The hills surrounding Emporios are infested with roosters. Jet lagged after a 30-hour travel day from Denver to Greece and the 9-hour time difference, I lay awake at 2 a.m., listening to them carry on. Across the harbor, a lone rooster crowed, far away and unobtrusive. Soon though, the rest joined in--all of them--including one just outside my window. After a few minutes, having established their territories, impressed their hens, or whatever the hell else they were trying to accomplish, they quieted down, only to crank it up again an hour or so later. As kids, we were taught that roosters crow at sunrise, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">but that's bullshit, at least in Emporios. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">A week passed quickly and </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">jet lag was replaced by climbing fatigue, sleep came more easily, and crowing roosters became background noise, mingling with goat bells and the occasional car or truck passing on the road below.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Emporios, where our friends Jack and Dana had rented a lovely stone cottage that they invited us to share, sits at the north end of the paved road traversing the island of Kalymnos from its largest town, Pothia, at its southern end. Along the way it passes through the climbing hub of Masouri, lined with restaurants and gear stores. Above the road, miles of limestone cliffs rise from the hillsides, drawing climbers from all over the world to thousands of bolted sport routes. Once known for sponge diving, Kalymnos and its economy were transformed in the last three decades by climbers renting rooms, eating at restaurants, drinking in bars, leasing scooters, and buying gear as the sponge economy waned and the larger Greek economy crashed and then recovered.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Kalymnos is one of many Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, itself closer to Turkey than Athens. Occupied for at least 6,000 years, the island is dotted with castles guarding high limestone outcrops and other defensive stone structures in the mouths of caves where the strongest climbers float up overhanging routes draped with tufas and dripping with stalactites. Themis, a taxi driver who drove us from the ferry terminal to Emporios when we arrived, told us (with an Australian accent—like many Kalymnians, she had lived overseas) that in the 7<sup>th</sup> Century, pirate raids were common, and women and children scrambled to the castles to escape the plundering. For us, the castles, along with blue and white Christian shrines and seaside hikes, were places to explore on climbing rest days, which were few since we were only on Kalymnos for two weeks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It's been a long time since I’ve been on a climbing trip. Though Ellen and I still climb, it’s usually a day or two here or a few days there, so it was fun to climb ourselves to exhaustion and then sit on our patio eating bread and cheese and sipping Mythos beer. Although Kalymnos rock draws top climbers, one <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c761d87840b168311befb82/t/5f63e62e5c67677bfff82f65/1600382529301/Climbing_Initiative_Kalymnos_Case_Study.pdf" target="_blank">source</a> I found suggested that 90% of the visitors are 40-50 years old and climb mostly routes graded 5a – 6b (5.8 – 5.10 more or less). We’re even older (!!) and that grade range suited us just fine. I’ll spare you the climbing butt shots, so below are a sample of images mostly from rest days on the island. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I've also included a little logistical info after the photos, though the climbing guide and many web sources have it more than covered. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After Kalymnos, Ellen and I spent a week on the mainland in Athens and Nafplio being tourists (and climbing for a day at another popular destination called Leonidio). I’ll post about that part of the trip separately.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjME6BugFMgBYCF6aS0I1YkrqBxUU0zfEg_xniccNVrZEyRMdtYwaaX5Q91qABjsN-_edV0213RmAwzxnxQj3GdOWP3I-8_heXeWlG0FWFC1pQwVlHI27ZwDEqkX90CysZdMQua8fykNI0r2uopSVlCtUxZO5vZUPGpzJmJsE-BWbOUTcZ5O60Jw-XU/s1800/IMG_2553_kos_marina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjME6BugFMgBYCF6aS0I1YkrqBxUU0zfEg_xniccNVrZEyRMdtYwaaX5Q91qABjsN-_edV0213RmAwzxnxQj3GdOWP3I-8_heXeWlG0FWFC1pQwVlHI27ZwDEqkX90CysZdMQua8fykNI0r2uopSVlCtUxZO5vZUPGpzJmJsE-BWbOUTcZ5O60Jw-XU/w400-h300/IMG_2553_kos_marina.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dragging our tired selves to the ferry after spending a short night on Kos trying to recover from a 30-hour travel "day."</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiuM5iVKax4Mz9j8kEW2hrh4CZzOHaHjxQXwdvSw-hcUGtfY94gVO_8kp0RANrX6Ek7sGJEqolrKPNtv6ZURa1Dr03TKg3DmaBfCyLvjYXHY8sJOnaOcAbvQbGMEacsAyXui9o9K2LcLU1726tWI6ohjvqXZchJtEkIpbJIudQxsyJTZ20CZ-UMqk/s1800/IMG_2556_our_rental.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiuM5iVKax4Mz9j8kEW2hrh4CZzOHaHjxQXwdvSw-hcUGtfY94gVO_8kp0RANrX6Ek7sGJEqolrKPNtv6ZURa1Dr03TKg3DmaBfCyLvjYXHY8sJOnaOcAbvQbGMEacsAyXui9o9K2LcLU1726tWI6ohjvqXZchJtEkIpbJIudQxsyJTZ20CZ-UMqk/w400-h300/IMG_2556_our_rental.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our patio above Emporios at the Stone Calliope. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxVqIardQnNlBkcPTr4rgMC34sLUGr30QQC-qBniBg2aOpHuMLCNVEqGltfSmWzpbHTYGexWuWpaNB5G9stnt4baF1hUdACtUhE180t_vaMSbfFXEiqXhD0ENgjY7ayCY6hsV6n83q9rn0QEbdXWfVYZAtCtRylQY0FQ0t2sQ708p-SX7_-bjw613/s1800/DSC_4523_mythos_beer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxVqIardQnNlBkcPTr4rgMC34sLUGr30QQC-qBniBg2aOpHuMLCNVEqGltfSmWzpbHTYGexWuWpaNB5G9stnt4baF1hUdACtUhE180t_vaMSbfFXEiqXhD0ENgjY7ayCY6hsV6n83q9rn0QEbdXWfVYZAtCtRylQY0FQ0t2sQ708p-SX7_-bjw613/w400-h266/DSC_4523_mythos_beer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mythos, our default lager while on Kalymnos. And you thought they were just climbing shoes.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9XjbzblKQ7cyKPq2aRRPuaspj3OXVyxYNrOM3H8FEr4bTl_2NiZXQsQxKnZmAvLyZszwkjPl32T7bVbQKXisj-KVn6oA6geyNT6811JK7qJCrUHwatWMx5PyE35k51YJ6udgHekjgNjiUxXBo6xisNiZ_EwydiQeexj7svudGQfSRnQa9_yAPJVJ/s1800/DSC_4524_sponges_kalymnos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9XjbzblKQ7cyKPq2aRRPuaspj3OXVyxYNrOM3H8FEr4bTl_2NiZXQsQxKnZmAvLyZszwkjPl32T7bVbQKXisj-KVn6oA6geyNT6811JK7qJCrUHwatWMx5PyE35k51YJ6udgHekjgNjiUxXBo6xisNiZ_EwydiQeexj7svudGQfSRnQa9_yAPJVJ/w400-h266/DSC_4524_sponges_kalymnos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sponges in Emporios. There are still lots for sale on Kalymnos, but as an economic driver, sponge diving has given way to tourism.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p8oQa1RPZ3UddqGZoWIRjujhvzgdEEKznsrceqO1YrGuXQw-hhA-BuqoOAjAnNmJc3XHosBhN4kfrV2bOBJ5is6tZ1wSeih-z9fJxm8rl49f-vv97zMI4gXqsYlooeJENVdFAZsKDHIinkz8fw6cqbMl4eXowqX8KuT4aEzcKCfIChxFyJfT8DRo/s1800/DSC_4551_ellen_dana_to-kyma_restaurant_emporios.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p8oQa1RPZ3UddqGZoWIRjujhvzgdEEKznsrceqO1YrGuXQw-hhA-BuqoOAjAnNmJc3XHosBhN4kfrV2bOBJ5is6tZ1wSeih-z9fJxm8rl49f-vv97zMI4gXqsYlooeJENVdFAZsKDHIinkz8fw6cqbMl4eXowqX8KuT4aEzcKCfIChxFyJfT8DRo/w400-h266/DSC_4551_ellen_dana_to-kyma_restaurant_emporios.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Dana (left) and Ellen contemplating the menu in Emporios and wondering, "How many do they have, anyway? Eight?"</i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_S37Nz0XkpWK29ebB6aBPxUy9CrTD7P2BwiP9QxwA2NyXTlIVZtaQhMNNOUu7i1j7U1gPnLz79UcC2Sxu5DbKj_SrAGYagvlf6vQ04HZS8oqGZnv8vrsd0ivAvmpQHdrTohrOgcm8eh3HzolG_iVpQGVViwUWHDhMivKcpNjtfLp4AhePJZyAVJv/s1800/DSC_4580_cove_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_S37Nz0XkpWK29ebB6aBPxUy9CrTD7P2BwiP9QxwA2NyXTlIVZtaQhMNNOUu7i1j7U1gPnLz79UcC2Sxu5DbKj_SrAGYagvlf6vQ04HZS8oqGZnv8vrsd0ivAvmpQHdrTohrOgcm8eh3HzolG_iVpQGVViwUWHDhMivKcpNjtfLp4AhePJZyAVJv/w266-h400/DSC_4580_cove_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A cove on the Aegean Sea during a hike along the coast from Kantouni Beach to a church.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruAV9AZCZmytXzbgpBe4v2FLmOyuG8iRwzPRqv_C1pkDclRtBRRvioMG_oB126U2Rvxjb3EJAd-gOhsJoFHqNbtVnEvx8RqaI-PpwswJa-1_ZeLbclGFgUFXxdDjjxeJ9MefqqVfjVMKOaCfJevQph2nzvL38lbTrCkHJG-owL1ZDr8OtvT32kyW3/s1800/DSC_4605_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruAV9AZCZmytXzbgpBe4v2FLmOyuG8iRwzPRqv_C1pkDclRtBRRvioMG_oB126U2Rvxjb3EJAd-gOhsJoFHqNbtVnEvx8RqaI-PpwswJa-1_ZeLbclGFgUFXxdDjjxeJ9MefqqVfjVMKOaCfJevQph2nzvL38lbTrCkHJG-owL1ZDr8OtvT32kyW3/w400-h266/DSC_4605_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The small church at the end of a rest day hike from Kantouni Beach along the Aegean coast.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy5a71qZHRBzYP3xwQ-tLIapXvjzBfMYsL2KnkEk5M5AROpPLT3IyjUhYf4s-rapG25hO_P95bS5ZMbx3qbwNFUmt5kmxKidpI2MXB5B4Z6kGtTfuzsXTPHRJOU0jrKBQ1Sw1xH1gs9XbCu4Kn7WFKQ5uEvXdxa77VkTN5W1xWSCNYnPCXiSm2CHr/s1800/DSC_4607_light_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy5a71qZHRBzYP3xwQ-tLIapXvjzBfMYsL2KnkEk5M5AROpPLT3IyjUhYf4s-rapG25hO_P95bS5ZMbx3qbwNFUmt5kmxKidpI2MXB5B4Z6kGtTfuzsXTPHRJOU0jrKBQ1Sw1xH1gs9XbCu4Kn7WFKQ5uEvXdxa77VkTN5W1xWSCNYnPCXiSm2CHr/w400-h266/DSC_4607_light_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A light at the church. What could go wrong?</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlDBqDGOL9ynUHnS_Dr4xbJbfrvO7G54ufNHepw0h70MvEL36VS5RxXDRjMll2KMjob4dQtGIIMG2hfOvjIh4u_0vJqJoCZE32EATmNsyp4kCFzh-3WNBr5u8XIWvsVJXine8ubi5IwbPZCBfY3qcCuVdT8FL9EnPUuNPpNco5NhqQ6sdnvzjG_IR/s1800/DSC_4601_tree_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlDBqDGOL9ynUHnS_Dr4xbJbfrvO7G54ufNHepw0h70MvEL36VS5RxXDRjMll2KMjob4dQtGIIMG2hfOvjIh4u_0vJqJoCZE32EATmNsyp4kCFzh-3WNBr5u8XIWvsVJXine8ubi5IwbPZCBfY3qcCuVdT8FL9EnPUuNPpNco5NhqQ6sdnvzjG_IR/w400-h266/DSC_4601_tree_shrine_kantouni_beach_hike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Cyan and white are the colors of the Greek flag and these same colors were mandated for buildings in 1967 by a military government that felt that they supported their political agenda. They have become the iconic colors of Greece.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeJtOmG4SgUsJxmKDmCfS3TSY_rldvYgDrzkHgdSxVMEzGnpymff7XMi4EZkXe0XM4D6rhtieAgito_SSvRrOCIGYvToVoMChH0mxyNEKUXO4kUANRI8VM_wz1sbXjmxFQ93BBhVdvpr4ZFCkxxaFzW0ju56Zn6z6G1iKyJ3di9LcgYFm84FHmOn8/s1800/DSC_4625_jack_6b+_arhi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeJtOmG4SgUsJxmKDmCfS3TSY_rldvYgDrzkHgdSxVMEzGnpymff7XMi4EZkXe0XM4D6rhtieAgito_SSvRrOCIGYvToVoMChH0mxyNEKUXO4kUANRI8VM_wz1sbXjmxFQ93BBhVdvpr4ZFCkxxaFzW0ju56Zn6z6G1iKyJ3di9LcgYFm84FHmOn8/w266-h400/DSC_4625_jack_6b+_arhi.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I have to include one climbing shot. Jack boldly venturing into 5.11 at Sector Arhi, stemming on huge tufas.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HbIM72kU15lwyqEXags2hkfZO0N1xgCyXw-T0HRFOXydTWHA5pmlk4X0WKoAiAqgzNvJUKfFyZGYyquddvwTu3x-wE3Ev9AeZNRtLeR7fuavEItn2h0miOKcnARjifzpMwlRTgetdDsHMjeyIz5bltYZfS-MiFXhB_qn_Xn8LkKBRMQ0ynP20DVt/s1800/IMG_2591_ellen_kalymnos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HbIM72kU15lwyqEXags2hkfZO0N1xgCyXw-T0HRFOXydTWHA5pmlk4X0WKoAiAqgzNvJUKfFyZGYyquddvwTu3x-wE3Ev9AeZNRtLeR7fuavEItn2h0miOKcnARjifzpMwlRTgetdDsHMjeyIz5bltYZfS-MiFXhB_qn_Xn8LkKBRMQ0ynP20DVt/w300-h400/IMG_2591_ellen_kalymnos.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>And one of Ellen at the base of a crag meditating on the climbing guidebook.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXbGQPF_FvA8mpIauS3qU17R4nRp6Xh3uu2rH58qMdLELmRfTB6s_3oO-btSExSF6YixMHCjBbtr8WSfbT6wYyMgTDusJGTPnNeFqWP5SpsMUoVW8cTmfmeB9bwLc-AoXBRm-QyVLEDs1SXl2vhamevWz8hmicM1d99LjhM70iracFjmpd6Efuydb/s1800/DSC_4646_chairs_emporios.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXbGQPF_FvA8mpIauS3qU17R4nRp6Xh3uu2rH58qMdLELmRfTB6s_3oO-btSExSF6YixMHCjBbtr8WSfbT6wYyMgTDusJGTPnNeFqWP5SpsMUoVW8cTmfmeB9bwLc-AoXBRm-QyVLEDs1SXl2vhamevWz8hmicM1d99LjhM70iracFjmpd6Efuydb/w400-h400/DSC_4646_chairs_emporios.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chairs in Emporios.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMubO1pp1dZ0hOaCqdxq5k9gadkpRN0GYpY9KyTkczhgNsHunN2PsSM_Z3DBEiFGdBmuhWQ0_UVnsOHs1-SGPjblfSw-ULe-PkgfX7dL5Uf6Dl8EYih0N1xrMdCLp8yniQqxd8_eu2CFZ5-1R3P5PKhtJarxeICnyj9XvSwaW-kVk_nH7OyQU_dqH/s1800/DSC_4653_ellen_cat_emperios.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMubO1pp1dZ0hOaCqdxq5k9gadkpRN0GYpY9KyTkczhgNsHunN2PsSM_Z3DBEiFGdBmuhWQ0_UVnsOHs1-SGPjblfSw-ULe-PkgfX7dL5Uf6Dl8EYih0N1xrMdCLp8yniQqxd8_eu2CFZ5-1R3P5PKhtJarxeICnyj9XvSwaW-kVk_nH7OyQU_dqH/w400-h266/DSC_4653_ellen_cat_emperios.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen chatting with one of the many cats in Greece, this one in Emporios. They are in every restaurant, hoping for a tidbit, and though feral seem to be mostly well cared for by people and restaurants. There's an active program on the island to neuter cats to slow their population growth.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuV8zRIVz_MlZRfiN7JFt4MJdKiMqlsErgKjFu7XfCfNQF7_uMCaT1GZJXss5VHaUh4F8xtZpTi009OgmgWB-qBsOoHMXy3dc57KRul8_orcTv0rskhyxnW_Mx79ddp1HHkgzFFI2D7i21dM7OWwgK2GXMjJ_e54x0jisDUFbPE44-3RM5GOjQ_HIy/s1800/DSC_4670_goats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuV8zRIVz_MlZRfiN7JFt4MJdKiMqlsErgKjFu7XfCfNQF7_uMCaT1GZJXss5VHaUh4F8xtZpTi009OgmgWB-qBsOoHMXy3dc57KRul8_orcTv0rskhyxnW_Mx79ddp1HHkgzFFI2D7i21dM7OWwgK2GXMjJ_e54x0jisDUFbPE44-3RM5GOjQ_HIy/w400-h266/DSC_4670_goats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Goats amongst the ruins of a castle. Many houses on Kalymnos have outdoor goat ovens, but this doesn't seem to concern the goats too much. They wander over the hillsides, many with bells, and word is that at some of the popular crags they will eat their way into your climbing packs.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaheRLgS8fsms4BTI0XgTXiKTMkf7gMB1QMu4eNHi5t9GEc_66iUgcC2F0N9ygYhCeTl79CLAiLeNgV23E8NLAJ-jG9ZjbqurSDEgNoxfMuZh8MSd3ndup2ADNy1JeZEVs8OhVPim7M1qHLLwGZeWSY55knCXWy8EVYVtJbbI3LdH8h1OiYFwW9zjT/s1800/DSC_4691_chora_castle_kalymnos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaheRLgS8fsms4BTI0XgTXiKTMkf7gMB1QMu4eNHi5t9GEc_66iUgcC2F0N9ygYhCeTl79CLAiLeNgV23E8NLAJ-jG9ZjbqurSDEgNoxfMuZh8MSd3ndup2ADNy1JeZEVs8OhVPim7M1qHLLwGZeWSY55knCXWy8EVYVtJbbI3LdH8h1OiYFwW9zjT/w400-h266/DSC_4691_chora_castle_kalymnos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Chora Castle also known as Pera Kastro which commands a limestone knob above Pothia. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcG3OjeMqcyHiAIoCfZFEcw1qLN33cxOUP4dy6zpik9Bb-72g-UWQWQwD_QHmYXV6vlkVG35SOT0a-qlVvsnC4mGv2Fu8RdtlSeX_ZxZgIcub8vzx_eR_Lm3jJaRe497b7ZeeTspK8d7Zb24jR1tvYWkhrtHJC7coHBLXd98njz9tEv7J8m3HYrdo/s1800/DSC_4699_poppies_chora_castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcG3OjeMqcyHiAIoCfZFEcw1qLN33cxOUP4dy6zpik9Bb-72g-UWQWQwD_QHmYXV6vlkVG35SOT0a-qlVvsnC4mGv2Fu8RdtlSeX_ZxZgIcub8vzx_eR_Lm3jJaRe497b7ZeeTspK8d7Zb24jR1tvYWkhrtHJC7coHBLXd98njz9tEv7J8m3HYrdo/w400-h266/DSC_4699_poppies_chora_castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Poppies and castle walls at the Chora Castle.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAwSNmW8vNCNYgN8zCLKvec-sPN7tUy3Mlni4XxylmFwh29vmSR7MYG2hpUMObe02UjxKabFIrZ3u563NUKHNh4NdoydOPiK6KmO3oGaE2B35CFrST18iBV4uVPJLLrwW-291chHgc1BKy6m8kWZE-2OyeWFN2bVdpcj__AGNTyW7BG06ubFjxW_m/s1800/DSC_4727_church_chora_castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAwSNmW8vNCNYgN8zCLKvec-sPN7tUy3Mlni4XxylmFwh29vmSR7MYG2hpUMObe02UjxKabFIrZ3u563NUKHNh4NdoydOPiK6KmO3oGaE2B35CFrST18iBV4uVPJLLrwW-291chHgc1BKy6m8kWZE-2OyeWFN2bVdpcj__AGNTyW7BG06ubFjxW_m/w400-h266/DSC_4727_church_chora_castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There are 9 churches within the walls of the Chora Castle, each dedicated to a different saint and most built in the 15th to 16th centuries.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSRuj_AVdztZlzMEmzGGXFZpGKhcA8YNlEtqdyPFkveL9pQVendCLyfUC8Q-w0NrtAWuwZmjmNzfITp-P2BppzKDigkOoZ9BnI9qCeMcrlqFsMvZmAehTRIh9s3STuwW2AGEIqA4L17NKqBeNgQXQPNwP1Qs9QT9HJfqGx8t_z6t87B_CyNRTojwG/s1800/DSC_4710_church_detail_chora_castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSRuj_AVdztZlzMEmzGGXFZpGKhcA8YNlEtqdyPFkveL9pQVendCLyfUC8Q-w0NrtAWuwZmjmNzfITp-P2BppzKDigkOoZ9BnI9qCeMcrlqFsMvZmAehTRIh9s3STuwW2AGEIqA4L17NKqBeNgQXQPNwP1Qs9QT9HJfqGx8t_z6t87B_CyNRTojwG/w400-h266/DSC_4710_church_detail_chora_castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The churches everywhere in Greece are full of religious art.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRqF4r-C7EDNyHPmlr9BDnxkVooclMZZGHEcBl2hCyLph9-aS6RXFnKDDZE6T6IeXnEAXoi9H_s9ezcoaje5JF22-GhFPDwDD87P7wTfIpkVr3p5_JmizJSxMoRV70dExcNPEhPPTuq8uBFZavbSm3p-N9deg9AUMRtZmiNxwbugNArmZtSDJABaA/s2017/IMG_2617_sausage_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2017" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRqF4r-C7EDNyHPmlr9BDnxkVooclMZZGHEcBl2hCyLph9-aS6RXFnKDDZE6T6IeXnEAXoi9H_s9ezcoaje5JF22-GhFPDwDD87P7wTfIpkVr3p5_JmizJSxMoRV70dExcNPEhPPTuq8uBFZavbSm3p-N9deg9AUMRtZmiNxwbugNArmZtSDJABaA/w358-h400/IMG_2617_sausage_iphone.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On a more hedonistic note, the sausages were pretty damn good.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tj1C0gJuG_I97tIFOIdx9wEUiuU8ldb7Oy4bpSlWNHto6x8wMyHZ59sw8_9dkibkXL4POqYjR-DvBwC8DhsMJ51GKUBXC_ewcyI83P2pWxo8LfkqMltSoXQikpKFn6qsvq26_pEU3j3-C77850IlC5tu4wIOy1WkPu5EX_vnSe-yKGzha3kQGm-A/s1800/IMG_2622_emporios_tuna_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tj1C0gJuG_I97tIFOIdx9wEUiuU8ldb7Oy4bpSlWNHto6x8wMyHZ59sw8_9dkibkXL4POqYjR-DvBwC8DhsMJ51GKUBXC_ewcyI83P2pWxo8LfkqMltSoXQikpKFn6qsvq26_pEU3j3-C77850IlC5tu4wIOy1WkPu5EX_vnSe-yKGzha3kQGm-A/w400-h300/IMG_2622_emporios_tuna_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>As were the tuna. This one had just been caught for the restaurant down the hill from our house in Emporios on the day we left, sad that we couldn't order any of it.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwovIQ76BVM8AqFEvXbQS8FtRbvzYfSwf0EXZKG5gslVc_axld8PEDBH2hxDsQCXhgbJ78e38b3f8xE03s428jQL6ueGDJVEHROzk-3fOwG2o4Xm9WbAa0Fb7n3jNWhUwOgfu5q4jtFR5ncZznD9Hi6SJgk4UqJSNC8rpJEchTfh0EjzYm0JwCmLz1/s1800/IMG_2621_emporios_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwovIQ76BVM8AqFEvXbQS8FtRbvzYfSwf0EXZKG5gslVc_axld8PEDBH2hxDsQCXhgbJ78e38b3f8xE03s428jQL6ueGDJVEHROzk-3fOwG2o4Xm9WbAa0Fb7n3jNWhUwOgfu5q4jtFR5ncZznD9Hi6SJgk4UqJSNC8rpJEchTfh0EjzYm0JwCmLz1/w400-h300/IMG_2621_emporios_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Emporios Inlet as viewed from our patio. It’s hard to see the roosters, but there are a lot of them out there. </i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCnBDAv2IpfG55QKyVTTC3MD1zWO9uVz_yBG0RJ6DBFyVTzjVZ4mltYtnRuwvQPYD8Wn6r-gfrqMfj7QI3BK7GJrGNr5FSN03ec3SbYRT8Keq-K6GXfoKNbMhWYPQWXFFesuH6dyHdUCO8i4kMyVnFdnc0qGyThEW1_aKtzIF1ul6MFnC40duW530/s1800/DSC_4754_ellen_jack_leaving_kalymnos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCnBDAv2IpfG55QKyVTTC3MD1zWO9uVz_yBG0RJ6DBFyVTzjVZ4mltYtnRuwvQPYD8Wn6r-gfrqMfj7QI3BK7GJrGNr5FSN03ec3SbYRT8Keq-K6GXfoKNbMhWYPQWXFFesuH6dyHdUCO8i4kMyVnFdnc0qGyThEW1_aKtzIF1ul6MFnC40duW530/w400-h266/DSC_4754_ellen_jack_leaving_kalymnos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Jack on the ferry headed back to Kos, with Pothia receding. </i></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3><b>Logistical Miscellanea</b></h3><i><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Getting there</b>: Most people fly to Athens and then from Athens to the island of Kos (pronounced with long-o) that is just south of Kalymnos. The Kos airport is close to the port town of Mastichari (taxi ride) where you can catch a short (45-minute) ferry to Pothia on Kalymnos. We spent the night on Kos before the ferry to get some rest after the long flights. You can buy ferry tickets at the harbor (no need to buy in advance) for about 10 euros.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Kalymnos taxi</b>: We took a taxi from Pothia to our rented cottage in Emporios (35 euros). Most climbers stay in Masouri which is closer. Our taxi driver (Themis) was great – you can text her at +30 694 9854148 if you need a ride. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Kalymnos accommodation</b>: We stayed at a cozy little stone house for 4 people in Emporios called the <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/591021711944595792?source_impression_id=p3_1684114250_NCpRHmFXG4dPOIct" target="_blank">Stone Calliope</a> (contact Maria at +30 697 1790881) Emporios is quiet and has some advantages over Masouri in terms of proximity to the northern climbing areas, but it lacks the amenities that most climbers enjoy in Masouri and isn’t very social if that’s important to you. Emporios has restaurants, a small store, and scooter/car rental (very informal – no international license required, unlike in Masouri), but no gasoline and limited food choices. There are lots of places to stay in Masouri and all up and down the island which can be found online. Masouri also has many scooter rentals and you can walk from there to some of the big crags.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Transportation:</b> Most climbers rent scooters and some rent small cars. Our taxi driver suggested that it’s better to rent at least a 125 cc scooter, which we did in Emporios (15 euros/day) with no need for a motorcycle license, but we were told by friends that in Masouri you can’t rent more than a 50 cc scooter unless you have the motorcycle license on your international driver’s license. It was very nice to have the more powerful scooters for climbing some of the hills, and they are less obnoxiously noisy than the little 50 cc 2-stroke engines. The closest gas stations are south of Masouri in Elies, so that’s an issue if you are based in Emporios but not a huge deal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Food:</b> There are LOTS of restaurants and taverns all over the place. The best meal I had (seared tuna) was in an upscale place in Masouri called <a href="https://pregokalymnos.gr/" target="_blank">Prego</a>, but we had very good inexpensive food at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/On-The-Road-Street-Food/100054408373372/" target="_blank">Street Food</a> (also in Masouri) and plenty of good meals at many other restaurants. The restaurants close to where we stayed in Emporios were good and had fresh fish. The biggest supermarket is in Elies (just south of Masouri) and is called the AB Market. There are lots of mini-marts in Masouri that sell groceries, beer, and liquor. We never figured out how to make good coffee at “home”, but restaurant cappuccinos did the trick. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin: 0in;"><b>Climbing Guidebook</b>: We used the <a href="https://climbkalymnos.com/guidebook/" target="_blank">2019 guidebook</a> which describes 3400 routes. There is a new edition coming out this year (2023) but it wasn't available when we were there. The guidebook is excellent.</p></div></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><br /><br />Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-42497880514849284332023-03-04T08:28:00.007-08:002023-03-05T12:56:00.673-08:00Visiting the Past: Kashgar China, 2006 <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xFyYfZ-p_wDqL6uBhPYN6UeOZq-KUh8VznBaoEdHfqvl3hLno-cWgJkshqveJEVGjkp6B3Zc1M_nDbxpCGEFgLv97r-HJy0FoD17sQmxU5J6AJdWFmaZzyx-eQ2H5WA9_lky1FaTc3tMFHwTXkOiQXUaUpYyNtMM2nwOW-8ZB-zUV40BsY2I-Dmr/s1800/DSC_6445_kashgar_window_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xFyYfZ-p_wDqL6uBhPYN6UeOZq-KUh8VznBaoEdHfqvl3hLno-cWgJkshqveJEVGjkp6B3Zc1M_nDbxpCGEFgLv97r-HJy0FoD17sQmxU5J6AJdWFmaZzyx-eQ2H5WA9_lky1FaTc3tMFHwTXkOiQXUaUpYyNtMM2nwOW-8ZB-zUV40BsY2I-Dmr/w400-h266/DSC_6445_kashgar_window_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Window curtain, Kashgar, China. 2006</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ellen, Bei, and I visited Kashgar in 2006, near the end of a year teaching and traveling in China (see <a href="http://kdriese.blogspot.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">blog</a>). Tensions between the Uyghurs and the Chinese government were rising, but we were largely unaware, more tuned into tensions between Muslims and Americans during the Bush administration’s “war on terror” following 9/11. In a dusty desert town on the edge of the Taklamakan desert, a man lounging on a motorcycle asked me what I thought of Bush, pronouncing his name with a long-u, while drawing his finger across his throat. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Kashgar sits on the western edge of China’s Xinjiang Province and was an important Silk Road hub linking China to Central Asia and Europe. The predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, native to Xinjiang, are one of 55 minority ethnic groups recognized by China. Historically, Xinjiang has been controlled by Mongols, Russians, Turkic people, and Uyghurs, as well as the Chinese, but the PRC is quick to suggest that China’s cumulative control lasted longer than that of others. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In response to ethnic unrest in 2009 and partly under the cover of antiterrorism measures after 9/11, the PRC came down hard on Uyghurs, branding them separatists, terrorists, and religious extremists and enacting measures to “assimilate” them into Chinese culture. These included closures of mosques, reeducation, mass arrests, establishment of internment camps, and destruction of traditional Uyghur sections of cities including Kashgar. Like in Tibet, economic incentives have drawn Han Chinese to Xinjiang, diluting the Uyghur population and culture. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In 2021, the U.S. State Department accused the PRC of crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang, adding to the growing tension between the U.S. and China. The Congressional Research Service published a useful <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10281" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">summary</a> of events leading to this determination, and detailed information is widely available online (<i>e.g.</i>, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">here</a>), but in 2006 when we visited, much of this was in the future.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In Kashgar, we stayed at the Chini Bagh Hotel on what were the grounds of the British Consulate during the time of the Great Game when the British and Russian Empires vied for control of Central Asia and India. Bei was 5, and though keen enough to wander with her parents, eating lamb kabobs and visiting markets, I often left the hotel early to walk through the city with my camera. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Most of us wish we could see with our own eyes what the world looked like before it was “modern,” a word applied to whatever age happens to be yours. Perhaps this nostalgia is more painful for photographers. Images of everyday life 25, 50, or 100 years ago evoke fantasies about the photos <i><u>we</u></i> might have made. Yet here we are, time rushing by, the envy of future photographers. Kashgar and the Uyghur culture was eroding in 2006 when we visited, but much remained that is now destroyed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I recently ran across images by <a href="https://www.life.com/photographer/carl-mydans/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Carl Mydans</a> (1907-2004), a documentary photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the 1930s along with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Lange" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Dorothea Lange</a> and later for LIFE Magazine, covering WWII and spending two years as a Japanese prisoner after being captured while working in the Philippines. His experiences left him with a keen sense of history. Mydans once said, maybe a little dramatically:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>All of us live in history, whether we are aware of it or not, and die in drama. The sense of history and of drama comes to man not because of who he is or what he does, but flickeringly, as he is caught up in events, as his personality reacts, as he sees for a moment his place in the great flowing river of time and humanity. I cannot tell you where our history is leading us, or through what suffering, or into what era of war or peace. But wherever it is, I know men of good heart will be passing there.</i>”</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I recently reprocessed some of my images from Kashgar in 2006 realizing that I never included them in my China blog. There are a lot of images here, but they capture some of the diversity and liveliness, and some of what is now the history, of the city and the Uyghurs. I’m grateful to have been there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUH-_ajDtkmxlAiU1TPCF_PLXUziO1_YWlBHGoE0sC7AcW1HWnr_vbLO4o7Rib6zGL9scJFFhH3bX8fKoBY3ZYHeR2dG7x3ZGDSCbJinRp4vrfbw_uE9xSaLfhVVzKYPN2O4k8_WLrg07piPINwVOqZ6LwpSrO2grEHe8sDppfWJH1Oqb_P_XPAx-/s1800/DSC_6076_kashgar_man_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUH-_ajDtkmxlAiU1TPCF_PLXUziO1_YWlBHGoE0sC7AcW1HWnr_vbLO4o7Rib6zGL9scJFFhH3bX8fKoBY3ZYHeR2dG7x3ZGDSCbJinRp4vrfbw_uE9xSaLfhVVzKYPN2O4k8_WLrg07piPINwVOqZ6LwpSrO2grEHe8sDppfWJH1Oqb_P_XPAx-/w266-h400/DSC_6076_kashgar_man_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Uyghur man, Kashgar.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOBhvuzHKjVNep6vx2T5E359amWlsVsswp9WBanQuOW6Q_kQ5P1bIAIz9I5f45RBjK6WXg9C-knUSywHGljTORf5_8KnClj-pFyv3uG1cmHWM5l5XtSM-hQIcQ6MijyCBIFe4UaxVApOq5uFCvIvxCyoK6_vy6eMWq2FQhP0y_pgZCDpefoVQ0unj/s1800/DSC_5829_kashgar_street_tv_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOBhvuzHKjVNep6vx2T5E359amWlsVsswp9WBanQuOW6Q_kQ5P1bIAIz9I5f45RBjK6WXg9C-knUSywHGljTORf5_8KnClj-pFyv3uG1cmHWM5l5XtSM-hQIcQ6MijyCBIFe4UaxVApOq5uFCvIvxCyoK6_vy6eMWq2FQhP0y_pgZCDpefoVQ0unj/w400-h266/DSC_5829_kashgar_street_tv_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kashgar evening TV.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4Empd9d3BSonLtKHIsN0bDNx-fDKFQ34qf2QjPa20A_zf-qsWWGyWcMUBhp--XsKfJs2p_q7WvAuM6Hxj3Utk1WLRfqP8xHRTjOkWDhDu89I9kiJduFK45WpA9Rj0-tZfOlqWNXpmAwRQO3atzjs79IrqwxWQrsi3BRjLfbWeOJuPTS4jdO4tLm2/s1800/DSC_5868_kashgar_building_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4Empd9d3BSonLtKHIsN0bDNx-fDKFQ34qf2QjPa20A_zf-qsWWGyWcMUBhp--XsKfJs2p_q7WvAuM6Hxj3Utk1WLRfqP8xHRTjOkWDhDu89I9kiJduFK45WpA9Rj0-tZfOlqWNXpmAwRQO3atzjs79IrqwxWQrsi3BRjLfbWeOJuPTS4jdO4tLm2/w400-h266/DSC_5868_kashgar_building_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Street scene.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx03GQe10hmG5gHEU2QHKP3Nv0Y7wVHaGAToJmmE7AUuF_Py2-DMMignSE4gfgKrEWsJ7M8Iv1OVP4NPrDTIgDW8Tvrdxb6WUkFqoRL5cL7hK4Xi_XZsHQlK5HHsr-KGLVQ88N7jW8kh7qKEmWoWyQMVmkYGkPoROVnu5jWdUpp6HrbNaNywKu4Z37/s1800/DSC_5733_young_woman_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx03GQe10hmG5gHEU2QHKP3Nv0Y7wVHaGAToJmmE7AUuF_Py2-DMMignSE4gfgKrEWsJ7M8Iv1OVP4NPrDTIgDW8Tvrdxb6WUkFqoRL5cL7hK4Xi_XZsHQlK5HHsr-KGLVQ88N7jW8kh7qKEmWoWyQMVmkYGkPoROVnu5jWdUpp6HrbNaNywKu4Z37/w266-h400/DSC_5733_young_woman_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Young woman, old Kashgar.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiyYYR9aBvhST2YqZd2HZYAcYcn7kf0mIyppk40HxwzD0Ekf5lsSkLNoCBVX2Tr1MDGQJBhkh3xDKo-mrOnT2-6LYS9nXyI4vUuxUQFdPHtZpUp-zdCrozp1qOAFkly0JV_ZAQK4lfhwIIzFOdje0N-Z0qcH04NGb4RVYbTozFasDx5Ve-0ZWKyuq/s1800/DSC_5737_kashgar_kids_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiyYYR9aBvhST2YqZd2HZYAcYcn7kf0mIyppk40HxwzD0Ekf5lsSkLNoCBVX2Tr1MDGQJBhkh3xDKo-mrOnT2-6LYS9nXyI4vUuxUQFdPHtZpUp-zdCrozp1qOAFkly0JV_ZAQK4lfhwIIzFOdje0N-Z0qcH04NGb4RVYbTozFasDx5Ve-0ZWKyuq/w400-h266/DSC_5737_kashgar_kids_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Kids in the old part of Kashgar.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2dlRw63tJfGLLMh-tD_4LNhi8a3z8JksSnf4vLGvvkWA2E5_cih1KhUtuk0Y8Fof8ybBSYBd6I8-022QL8QIR4ViIe6bqZSIX-8f9XxE3Ksy0qhfryrdxM8FFPBnug4y66qBiYcF-Kp5Dbwo9N14y3cmrjwMKit9t-WwoUrlzyCLTMnn_hVdZucu/s1800/DSC_5763_kashgar_kids_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2dlRw63tJfGLLMh-tD_4LNhi8a3z8JksSnf4vLGvvkWA2E5_cih1KhUtuk0Y8Fof8ybBSYBd6I8-022QL8QIR4ViIe6bqZSIX-8f9XxE3Ksy0qhfryrdxM8FFPBnug4y66qBiYcF-Kp5Dbwo9N14y3cmrjwMKit9t-WwoUrlzyCLTMnn_hVdZucu/w400-h266/DSC_5763_kashgar_kids_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Young friends (or siblings?).</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZq9Q2bEgfINMjXz_-B7U_eKoqYF6vxLItbR3nL9thSpRin9-gyEKL1jaYP8YqO2P0AC96ixpQEbIMCaxp0Wl0zeGhbQfwgSMj9OmVCZ8z5YWlT2kZoSgknpkYyYNjmlRPEy8SJa3LE9AeBi1iBv0KD_TD0RWn3x558iN8liTEMe_MGvBo3MfY-Ro/s1800/DSC_6400_woman_and_window_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZq9Q2bEgfINMjXz_-B7U_eKoqYF6vxLItbR3nL9thSpRin9-gyEKL1jaYP8YqO2P0AC96ixpQEbIMCaxp0Wl0zeGhbQfwgSMj9OmVCZ8z5YWlT2kZoSgknpkYyYNjmlRPEy8SJa3LE9AeBi1iBv0KD_TD0RWn3x558iN8liTEMe_MGvBo3MfY-Ro/w266-h400/DSC_6400_woman_and_window_color.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Woman and window.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIVMCPfyVH1og6y7Dv7SxPgAe2J5XA_WwU_BAjrVSlxysA8wnEOUs_jz5gIVQ0kX3U1ytEZzJezMEgmuc_kgCXxdOpXVKynlaOBmONgvPgdS1kKILarFVnxZBrDOB3vJ3EU4Fv-EPFabPofhn_Xkbd3XD0Onp_Zbx-boEeIjLVwqsuV4LjT9RrRmn/s1800/DSC_5726_naan_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIVMCPfyVH1og6y7Dv7SxPgAe2J5XA_WwU_BAjrVSlxysA8wnEOUs_jz5gIVQ0kX3U1ytEZzJezMEgmuc_kgCXxdOpXVKynlaOBmONgvPgdS1kKILarFVnxZBrDOB3vJ3EU4Fv-EPFabPofhn_Xkbd3XD0Onp_Zbx-boEeIjLVwqsuV4LjT9RrRmn/w400-h266/DSC_5726_naan_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Naan.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEHBfW0VZbSZMK-dy1xqsUbw5vHgxc2gG4zAGEonPGCXhEm1Q26gr4Uc_9RVW2DNhtbGPfy5IHvjUa_JLBXQHcg9uIaWTAp4F34nd1MZ1TR7pK_eyYHYkgd6u5wVyLcEh4PkhKgqOpJEIOpOVuZLE4dyCUsYFMr8O-CLAymgLFxoq1YkMl6tYldiC/s1800/DSC_5698_lock_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEHBfW0VZbSZMK-dy1xqsUbw5vHgxc2gG4zAGEonPGCXhEm1Q26gr4Uc_9RVW2DNhtbGPfy5IHvjUa_JLBXQHcg9uIaWTAp4F34nd1MZ1TR7pK_eyYHYkgd6u5wVyLcEh4PkhKgqOpJEIOpOVuZLE4dyCUsYFMr8O-CLAymgLFxoq1YkMl6tYldiC/w400-h266/DSC_5698_lock_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Door and padlock. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurlUw1rnosRA7dB85oTzDoBM8W-P7qaE6kEMhipzV8LruIKvPmh824GpEJ-K9Ga9EWluR4LC_3ZXTPWBvgS-H41w0r8_pXm34i3XKciEah1ekMszBClRAzqWpddzyE4VnYvses8Z4oT0T6vMR89IRSm5X076NA5hT2wvXKiegbtOxDV7ioHbwUT-U/s1800/DSC_6038_kashgar_men_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurlUw1rnosRA7dB85oTzDoBM8W-P7qaE6kEMhipzV8LruIKvPmh824GpEJ-K9Ga9EWluR4LC_3ZXTPWBvgS-H41w0r8_pXm34i3XKciEah1ekMszBClRAzqWpddzyE4VnYvses8Z4oT0T6vMR89IRSm5X076NA5hT2wvXKiegbtOxDV7ioHbwUT-U/w400-h266/DSC_6038_kashgar_men_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Old friends.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7jYPJDIrcleCIOV2xqh07n0WpvuJVtdIZ81Rx_fW2SQZ-7Lr_M9RatX5ZuWiSMKkOJ-ToWp3sJa5KVbO-kfnmFyD5KggryKAg2fB0LK90ChR_xk8elafeQI8dKgycsvmgxpCDUMfKZ8Pddv58pZ2Xk7-8wQnRBnobde7useJQpLCKVh7M-M6btsD/s1800/DSC_5801_kashgar_women_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7jYPJDIrcleCIOV2xqh07n0WpvuJVtdIZ81Rx_fW2SQZ-7Lr_M9RatX5ZuWiSMKkOJ-ToWp3sJa5KVbO-kfnmFyD5KggryKAg2fB0LK90ChR_xk8elafeQI8dKgycsvmgxpCDUMfKZ8Pddv58pZ2Xk7-8wQnRBnobde7useJQpLCKVh7M-M6btsD/w400-h266/DSC_5801_kashgar_women_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Women at the market.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIYW_BitrOlmQ5T1ExMTCDT41RvjT9rgbYsNr1MMn0QPPMOD1g5oKUp9MC2cXDHzGG-hb-xd2PIiq0s9Xr3Bwhosgnzft1rTDXS-WK98KpoZbBox8HfDBgzZxNNECRzYgh2krXqRFg2wMsBSbAp42C2wsj6DoCAOzQdMxfgXrM7XXgXZrlhA_-uas/s1800/DSC_5693_man_with_broom_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIYW_BitrOlmQ5T1ExMTCDT41RvjT9rgbYsNr1MMn0QPPMOD1g5oKUp9MC2cXDHzGG-hb-xd2PIiq0s9Xr3Bwhosgnzft1rTDXS-WK98KpoZbBox8HfDBgzZxNNECRzYgh2krXqRFg2wMsBSbAp42C2wsj6DoCAOzQdMxfgXrM7XXgXZrlhA_-uas/w400-h266/DSC_5693_man_with_broom_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Carrying brooms to market.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo0SZlJ6HVdhR3qOfblXCVgtJ1Ocpzcyibt8ueLPy6vrdACoLJqD0MYIgryRq2Xsp8xA0PTNMfd3Sg6ISJCGEvk1EL0L3U92l8-BH33CGs-l9dPat6fyTY_0_vLf6ydYZli_Sda3jR6yMgq_6xyDexx1XNXBiC2W7kEi4a-cQcKS-y5C4MbhEYu_H/s1800/DSC_5864_kashgar_woman_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo0SZlJ6HVdhR3qOfblXCVgtJ1Ocpzcyibt8ueLPy6vrdACoLJqD0MYIgryRq2Xsp8xA0PTNMfd3Sg6ISJCGEvk1EL0L3U92l8-BH33CGs-l9dPat6fyTY_0_vLf6ydYZli_Sda3jR6yMgq_6xyDexx1XNXBiC2W7kEi4a-cQcKS-y5C4MbhEYu_H/w400-h266/DSC_5864_kashgar_woman_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Woman in old Kashgar, early morning.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XY9AFxpS4337GdPTZ_Ywp0gtZMIX3i1s8yEKkyUFqjMUJo7GYtwqk7PsdSLhCDkW77JcbtmAkcaf6uGBs4UmQSGtW808odsVF0nc2EEQ0-xwvdQZX_G9S9oad0OfLtacafQC-oIJSLtICpo2JzvbIqK2HD4rIPZ7omth-N10q_cb7z-tX34IsV1G/s1800/DSC_5705_kashgar_vegetable_stall_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XY9AFxpS4337GdPTZ_Ywp0gtZMIX3i1s8yEKkyUFqjMUJo7GYtwqk7PsdSLhCDkW77JcbtmAkcaf6uGBs4UmQSGtW808odsVF0nc2EEQ0-xwvdQZX_G9S9oad0OfLtacafQC-oIJSLtICpo2JzvbIqK2HD4rIPZ7omth-N10q_cb7z-tX34IsV1G/w266-h400/DSC_5705_kashgar_vegetable_stall_color.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Buying vegetables.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAcyxTskD2Sp49sh5SlhN80Sx51GZbdzS45wMdIP470EFIwcuYalaCSBv87izj7IdIBHdKcLAHZMBEQkP8rMrhVauZge6_Vr1ABdymAhxi-ndM8-QAan3nnP5dNAibRNJ9RoPtEUS0MEhRSAfl_djgk6JA4IZnFm22d8xwp5DXP8KC1bOCrSW5RiX/s1800/DSC_6123_three_generations_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAcyxTskD2Sp49sh5SlhN80Sx51GZbdzS45wMdIP470EFIwcuYalaCSBv87izj7IdIBHdKcLAHZMBEQkP8rMrhVauZge6_Vr1ABdymAhxi-ndM8-QAan3nnP5dNAibRNJ9RoPtEUS0MEhRSAfl_djgk6JA4IZnFm22d8xwp5DXP8KC1bOCrSW5RiX/w400-h266/DSC_6123_three_generations_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Three generations at the animal market.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqpcbEA8jA3Dsw0DTi3PQQgjp3pTJC9b8e9w1iqcfWxnDyddwFAoiXwTV-zDJKEuvrcdIrHSeTGfzpnKB1IGf7fMkieJSx6rbayKhg_ciTrYLbWI380uwX3vvhHD_cbzHFxWfzakAuv7a1bw9fF1FZlRsJW9oZsvl2U82h9BHnNnm68uy73DpOxAE/s1800/DSC_6121_woman_in_market_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqpcbEA8jA3Dsw0DTi3PQQgjp3pTJC9b8e9w1iqcfWxnDyddwFAoiXwTV-zDJKEuvrcdIrHSeTGfzpnKB1IGf7fMkieJSx6rbayKhg_ciTrYLbWI380uwX3vvhHD_cbzHFxWfzakAuv7a1bw9fF1FZlRsJW9oZsvl2U82h9BHnNnm68uy73DpOxAE/w266-h400/DSC_6121_woman_in_market_color.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The grandmother from the previous photo.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE8GM0guAQPjL4H2qmt8PyB2uwzvLGJpzJ9Tb1AcTdAyC1kQbJQASWULx69fV6cLvl5dO2w9gJi_lnmq84rRmAaKQcX58KSzWgT3w39amcKzClzm2Isv5XeRBw_MoC423HwM30WRXV4tGmv9nNkNJOO9q5h6GHLep-6w4dv0Wx3q-fQvS-YRCh8Oo/s1800/DSC_6068_kashgar_animal_market_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE8GM0guAQPjL4H2qmt8PyB2uwzvLGJpzJ9Tb1AcTdAyC1kQbJQASWULx69fV6cLvl5dO2w9gJi_lnmq84rRmAaKQcX58KSzWgT3w39amcKzClzm2Isv5XeRBw_MoC423HwM30WRXV4tGmv9nNkNJOO9q5h6GHLep-6w4dv0Wx3q-fQvS-YRCh8Oo/w266-h400/DSC_6068_kashgar_animal_market_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sheep shearing at the animal market.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKFk2XPT8FSktoIv7TXDoJ_r5bbeFEpmF84xCPztOLBvBMOKcJWvQg4C31Hq0ytdb2_Uj7s55CM3LEeUTjFjg6glErWe8RRZYnYY8beQ3kCiptxN8oRxHw_n4e7g4LahKMRsjynvmXy1hswnrpmQ1RKUtDe5o3qvgUqyw9o2f8txoYOJZkEdTABbt/s1800/DSC_6079_pushing_sheep_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKFk2XPT8FSktoIv7TXDoJ_r5bbeFEpmF84xCPztOLBvBMOKcJWvQg4C31Hq0ytdb2_Uj7s55CM3LEeUTjFjg6glErWe8RRZYnYY8beQ3kCiptxN8oRxHw_n4e7g4LahKMRsjynvmXy1hswnrpmQ1RKUtDe5o3qvgUqyw9o2f8txoYOJZkEdTABbt/w400-h266/DSC_6079_pushing_sheep_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pushing sheep.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y7_WCnBCWev8nQI-5RKdTpxlAVdV1tAvbBCCsmiUnJrcY2NnMDSMpeMjapDWdB7DmPb2c5_eCB7A7iNGtO9oc_XjUabBCToOEijIbAKF74TOMD32oK2GMRA2dQCWqhdUOxCZc8lYHsD6oX1Ve9anY6OSVbkemBMNcKVo9h-DXzpbEMZ8f9fDbpih/s1800/DSC_6129_smoker_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y7_WCnBCWev8nQI-5RKdTpxlAVdV1tAvbBCCsmiUnJrcY2NnMDSMpeMjapDWdB7DmPb2c5_eCB7A7iNGtO9oc_XjUabBCToOEijIbAKF74TOMD32oK2GMRA2dQCWqhdUOxCZc8lYHsD6oX1Ve9anY6OSVbkemBMNcKVo9h-DXzpbEMZ8f9fDbpih/w400-h266/DSC_6129_smoker_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Smoker.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPMs8cjbtZvIoZZPeH1-ZMyPZPDxqBxdDfpxbuBlTSObe235pY6prsfKpDgy69EcmmFZEI97xOfnRrgwca4vGwEtRbIwUMJY3zub-0ZaBTW72uxpBTVFoeaPkElOWkdRT0X0BiHRWyUekstByQWpAEVIZvZJZvqkLsHgPqaVh6Vp8rYfQws0pNdOp/s1800/DSC_6108_sheep_balls_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPMs8cjbtZvIoZZPeH1-ZMyPZPDxqBxdDfpxbuBlTSObe235pY6prsfKpDgy69EcmmFZEI97xOfnRrgwca4vGwEtRbIwUMJY3zub-0ZaBTW72uxpBTVFoeaPkElOWkdRT0X0BiHRWyUekstByQWpAEVIZvZJZvqkLsHgPqaVh6Vp8rYfQws0pNdOp/w400-h266/DSC_6108_sheep_balls_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I'm not sure what to say about this, except that if these guys had been rock climbers, their boldness would have been legendary.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rTiVGo4CnhkIEEcKNRFVAj_1eCYh21vtbKrigWnsktnhyFx6ECY0AhH953dYbd1mGEoL4_Xr9RZnSyjTx2iLqGlnEPCxuoPDLd6W_8qsaGtWzDFgkgkznByem4PRpYAdjmqg-NXY9U8JsNvTZyUZIt37BxRWOh9Q1MAV0lbY5DGc7Xn87bMAL3Ex/s1800/DSC_5862_woman_kashgar_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rTiVGo4CnhkIEEcKNRFVAj_1eCYh21vtbKrigWnsktnhyFx6ECY0AhH953dYbd1mGEoL4_Xr9RZnSyjTx2iLqGlnEPCxuoPDLd6W_8qsaGtWzDFgkgkznByem4PRpYAdjmqg-NXY9U8JsNvTZyUZIt37BxRWOh9Q1MAV0lbY5DGc7Xn87bMAL3Ex/w266-h400/DSC_5862_woman_kashgar_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Early morning woman with hot water.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwD92hcodWCwB2dGlsOoYZlWglfVKJfz296N44GIkDTF0nX8zOB1ZkP7Ar5891gBTfn_bBJCURJd2DGGQcMQAtrOaOxbkzH6UHy8Yu4d1ctWR2nW1H-Lza4ElgGjODOg3WfZ63Gbm5jgH950EsyejZsa-KDIMYPjH7NjZzQWjfevDgr6Tp3ez4GnHm/s1800/DSC_6091_woman_in_market_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwD92hcodWCwB2dGlsOoYZlWglfVKJfz296N44GIkDTF0nX8zOB1ZkP7Ar5891gBTfn_bBJCURJd2DGGQcMQAtrOaOxbkzH6UHy8Yu4d1ctWR2nW1H-Lza4ElgGjODOg3WfZ63Gbm5jgH950EsyejZsa-KDIMYPjH7NjZzQWjfevDgr6Tp3ez4GnHm/w266-h400/DSC_6091_woman_in_market_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Woman at market.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpPAis8RkvulNV7MBKwiHpcw-j7uPyc6u8GZO9DAPr0_PWgsIpwwbMP7wkKMTuzB4wpRk1YTkRXZJvgL0ovfu17TmEDFbzjQS37dy9VR4K8kyAEXV40E_t-1z38ZxV88AbpnOiF01RAoOdkjjtMmq9NTz0AAqTS_YpLlhcp08WFvSndl-gXXtv9rl/s1800/DSC_6386_kashgar_intstrument_maker_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpPAis8RkvulNV7MBKwiHpcw-j7uPyc6u8GZO9DAPr0_PWgsIpwwbMP7wkKMTuzB4wpRk1YTkRXZJvgL0ovfu17TmEDFbzjQS37dy9VR4K8kyAEXV40E_t-1z38ZxV88AbpnOiF01RAoOdkjjtMmq9NTz0AAqTS_YpLlhcp08WFvSndl-gXXtv9rl/w266-h400/DSC_6386_kashgar_intstrument_maker_bw.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Instrument maker.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HOnHdiFLn10Gup60d2p9O0xMQ0oyncf68OJYQUL-idlu5CobjU5dfUAC1O5yKcPJJNFI0olkHDRplSDGjMzlh-PUyi-lqmDZC3QxBY3q1Y5lJmBovYNdiB-EkMlTHRJ2tkSiXRK9fCSCkPBAWebxsff_cgoCrXUYttVslqhYPAwZlF66snUmt87S/s1800/DSC_6396_kashgar_restaurant_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HOnHdiFLn10Gup60d2p9O0xMQ0oyncf68OJYQUL-idlu5CobjU5dfUAC1O5yKcPJJNFI0olkHDRplSDGjMzlh-PUyi-lqmDZC3QxBY3q1Y5lJmBovYNdiB-EkMlTHRJ2tkSiXRK9fCSCkPBAWebxsff_cgoCrXUYttVslqhYPAwZlF66snUmt87S/w266-h400/DSC_6396_kashgar_restaurant_color.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Restaurant.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0VKU2vJegTT0q1EtN5CoejqOdo5jHrEMcg0wH1Tc7KP3z4wmUKzpJSebbTn4lNEyKuZVz7lrmtXil7a_zhR7hpL87zvsti-1vijia6guXeGizNKs3pc_V38cj7WqUf5ngL-dNPyK4RFCm01rYCTEtLxDK3l8B1T8ZMDszUV4nrUlNPNGQQLpoKIm/s1800/DSC_6434_kashgar_towels_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0VKU2vJegTT0q1EtN5CoejqOdo5jHrEMcg0wH1Tc7KP3z4wmUKzpJSebbTn4lNEyKuZVz7lrmtXil7a_zhR7hpL87zvsti-1vijia6guXeGizNKs3pc_V38cj7WqUf5ngL-dNPyK4RFCm01rYCTEtLxDK3l8B1T8ZMDszUV4nrUlNPNGQQLpoKIm/w400-h266/DSC_6434_kashgar_towels_color.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Towels and window reflections.</i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-39111776345967431722023-01-28T09:50:00.002-08:002023-01-28T10:55:48.012-08:00Death Valley Backpacking: Cottonwood - Marble Canyon Loop<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKeIOF99AjnQNzNF0rfrEgQ8MWxKCMbGew7etJksPyMunck2ZX8HUuuG81qbD1zzTMv0WXKp5U5iyD9--t1VueT5deJv88lf3_hYS9qjwMqO-vgvspazRR5u57xxzUPFqi4t9o2L50zF2TgC6eSaeS_mGa_8meHQ1VsewIi-D4t-isn-eE7uaO3xT/s1800/DSC_4288_zabriski_point.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKeIOF99AjnQNzNF0rfrEgQ8MWxKCMbGew7etJksPyMunck2ZX8HUuuG81qbD1zzTMv0WXKp5U5iyD9--t1VueT5deJv88lf3_hYS9qjwMqO-vgvspazRR5u57xxzUPFqi4t9o2L50zF2TgC6eSaeS_mGa_8meHQ1VsewIi-D4t-isn-eE7uaO3xT/w400-h266/DSC_4288_zabriski_point.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View of Death Valley badlands from Zabriskie Point.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Death Valley is famously hot, dry, and barren, but cold temperatures, flooding, and bushwacking posed challenges during a short visit in January 2023. The park is nothing if not diverse, with elevations ranging from 292 feet <i>below</i> sea level in Badwater Basin to over 11,000’ at the summit of Telescope Peak, so it's not surprising that conditions don't always match the cliches. When I met Larry Scritchfield for a little mid-winter backpacking (and to escape the relentless Wyoming cold), high temperatures averaged around 60 in the basins, <i>way</i> warmer than the surrounding mountains where we hiked, many blanketed with snow. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNSH3RDAaaQ5TSXfTxe8qr1xEAMal7JkDWcOC0XtSDdhssapAiJgYQvF2zS3jAY1Mc6K6RZHgHdFwIASVnjarlJfXwGdkbXDXvWknnAuScRyUsxtxWcX9K09TbJHPB7WWVWM1SOgKGvbVJQmvsnzwC9xtpnYPLT_OUw0ni6lZr1lYMlzQ16bnFh8w/s1800/DSC_2095_salt_creek_death_valley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNSH3RDAaaQ5TSXfTxe8qr1xEAMal7JkDWcOC0XtSDdhssapAiJgYQvF2zS3jAY1Mc6K6RZHgHdFwIASVnjarlJfXwGdkbXDXvWknnAuScRyUsxtxWcX9K09TbJHPB7WWVWM1SOgKGvbVJQmvsnzwC9xtpnYPLT_OUw0ni6lZr1lYMlzQ16bnFh8w/w400-h266/DSC_2095_salt_creek_death_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Salt Creek on the floor of Death Valley. The white stuff is salt, not snow. (Photo from Dec. 2021 when Ellen and I passed through on our way home from a climbing trip to the Alabama Hills west of Death Valley)</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrJHZuBVssJNIuIE2YnR-hKy2CWC27NnglfWhpeNYVgjH3fzaDCcNrm-UrgMmslJ0ntkCeMzSqL2a-UGsu1vxfCgGmCKfA7sWaXTq_lCCtotOPudNVzJodWGfyotRNIXGK6IgwbyKdLLMqbVy3nEaw2_EuxraGcjBxpbfk2XlHaWLhpIbcV2LRnK1/s1800/DSC_2089_salt_pan_mojave_dunes_death_valley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrJHZuBVssJNIuIE2YnR-hKy2CWC27NnglfWhpeNYVgjH3fzaDCcNrm-UrgMmslJ0ntkCeMzSqL2a-UGsu1vxfCgGmCKfA7sWaXTq_lCCtotOPudNVzJodWGfyotRNIXGK6IgwbyKdLLMqbVy3nEaw2_EuxraGcjBxpbfk2XlHaWLhpIbcV2LRnK1/w400-h266/DSC_2089_salt_pan_mojave_dunes_death_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A pan in the Mesquite Dunes east of Stovepipe Wells. (Dec. 2021)</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY5QPSp7GIk2Jhm_7g52pA49OR3Ca0OnzMPdhHaYkBkrJ7UIeNXab4uFknSuGe3uDmUCMtshCzxJzGpr6Mn_gBsHlSLSPThUn_ROnRotI_u3RYuACsuGfadtIqHG1OKRo4vZPCosYVODLwNNvK8Qy4MD26HiWAx2zorxk22ym9ne4sB6a3ZsRtgOj/s1800/DSC_2114_gower_gulch_area_death_valley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghY5QPSp7GIk2Jhm_7g52pA49OR3Ca0OnzMPdhHaYkBkrJ7UIeNXab4uFknSuGe3uDmUCMtshCzxJzGpr6Mn_gBsHlSLSPThUn_ROnRotI_u3RYuACsuGfadtIqHG1OKRo4vZPCosYVODLwNNvK8Qy4MD26HiWAx2zorxk22ym9ne4sB6a3ZsRtgOj/w400-h266/DSC_2114_gower_gulch_area_death_valley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gower Gulch from Zabriskie Point. Zabriskie Point is a popular roadside overlook, named for a borax magnate. (Dec. 2021)</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We’d also hoped to get a taste of <a href="http://www.bluugnome.com/cyn_route/dv/canyon-routes__dv.aspx" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Death Valley canyoneering</a>, known for rappels off carefully constructed rock piles (sketchy??), but our canyon partner, Don Reyes, who lives near Lake Tahoe, was digging his renters out of serial Sierra snowstorms and had to bail at the last minute. Canyoneering is collaborative--more fun and safer with three than two, so we postponed those plans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajQwFmmpkFQKJVKtx9DK2Sx3nsx-Ha0FVMuKUSueGHmV5sb-sfhNlX1OPvZW_8Rg0lg18Wws_LDtpqPvfFGp-0CNOC0O-J__fClMJDTDYGPF-mmP-TGNXXAKHe5ynLn3K1h1uPsMvYurSZOkNwnuNf3TvGyvDxfPaOR3Alc4hofhpgMLNrs0Ea8Qp/s1800/DSC04204_larry_stretched_pebble_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajQwFmmpkFQKJVKtx9DK2Sx3nsx-Ha0FVMuKUSueGHmV5sb-sfhNlX1OPvZW_8Rg0lg18Wws_LDtpqPvfFGp-0CNOC0O-J__fClMJDTDYGPF-mmP-TGNXXAKHe5ynLn3K1h1uPsMvYurSZOkNwnuNf3TvGyvDxfPaOR3Alc4hofhpgMLNrs0Ea8Qp/w266-h400/DSC04204_larry_stretched_pebble_canyon.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry not canyoneering (still sketchy) in Stretched Pebble Canyon during a day hike. (Jan. 2023)</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Larry and I rendezvoused at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/stovepipe-wells-village.htm" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Stovepipe Wells</a>, just below sea level, where a friendly hotel (showers for $5!) and restaurant on one side of Hwy. 190 face a campground and store on the other. The campground, mostly empty in January, is a gravel parking lot with carbonite posts marking sites, devoid even of picnic tables. We parked on one edge of the lot, giving us access to the empty desert for late-night peeing. Not far to the east, the Mesquite Dunes spawned plumes of dust that thankfully blew away from the campground on frequent windy days. To the west, the Cottonwood Mountains, part of the Panamint Range, where we planned to hike, dominated the skyline, their highest peaks dusted with snow. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5d48ZzNNBkw12J5_ti40tmKjcMU_MAjvpLB4k3DUigzOGtNXcp2953v20mswZDz-k_DQl1A6dgR3CYDiqXcmjVzT3PfHjNktCBtkTbd2BxTFJhM7PC_K6l3JoI_mRYQh4MHiKC5G37oFtCla0lR9aKz8kslqIA_ePfbgYWbxyba3sK99VsJanOdpv/s1800/DSC04174_larry_stovepipe_wells_campground.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5d48ZzNNBkw12J5_ti40tmKjcMU_MAjvpLB4k3DUigzOGtNXcp2953v20mswZDz-k_DQl1A6dgR3CYDiqXcmjVzT3PfHjNktCBtkTbd2BxTFJhM7PC_K6l3JoI_mRYQh4MHiKC5G37oFtCla0lR9aKz8kslqIA_ePfbgYWbxyba3sK99VsJanOdpv/w400-h266/DSC04174_larry_stovepipe_wells_campground.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Stovepipe Wells "campground." It's really just gravel parking places though there are some tent sites that have tables. The Cottonwood Mountains, where we eventually hiked, are in the background. (Jan. 2023)</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Flash floods during the August (2022) monsoon washed out many roads in the park, including access to popular tourist spots (Scotty’s Castle, the Racetrack, etc.), and a smaller rain event just before we arrived turned the road to the 28-mile <a href="https://www.cleverhiker.com/blog/death-valley-cottonwood-marble-canyon-loop-backpacking-guide" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Cottonwood-Marble Canyon loop</a>, our main backpacking objective, into a quagmire. An apologetic ranger at the small Stovepipe Wells station where we stopped to collect our free permit delivered the bad news, squashing our plan to start the 4-day hike that morning. Instead, we regrouped and headed for <a href="https://stanfordoutdoors.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/backpack-the-indian-pass-canyon-hike-in-death-valley/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Indian Pass</a> in the Funeral Mountains on the eastern edge of the park, an overnight out-and-back that included a 4-mile slog up an alluvial fan (fanyoneering?), while we waited for the Cottonwood Canyon road to dry out. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig9yN0C1tI56b3Vn6ShregdFRkZZ6RgHJ57nv4nCluHCRJYLlNvjtCpSFbUa9UaCyQYZ0ddnf9SqLG6iCkRi9z7E6zNSNX-YXmTzp2-VVSazW4catg5UstG2F3L69RU3BIL6AQeV3G6wMbNUAA1ykVDI9TG6YPOSIyWHnO-ENOKE5eSkyRk-3S93b/s1800/DSC_4298_camp_indian_pass_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig9yN0C1tI56b3Vn6ShregdFRkZZ6RgHJ57nv4nCluHCRJYLlNvjtCpSFbUa9UaCyQYZ0ddnf9SqLG6iCkRi9z7E6zNSNX-YXmTzp2-VVSazW4catg5UstG2F3L69RU3BIL6AQeV3G6wMbNUAA1ykVDI9TG6YPOSIyWHnO-ENOKE5eSkyRk-3S93b/w400-h266/DSC_4298_camp_indian_pass_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp in the Indian Pass canyon in the Funeral Mts. (Jan. 2023)</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCJBn6X8gRF_A9Xh5diLxSNd0ybS0zPH7tZIqulfGlYRCrrsFgHrjnvyKdup0aUtGR1b2GSh68kJx5W5-aOEGgOKNJM5Mnb1NKapNtryQLeHLNiRHk93lpNTc_X1FanUDoKPduRC9iL5Nyl3BmrKwox_Mgo-FrR73Ke62CAreyyKBRdDfE5yjc9As/s1800/DSC_4301_indian_pass_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCJBn6X8gRF_A9Xh5diLxSNd0ybS0zPH7tZIqulfGlYRCrrsFgHrjnvyKdup0aUtGR1b2GSh68kJx5W5-aOEGgOKNJM5Mnb1NKapNtryQLeHLNiRHk93lpNTc_X1FanUDoKPduRC9iL5Nyl3BmrKwox_Mgo-FrR73Ke62CAreyyKBRdDfE5yjc9As/w400-h266/DSC_4301_indian_pass_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Recent rains left plenty of water in potholes in upper Indian Pass Canyon. (Jan. 2023)</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Later in the week, after the overnight and two day-hikes, we finally started the loop, which climbs gently up Cottonwood Canyon, then north up a swale to eventually cross a saddle before descending steeply into Deadhorse Canyon which drains into Marble Canyon, itself descending through spectacular narrows back to the trailhead. Along the way we enjoyed impossibly complex geology, petroglyphs (spaceships??), wild horses, freeze-dried lasagna, and perfect but freezing campsites. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I seldom move much before finishing my morning coffee, and pre-caffeine I don’t even like to be <u style="font-style: italic;">asked</u> about what I <i><u>might</u></i> do later in a day. But in one of the hottest places on the planet, it was so cold (and windy) at our first two camps that Larry and I crammed our gear into our packs at dawn and walked until we could find sunshine and a little warmth before brewing freeze-dried Via “coffee” packets and eating breakfast. Probably in the low to mid-20s at night, desert cold <i>always</i> feels colder than mountain cold. I hiked those mornings in the winter clothes (hat, gloves, long underwear, puffy) that I wear Nordic skiing at 9000’ in sub-arctic Laramie, Wyoming and still didn't feel quite warm.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJ_bILjL9Gfo2CObxcf53du1KIJThcvYVB07ABCL782JaDPGc7CxiKxsT7SLh744AfpzIUcMbdBByJL4useAlZ54UKJVFOKIdf742Xy39wNKR9FMo_D1yRFHm-5RpBc1oYETgc6KOJcCOLcjN9V-AuRZY46kloRAOF9OUDRJIwgbOYTqy8mAsXcta/s1800/IMG_2341_cottonwood_canyon_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1800" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJ_bILjL9Gfo2CObxcf53du1KIJThcvYVB07ABCL782JaDPGc7CxiKxsT7SLh744AfpzIUcMbdBByJL4useAlZ54UKJVFOKIdf742Xy39wNKR9FMo_D1yRFHm-5RpBc1oYETgc6KOJcCOLcjN9V-AuRZY46kloRAOF9OUDRJIwgbOYTqy8mAsXcta/w400-h254/IMG_2341_cottonwood_canyon_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lower Cottonwood Canyon on our the first day of our loop hike. I ended up shooting iPhone photos on this trip because the sensor on my backpacking camera was unexpectedly dirty. (This and all Cottonwood-Marble photos are from Jan. 2023)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpx0dQhfitgsrTOGMw_mRBvz7gXhXDtk5PulF3k2UfgKLWzPxyRUx0NFyDCZi9_FBe-azwrJFXyGW6MqGoLaSk4n02Hr3vDPA0LOPQ1bXt3LI-NpEbs5P1lICK9hTYLz0sCMNsS-dVF9gI_lkUdb6C8Pr3vmEYZQmPQrhUoOnOG4Q7Jxi2OLdagvx/s1800/IMG_2348_cottonwood_canyon_camp_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpx0dQhfitgsrTOGMw_mRBvz7gXhXDtk5PulF3k2UfgKLWzPxyRUx0NFyDCZi9_FBe-azwrJFXyGW6MqGoLaSk4n02Hr3vDPA0LOPQ1bXt3LI-NpEbs5P1lICK9hTYLz0sCMNsS-dVF9gI_lkUdb6C8Pr3vmEYZQmPQrhUoOnOG4Q7Jxi2OLdagvx/w400-h300/IMG_2348_cottonwood_canyon_camp_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our first camp in Cottonwood Canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaQlIJXYkda__h5MmIdB1lKpWD4SlXvmxd9tJIObP-aItrUBIvMfyJ947N9cfpk374AOxpa6k8Xtu0CHJyf80peu52j-YwXFyr9av_0232i5oTAZdvhgodydHvYrdN9C3gsF4EuznXt5ik9mpwaxyfoUGemmGXy-0rKMuwaF120eDgiExhTzeTNB0/s1800/IMG_2346_larry_camp1_cottonwood_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaQlIJXYkda__h5MmIdB1lKpWD4SlXvmxd9tJIObP-aItrUBIvMfyJ947N9cfpk374AOxpa6k8Xtu0CHJyf80peu52j-YwXFyr9av_0232i5oTAZdvhgodydHvYrdN9C3gsF4EuznXt5ik9mpwaxyfoUGemmGXy-0rKMuwaF120eDgiExhTzeTNB0/w400-h300/IMG_2346_larry_camp1_cottonwood_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry enjoying a wee nip of tequila at our first camp in Cottonwood Canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgiZ3to1L1wU66cO-OzSOHoMfPrs2oYO3lPKDeJYk5X3VmnBHAlICWXNRymz2CGG0sq2uJQ7AnsdmDulo6vaFONkGl4NJru5tCpDEcBfUn62xyPXgSd1fDnb-VL7vp2C99Q7plidpt7qLC2mcTbL9sRm9dZMhMqliComStoxRcmVQDz6UcwayBpg9/s4032/IMG_2381_larry_marble_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgiZ3to1L1wU66cO-OzSOHoMfPrs2oYO3lPKDeJYk5X3VmnBHAlICWXNRymz2CGG0sq2uJQ7AnsdmDulo6vaFONkGl4NJru5tCpDEcBfUn62xyPXgSd1fDnb-VL7vp2C99Q7plidpt7qLC2mcTbL9sRm9dZMhMqliComStoxRcmVQDz6UcwayBpg9/w300-h400/IMG_2381_larry_marble_canyon.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry in upper Marble Canyon.</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNalerDwIucl-cqARZFjjd-h40wd6ZSH_mRzEia9eHWieVMD1NrdhtQNySrnK_D5ZdlHbg3SAdqPedgr4AqXPzrtWjvATlVIvx4WmOCr29Ihk2SMRN3qO9aSyC1AXpQB3iTAceSfomGRkairtwteKkAXYbTvAv8PErv0-Pr259j5IIsLNmM8BFl97M/s1800/IMG_2382_larry_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNalerDwIucl-cqARZFjjd-h40wd6ZSH_mRzEia9eHWieVMD1NrdhtQNySrnK_D5ZdlHbg3SAdqPedgr4AqXPzrtWjvATlVIvx4WmOCr29Ihk2SMRN3qO9aSyC1AXpQB3iTAceSfomGRkairtwteKkAXYbTvAv8PErv0-Pr259j5IIsLNmM8BFl97M/w400-h300/IMG_2382_larry_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Approaching one of the narrows in Marble Canyon.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9Rau8zA35oPmh4JPK2FC6U5IMoekkNqsBGNVLzNPW1GTi2ENHqCFKApj5Ut2ryHMiC4MXaulQaex0KTpMwO0a66LKftyNU04gGiJXblES3UduFITk8omHHUL5PWQYnJWTotxb4JjZHxE7tLu28qe2SbYm1Fak5sSQojnUv1JTGT7wY9Anl7ZP0SL/s1800/IMG_2384_zebra_narrows_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9Rau8zA35oPmh4JPK2FC6U5IMoekkNqsBGNVLzNPW1GTi2ENHqCFKApj5Ut2ryHMiC4MXaulQaex0KTpMwO0a66LKftyNU04gGiJXblES3UduFITk8omHHUL5PWQYnJWTotxb4JjZHxE7tLu28qe2SbYm1Fak5sSQojnUv1JTGT7wY9Anl7ZP0SL/w400-h300/IMG_2384_zebra_narrows_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Zebra-striped rock in Marble Canyon.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bb9uDM_JjqUmrshB5qY1DMRJaTxXm4uQ1PgM84debxquZsVa_0AHRwQp2_BrhuBhFI4Ccc7SneBtqZE7lUNfJ_eRoMSRGnILFHWEiAApA_CzSIeo3IMV3Ht-uq53xmF4ot9baMqVCotOuEA3ezGXtSkoCJJZPQa4uedWydGo-e4w35_Z2xSSqhFY/s1800/IMG_2392_petroglyphs_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bb9uDM_JjqUmrshB5qY1DMRJaTxXm4uQ1PgM84debxquZsVa_0AHRwQp2_BrhuBhFI4Ccc7SneBtqZE7lUNfJ_eRoMSRGnILFHWEiAApA_CzSIeo3IMV3Ht-uq53xmF4ot9baMqVCotOuEA3ezGXtSkoCJJZPQa4uedWydGo-e4w35_Z2xSSqhFY/w400-h300/IMG_2392_petroglyphs_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Petroglyphs in Marble Canyon.</i></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIHGgKN2BeCQhgcTHlUvbAsRSE3kjpITCExT2erFYcRcBwuKxL7HD6lTaf4uzshEYR3mGhRgdnMXgjR5nZTOoIaRPsc4ouV0A2uuabKxeUj7cWf2bHPv-6eR_Io-IL4V7U4IPSuH7Vz010s6_SBHP0YD5QJWri3SxX_jl5KZCYW6x6GXxtAZ3tZzd/s1800/IMG_2400_marble_canyon_narrows_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIHGgKN2BeCQhgcTHlUvbAsRSE3kjpITCExT2erFYcRcBwuKxL7HD6lTaf4uzshEYR3mGhRgdnMXgjR5nZTOoIaRPsc4ouV0A2uuabKxeUj7cWf2bHPv-6eR_Io-IL4V7U4IPSuH7Vz010s6_SBHP0YD5QJWri3SxX_jl5KZCYW6x6GXxtAZ3tZzd/w300-h400/IMG_2400_marble_canyon_narrows_iphone.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Narrows in Marble Canyon.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kMnZEPB86XnLa_LBn7W_cdILgzfH6L7v0UR-0JccdoOtZaBD7sYN_bU_WJMz7BbOJrBE8SVfYVEV_M29tqWMNltKE7xYEuTiqO2Ohr6JH52w3avJ6S_T9IudG7eQji0CcIcjLVkQMHSno0onQOXuTzakL6nxkkE4RD4DbUn9fxFRu58h4ZkzLNqb/s1800/IMG_2394_narrows_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kMnZEPB86XnLa_LBn7W_cdILgzfH6L7v0UR-0JccdoOtZaBD7sYN_bU_WJMz7BbOJrBE8SVfYVEV_M29tqWMNltKE7xYEuTiqO2Ohr6JH52w3avJ6S_T9IudG7eQji0CcIcjLVkQMHSno0onQOXuTzakL6nxkkE4RD4DbUn9fxFRu58h4ZkzLNqb/w400-h300/IMG_2394_narrows_marble_canyon_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Marble Canyon looking towards the narrows in the preceding photo.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYQDIawSkJGEE4pFDyVsbDrLckcPl4Dz3qz10o20dexF-6Vd1l-U43lsLF1c8o4YKHuOgaYzqBPPHQMuTkKeiLfi5JmkQ6mv4xls9-jlNjYGckAO_xWVwwuvPMrfgAyecD8odtkNuARt0q0B1H2uMnRQrG29FjYbumFkbB0im08OiAKLQQb236s8c/s1800/IMG_2407_marble_canyon_sunrise_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYQDIawSkJGEE4pFDyVsbDrLckcPl4Dz3qz10o20dexF-6Vd1l-U43lsLF1c8o4YKHuOgaYzqBPPHQMuTkKeiLfi5JmkQ6mv4xls9-jlNjYGckAO_xWVwwuvPMrfgAyecD8odtkNuARt0q0B1H2uMnRQrG29FjYbumFkbB0im08OiAKLQQb236s8c/w400-h300/IMG_2407_marble_canyon_sunrise_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Marble Canyon.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3gyvdXGNUr9J4J3tV5aoJVJa9fmeJ8JqhCgPjWZullfTuCR34nlaqowdbr85y5pXkVpcFEyvRP9ew82mt6oYXDouFQ6NG1lPZvCDdpOePZfTJ6GQ149LBqKbG4Y3LxVIAOu5SF73LLjwmFd0oTSbE2UxyhIhUl-gM-q9Clk9KP1h2dtrsPprD0ke/s1800/IMG_2409_marble_canyon_boulder_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3gyvdXGNUr9J4J3tV5aoJVJa9fmeJ8JqhCgPjWZullfTuCR34nlaqowdbr85y5pXkVpcFEyvRP9ew82mt6oYXDouFQ6NG1lPZvCDdpOePZfTJ6GQ149LBqKbG4Y3LxVIAOu5SF73LLjwmFd0oTSbE2UxyhIhUl-gM-q9Clk9KP1h2dtrsPprD0ke/w400-h300/IMG_2409_marble_canyon_boulder_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Boulder, Marble Canyon.</i></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">Another ironic challenge on the hike was vegetation. We joked about bushwacking on the</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://stanfordoutdoors.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/backpack-the-indian-pass-canyon-hike-in-death-valley/" style="color: #954f72; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Indian Pass hike</a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> whenever we passed close to an infrequent creosote bush. How naïve we were! In Cottonwood Canyon and to a lesser degree in Dead Horse Canyon, what little vegetation there was packed itself into the V-shaped drainages where the few springs provided enough water for trees, choking the canyon with an impassable tangle of downed cottonwood limbs, fallen trunks, and impenetrable shrubs, some thorny, forcing us up onto steep, loose, sidehills above the drainage, sometimes exposed enough to drive us reluctantly back down to bushwack hopelessly until we could find another escape. Short distances near these “oases” took longer to traverse than miles of open desert.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3INnYKTGBkkseiYOaE7UxnXs6MvgPUuO44ABtx36-390vZg2UTt9zd4RHj92XD6OdFwkj8d0hbDEHyJmRfMHPTQoFW6CKcdru4jWCgVgiXKQT_31aRjWMVY-Cxv0GjmxeckLQ6_FW5fI3w0UoHwk-ZqriaOCNHhMPX_Hs1-R8VGqAN_mgEIhh1fZV/s1800/IMG_2356_cottonwood_bushwack_iphone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3INnYKTGBkkseiYOaE7UxnXs6MvgPUuO44ABtx36-390vZg2UTt9zd4RHj92XD6OdFwkj8d0hbDEHyJmRfMHPTQoFW6CKcdru4jWCgVgiXKQT_31aRjWMVY-Cxv0GjmxeckLQ6_FW5fI3w0UoHwk-ZqriaOCNHhMPX_Hs1-R8VGqAN_mgEIhh1fZV/w400-h266/IMG_2356_cottonwood_bushwack_iphone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Approaching a section of bushwacking that is WAY worse than it looks. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEQGRC_BMeIE4WJMBxqkUDKSiD8EaMNvPZBCCj9QiNB7MJxwPxbxRpodMWrgVNlvs6w4zILku2O1_C_3bKwDkjKD_m--vu3IBcaBGnYnmTpi8ByEJFupAO5Gyv_iuoBNeWUOOerm7z6G2GCxNGy31gyh0dy-70LExQ6Em8JGStKkjqyiKUPHc83wn/s1800/IMG_2359_broken_point_cottonwood_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEQGRC_BMeIE4WJMBxqkUDKSiD8EaMNvPZBCCj9QiNB7MJxwPxbxRpodMWrgVNlvs6w4zILku2O1_C_3bKwDkjKD_m--vu3IBcaBGnYnmTpi8ByEJFupAO5Gyv_iuoBNeWUOOerm7z6G2GCxNGy31gyh0dy-70LExQ6Em8JGStKkjqyiKUPHc83wn/w400-h266/IMG_2359_broken_point_cottonwood_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The only flake I found on this trip was this broken point that I happened upon while side-hilling above a spring to avoid bushwacking, so perhaps we were not the first to grovel around the springs.</i></div></div></span></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Death Valley is a vast park, too hot most of the year for much activity, but a refuge in winter. From salt flats, dunes, and badlands to mountains harboring ancient but <a href="https://phys.org/news/2022-06-drought-bark-beetles-oldest-trees.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">threatened bristlecone pines</a> there’s enormous diversity. And despite the harshness, humans have left their mark with old mines, ghost towns, and remnants of a once thriving borax industry (20-mule trains!). It attracts desert rats and misfits as well as cyclists, outdoor adventurers, and retirees. I find myself there once in a while, and though I often wonder if I’ll return, each trip leaves me curious about <i>just one more thing</i> that I’d like to check out. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eURAHDGO5Tk-lRgKUo5oUNddJM6OaD2fypHNR1yuP-gPpFv1lsNaEjUrxiTpIj3tuJOQYW2IldQfD9th7ic4XkkFcrgSXX0Qxn1yYgLFg7ddy24aMBrvGdiqrwLREPhDwtB9K_zMIeYW8EEqJpM14vzMlSyDSpOvR25oxwGAzGW6cI8f-gFYJ3mx/s1800/DSC_4263_death_valley_junction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eURAHDGO5Tk-lRgKUo5oUNddJM6OaD2fypHNR1yuP-gPpFv1lsNaEjUrxiTpIj3tuJOQYW2IldQfD9th7ic4XkkFcrgSXX0Qxn1yYgLFg7ddy24aMBrvGdiqrwLREPhDwtB9K_zMIeYW8EEqJpM14vzMlSyDSpOvR25oxwGAzGW6cI8f-gFYJ3mx/w400-h225/DSC_4263_death_valley_junction.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from an abandoned building at Death Valley Junction, just outside the Park.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-50804476678075528852022-12-30T15:35:00.002-08:002022-12-31T10:29:33.519-08:00Backpacking: Collins Spring to Slickhorn Canyon #1<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUT4B1TgZAnvxHzMQJA6mYdI52sQVpoC4iJyAul_9MdA45c475GpKtnbi2d4b7EZhiJA4nckyQ5G8U5DjPG96ccJpoFsdiSy8hQk0zk9s1Qhv7DRIUiHnnI34teNt1SZIq8xaN2QCY0GNNTl5eXxaAFTO0xQNlDG3eq8_hwVBGnbGbWByRQVRB1kz/s1800/DSC_3088_ellen_larry_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUT4B1TgZAnvxHzMQJA6mYdI52sQVpoC4iJyAul_9MdA45c475GpKtnbi2d4b7EZhiJA4nckyQ5G8U5DjPG96ccJpoFsdiSy8hQk0zk9s1Qhv7DRIUiHnnI34teNt1SZIq8xaN2QCY0GNNTl5eXxaAFTO0xQNlDG3eq8_hwVBGnbGbWByRQVRB1kz/w400-h266/DSC_3088_ellen_larry_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry and Ellen at the lip of the pour-over in lower Grand Gulch, with the dirt-traverse behind them.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images for larger view)</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Every outing, whether rock climbing, packrafting, canyoneering, or even backpacking, has a crux, usually generating at least a little pre-trip anxiety. This makes trips feel more adventurous even though the anxiety is relative and usually unfounded. Climber and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard famously said, “<i>for me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts</i>.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m lucky in that I can have adventures just imagining a <i><u>few</u></i> things going wrong or sometimes, only <i><u>one</u></i> thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In Utah’s lower Grand Gulch, the pre-trip anxiety-producer is <i><u>the pour-over</u></i> low in the canyon just above where it meets the San Juan River. Pour-overs are common on the Colorado Plateau where sedimentary bedding planes meet headward erosion, sometimes undercutting them and leaving a drop into the canyon below. These can often be bypassed on one side or the other by side-hilling and scrambling, but sometimes they are impassable except by technical means (rappelling, downclimbing, handlining, etc.). </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The pour-over in lower Grand Gulch was once easily bypassed, but a rockslide obliterated the trail, leaving a nearly vertical mess of dirt and loose rock that according to <a href="https://rollingwiththemoment.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/grand-gulch-hike-gary/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">descriptions</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5E9ivwxPoI" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">videos</a> that I nervously watched before we set out, could be traversed sketchily by scrambling across the exposed dirt cliff, a no-fall situation. According to trip accounts, hikers often lowered (or hoisted) their packs over the lip of the pour-over with rope to improve their odds and their balance on the traverse. On the other hand, the route from Collins Spring to the river is a common timed-challenge for long distance runners, who don't ever mention the pour-over in their accounts, presumably racing over it with enough momentum to avoid gravitational danger, like Basilisk lizards (aka Jesus Christ lizards) that can run across the surface of lakes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But I’m getting ahead of myself. For years, I kept a mental list of trips to do when freed from spring and fall teaching—prime time in the desert since summers are too hot and winters too cold. One of them was a hike down Grand Gulch to the San Juan, then upriver to the mouth of Slickhorn Canyon, and finally up Slickhorn to its head. Cedar Mesa (aka Bear’s Ears) is famously packed with archaeology and rock art, and it’s beautiful.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’d originally imagined a longer hike starting at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station but having already hiked upper Grand Gulch (and many of its side canyons; (<i>e.g.</i>, blog posts <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2022/02/backpacking-in-grand-gulch-collins.html" style="color: #954f72;">here</a></span>, <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2016/03/spring-break-cedar-mesa-ruins.html" style="color: #954f72;">here</a></span>), I instead planned a five-day post-retirement hike with Ellen, Bay Roberts, and Larry Scritchfield in April 2022 starting at Collins and exiting at Slickhorn #1 (one of the upper Slickhorn trailheads). I’d met a canyoneer the previous spring at the Collins trailhead who was starting this route by himself, and he mentioned carrying a rope for the pour-over, so I did my anxiety-producing due diligence and made a plan to carry a harness, rappel device, and 65’ of supertape (lightweight climber’s webbing) just in case. We’d hike down Grand Gulch first (rather than starting at Slickhorn) so that the drop could be descended with the webbing rather than ascended <i>via</i> the death-choss.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It all worked out as it <i>almost</i> always does. The webbing rappel off the pour-over from a large cottonwood tree growing conveniently at the lip was fast and easy, and the rest of the hike was interesting and enjoyable with lots of fascinating rock art, great ancestral Puebloan structures, perfect campsites, and lovely weather. We saw few people, except for a large NOLS group camped just above the pour-over having survived the mandatory (since they were traveling up-canyon) dirt-traverse the previous afternoon. I would not have wanted to be responsible for (or have watched) that mission, but the group seemed unphased as they lounged in folding chairs cooking biscuits in oil, surrounded by a vast scatter of heavy gear that they had carried for a week or more and were destined to carry for weeks to come. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Towards the end of the hike, we scrambled high up a talus slope into the arc of an abandoned river bend (rincon). Pictographs of birds and other figures adorned the orange sandstone cliff from where we sat all the way around to the other side of the rincon where they were painted in impossibly precarious sites. Below us, the broad canyon offered appealing campsites with pools of water glinting in spring sunshine. Trip anxieties dissolve quickly.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Photos of the hike are below and a little info on logistics with a link to a more detailed trip description is included below the photos. Much of the archaeology is oft-visited and well-known, but I won’t provide specific locations. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhg1829Af2zcfUqoHMQIScrakQSZV39RmA1y-XD_CdqhijU6GSdKMVy0rUuKM0hivZOBugkcM3DRaz6kSpQSB_enysCm36piunxhH62ZOhwkz4IW8JGi-6ZQb7pZTRK4O5xLnNtDiEi193EApFTltrnQ6Q5JtCz8_9reutdUG9qJlGOPjvODNPBJud/s1800/DSC_2993_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhg1829Af2zcfUqoHMQIScrakQSZV39RmA1y-XD_CdqhijU6GSdKMVy0rUuKM0hivZOBugkcM3DRaz6kSpQSB_enysCm36piunxhH62ZOhwkz4IW8JGi-6ZQb7pZTRK4O5xLnNtDiEi193EApFTltrnQ6Q5JtCz8_9reutdUG9qJlGOPjvODNPBJud/w400-h266/DSC_2993_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen, Bay, and Larry hiking down lower Grand Gulch below Collins Spring and the Narrows.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEaUxXKyPhgJVJ7x99KVj7Mlluh-B5pbtwyET6tDx2pJGQBCLC7g1GTCDHX6BQLAnRZHfCZCw3qzqcQa9XlGAnbNGg31jMFlxL79NhC_1OYVkVUVDrljzLukmzTZqS-mHPWpbZWAVMst9NSWkdyySKVy3Lv0JULZ0YBDVoXTiaPddvZ2fzwYvyQfm/s1800/DSC_2977_100_hands_panel_grand_gulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEaUxXKyPhgJVJ7x99KVj7Mlluh-B5pbtwyET6tDx2pJGQBCLC7g1GTCDHX6BQLAnRZHfCZCw3qzqcQa9XlGAnbNGg31jMFlxL79NhC_1OYVkVUVDrljzLukmzTZqS-mHPWpbZWAVMst9NSWkdyySKVy3Lv0JULZ0YBDVoXTiaPddvZ2fzwYvyQfm/w400-h266/DSC_2977_100_hands_panel_grand_gulch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The 100-hands panel.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVtznUFZnJconplHSfaLg1_u4Lh8zFirlgueedZP2rfi-h76c5hEnvRtBBF1aTGOoK5IS9O1F0GDDXz554fC6C5z2gdjyoWGTMPlC1WI81fXF1pCYmsq0EacQITNLZ9AcCRzMvmQzDiCNpngg0PKGNhzI7vImbVc7YQA2bj_R4nX9X2akPaWrKlSU/s1800/DSC_2997_larry_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVtznUFZnJconplHSfaLg1_u4Lh8zFirlgueedZP2rfi-h76c5hEnvRtBBF1aTGOoK5IS9O1F0GDDXz554fC6C5z2gdjyoWGTMPlC1WI81fXF1pCYmsq0EacQITNLZ9AcCRzMvmQzDiCNpngg0PKGNhzI7vImbVc7YQA2bj_R4nX9X2akPaWrKlSU/w400-h266/DSC_2997_larry_lower_grand_gulch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry in lower Grand Gulch. I'm never fast enough to take photos of my friends hiking <u>toward</u> me.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaPVgcs-E_P0DBubB-AVGs49utP9r0jA-RJIPzCK-48Eibz51NIakumAppSrmd_KXwlJoDh76x3KfB2sXfLShWi0OP0qsmFvDgGj6PJxhZ3M5jf5_lTpM4CUCeIviBnovmBYEDoChLvtlitTWJ-tQ_o7_ke2KDy32ZkcIcXykXXDxTMDrtU_2MT-p/s1800/DSC_3021_larry_scramble_to_pictogrtaph_panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaPVgcs-E_P0DBubB-AVGs49utP9r0jA-RJIPzCK-48Eibz51NIakumAppSrmd_KXwlJoDh76x3KfB2sXfLShWi0OP0qsmFvDgGj6PJxhZ3M5jf5_lTpM4CUCeIviBnovmBYEDoChLvtlitTWJ-tQ_o7_ke2KDy32ZkcIcXykXXDxTMDrtU_2MT-p/w400-h266/DSC_3021_larry_scramble_to_pictogrtaph_panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Larry approaching a pictograph panel to get a closer look.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfq5XfK925v_bbOV1UkcQY-PUkN3PjMWwFmudI6ppbZD3SjuQYoYBGDmZvQFjUkKjh-82_qAcOuwv-LDRgUd8AzTMePrG0UJttfB3etFkNlaSkDKDdSt_c0T_6CgVxnYInFr6A81tSme1Cp3cf2_8m_IQJYSULGzw7vHR0QRnYveSJ8x5EB6wimC0/s1800/DSC_3017_lower_grand_gulch_pictographs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfq5XfK925v_bbOV1UkcQY-PUkN3PjMWwFmudI6ppbZD3SjuQYoYBGDmZvQFjUkKjh-82_qAcOuwv-LDRgUd8AzTMePrG0UJttfB3etFkNlaSkDKDdSt_c0T_6CgVxnYInFr6A81tSme1Cp3cf2_8m_IQJYSULGzw7vHR0QRnYveSJ8x5EB6wimC0/w400-h266/DSC_3017_lower_grand_gulch_pictographs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pictographs at the anthropomorph panel.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbt5MT76pgl9AxyPDVuXPX7GSDcbmNMuR3StiKiYwKzJWOrIBqIaILcwxXppuEZNm-MCGkVasQQLquaKkRGQwFNBHmIP6UtzsMWg1AFa4qEizImmIf-myod9uYHKmSkMzl3C525UGeQQC5LqCuvNaakknSn6crjsz7xZyFFEZHw6IUU3FSW_GQMOR/s1800/DSC_3012_ellen_larry_lower_grand_gulch_pictograpgh_panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbt5MT76pgl9AxyPDVuXPX7GSDcbmNMuR3StiKiYwKzJWOrIBqIaILcwxXppuEZNm-MCGkVasQQLquaKkRGQwFNBHmIP6UtzsMWg1AFa4qEizImmIf-myod9uYHKmSkMzl3C525UGeQQC5LqCuvNaakknSn6crjsz7xZyFFEZHw6IUU3FSW_GQMOR/w400-h266/DSC_3012_ellen_larry_lower_grand_gulch_pictograpgh_panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Ellen and Larry enjoying rock art.</i><i><br /></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2OBCxqV-E-555aIlWG9kM1K9fYyxDANsW8rkJpJUrzI0wbNjCg8gYELzwxKsvrrxFj8QeMZ4HKZBc--2hTnEp2yUj9C3ZItxA3XCmKmVWkjsBTlt-2hfq1hgNaxXULTyLsvjQdGSz0mQHloV7KUAmi6oJOr5_J0wyRd0vgXFkPad-GctTNvz9kVT/s1800/DSC_3019_anthropomorph_panel_south_of_redman_cny_grand_gulch_day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2OBCxqV-E-555aIlWG9kM1K9fYyxDANsW8rkJpJUrzI0wbNjCg8gYELzwxKsvrrxFj8QeMZ4HKZBc--2hTnEp2yUj9C3ZItxA3XCmKmVWkjsBTlt-2hfq1hgNaxXULTyLsvjQdGSz0mQHloV7KUAmi6oJOr5_J0wyRd0vgXFkPad-GctTNvz9kVT/w400-h266/DSC_3019_anthropomorph_panel_south_of_redman_cny_grand_gulch_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pictographs.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSNFf2Xq4nE0JKadvvBsHaRN77eLzXQOBhrd2K2-cup-pWDYJ0ZMUK9T8sRGev4puQC-SSo5dmfMkJZwCRN4cYNz9YE9Ers8WRLWTCpNr23-QkNu6_u3Ju-Q5cH4UecC9wQR8K1HP6NEPbDYZMJbGVD5FtpTmNn_4SPBjmDpoeaURh7V7G88I9Ftp/s1800/DSC_3027_bird_track_petroglyphs_anthropomorph_panel_south_of_redman_grand_gulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSNFf2Xq4nE0JKadvvBsHaRN77eLzXQOBhrd2K2-cup-pWDYJ0ZMUK9T8sRGev4puQC-SSo5dmfMkJZwCRN4cYNz9YE9Ers8WRLWTCpNr23-QkNu6_u3Ju-Q5cH4UecC9wQR8K1HP6NEPbDYZMJbGVD5FtpTmNn_4SPBjmDpoeaURh7V7G88I9Ftp/w400-h266/DSC_3027_bird_track_petroglyphs_anthropomorph_panel_south_of_redman_grand_gulch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bird tracks leading to a bird! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rxcUOgBOhEvshk4UVzzguw8x7_SRZ5-8bvehko7vdqchWSDh8wqR5zzed3T2_Kvg6sHjt8HtMB93DWIuB7MOEr38Q3sCqRAmoIfdQuRbjuJ6fFnCxxcuqBC5MZm8eDyjmsM_4h4oE8VeW56Gzj4r2ak0xcnFOgzscoilVR8bN7kXf2wgFFhhFnMH/s1800/DSC_3036_ellen_bay_lower_grand_gulch_camp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rxcUOgBOhEvshk4UVzzguw8x7_SRZ5-8bvehko7vdqchWSDh8wqR5zzed3T2_Kvg6sHjt8HtMB93DWIuB7MOEr38Q3sCqRAmoIfdQuRbjuJ6fFnCxxcuqBC5MZm8eDyjmsM_4h4oE8VeW56Gzj4r2ak0xcnFOgzscoilVR8bN7kXf2wgFFhhFnMH/w400-h266/DSC_3036_ellen_bay_lower_grand_gulch_camp1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Bay enjoying camp.</i></div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswkg31n_-jYlasRivNK5CbB2ZvN0NHdNTEHjJItkkY2Pr0dWOtKYbcHtkbEmzzAcrrMJVqRXLc7Vn_mCETYoRmn0ldEKq8mhtc6l6I05D-ufKya-tXX2FzUu9m-G8uhsFhj6pX6ZhsFPoLaJ2YuU-fE4T0OVCsrR6_mMr69L1RLIPbid7E2rBx1ro/s1800/DSC_3053_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswkg31n_-jYlasRivNK5CbB2ZvN0NHdNTEHjJItkkY2Pr0dWOtKYbcHtkbEmzzAcrrMJVqRXLc7Vn_mCETYoRmn0ldEKq8mhtc6l6I05D-ufKya-tXX2FzUu9m-G8uhsFhj6pX6ZhsFPoLaJ2YuU-fE4T0OVCsrR6_mMr69L1RLIPbid7E2rBx1ro/w400-h266/DSC_3053_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lower Grand Gulch.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-4dbrx3j2d5Rb7dy6lcaNBsCU6Rv0xTXl359RLB2A65GkqpwO7Q4Lf7E8377-6DVeaskigEIlzhZWzQMLo2sMN8XUthDSW_stf7AuXKj_3UwS0OLKweo5z-jTpeCZ-RLeyAst1bPrQ7vd8Zat7fGkGH7qch4YeLPmD9Djsi-ahQLR9bB5xfHZ9wI/s1800/DSC_3051_spring_cottonwood_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-4dbrx3j2d5Rb7dy6lcaNBsCU6Rv0xTXl359RLB2A65GkqpwO7Q4Lf7E8377-6DVeaskigEIlzhZWzQMLo2sMN8XUthDSW_stf7AuXKj_3UwS0OLKweo5z-jTpeCZ-RLeyAst1bPrQ7vd8Zat7fGkGH7qch4YeLPmD9Djsi-ahQLR9bB5xfHZ9wI/w400-h266/DSC_3051_spring_cottonwood_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Spring cottonwood leaves.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzaV8VKWonOcU9FmPzG46Z0mWA970-nYj70T1xhSmxgYN65Dh7wrX6xTuhDrYL0aumQg11Dluw1iDZGHN-ep-YXSlbI51ssfsiH13Q03bJrwPcUBGE1JUlnFoAo1cpd9mU_wNG9wd0lmMUSc02CjGwnbS_tRAJLctXFcPZnaABzlOY0oUcDX8MEcm/s1800/DSC_3045_larry_bay_ellen_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzaV8VKWonOcU9FmPzG46Z0mWA970-nYj70T1xhSmxgYN65Dh7wrX6xTuhDrYL0aumQg11Dluw1iDZGHN-ep-YXSlbI51ssfsiH13Q03bJrwPcUBGE1JUlnFoAo1cpd9mU_wNG9wd0lmMUSc02CjGwnbS_tRAJLctXFcPZnaABzlOY0oUcDX8MEcm/w400-h266/DSC_3045_larry_bay_ellen_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen, Larry, and Bay in lower Grand Gulch.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5y4XvGNEEGBa_f6edRC7Pjpuudxng6uakNDTKrZfq2ecIKsiLHBRqXHc0Ibf8TEvolg0m3jJvpZD5iYTGCTP8cKIWN2BAcxFwb9AhT-bTIDZixx3aGKfisKm6Ot-EEQU0kUEdq6BwBcWn3Db8i4m2kcNd2e6aSBg5xMk53vjSPaYS4Y4Ve4ru0n_/s1800/DSC_3066_handprints_shaw_arch_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5y4XvGNEEGBa_f6edRC7Pjpuudxng6uakNDTKrZfq2ecIKsiLHBRqXHc0Ibf8TEvolg0m3jJvpZD5iYTGCTP8cKIWN2BAcxFwb9AhT-bTIDZixx3aGKfisKm6Ot-EEQU0kUEdq6BwBcWn3Db8i4m2kcNd2e6aSBg5xMk53vjSPaYS4Y4Ve4ru0n_/w400-h266/DSC_3066_handprints_shaw_arch_grand_gulch_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Hand prints.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFcFuBjhvS-LG4VceoJClszxwNcFh3CLChYCBc9_dRwErw2mAPnXPn-Zx2CH2odaYWbgQYALzR3y8KRlYDtPi1vQZi9PwPzYvlA8lhcNiW2dgny3wwBFN_82Ku4GSCClQPTkx3L3yAZbCRJj-peVleDQ7IWDwQsCKtgKHsQTwKwPlCk2JV6D20sCZ/s1800/DSC_3074_larry_bay_ellen_shaw_arch_petroglyphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFcFuBjhvS-LG4VceoJClszxwNcFh3CLChYCBc9_dRwErw2mAPnXPn-Zx2CH2odaYWbgQYALzR3y8KRlYDtPi1vQZi9PwPzYvlA8lhcNiW2dgny3wwBFN_82Ku4GSCClQPTkx3L3yAZbCRJj-peVleDQ7IWDwQsCKtgKHsQTwKwPlCk2JV6D20sCZ/w400-h266/DSC_3074_larry_bay_ellen_shaw_arch_petroglyphs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puzzling over petroglyphs on a boulder.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhlVMJWW6R4RIwZKm6TYv33UfKiCW-EV0QWKvAFoN8ozCBkjsTuwldSiRQdPczsodrpMP_RFecg2HqWbGbSjCl7luoy-VrEEKCYmiD2axhzP1nYO_IAxeFAlkoKCP02SnTGIn8sEhsL93MwQqWG8agA7CyLIUgnR7MCjlRy9DllNi2cEDOtfy0hBz/s1800/DSC_3082_grand_gulch_view_from_camp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhlVMJWW6R4RIwZKm6TYv33UfKiCW-EV0QWKvAFoN8ozCBkjsTuwldSiRQdPczsodrpMP_RFecg2HqWbGbSjCl7luoy-VrEEKCYmiD2axhzP1nYO_IAxeFAlkoKCP02SnTGIn8sEhsL93MwQqWG8agA7CyLIUgnR7MCjlRy9DllNi2cEDOtfy0hBz/w400-h266/DSC_3082_grand_gulch_view_from_camp2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lower Grand Gulch below one of our campsites.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IccZ-Hy4kB4csASWm1zb0JrGF9lxqIYB8G-t-WAvVqCEAR1SGfhKI1u9S1f3jcKrfpkXfWZRBG8r63hxZ6zMhJsBmEcLU-pAtMZW0mysjj2_T_-WaWSx_9Biynk0Or2_rLhBjapQRWSBYJuCnqMzKsI6emlYDLXdAevmSCLVlJskDEvMk3CRg5iB/s1800/DSC_3099_lower_grand_gulch_pourover_rappel_larry_ellen_bay_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1IccZ-Hy4kB4csASWm1zb0JrGF9lxqIYB8G-t-WAvVqCEAR1SGfhKI1u9S1f3jcKrfpkXfWZRBG8r63hxZ6zMhJsBmEcLU-pAtMZW0mysjj2_T_-WaWSx_9Biynk0Or2_rLhBjapQRWSBYJuCnqMzKsI6emlYDLXdAevmSCLVlJskDEvMk3CRg5iB/w400-h266/DSC_3099_lower_grand_gulch_pourover_rappel_larry_ellen_bay_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Larry rappelling off the pour-over on our third day out with Ellen and Bay waiting above. This was safer and easier than exposed dirt traversing.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gu2ItjBN-toItOuGTQLSkFplvC7iPo0zL5zNdoi8eGXhELMXB-BWjC7OC6iDUYMcUSfYCpXBz7Sf_f-CK-tJDAlSMWe74Ys3xVRjzwSHTr9Uuh1w4Q20PsHLeIzhKCL_bEN_BnT5rxlyRi7z-hjMPeyeasNKdu8hIOX2SyD0l1eUb_5AaRRJIA87/s1800/DSC_3113_ellen_bay_larry_san_juan_river_traverse_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gu2ItjBN-toItOuGTQLSkFplvC7iPo0zL5zNdoi8eGXhELMXB-BWjC7OC6iDUYMcUSfYCpXBz7Sf_f-CK-tJDAlSMWe74Ys3xVRjzwSHTr9Uuh1w4Q20PsHLeIzhKCL_bEN_BnT5rxlyRi7z-hjMPeyeasNKdu8hIOX2SyD0l1eUb_5AaRRJIA87/w400-h266/DSC_3113_ellen_bay_larry_san_juan_river_traverse_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>L to R: Ellen, Bay, and Larry at the beginning of the straightforward but arduous traverse along the San Juan River from Grand Gulch to Slickhorn Canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS284BCLBSSQ2sq0jMdVDgYjCrl5vCuZmmVCQpyI38lqdoGWAUdri7nbYhFtaF7WramlopHOTGyTYz7OYokF-2wO687aAfLP_O4Cgou4SjIsDLYG8CPWl2PTNrz0QbxaSoL4_he_ZnwDLOI6jfNVvXKJeNzbEAsq6XAIVzXP-h6v8PP8_e07-12OKO/s1800/DSC_3121_larry_bay_san_juan_river_traverse_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS284BCLBSSQ2sq0jMdVDgYjCrl5vCuZmmVCQpyI38lqdoGWAUdri7nbYhFtaF7WramlopHOTGyTYz7OYokF-2wO687aAfLP_O4Cgou4SjIsDLYG8CPWl2PTNrz0QbxaSoL4_he_ZnwDLOI6jfNVvXKJeNzbEAsq6XAIVzXP-h6v8PP8_e07-12OKO/w400-h266/DSC_3121_larry_bay_san_juan_river_traverse_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Resting in the hot sun mid-traverse.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9KLXuSzTEtiEKH_zlyIIjOB-K2EYTexl_bC4ETWqx5Qe2NRUBQm_plIIgMP2x5LBqIKcr9mFekiZKBPE3FTRuuWItS7ioOf8cfO8Zut7k3kvT9HPBf4STzsfjypm5TH4nK7ccW_2rkHAWuwX5w8r0lVEBFICxzLCFOJNjTdQm4WMLqraS_V1mvl4/s1800/DSC_3133_lower_slickhorn_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9KLXuSzTEtiEKH_zlyIIjOB-K2EYTexl_bC4ETWqx5Qe2NRUBQm_plIIgMP2x5LBqIKcr9mFekiZKBPE3FTRuuWItS7ioOf8cfO8Zut7k3kvT9HPBf4STzsfjypm5TH4nK7ccW_2rkHAWuwX5w8r0lVEBFICxzLCFOJNjTdQm4WMLqraS_V1mvl4/w400-h266/DSC_3133_lower_slickhorn_day4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Enjoying lower Slickhorn on the fourth day.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3d57S-GYzgY89uHvNi1cSnzmYjGY0F-1ZpJyIHmkQeLa05STJkfQSJzgHMBapQlhFp_5d22-QwZWO3rfNesaNe1qUEzCtnAIYyxKPPQqzJP-ydSOfTV9GQVjCWRllWq192G_dZKXUNLJ6tXv8yGGLNWBWHkmXhHqArtGNJ_AERH2-NNDwfJJjYYu/s1800/DSC_3141_ellen_bay_slickhorn_day5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3d57S-GYzgY89uHvNi1cSnzmYjGY0F-1ZpJyIHmkQeLa05STJkfQSJzgHMBapQlhFp_5d22-QwZWO3rfNesaNe1qUEzCtnAIYyxKPPQqzJP-ydSOfTV9GQVjCWRllWq192G_dZKXUNLJ6tXv8yGGLNWBWHkmXhHqArtGNJ_AERH2-NNDwfJJjYYu/w400-h266/DSC_3141_ellen_bay_slickhorn_day5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Bay in Slickhorn Canyon.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pxxjmINiOoy5ZJ2XNJEhXAAqILCQLjproMWayQyCDGG8QNnTKMQmCGgaVFfOQvyvOneutSxTeHr2FroUubl-yAv3s4BPLIPGzqcnvJLU2K0vYPc0kSzKIgg1M0wIRVNuZx9sLBGT4xmEbDAGtu5pDkOelWqHwFiODQzfOpgPUTvc-4rUUOxp_COf/s1800/DSC_3150_granaries_slickhorn4_log_kiva_ruin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pxxjmINiOoy5ZJ2XNJEhXAAqILCQLjproMWayQyCDGG8QNnTKMQmCGgaVFfOQvyvOneutSxTeHr2FroUubl-yAv3s4BPLIPGzqcnvJLU2K0vYPc0kSzKIgg1M0wIRVNuZx9sLBGT4xmEbDAGtu5pDkOelWqHwFiODQzfOpgPUTvc-4rUUOxp_COf/w400-h266/DSC_3150_granaries_slickhorn4_log_kiva_ruin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Granaries.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJnrXgI-bzEkLYWQu5iN-Bu96Xwf6rQXlPWrGxCQLvPaK2EqlFQ_5ycLkzqKCkbiawE36mGC9rFOxAx7Dqi4uMB_EL5AdlLeZIq5ciy2tvhVgS8dovBtdAkBWJISrSMf9m5uxfSsFZdI8vKtLm4cMYgZtxRngWQufH0C-ZozUKVxeDcxf8NiLoauN/s1800/DSC_3168_pictographs_slickhorn_near_slickhorn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJnrXgI-bzEkLYWQu5iN-Bu96Xwf6rQXlPWrGxCQLvPaK2EqlFQ_5ycLkzqKCkbiawE36mGC9rFOxAx7Dqi4uMB_EL5AdlLeZIq5ciy2tvhVgS8dovBtdAkBWJISrSMf9m5uxfSsFZdI8vKtLm4cMYgZtxRngWQufH0C-ZozUKVxeDcxf8NiLoauN/w400-h266/DSC_3168_pictographs_slickhorn_near_slickhorn2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bird pictographs.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJtie3oF2jVefkJLADVrt2MjoBo_QCDjDEnaKCxv1CqcK2nmyK660P3D9B9RdVLA4lT8D2ddy-KeXwm2jZkDVY0hiYVjctMsATTqmyY1QmfjdXpKYtlqaPxexdWHhiM6GARUhJLB6T2VOh1NbKjTx8P-H8RoY_fiyVul2Fjd_4jdptTf6zKfgqbrQ/s1800/DSC_3185_ellen_slickhorn1_pourover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAJtie3oF2jVefkJLADVrt2MjoBo_QCDjDEnaKCxv1CqcK2nmyK660P3D9B9RdVLA4lT8D2ddy-KeXwm2jZkDVY0hiYVjctMsATTqmyY1QmfjdXpKYtlqaPxexdWHhiM6GARUhJLB6T2VOh1NbKjTx8P-H8RoY_fiyVul2Fjd_4jdptTf6zKfgqbrQ/w400-h266/DSC_3185_ellen_slickhorn1_pourover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><i>Ellen on the easy bypass around an even larger pour-over near the head of Slickhorn Canyon on our last day.</i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Logistics</b>: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotteries-and-permit-systems/utah/cedarmesa" target="_blank">Permits</a> are required for backpacking in Grand Gulch and Slickhorn. We left a car at the Slickhorn #1 trailhead and drove a second car to the Collins Spring trailhead to start the hike. There’s dispersed camping along the road into Collins Spring and near the Slickhorn trailhead (and all over Cedar Mesa) or you can stay at the paid campground at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm" target="_blank">Natural Bridges National Monument</a> (first come first served). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">The hike itself took us 5 days and 4 nights, enough time (but more is always better) for exploring ruins and art—we camped twice in lower Grand Gulch and twice in Slickhorn Canyon, finding ample water flowing in the main drainage in Grand Gulch and good water at all of our camps (spring 2022) in Slickhorn as well. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The main technical obstacle is the pour-over near the bottom of Grand Gulch, not far upcanyon from the San Juan River and described above. We carried a 65’ length of 9/16” climbing webbing (lighter than rope), one harness, and one rappel device and rappelled off a large cottonwood tree on the left side of the pour-off looking down canyon, passing the gear up for each person. That worked great, wasn’t scary, and was probably faster than lowering packs and sketching across the dirt cliff one-by-one. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The traverse from Grand Gulch to the mouth of Slickhorn is arduous but not technical--stay high on a bench coming out of Grand Gulch. There is a mile or so of boulder field side-hilling where we found an intermittent trail before gaining a nice bench that makes for easier hiking (though with some talus sections) and eventually wraps into Slickhorn. There is no water on the traverse (you are high above the river). Continue along the bench into Slickhorn. We camped in a small side drainage a mile or so up Slickhorn that was beautiful and running with clear water. The hike up Slickhorn from there to the trailhead was straightforward. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There is a very detailed trip description at <a href="https://doingmiles.com/2021-05-grand-gulch/" target="_blank">this website</a>.</p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-57108117652982579442022-12-05T15:49:00.000-08:002022-12-05T15:49:00.043-08:00Green River, Utah<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha17i7lj5-4ZiPQ1Qjkea9fdTA45iIRzSxynDJ7lOWfoOp7HS12JehbPEewbcgoU5-Kag-xneSrNoyazx9zuWeBcKZol8RnPE2cuiRKwq7wFQANwy4B-fWwcpinAbkeIyJDORqqn6EPDqqXyyjcDKiscbTOAUSt28T1X_-j_S1JhOt3GvxhaJfc3b9/s1800/DSC_3370_franks_pizza_green_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha17i7lj5-4ZiPQ1Qjkea9fdTA45iIRzSxynDJ7lOWfoOp7HS12JehbPEewbcgoU5-Kag-xneSrNoyazx9zuWeBcKZol8RnPE2cuiRKwq7wFQANwy4B-fWwcpinAbkeIyJDORqqn6EPDqqXyyjcDKiscbTOAUSt28T1X_-j_S1JhOt3GvxhaJfc3b9/w400-h266/DSC_3370_franks_pizza_green_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Frank's Pizza. Green River, Utah.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click on images to view larger)</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Last May (2022), Ellen and I rode (I did a lot of pushing) our mountain bikes with five friends for 170 miles down the spine of the San Rafael Swell to Capitol Reef. We convened before the trip in Green River, Utah and camped north of town at Swasey’s Beach, a sandy strand where the river exits Gray Canyon. The wind sandblasted the campground the night before our friends arrived, but we spent time in town before the windstorm buying food at the Melon Vine Food Store, visiting the John Wesley Powell Museum, looking for a good milkshake, and wandering through wide, mostly empty streets in stark sunshine.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsL-6AjUvQCZdBSrt9o8rtKNI5QtunhnDDSyKA8gHrqk0I16oE8Ja3CxQ9NNzqK9zuxwXolJHRoNdFxXOQIoFxaA0B3FN4q1FBWPzUOsrbVVvjd_B5l38UQiBq8wrFzB2rsfTIFf5vX917n4oUVdZ6TAfCht4UOjCfjUC2QPpgZQGVM2LNizmhs7v/s1800/DSC_3353_swaseys_beach_windstorm_van.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsL-6AjUvQCZdBSrt9o8rtKNI5QtunhnDDSyKA8gHrqk0I16oE8Ja3CxQ9NNzqK9zuxwXolJHRoNdFxXOQIoFxaA0B3FN4q1FBWPzUOsrbVVvjd_B5l38UQiBq8wrFzB2rsfTIFf5vX917n4oUVdZ6TAfCht4UOjCfjUC2QPpgZQGVM2LNizmhs7v/w400-h266/DSC_3353_swaseys_beach_windstorm_van.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our camp at Swasey's Beach Campground as the sandstorm gathered.</i></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Green River was originally a ferry crossing, but now it is known for it's melons, a minor hub for river runners, and a gas stop for people passing by on I-70. While not necessarily depressed, the town isn't thriving. Many older buildings are closed up and vintage hotels are shuttered and posted with no trespassing signs, having lost their business to chain lodging closer to the freeway. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After grocery shopping, I enjoyed photographing nearby in the bright sun, usually less appealing to me than gentler light, but somehow fitting in a stark, scrappy, overexposed desert town. The scenes reminded me of photographers whose work I come back to again and again, <a href="http://stephenshore.net/photographs/uncommon/index.php?page=1&menu=photographs" target="_blank">Stephen Shore</a> and <a href="http://egglestonartfoundation.org" target="_blank">William Eggleston</a>, pioneers of color images, often of mundane sites, captured in ways that infuse them with meaning. Eudora Welty said of Eggleston’s work that “<i>no subject is fuller of implications than the mundane world</i>,” and perhaps there is truth to that. Shore’s images have been described as “<i>bleak but lyrical</i>” and his style as <i>laconic</i> even though it has a lot to say. <a href="https://www.sallymann.com" target="_blank">Sally Mann</a>, another photographer, says in her excellent memoir "<a href="https://www.sallymann.com/new-page-2" target="_blank">Hold Still</a>", "<i>It is easier for me to take ten good pictures in an airplane bathroom than in the gardens at Versailles</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Photographs draw attention to places that might otherwise be overlooked . </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0v7_TlwoOYL7Zy5R1KJKx-Cf8hZKEJ2DyFncfmtIIclxv7k-TuCuvjj8gQuQX7uHWaZrAoHUXj4lRIBQ0vU2Lf_WIB3gPIxkwpHJwBYo9HpJ18l5aihyGIiWkzBMIDFPQm-N2ZXDFa8O36oE2xOzxw4keOKAbZVzck6a1Yomd3nqqezJ_G2y3-3Pj/s1800/DSC_3358_bookcliff_lodge_green_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0v7_TlwoOYL7Zy5R1KJKx-Cf8hZKEJ2DyFncfmtIIclxv7k-TuCuvjj8gQuQX7uHWaZrAoHUXj4lRIBQ0vU2Lf_WIB3gPIxkwpHJwBYo9HpJ18l5aihyGIiWkzBMIDFPQm-N2ZXDFa8O36oE2xOzxw4keOKAbZVzck6a1Yomd3nqqezJ_G2y3-3Pj/w400-h266/DSC_3358_bookcliff_lodge_green_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Book Cliff Lodge. Green River, Utah.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYGdBb_7vv8a7PcDeuXb3bnPRdPMB9nrLRa-t9YrW_8KfX65btWlg_KeYXqCdmb8SRz_ZhLQoHJXHhyhNPR7M_2EiPf13Qzd-i8xWuWvIRjSkLK6SpAXxFsChTidfWjLD5tWb0lViTLMXmVOXWw_GFDG_nogTgMG5B6VOX5L1EE_RkQwY-cOtP7JK/s1800/DSC_3365_world_peace_green_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYGdBb_7vv8a7PcDeuXb3bnPRdPMB9nrLRa-t9YrW_8KfX65btWlg_KeYXqCdmb8SRz_ZhLQoHJXHhyhNPR7M_2EiPf13Qzd-i8xWuWvIRjSkLK6SpAXxFsChTidfWjLD5tWb0lViTLMXmVOXWw_GFDG_nogTgMG5B6VOX5L1EE_RkQwY-cOtP7JK/w400-h266/DSC_3365_world_peace_green_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>World Peace.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErCgwUEHB4aqrghPYBlBGnuoIsYbIZI6KVMVQR6qO__yEcEtQj07_wtBfMpQF55J5fYGZR2SumViRIvqiDRY6ikveXKoecUFQmfQxB_6XMCNowZ93x4lS-Ne0Ddqod9tAzbR-SA5KUK3fh_G6JTGQeBTVPkf50xp_VQUwkWhYFa087yeyI7ahHgyX/s1800/DSC_3376_green_river_ut.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErCgwUEHB4aqrghPYBlBGnuoIsYbIZI6KVMVQR6qO__yEcEtQj07_wtBfMpQF55J5fYGZR2SumViRIvqiDRY6ikveXKoecUFQmfQxB_6XMCNowZ93x4lS-Ne0Ddqod9tAzbR-SA5KUK3fh_G6JTGQeBTVPkf50xp_VQUwkWhYFa087yeyI7ahHgyX/w400-h266/DSC_3376_green_river_ut.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Beer.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAQkAUtrcZ9Hg4byPl7RO29MNjXMoM8JfsbFWi7BFH-QI_ZoOa4AT1zAcExqP3SD3iKbJHMpZgEFgjhwFAZilMpCndzEaqB7ZslGDGQfam0Kjor_h_EaUub_8ols4BgI9B33tCsNVFxaZhRpNcWMpUSL16sOjASRerh0IXfTPfuhr_Yov6id5Ep1J/s1800/DSC_3363_green_river_ut_hotel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAQkAUtrcZ9Hg4byPl7RO29MNjXMoM8JfsbFWi7BFH-QI_ZoOa4AT1zAcExqP3SD3iKbJHMpZgEFgjhwFAZilMpCndzEaqB7ZslGDGQfam0Kjor_h_EaUub_8ols4BgI9B33tCsNVFxaZhRpNcWMpUSL16sOjASRerh0IXfTPfuhr_Yov6id5Ep1J/w400-h266/DSC_3363_green_river_ut_hotel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Hotel.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwRq7J6h8Z1LPI6mpow3kwp8IUpf8hH_gZ5tPwUYIG0KtBYTNeOJnReJT78PRzioS40ivYuf_drbQgmLWrSKHjQVwI2svfYMvOFySlKDNyd5iEpGed791KP2FSijAn6lk3T85AgY6Txx9kS5R3DscG6YxFnoEBSksMsOpKooa9Yh-vAN0zAteKRO2/s1800/DSC_3366_cut_and_curl_green_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwRq7J6h8Z1LPI6mpow3kwp8IUpf8hH_gZ5tPwUYIG0KtBYTNeOJnReJT78PRzioS40ivYuf_drbQgmLWrSKHjQVwI2svfYMvOFySlKDNyd5iEpGed791KP2FSijAn6lk3T85AgY6Txx9kS5R3DscG6YxFnoEBSksMsOpKooa9Yh-vAN0zAteKRO2/w400-h266/DSC_3366_cut_and_curl_green_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Cut and Curl.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcd0kd7PrR6usGPCFgFGY3eSwq0VU1CtI2RL_oWOYJeuU6bEfxBikakg4KHFLPOG-8fCaHfVtHaHUNWM2_7fUxOAUHc9dfIGvU53m1Ze0BU_xFQzHPoXa96zfsYC4Y97QSIH2YnrnOC7A2W_Rk0jKkW2Osxkkg9l9whtQKNLm5zXRTLwbvrlfLamQR/s1800/DSC_3374_bar_green_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcd0kd7PrR6usGPCFgFGY3eSwq0VU1CtI2RL_oWOYJeuU6bEfxBikakg4KHFLPOG-8fCaHfVtHaHUNWM2_7fUxOAUHc9dfIGvU53m1Ze0BU_xFQzHPoXa96zfsYC4Y97QSIH2YnrnOC7A2W_Rk0jKkW2Osxkkg9l9whtQKNLm5zXRTLwbvrlfLamQR/w400-h266/DSC_3374_bar_green_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Bar.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_zK5xWUB4soT62LnSoCnYm3sPBdVhEFaEZvOUPxYCLyij24EIJePAdDkgUc1_4GEPCg317Cb61Ya9hyWd92lWWjXd6VEM6k3I7jT0Ix4XApSKd73aAoqDXi19jX7oy-LNmbJ0o77k-ZO9fnNI1DHCzrlmCKishO4kP2eRdowaA7ggSuOzS4thwMh/s1800/DSC_3367_green_river_ut.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_zK5xWUB4soT62LnSoCnYm3sPBdVhEFaEZvOUPxYCLyij24EIJePAdDkgUc1_4GEPCg317Cb61Ya9hyWd92lWWjXd6VEM6k3I7jT0Ix4XApSKd73aAoqDXi19jX7oy-LNmbJ0o77k-ZO9fnNI1DHCzrlmCKishO4kP2eRdowaA7ggSuOzS4thwMh/w400-h266/DSC_3367_green_river_ut.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Green River and the San Rafael Swell.</i></div><br /><i><br /><br /><br /><br /></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-15665789233448852272022-11-23T08:11:00.002-08:002022-12-31T10:27:52.438-08:00Packrafting: Boquillas Canyon in Big Bend National Park<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu-MpUavexBlsJElvCwjfyNqAtc4WvdSs-2q1lLX-jqmF2P-2XOCAbBaprcgr9Spi6BF7dBA9ls3GmSSr_615Uf0SjfpYUQSIFnYEIsTLU0GErFLLOTYlYnpXUbeC6E-PuIP6whyQlIDR3JUZxnPjDXCEym7MP9T3t6M5OwsGvF9d2uBjoeHNQ3q5/s1800/DSC_2858_road_to_heath_ranch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu-MpUavexBlsJElvCwjfyNqAtc4WvdSs-2q1lLX-jqmF2P-2XOCAbBaprcgr9Spi6BF7dBA9ls3GmSSr_615Uf0SjfpYUQSIFnYEIsTLU0GErFLLOTYlYnpXUbeC6E-PuIP6whyQlIDR3JUZxnPjDXCEym7MP9T3t6M5OwsGvF9d2uBjoeHNQ3q5/w400-h266/DSC_2858_road_to_heath_ranch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Texas Highway 2627 heading south to the Heath Ranch.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In February (2022), well into a long drought, the Rio Grande trickled through Boquillas Canyon, the limestone defile defining the U.S.-Mexico border and the southeast boundary of Big Bend National Park; later in the year it dried up altogether. The river emerges from the deep canyon into dry scrubby ranchland, eventually passing under a barricaded bridge blocking passage between the Heath Ranch, where Ellen and I took-out at the end of a three-day packraft trip, and the abandoned town of La Linda in Mexico, where a few deteriorating homes and a church remain. Russell Johnson, whose parents own the ranch, told me that as a kid he often crossed the bridge with friends to explore La Linda, but these days the Mexican <i>Federales</i> are too scary, so he stays on the U.S side, driving river shuttles for people like us and working to make the ranch into a destination for river runners. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgN6psgKKPK7QmL_ip4TNm9Ly9BmZ8iKzXc1P6TXVZcu7ld7cwtcbgB8T2pNPuuTckvwwLqF0UrDmIklbRzHlMrl2HFh_BnGcrWD_b6w3FHAtauXYV4gSpfg_i8D0i4ZD8JxQyZMOd9V19bgwDfXKMJCrfRvcyBq641D1FVJtc2KG-Uf96b4ExaYm/s1800/DSC03855_ellen_boquillas_canyon_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgN6psgKKPK7QmL_ip4TNm9Ly9BmZ8iKzXc1P6TXVZcu7ld7cwtcbgB8T2pNPuuTckvwwLqF0UrDmIklbRzHlMrl2HFh_BnGcrWD_b6w3FHAtauXYV4gSpfg_i8D0i4ZD8JxQyZMOd9V19bgwDfXKMJCrfRvcyBq641D1FVJtc2KG-Uf96b4ExaYm/w400-h266/DSC03855_ellen_boquillas_canyon_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen in her packraft after exiting Boquillas Canyon. The metal fire pan is required by the park service even if you don't intend to have fires.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We’d launched our packrafts about 35 miles upstream at the Rio Grande Village, a tourist enclave in the park, battling a ferocious headwind with a handful of other boaters, all clinging to vegetation to keep from being blown back to the put-in. Flowing at about 70 cfs, less than half of the recommended <i>minimum</i> of 150, the current was too sluggish to overcome the gale, and it was all we could do to paddle the first few miles past the Mexican village of Boquillas Del Carmen to the mouth of the canyon where we’d hoped that the limestone cliffs would provide some shelter; instead, the wind blew harder, funneling through the gap. We huddled there for an hour or so, hiding from the wind in the tamarisk and checking out the collection of items left on the ground for sale by Mexican villagers from Boquillas, relying on the honor system for payment. The blowing sand stung our faces when the wind gusted, and eventually we convinced ourselves that we could make progress. Back in our boats paddling frantically between gusts, we fought our way to a cold windy campsite among thorny sweet acacia trees thick with their puffy orange flowers. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62vd52FzG17LhkaRZU6D4LI_SpEjCLzwobrn_os0-6Y5_VYoer_YsGD72yngKyOx-VTR29mw59gcYOR8M48e9vSTTS_PVa77WMd4cpiSym7wojjt0Gi_2mApFqngpLwF2oxnolRUe_kV2hmazesADE2GE8Aiz1Illr5O3sEQVaTrSmHAW2AxGXaKu/s1800/DSC03796_rio_grande_village_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62vd52FzG17LhkaRZU6D4LI_SpEjCLzwobrn_os0-6Y5_VYoer_YsGD72yngKyOx-VTR29mw59gcYOR8M48e9vSTTS_PVa77WMd4cpiSym7wojjt0Gi_2mApFqngpLwF2oxnolRUe_kV2hmazesADE2GE8Aiz1Illr5O3sEQVaTrSmHAW2AxGXaKu/w400-h266/DSC03796_rio_grande_village_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Packing for the trip at our campsite in Rio Grande Village.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJ0iIVL0NUGSHNqHngMgRbiredR3FTaC0qbe3WvpN3PEpwlyR7RKBNuvS5r9-FE92fNL4MBSGSmVFA_RqH_Ytr1yXGfYHB0_G6M5Eoui0CJpAKZYVfr3W8lqozgMUzGF97veg2UaClf_F1SX1Fx2JWlVfiMIfcFTTgWxYjFHin3D1bgqCreXDWXJN/s1800/DSC03797_ellen_rio_grande_village_put-in.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJ0iIVL0NUGSHNqHngMgRbiredR3FTaC0qbe3WvpN3PEpwlyR7RKBNuvS5r9-FE92fNL4MBSGSmVFA_RqH_Ytr1yXGfYHB0_G6M5Eoui0CJpAKZYVfr3W8lqozgMUzGF97veg2UaClf_F1SX1Fx2JWlVfiMIfcFTTgWxYjFHin3D1bgqCreXDWXJN/w400-h266/DSC03797_ellen_rio_grande_village_put-in.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rigging boats at the put-in. Dog in stroller is someone else's interested observer.</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmV5p7ofGNANEQ4LP9Vi99EyOjB4yJQ1LAJVBiGizFLkxkJ7eeRVKgHqc5Xg5PF0FH6dXGM-U0umg0TKwzJ6DjwHWE4gemvnrxWSfc1ZESd0saxQJb6BQDXAozxVb2_YZIz8WN3BOaRT8V6hhDevCJkUJa48ANaW3FuMJpCvzmmF4c8usqGu4IlqE/s1800/DSC03799_ellen_rio_grande_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmV5p7ofGNANEQ4LP9Vi99EyOjB4yJQ1LAJVBiGizFLkxkJ7eeRVKgHqc5Xg5PF0FH6dXGM-U0umg0TKwzJ6DjwHWE4gemvnrxWSfc1ZESd0saxQJb6BQDXAozxVb2_YZIz8WN3BOaRT8V6hhDevCJkUJa48ANaW3FuMJpCvzmmF4c8usqGu4IlqE/w400-h266/DSC03799_ellen_rio_grande_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen briefly enjoying relatively calm paddling before the maelstrom hit.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroP9Mghevj3JMidC8nv5WJgfRjth271SgIdzlffA26VBG9wNv-wsQnq3ExDFrKNINAh5lQYKztrqMgUxz7ldwAerx0oPj2oy9WkgF9oqkH4rsnk0HNYh3ipkBObGJ1SoRURmquuHwUdywv79sAnYwbNJ9RjXQP0EHNpXhgLVW2pAriXpawpZq1IK1/s1800/DSC03800_canoeist_fighting_wind_boquillas_mouth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroP9Mghevj3JMidC8nv5WJgfRjth271SgIdzlffA26VBG9wNv-wsQnq3ExDFrKNINAh5lQYKztrqMgUxz7ldwAerx0oPj2oy9WkgF9oqkH4rsnk0HNYh3ipkBObGJ1SoRURmquuHwUdywv79sAnYwbNJ9RjXQP0EHNpXhgLVW2pAriXpawpZq1IK1/w400-h266/DSC03800_canoeist_fighting_wind_boquillas_mouth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Other paddlers hoping for strength in numbers against the wind near the mouth of the canyon.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbi2f_pHi7pqBdlYt65jU8hAahg-m41K-QzjxrOdOG1YQAnAPcou3HIVy5ZmJxYY8n7m0BHolNorJxv7QVxA8APlD_dPuOhJvw1JxTx1HKN0cOWEq0c9LPo9Yw41aW17Ix62ExHOLzffsnuYGlhSB0hu2QU0-SXdWDkLw8TVoUsY6dyEks2tbeQk0/s1800/DSC03808_sale_items_from_mexican_village.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbi2f_pHi7pqBdlYt65jU8hAahg-m41K-QzjxrOdOG1YQAnAPcou3HIVy5ZmJxYY8n7m0BHolNorJxv7QVxA8APlD_dPuOhJvw1JxTx1HKN0cOWEq0c9LPo9Yw41aW17Ix62ExHOLzffsnuYGlhSB0hu2QU0-SXdWDkLw8TVoUsY6dyEks2tbeQk0/w400-h266/DSC03808_sale_items_from_mexican_village.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Items for sale by villagers from Boquillas del Carmen. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxWfhaA17GkDI5hIkWPoruoXua40-NtJP23jJsvseNyFrrXYNvS4v252-sUy7Upo2c6KIt1i1PIn3peRaxNed9CD03ryu6NujGubdSMy2BcBuv1fIefzRem82eFoyj6O4xO8h67E-i2zoZklv6-aN7G3OEMbnl9NuCOc5EDN71eQDl1tP37Z3Nw6Q/s1800/DSC03809_mouth_of_boquillas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxWfhaA17GkDI5hIkWPoruoXua40-NtJP23jJsvseNyFrrXYNvS4v252-sUy7Upo2c6KIt1i1PIn3peRaxNed9CD03ryu6NujGubdSMy2BcBuv1fIefzRem82eFoyj6O4xO8h67E-i2zoZklv6-aN7G3OEMbnl9NuCOc5EDN71eQDl1tP37Z3Nw6Q/w400-h266/DSC03809_mouth_of_boquillas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The canyon mouth where limestone cliffs funneled the wind.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp461_GSjl8y2mXqOy7O_KWH5R5eSQyJoAWgrTQlRHmzkyRRdR2jvyfYY91l9UfZx_qmU8bW0dsIzNppp9xSTxi5n6Ixjc8la-_clpVlDeDZWNMP0u3pYhJ7mzG2q0von4BrZ-mzjIokvIQYc8IWy-GhESflX61GLdv8kDOwQNc3-6AnvejvV-Bdld/s1800/DSC03815_ellen_boquillas_camp1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp461_GSjl8y2mXqOy7O_KWH5R5eSQyJoAWgrTQlRHmzkyRRdR2jvyfYY91l9UfZx_qmU8bW0dsIzNppp9xSTxi5n6Ixjc8la-_clpVlDeDZWNMP0u3pYhJ7mzG2q0von4BrZ-mzjIokvIQYc8IWy-GhESflX61GLdv8kDOwQNc3-6AnvejvV-Bdld/w400-h266/DSC03815_ellen_boquillas_camp1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen feeling excited about camping in a thorny, windy, cold place.</i></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The rest of the trip was warmer, calmer, and less eventful. The few rapids were inconsequential in low flow, and the challenge was butt-scooting our rafts across shallows rather than negotiating rapids, minimal even at normal flows. Boquillas Canyon is spectacular. Limestone walls rise hundreds of feet above the river, riddled with inaccessible alcoves. Side canyons invite exploration and towers beg to be climbed, though rock quality is rumored to be poor. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Gn8TqjDrJtiHcLn4nyAqOBkKe41Uc6OgOznERjnVOaBYP5Vv93UdTwh-IpSLBRSeFqM2AONi50tNNbgi5cE09OwcAPgpmTB4RcNnYPIutC8rmqbLdE_8AusvKIP2h5Jo-c3AgWKT_rzeNON8XxEej1CElkFDjH49EpTF6mZU8kEi8HYSZlhh7E9c/s1800/DSC03818_boquillas_canyon_day2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Gn8TqjDrJtiHcLn4nyAqOBkKe41Uc6OgOznERjnVOaBYP5Vv93UdTwh-IpSLBRSeFqM2AONi50tNNbgi5cE09OwcAPgpmTB4RcNnYPIutC8rmqbLdE_8AusvKIP2h5Jo-c3AgWKT_rzeNON8XxEej1CElkFDjH49EpTF6mZU8kEi8HYSZlhh7E9c/w266-h400/DSC03818_boquillas_canyon_day2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Heading downriver on day 2.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EENZfgoTH-TBhsWNaeGpxdkSoi_5zCV-uwWBytwhAwgKsT-UZNjhxGgEvDISiyuBRPmZHp31mZHFQAHGxkmcAXTcbk9EcJhVa8WGGG9oLDMXN9A0GbU-efZPs8xOQCYDqazcHFQmA6pe-k4YeRQFRLhSC_aCeOu1D1ejl8vfjSMy0h9hberaQnWv/s1800/DSC03821_boquillas_canyon_day2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9EENZfgoTH-TBhsWNaeGpxdkSoi_5zCV-uwWBytwhAwgKsT-UZNjhxGgEvDISiyuBRPmZHp31mZHFQAHGxkmcAXTcbk9EcJhVa8WGGG9oLDMXN9A0GbU-efZPs8xOQCYDqazcHFQmA6pe-k4YeRQFRLhSC_aCeOu1D1ejl8vfjSMy0h9hberaQnWv/w400-h266/DSC03821_boquillas_canyon_day2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen on day 2.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbxj9UXMBpLZVAl260hySU1hfTvFLRBaaJyKw5ERtyXmovi_q6rBYwWAA020TjmC5pgdIB31lvmRCJkAEf3Go1Rmlp-8C8XZfblO2QOi2PkH4WrWOYVbOMoSROgNjKbHShTf8HtSNjYl9VPtZmbq_6pRU0mYmdXHBEmoT4F8HJlZpolk4ilTT1ZVF/s1800/DSC03824_boquillas_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbxj9UXMBpLZVAl260hySU1hfTvFLRBaaJyKw5ERtyXmovi_q6rBYwWAA020TjmC5pgdIB31lvmRCJkAEf3Go1Rmlp-8C8XZfblO2QOi2PkH4WrWOYVbOMoSROgNjKbHShTf8HtSNjYl9VPtZmbq_6pRU0mYmdXHBEmoT4F8HJlZpolk4ilTT1ZVF/w400-h266/DSC03824_boquillas_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Boquillas Canyon on day 2.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcr6PoIlEBE5Rmhqv-dWZhPhO9d-YZ2BI1woGsBDZbarY-31CKT5OAe1AOhlubrY5rBGCvuopsaXTgzLlcmmBa1nmEvtM_hJeVCw0xiWM5tEtHgrul1rWT0Eeig10XN74k-FnrnLi1htNZf2UZidoxAN-jKbjQYBm9C_0JMVvMaXCa_EoY9-sHQUd1/s1800/DSC03828_big_bend_sliders.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcr6PoIlEBE5Rmhqv-dWZhPhO9d-YZ2BI1woGsBDZbarY-31CKT5OAe1AOhlubrY5rBGCvuopsaXTgzLlcmmBa1nmEvtM_hJeVCw0xiWM5tEtHgrul1rWT0Eeig10XN74k-FnrnLi1htNZf2UZidoxAN-jKbjQYBm9C_0JMVvMaXCa_EoY9-sHQUd1/w400-h266/DSC03828_big_bend_sliders.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Big Bend Sliders (turtles). We saw lots of these sunning themselves along the river.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAqz1PXfwXXhtiZuOQ1em_skse5jGmNMe__sEIho-FykcnHRWNMBb9Q7TvXDHxfdJOs5Pv5rCj8D7gKYVIB0b_i6ijXUIzpJ4DjcQWQ3z3b9Zd_qUBDLkW7oWM7AhWJHQ0zJn_OOllj5Oa8bUBPknj99AbDjAE1rR7vuScX-KlMu6sOXK0kGc8wIU/s1800/DSC03835_rabbit_ears_boquillas_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAqz1PXfwXXhtiZuOQ1em_skse5jGmNMe__sEIho-FykcnHRWNMBb9Q7TvXDHxfdJOs5Pv5rCj8D7gKYVIB0b_i6ijXUIzpJ4DjcQWQ3z3b9Zd_qUBDLkW7oWM7AhWJHQ0zJn_OOllj5Oa8bUBPknj99AbDjAE1rR7vuScX-KlMu6sOXK0kGc8wIU/w266-h400/DSC03835_rabbit_ears_boquillas_canyon.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rabbit Ears Spire in the lower part of the canyon. Climbed? Unclimbed?</i></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We camped the second night where we could scramble up a steep sandy bank and find our way through thorny riparian vegetation to a broad bench grazed by Mexican horses and cattle. Two caballeros, smiling and waving, had splashed their horses across the Rio Grande in front of us earlier that day, unconcerned about the international border. At camp, a horse nibbled at our tent and spooked, surprised by the feel of lightweight fabric on its tongue.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWTCFyClOMSS2PDUjw_cD6SDj6ESB_CdwgY8ZycIQmhZ3u2gFhC6cdGaL5G5a0lGmtfDISa8tAN1s0JaHCv4POWJWuhHFIACqIwB7NXCo8qu-iBW-uoU8Tf5yRW2RZF4dUDa1kpwzKwcah6MWTIZHQTyOx_u57YrG7qsIoMCKK4k-7Axd5HgcL1GC/s1800/DSC03847_ellen_camp2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWTCFyClOMSS2PDUjw_cD6SDj6ESB_CdwgY8ZycIQmhZ3u2gFhC6cdGaL5G5a0lGmtfDISa8tAN1s0JaHCv4POWJWuhHFIACqIwB7NXCo8qu-iBW-uoU8Tf5yRW2RZF4dUDa1kpwzKwcah6MWTIZHQTyOx_u57YrG7qsIoMCKK4k-7Axd5HgcL1GC/w400-h266/DSC03847_ellen_camp2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Setting up our second camp.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl48aIm7FbVD2zc0IEiG6dd9X2Ei-AxHsGANggKtDpCyryUl5jPkyjMUTtHQHRZypJXpt-ASoPtNuWsGwgGcY22A-mCdBBdvd2EUsHN7ibpAGRl_7dErWurixlAmaRLNYAx--edKqNZjucDGP6YFyN1rt-blBZnUJw6-y3qFg2VOc-sVrjTSEXhEF/s1800/DSC03848_curious_horses_camp2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl48aIm7FbVD2zc0IEiG6dd9X2Ei-AxHsGANggKtDpCyryUl5jPkyjMUTtHQHRZypJXpt-ASoPtNuWsGwgGcY22A-mCdBBdvd2EUsHN7ibpAGRl_7dErWurixlAmaRLNYAx--edKqNZjucDGP6YFyN1rt-blBZnUJw6-y3qFg2VOc-sVrjTSEXhEF/w400-h266/DSC03848_curious_horses_camp2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Curious horses wondering if tents might be good to eat.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Low water boating has been the theme of our nascent packrafting experiences. On the John Day in Oregon in 2021 (earlier <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2021/11/packrafting-oregons-john-day-river.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">blog post</a>), there was enough water to float lazily along, but the small rapids were reduced to riffles, and route-finding was more of a challenge than pushy water. Later in the spring (April 2022) after Big Bend, we floated the Escalante from Fence Canyon to Coyote Gulch (blog post to come) at very low water and exhausted our already fading core muscles scooching the boats across gravel bars. While persistent drought in the southwest has more serious consequences than inconveniencing packrafters, one worries that the already small windows for floating desert rivers could close altogether.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NsTJRlLzz6EvZw0vF1xHK57HQ2-IEHPJShU7HCmNHmTqaiIPgtK5XaHa3xTgRmolUvaqlJdinTh3Ddr6S92geD0FmoNN_xFoerakcuiunKTN2rzhZEQnConXtZu5WWtlL_MzYL1cQvNyK41s_Kb7Ao3au2u0tKaEKeWc41k_aJYxsKxtHN4SprXN/s1800/DSC03826_ellen_boquillas_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NsTJRlLzz6EvZw0vF1xHK57HQ2-IEHPJShU7HCmNHmTqaiIPgtK5XaHa3xTgRmolUvaqlJdinTh3Ddr6S92geD0FmoNN_xFoerakcuiunKTN2rzhZEQnConXtZu5WWtlL_MzYL1cQvNyK41s_Kb7Ao3au2u0tKaEKeWc41k_aJYxsKxtHN4SprXN/w400-h266/DSC03826_ellen_boquillas_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Does the river end here? Not yet, but finding shallow passages around gravel bars was challenging.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-wMoNz4xte7XnRlF7WBZVs11p5bU7H1QnPPuXUS55Fmtst2snhcGdViu0abiPh62Xpq2-Tc9Yr_V_EXWHAxJCJFsm3--PxWBYy1mDe4XzbZ4CpTmVQNzmgF-bdXdlNWGDr7a46W31AzaKl1qtD_xybKghw1HDdlwPXC0zAeFzhpt3ay8mit4anJC/s1800/DSC03856_ellen_boquillas_canyon_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-wMoNz4xte7XnRlF7WBZVs11p5bU7H1QnPPuXUS55Fmtst2snhcGdViu0abiPh62Xpq2-Tc9Yr_V_EXWHAxJCJFsm3--PxWBYy1mDe4XzbZ4CpTmVQNzmgF-bdXdlNWGDr7a46W31AzaKl1qtD_xybKghw1HDdlwPXC0zAeFzhpt3ay8mit4anJC/w400-h266/DSC03856_ellen_boquillas_canyon_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen paddling in flat water after leaving the canyon. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-dT4Q8l17Qw_0BjfJXqWQNf3GFpPvfSFq7ePixPmFANnZoIWFzF1J0xvCIjCR4fMID5Oh3YYe_QjpLw8imln6xbFClYBBVISkLKZqLm9kGjElsOj53eF8o4-3ephMAMjeyvbB_oaRFKSMk8-vFS6ASY-r3coK1FPSjvLvwjzkBLUgdDLw0wjzkIn/s1800/DSC03859_ellen_lunch_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-dT4Q8l17Qw_0BjfJXqWQNf3GFpPvfSFq7ePixPmFANnZoIWFzF1J0xvCIjCR4fMID5Oh3YYe_QjpLw8imln6xbFClYBBVISkLKZqLm9kGjElsOj53eF8o4-3ephMAMjeyvbB_oaRFKSMk8-vFS6ASY-r3coK1FPSjvLvwjzkBLUgdDLw0wjzkIn/w400-h266/DSC03859_ellen_lunch_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lunch on the last day.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v9HVtluvIOFxI6rolr3t37xlMFfWyL1saRptPCZiuXDs1kxpzIO-LO4ioHIekRKf-os2xfMgmHnn8-jEtUxyQdMf6F_6gzZm6HSGdp36aWseUh4LI_slM9d3ATBNO6YmcRm4GMn9VuCaE6yv2Q47F6Z9AP8VmbZ_k6GWdRVjRKCzRL6_zfNnTYWq/s1800/DSC03861_boquillas_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v9HVtluvIOFxI6rolr3t37xlMFfWyL1saRptPCZiuXDs1kxpzIO-LO4ioHIekRKf-os2xfMgmHnn8-jEtUxyQdMf6F_6gzZm6HSGdp36aWseUh4LI_slM9d3ATBNO6YmcRm4GMn9VuCaE6yv2Q47F6Z9AP8VmbZ_k6GWdRVjRKCzRL6_zfNnTYWq/w400-h266/DSC03861_boquillas_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Still water.</i></div><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It was hot as I walked the two-track from the take-out, climbing over a locked gate and continuing up a long driveway to the Heath ranch to retrieve our van and borrow the gate key. Ellen stayed behind deflating rafts and organizing gear while a large group took-out and set up camp by the river. After an enthusiastic greeting by their friendly ranch dog, Russell and his mother offered us camping at the end of the seldom-used asphalt runway that extended from just north of their house up and over a hill and back down to a private level spot out of view of the ranch. Having chosen privacy over the river camp, we drove the runway to this surprisingly peaceful camp with views south into Mexico and north into Texas. After spreading our gear on the tarmac to dry, we cleaned up, cooked dinner, and enjoyed the warmth and fading light of a South Texas February day. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyfzIsRt9a0voR8JetVEer1msN2KoW1gudME6tE55MDrJFjd5K885FqMnvBtkCr6R8Ezb10044dTkZGoMTk7LvmP3KKPwDm2yiv8tf2XGslyTEuzwwzZCWBnw4MFXoAeXSkNIQEXV_mRJDq4OctKAb9FYKLX7c-Bz9uIIfKsoNPowuNaPIgmBgYrk/s1800/DSC_2862_heath_ranch_runway.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyfzIsRt9a0voR8JetVEer1msN2KoW1gudME6tE55MDrJFjd5K885FqMnvBtkCr6R8Ezb10044dTkZGoMTk7LvmP3KKPwDm2yiv8tf2XGslyTEuzwwzZCWBnw4MFXoAeXSkNIQEXV_mRJDq4OctKAb9FYKLX7c-Bz9uIIfKsoNPowuNaPIgmBgYrk/w400-h266/DSC_2862_heath_ranch_runway.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Drying gear on the Heath Ranch runway.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Memories of trips evolve until all that’s left are a few defining moments, sometimes surprisingly mundane compared to the adventure. That evening on the runway after the float is one of these for me. We sat in our camp chairs as the sun sank behind the ridge to our west and the air cooled. Mountain peaks in Mexico lit up for a few minutes against a darkening sky and a few stars appeared. It’s seldom the paddling or the hiking you think most about months after an adventure. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_dQYuupKyhtyVHTPIyj_FPHdzCEz7ls4ozH-NMnun59nW3hguQSP1EE3C_Nn1WdG32Y4SGeKxDxwqqLAPV0M11TVCmb88COiZ3b8xa2zPgQ8dh6vZiPi3x47rHxeCMP8qLjmfF3gfRwcQgifDpGRKQDOmEratl-AA4Nxm4cZHMlAlisApH4OPKEO/s1800/DSC_2872_runway_camp_heath_ranch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_dQYuupKyhtyVHTPIyj_FPHdzCEz7ls4ozH-NMnun59nW3hguQSP1EE3C_Nn1WdG32Y4SGeKxDxwqqLAPV0M11TVCmb88COiZ3b8xa2zPgQ8dh6vZiPi3x47rHxeCMP8qLjmfF3gfRwcQgifDpGRKQDOmEratl-AA4Nxm4cZHMlAlisApH4OPKEO/w400-h266/DSC_2872_runway_camp_heath_ranch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Our camp at the end of the trip.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi1bUAb2kCFZY3j9hpUIW9rxwfo8gs83ih6VtxqPg8hWxlUPkuk0DB2iiZ-BCLtt76XZ7Ut5ixvYFcWpBjvDBx7d3F-oLZQxy7Z72lfQwL2EYy3Mcr0JggzQqfr3scy6vEL68A1Ks2Ao9O30bVHuczOHACiOXnST4VwVZIJdsV80h0HWUWvbwjXlA/s1800/DSC_2875_heath_ranch_runway.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi1bUAb2kCFZY3j9hpUIW9rxwfo8gs83ih6VtxqPg8hWxlUPkuk0DB2iiZ-BCLtt76XZ7Ut5ixvYFcWpBjvDBx7d3F-oLZQxy7Z72lfQwL2EYy3Mcr0JggzQqfr3scy6vEL68A1Ks2Ao9O30bVHuczOHACiOXnST4VwVZIJdsV80h0HWUWvbwjXlA/w400-h266/DSC_2875_heath_ranch_runway.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The runway leading back to the Heath Ranch house.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Logistics:</b> A permit is required from the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/rigr/planyourvisit/boq_cyn.htm" target="_blank">Park Service</a> for the float. You must carry a metal fire pan and an extra paddle and life preserver, even if you aren’t building fires. Put-in just upstream from Rio Grande Village in the park and take-out at Heath Ranch about 10 miles east of the park—call the ranch for permission; they are very friendly and offer camping. Charge is $10/night for parking your vehicle at the ranch. Russell Johnson or his mother will probably do the shuttle—you pick them up at the ranch and drive back to the put-in with them. Then they drive your car back to the ranch, so plan on that time and gasoline for the shuttle (you can get gas in the park but it’s expensive). We bought a river guidebook from the <a href="https://bbnha.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=117&products_id=853" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Big Bend Natural History Association</a> but didn’t find it that helpful. There are two named rapids, both of which can be portaged. Camping isn’t too hard to find though as I said, the banks can be scrappy. You are asked to camp on the U.S. side. There’s more info from the park service at this <a href="https://www.nps.gov/rigr/planyourvisit/boq_cyn.htm" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">link</a>.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /> </p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-79067901956371317222022-11-15T15:11:00.002-08:002022-11-16T08:59:37.927-08:00What Rhymes with Route 20?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZeEgTAn0aiP6Oc55jJrR3h0e40xFc5MDwD6GUCbhHxU9Yz2ndaAo-LENfyP0lo1lOFz0bfnBH95bllA8wN0p_d2rKMB978fKnjcYYNXE_ew9MNRRqnXjFpVulPnvqBDM_2jMomtEnTbnaFWvbuwrfSx9ndTK83VBOh_1UFu_CCP4Ji98S0bz8N7J/s1800/DSC_4098_school_west_of_lusk3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZeEgTAn0aiP6Oc55jJrR3h0e40xFc5MDwD6GUCbhHxU9Yz2ndaAo-LENfyP0lo1lOFz0bfnBH95bllA8wN0p_d2rKMB978fKnjcYYNXE_ew9MNRRqnXjFpVulPnvqBDM_2jMomtEnTbnaFWvbuwrfSx9ndTK83VBOh_1UFu_CCP4Ji98S0bz8N7J/w400-h266/DSC_4098_school_west_of_lusk3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>School west of Lusk at dusk.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">You can get your kicks on Route 66, and Route 50 traverses enough desert in Nevada to be called “The Loneliest Road in America,” but other major U.S. highways either don’t rhyme well or are more social. In the U.S., coast-to-coast highway numbers end in “0”, increasing from north to south, but there are exceptions. U.S. 10 originally extended only from Detroit to Seattle, but it was considered important enough to earn its number. Many older routes have been subsumed by interstate highways, but you can still follow long stretches where small towns and remnants of 1950s motor culture mingle with newer development. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I spent a weekend photographing in Western Nebraska last January (2022) (see <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2022/02/photographing-nebraska-panhandle-in.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">blog post</a>), and a good deal of time last summer driving back and forth to the East Coast (<a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2022/09/hollowed-out.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">blog post</a>), avoiding freeways when I had enough time. Those trips piqued my interest, so Ed Sherline and I (see his excellent <a href="https://www.edsherlinephotography.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">photography</a> and Wind River <a href="https://www.windriverglaciers.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">rephotography project</a>) headed to Western Nebraska for a weekend in early November. We made our way east along Hwy 20 from near Glendo, Wyoming into the Nebraska sandhills to Valentine before turning south and then east towards home on Hwy. 26, itself a major route extending from Nebraska to Oregon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ed and I get out once or twice a year to shoot photos. It’s an opportunity to commiserate about politics, talk about trips we’ve done and trips we’d like to do, nerd-out about photography without boring our families, eat unhealthy food, and drink unhealthy drink. Even though we stop at the same places, we always come home with different images. The photographer <a href="https://davidduchemin.com/2022/08/what-gets-overlooked/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">David DuChemin</a> made the point in a recent blog post that even though “<i>it’s all been done</i>,” each of us brings a unique point of view to our photographs, something to strive for.<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R1zCnP0ye3NGDRwt07514qpgy19V-wg8sTHd3vt91UUO9zg9XepLQDzarDeWlvB7Lv8L4m8Xr8RLBd_J5EamKA049gyNj_fR__bF7wFCvLBtUcm8skwqiVAIncKqNSGM38PYhWCh3PpP3GVYuESguG0hd-0Ojb8uzJ1E43NfpeS2m-OzebSkHgGi/s1800/DSC_4068_shawnee_cafe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R1zCnP0ye3NGDRwt07514qpgy19V-wg8sTHd3vt91UUO9zg9XepLQDzarDeWlvB7Lv8L4m8Xr8RLBd_J5EamKA049gyNj_fR__bF7wFCvLBtUcm8skwqiVAIncKqNSGM38PYhWCh3PpP3GVYuESguG0hd-0Ojb8uzJ1E43NfpeS2m-OzebSkHgGi/w400-h266/DSC_4068_shawnee_cafe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shawnee, Wyoming cafe, Hwy. 20.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYUl5L4mnjBDDs49cy0vy1pFktIBHVKoPPU3BLMDrvoSq_xMJ_5Jubo5s82Pcgp020crpiQ5z8x9qc4f9RAx75ifHjMFvIZWldT-j1JqnPSuBnyhsHFy2Iun_zSjhVzXmMSmDiVgw-sbEhVCPj27R8I5PAGSTwJpMYeC0urGApC7P9byeYO9MgeZG/s1800/DSC_4079_trailer_west_of_lusk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYUl5L4mnjBDDs49cy0vy1pFktIBHVKoPPU3BLMDrvoSq_xMJ_5Jubo5s82Pcgp020crpiQ5z8x9qc4f9RAx75ifHjMFvIZWldT-j1JqnPSuBnyhsHFy2Iun_zSjhVzXmMSmDiVgw-sbEhVCPj27R8I5PAGSTwJpMYeC0urGApC7P9byeYO9MgeZG/w400-h266/DSC_4079_trailer_west_of_lusk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Abandoned trailer west of Lusk, Wyoming.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SNjtTDZqO8SeLzkoYqezqHeLQ6Hh6bip0-wrJYZcOOM4hFND37qEOLXLKfAB0iiJ3NdXmYnVTmzuUqUjGvDYyOpFfHLJ0MP7Ht3-Y6vLkUbZ7ghToheEHUK4ensuGpIE0Ncy-QkOjhWLmdLziTpPwg2c_EeNVGPgyRH_UkSULrYryT8VgUwP_kRg/s1800/DSC_4089_lost_springs_bar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SNjtTDZqO8SeLzkoYqezqHeLQ6Hh6bip0-wrJYZcOOM4hFND37qEOLXLKfAB0iiJ3NdXmYnVTmzuUqUjGvDYyOpFfHLJ0MP7Ht3-Y6vLkUbZ7ghToheEHUK4ensuGpIE0Ncy-QkOjhWLmdLziTpPwg2c_EeNVGPgyRH_UkSULrYryT8VgUwP_kRg/w400-h266/DSC_4089_lost_springs_bar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lost Bar, Lost Springs, Wyoming.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLW2UjMO1TgZWPCxc5reKa7fHq1NNJWpxcXaRgkrxnI3alykiLNab_lC74I0wAB36YL7NMKV_toAJtxaIJ1NeCsArWe19tCo9vSH-WGzfRI1y9suA-VOsEfAhpk3wsNM4ehAvQSq1fXSpAfTkewby4lUWFcIEkFMdATtdiD99ohA2bH9cEtge7yGD/s1800/DSC_4093_lost_springs_playground.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLW2UjMO1TgZWPCxc5reKa7fHq1NNJWpxcXaRgkrxnI3alykiLNab_lC74I0wAB36YL7NMKV_toAJtxaIJ1NeCsArWe19tCo9vSH-WGzfRI1y9suA-VOsEfAhpk3wsNM4ehAvQSq1fXSpAfTkewby4lUWFcIEkFMdATtdiD99ohA2bH9cEtge7yGD/w400-h266/DSC_4093_lost_springs_playground.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Playground, Lost Springs, Wyoming.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoKIvriuldTc5K_5q6GRx3LX9LuLn-FRRJqo6Zo3sM0qR_DwAK65d-Efr7icRwQ8pl0ltjSDpqQHrMNeJkpQPizml0cNP9XxOGVkt-iZ2OeLRjQ25235QPl21RkGjiwv3q9SQJMNk1cpFUAHK2deOvHWBp2eMWxHSAoTI8Hq6bVSEqyPINyoSSpBb/s1800/DSC_4103_old_garage_harrison_ne2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1800" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoKIvriuldTc5K_5q6GRx3LX9LuLn-FRRJqo6Zo3sM0qR_DwAK65d-Efr7icRwQ8pl0ltjSDpqQHrMNeJkpQPizml0cNP9XxOGVkt-iZ2OeLRjQ25235QPl21RkGjiwv3q9SQJMNk1cpFUAHK2deOvHWBp2eMWxHSAoTI8Hq6bVSEqyPINyoSSpBb/w400-h268/DSC_4103_old_garage_harrison_ne2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garage, Harrison, Nebraska.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPgeYgrYxDRslbLhIhJGS8HXDxO7x0Xb31LWrhT5QqdvKzXgboRnRmwxB4RGi7hl8qbkSJHnq5AjDszsUKJtroECVExpGLYklDEU2GgCYhQ9Emid5_hA199gN_Y64Zx_sjC3wlONXvlo6hHXQuSo9sfB8egLDlA6O0swnwcMlP55mo1uNck-9x9BC/s1800/DSC_4141_abandoned_house_east_of_harrison2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPgeYgrYxDRslbLhIhJGS8HXDxO7x0Xb31LWrhT5QqdvKzXgboRnRmwxB4RGi7hl8qbkSJHnq5AjDszsUKJtroECVExpGLYklDEU2GgCYhQ9Emid5_hA199gN_Y64Zx_sjC3wlONXvlo6hHXQuSo9sfB8egLDlA6O0swnwcMlP55mo1uNck-9x9BC/w400-h266/DSC_4141_abandoned_house_east_of_harrison2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Abandoned house east of Harrison, Nebraska, beside Hwy. 20.</i></div><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiY57B-AKppKb8H-sdJ96CQjQuxXEOLe6Wd1-bVoFMGwoNRELMEu1WuX1jKOsfJTFyAQOFXGp_0vxa_DAfFnRQsQjzXn3n1U3OeMf1gsMxAz_bLgnYta1C9U1sNpaG_JMwx9oIX-EAtQf8_YQRspssk7g4xC-G_ts0BXI4UeWkxJnrbJGV68_Jk1wG/s1800/DSC_4172_sunflower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiY57B-AKppKb8H-sdJ96CQjQuxXEOLe6Wd1-bVoFMGwoNRELMEu1WuX1jKOsfJTFyAQOFXGp_0vxa_DAfFnRQsQjzXn3n1U3OeMf1gsMxAz_bLgnYta1C9U1sNpaG_JMwx9oIX-EAtQf8_YQRspssk7g4xC-G_ts0BXI4UeWkxJnrbJGV68_Jk1wG/w400-h266/DSC_4172_sunflower.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sunflower along Hwy. 20, Western Nebraska.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pA320dJG92PMHpWIaENozUO-urAA8DE9fvLC8bEdxoRCBzFLFrDF4yN-Mztz1UKBxHytzoHA3W1-Cqes_Mk54s3vM4-zM736sNysoTVFRXfvm6AOUMkAdqTwYFTRaj6YlL8f9BlixOOxbKwJxjYh5iNETY_zTOwrDNNZ-c8xolwO4RgPnhoo5jaz/s1800/DSC_4179_building.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pA320dJG92PMHpWIaENozUO-urAA8DE9fvLC8bEdxoRCBzFLFrDF4yN-Mztz1UKBxHytzoHA3W1-Cqes_Mk54s3vM4-zM736sNysoTVFRXfvm6AOUMkAdqTwYFTRaj6YlL8f9BlixOOxbKwJxjYh5iNETY_zTOwrDNNZ-c8xolwO4RgPnhoo5jaz/w400-h266/DSC_4179_building.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Garage, Hwy. 20, Western Nebraska.</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH9cld4Zp--LlLmV8Pwb8bHjjCG4_wiG0wkoHS63d5_Yc-exP4j6wr9nnZFJC6-Slw_EE3DV1zXDiFc8R_68Alh_dYIBWbg34MdiJKAnEXhHedjgCKbiGIuxPGEABh-Sq0Cvq047cRmd_Ew1jWgN9QMrzr1ldbPHWYvWhfSBzWU1GQlvZsJO7PNqJ/s1800/DSC_4187_international_truck_detail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH9cld4Zp--LlLmV8Pwb8bHjjCG4_wiG0wkoHS63d5_Yc-exP4j6wr9nnZFJC6-Slw_EE3DV1zXDiFc8R_68Alh_dYIBWbg34MdiJKAnEXhHedjgCKbiGIuxPGEABh-Sq0Cvq047cRmd_Ew1jWgN9QMrzr1ldbPHWYvWhfSBzWU1GQlvZsJO7PNqJ/w400-h266/DSC_4187_international_truck_detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Truck detail, Hwy. 20, Western Nebraska.</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAswS5nqX6sDEPcEIKd1WkLMqOqe0ZhJpht8for9k92TFuP_3nXzsI4lOzczByc-fH0GWABliWx228vyMHV5UOISVYbKNxDXvWubR6C811LXmoXRJp_tQ5tQu0o444q5a7tk7YRwdwagS8mKGuB5j4ACLj7VVZziDuMOrlYVl_fe2CFoFeHSCFE0gt/s1800/DSC_4190_steering_wheel_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAswS5nqX6sDEPcEIKd1WkLMqOqe0ZhJpht8for9k92TFuP_3nXzsI4lOzczByc-fH0GWABliWx228vyMHV5UOISVYbKNxDXvWubR6C811LXmoXRJp_tQ5tQu0o444q5a7tk7YRwdwagS8mKGuB5j4ACLj7VVZziDuMOrlYVl_fe2CFoFeHSCFE0gt/w400-h266/DSC_4190_steering_wheel_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Steering wheel, Hwy. 20, Western Nebraska.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjzMpaTSzkvnyGUi5yb3M0sOuKVSKI6GBeZmDZrT55ZEIZUS1mgqpvSy3HfXBdDK76Z8_uXbCN9_DOFk-uvx9bdaQd6rca6vcJdgPuHJ_xWchImLwJ3myIzATpIiETGbTwdNyQVJK4f0ikd5aY8qROAusNLRYzePlCXgaCgMo_LZadmv8y7SV78wa/s1800/DSC_4228_grain_elevator_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjzMpaTSzkvnyGUi5yb3M0sOuKVSKI6GBeZmDZrT55ZEIZUS1mgqpvSy3HfXBdDK76Z8_uXbCN9_DOFk-uvx9bdaQd6rca6vcJdgPuHJ_xWchImLwJ3myIzATpIiETGbTwdNyQVJK4f0ikd5aY8qROAusNLRYzePlCXgaCgMo_LZadmv8y7SV78wa/w400-h266/DSC_4228_grain_elevator_bw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Grain elevator, Hwy. 20, Nebraska.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Tu3SZQ-uDzAfgGqLK-ERp4GALoD_Ncr8rVgzKpf51hn0BgTfNtwkS3j-S4ZmcQIKfiSTmg_FA1HAzMRkIWMOsxSLpuw-V7VnGA7nI7azHM6kB0Y0vfc9SOwMFDOIikRzql4lkYL832xgIsoWA0ivOmmYGdmOEcdKBf7jkl33szJWy8Yw1w4Us3tW/s1800/DSC_4240_abandoned_hotel_rt26_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1800" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Tu3SZQ-uDzAfgGqLK-ERp4GALoD_Ncr8rVgzKpf51hn0BgTfNtwkS3j-S4ZmcQIKfiSTmg_FA1HAzMRkIWMOsxSLpuw-V7VnGA7nI7azHM6kB0Y0vfc9SOwMFDOIikRzql4lkYL832xgIsoWA0ivOmmYGdmOEcdKBf7jkl33szJWy8Yw1w4Us3tW/w400-h268/DSC_4240_abandoned_hotel_rt26_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Abandoned motel, Hwy. 26, Western Nebraska.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyPSbfmEO-KpK8hh3Az15v7q_GWLaeygdHGZax05qJ6Ob7yXVRrkbQstFQ5SWbdyI4rLqvYYqPOOpNH0eOsxW8IWjJsYB5wD8wU3V9qYLN-P_gZqfthITexTCAoSCvo_l9g3UOswoW4v3c905nJIHVekCO76lRy0XrFQkyY1sFLOft52j_CsfOQQb/s1800/DSC_4253_abandoned_downtown_henry_ne2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1800" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyPSbfmEO-KpK8hh3Az15v7q_GWLaeygdHGZax05qJ6Ob7yXVRrkbQstFQ5SWbdyI4rLqvYYqPOOpNH0eOsxW8IWjJsYB5wD8wU3V9qYLN-P_gZqfthITexTCAoSCvo_l9g3UOswoW4v3c905nJIHVekCO76lRy0XrFQkyY1sFLOft52j_CsfOQQb/w400-h268/DSC_4253_abandoned_downtown_henry_ne2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Old downtown, Henry, Nebraska.</i></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-82792246659324252952022-09-02T13:12:00.001-07:002022-09-02T20:33:59.687-07:00Hollowed Out<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvde5N3koeJtLs1bBvS7qN8cFXTk9UeCl0iKqvzK0Wfwf2bkCJvAytx87qQ-T-rnLnSJ5G_iG4MWuSPJhOpRjeCrdhzUr1khdoZZYWTOVWA1A75ZVQMtKSrUxowk73YrbzYt_aOwPa3vexdbhhIMVQ5wMN-5mUhfTRTU0q3iBVCkxTVBDKMacVW22/s1800/DSC_3525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvde5N3koeJtLs1bBvS7qN8cFXTk9UeCl0iKqvzK0Wfwf2bkCJvAytx87qQ-T-rnLnSJ5G_iG4MWuSPJhOpRjeCrdhzUr1khdoZZYWTOVWA1A75ZVQMtKSrUxowk73YrbzYt_aOwPa3vexdbhhIMVQ5wMN-5mUhfTRTU0q3iBVCkxTVBDKMacVW22/w400-h266/DSC_3525.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Empty marquis. Granville, IL.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I drove twice this summer (2022) from Laramie to Tidewater Virginia where my parents retired over twenty years ago. My father died in 2019, but my mother clung to their home on the Chesapeake Bay as long as she could before reluctantly moving to Austin, Texas in July, closer to family but far from her Gloucester friends. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I grew up in Northern Virginia, but after my first glimpses of the West, I was eager to leave. A family road trip in the mid-1970s took us through Wyoming, sealing my fate, and I moved to the Tetons soon after college. My father's parents loved the Tetons, visiting in the 1940s and spending time on Jenny Lake. Eisenhower's interstate highway project didn't begin until the 1950s, and for Easterners, trips "out West" were slower; small towns with their "classic" diners and gas stations interrupted two-lane highways devoid of fast food. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After World War II, the Midwest thrived for a time (see <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281495076_Midwestern_Rural_Communities_in_the_Post-WWII_Era_to_2000" target="_blank">Flora and Flora 2014</a>) even as the seeds of its decline took root. Towns bypassed by the new interstate highways eventually faltered, corporate agriculture subsumed family farms, and opportunity lured young people to cities. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I deliberately stayed off the interstates on my first drive east this summer, hoping to photograph small towns along the way ala <a href="http://stephenshore.net/photographs.php" target="_blank">Stephen Shore</a>, but I was plagued from Colorado to Virginia by relentless rain. St. Louis was inundated soon after I passed through, and later in the summer thousand-year floods devastated Eastern Kentucky. I stopped to photograph when the rain slowed, but the trip left me wishing I had more time and better weather. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've heard the rural Midwest described as "hollowed out" but despite boarded-up storefronts and empty streets, stone and brick architecture transcends the crass and impermanent suburbs and strip malls that have replaced them. The country is divided and much grievance festers in this "flyover country," festooned with Trump banners and American flags, maybe because people struggle to find someone or something to blame for so much loss. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQk8UST7OtgQUFI_sbtyapK65IX469Ti1el9xWkbpabN83I0Dmjfc3vsFLtb3YyDYiKmEOD3zCwhD7Tsdh7TQcKutlWXtByN2aHQJUo3Dv-eYDqWFagoDAjgYNdxJlH09-phiGm_xpTBqywkfuodz20EyXVJAIna0i71uiy2XLkakPAKgff2oEZMA/s1800/DSC_3488_abandoned_house_county_rd_119_CO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQk8UST7OtgQUFI_sbtyapK65IX469Ti1el9xWkbpabN83I0Dmjfc3vsFLtb3YyDYiKmEOD3zCwhD7Tsdh7TQcKutlWXtByN2aHQJUo3Dv-eYDqWFagoDAjgYNdxJlH09-phiGm_xpTBqywkfuodz20EyXVJAIna0i71uiy2XLkakPAKgff2oEZMA/w400-h266/DSC_3488_abandoned_house_county_rd_119_CO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Abandoned house. County Road 119, Colorado.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcA2Sd0KcmHpsDFzwes6-Ez-bZRyi9Eu9OzbXakQx0IMf2XpKtJHZDXOK5ljuJXo4yLk-AnnF_UNCpINME7zUWAJaRrjX48_pZA18XKP_IcA-feBfGAtWGkhn_r6Uf_DrOsunBKmnD3o8mAvwCn7F4CyOPFzkToSbJQ8YqEXURTrLb8068fVio_t7G/s1800/DSC_3493_concrete_structure_hwy_14_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcA2Sd0KcmHpsDFzwes6-Ez-bZRyi9Eu9OzbXakQx0IMf2XpKtJHZDXOK5ljuJXo4yLk-AnnF_UNCpINME7zUWAJaRrjX48_pZA18XKP_IcA-feBfGAtWGkhn_r6Uf_DrOsunBKmnD3o8mAvwCn7F4CyOPFzkToSbJQ8YqEXURTrLb8068fVio_t7G/w400-h266/DSC_3493_concrete_structure_hwy_14_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Abandoned building, highway 14, New Raymer, CO.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm1ILCg45WFuWHlzqL9I_7_Z5Ky5ECk4vapkesSxJqXPg6fiFi61Gl8wMjFKRp8o0dnSRFUTF9qUd0ZW_x_HVXUQX5nAVR6rQhziC2FoH__kLbNBiBi7zG4k1hw6LO2NjGwzfmsR7BmkPVuMaPh_iQ2ySKmolXnhxz0mtI3be6aI8bN1KC1RSyQYG/s1800/DSC_3494_windows_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm1ILCg45WFuWHlzqL9I_7_Z5Ky5ECk4vapkesSxJqXPg6fiFi61Gl8wMjFKRp8o0dnSRFUTF9qUd0ZW_x_HVXUQX5nAVR6rQhziC2FoH__kLbNBiBi7zG4k1hw6LO2NjGwzfmsR7BmkPVuMaPh_iQ2ySKmolXnhxz0mtI3be6aI8bN1KC1RSyQYG/w400-h266/DSC_3494_windows_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Window displays, New Raymer, CO.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTl3A75Tm4BlEEzynfugIVE1y9om_4KBlnq3yYR-2Xnip1axkWrieOfpQl63QwobHqqSLWuPG8oRCBB1SMikInzlYFW1axHE9-FMHfNb3yDmOmRjMhTgRO8DIC0m5imdnHSJNRFkNpXtus69EYY0U4bcuqoBkdvvaIQUs2YzqMwgzKzoPIUuBcfTr/s1800/DSC_3495_john_deere_and_elevators_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTl3A75Tm4BlEEzynfugIVE1y9om_4KBlnq3yYR-2Xnip1axkWrieOfpQl63QwobHqqSLWuPG8oRCBB1SMikInzlYFW1axHE9-FMHfNb3yDmOmRjMhTgRO8DIC0m5imdnHSJNRFkNpXtus69EYY0U4bcuqoBkdvvaIQUs2YzqMwgzKzoPIUuBcfTr/w400-h266/DSC_3495_john_deere_and_elevators_New_Raymer_CO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">John Deere and grain elevators, New Raymer, CO.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu0K7WpsukCeARoBljPNcUolTWhwOtJW_MJSnAtnQsntiJ01CXM0mwPo_qlMPqX3DajHGiypjVUnW4ifeLZcYDkQu5JSbzJVHwmck3zXO9iHHT191fUn9zJFJ9FX41QfVW3hAvMbiPYOUdn0DgMZYxVsDYYVMS19GD-yHnMZQEsu68n_zsxb2L27m/s1800/DSC_3499_abandoned_home_hwy_27_NW_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu0K7WpsukCeARoBljPNcUolTWhwOtJW_MJSnAtnQsntiJ01CXM0mwPo_qlMPqX3DajHGiypjVUnW4ifeLZcYDkQu5JSbzJVHwmck3zXO9iHHT191fUn9zJFJ9FX41QfVW3hAvMbiPYOUdn0DgMZYxVsDYYVMS19GD-yHnMZQEsu68n_zsxb2L27m/w400-h266/DSC_3499_abandoned_home_hwy_27_NW_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Interior, northwest Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQvNvcB3nqPQJe6KNhKtD_38Js32jirSbXO1SRGxXn0QTd-h1_cG8PdrAr5Ob6Rz440A9pCakm1FZrfJ6AUfZWj9v-qLyPC_tGjEPP4qw4mgEO6b-cHxxR2-PzSr6wEPqHtmhijlB_04gCW8XPPGAvhw_Gj_nAdmTElQ-ITeeAH5ebZk6HZUS88EW/s1800/DSC_3501_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQvNvcB3nqPQJe6KNhKtD_38Js32jirSbXO1SRGxXn0QTd-h1_cG8PdrAr5Ob6Rz440A9pCakm1FZrfJ6AUfZWj9v-qLyPC_tGjEPP4qw4mgEO6b-cHxxR2-PzSr6wEPqHtmhijlB_04gCW8XPPGAvhw_Gj_nAdmTElQ-ITeeAH5ebZk6HZUS88EW/w400-h266/DSC_3501_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Interior, northwest Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9LB3BOzQCmtrpofnflVueu-RK1GXQzZm4uNdAXB0-SSjR9oqDWHl0XIj6C8LVl7VkU6oUSlhAB6VFM0sODg7gC6YZKG0DBt9PuUf5TMRwueti_llGVTdE1WFmBBTDLn679Jcw9yJX5_aElcWA7aTze4GKuRGBPmLErVbmP1ZaiElGnX8hyiFAqHC/s1800/DSC_3505_chair_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9LB3BOzQCmtrpofnflVueu-RK1GXQzZm4uNdAXB0-SSjR9oqDWHl0XIj6C8LVl7VkU6oUSlhAB6VFM0sODg7gC6YZKG0DBt9PuUf5TMRwueti_llGVTdE1WFmBBTDLn679Jcw9yJX5_aElcWA7aTze4GKuRGBPmLErVbmP1ZaiElGnX8hyiFAqHC/w400-h266/DSC_3505_chair_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Easy chair, northwest Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsko8zgPO9i5LebC7GOzYlogjmMwc35bAdnrq7-sD-aME3ewXasLe_7pbAmtjsgd5CXFvqDcfXEMFMsRXJw02eUZ7-i_KscbY_C35IidA-vgrwsbZhT2hTJNmp89RiUpX6TgN0BXG-_WYMdEjYxgONINeWsC02mv2PL6FGHawuqnbVR5F3GziZhUh/s1800/DSC_3506_broom_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsko8zgPO9i5LebC7GOzYlogjmMwc35bAdnrq7-sD-aME3ewXasLe_7pbAmtjsgd5CXFvqDcfXEMFMsRXJw02eUZ7-i_KscbY_C35IidA-vgrwsbZhT2hTJNmp89RiUpX6TgN0BXG-_WYMdEjYxgONINeWsC02mv2PL6FGHawuqnbVR5F3GziZhUh/w400-h266/DSC_3506_broom_abandoned_home_NW_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Broom, northwest Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqyxs1vnVZ9CedaiA6ftATPUn_KEsOknHPTVvNySc5bIRXytPJZzuTAoJrcbpYbqqUJsS8c-a8lGOpNNBMAgWIoXj1BJHEKSCz582TcvIq6JXUq4TwSe2u4G3J7hm8xj6gtt4NIDRjHShGcH9OdraKN6I0DZp5ssAlFq0ykQOGcIw7_CfIymoi-1i/s1800/DSC_3507_landscape_NW_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqyxs1vnVZ9CedaiA6ftATPUn_KEsOknHPTVvNySc5bIRXytPJZzuTAoJrcbpYbqqUJsS8c-a8lGOpNNBMAgWIoXj1BJHEKSCz582TcvIq6JXUq4TwSe2u4G3J7hm8xj6gtt4NIDRjHShGcH9OdraKN6I0DZp5ssAlFq0ykQOGcIw7_CfIymoi-1i/w400-h266/DSC_3507_landscape_NW_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Kansas plains.</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31Ni4lIIFigEheOTBwk3zldZRj2-qPABg0MX7yH6XFeHOXeHYZUNG7rPAPo6ipaFOVasQiYXPnROLBJlRhHGmJZ4JcXcjPMwwnsm8NXIdw9wrrqFa6dYrOpMnyIuD42xbSPPjA-qiSzIwGQSZvTq8CRTOrqCFzRSwPd3d6vJ6r0tqyUga40L4xIbZ/s1800/DSC_3512_MacDonald_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31Ni4lIIFigEheOTBwk3zldZRj2-qPABg0MX7yH6XFeHOXeHYZUNG7rPAPo6ipaFOVasQiYXPnROLBJlRhHGmJZ4JcXcjPMwwnsm8NXIdw9wrrqFa6dYrOpMnyIuD42xbSPPjA-qiSzIwGQSZvTq8CRTOrqCFzRSwPd3d6vJ6r0tqyUga40L4xIbZ/w400-h266/DSC_3512_MacDonald_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">MacDonald, Kansas.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHqJdFlbSzdCUUWCdDkbDW86M5INjgv7ZmgA3ZOLRXhS7QjjGi0ewhqkJQewk30Rs4Rr3jAJ147ikJ_O60o-1VFV5kxja4BPGeHjkKO6TSMBGwzGK83IowQO7TcouRUdqFVF8SVGD8r3ke_r4Ai5Dq4f7cfNlIRsAKCk5ST2CDOWj4Sle9v2z6q00/s1800/DSC_3582_god's_promise_Bradshaw_NB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHqJdFlbSzdCUUWCdDkbDW86M5INjgv7ZmgA3ZOLRXhS7QjjGi0ewhqkJQewk30Rs4Rr3jAJ147ikJ_O60o-1VFV5kxja4BPGeHjkKO6TSMBGwzGK83IowQO7TcouRUdqFVF8SVGD8r3ke_r4Ai5Dq4f7cfNlIRsAKCk5ST2CDOWj4Sle9v2z6q00/w400-h266/DSC_3582_god's_promise_Bradshaw_NB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"God's Promise for the Future" (mural), Bradshaw, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqasx1a3Q77HaE8TKQP903B63TCqLQK8tsvELKAohXHTv9b5wDFMJ_tc4e7jan4lPKH4fId9x-5F4S_ryMgq7jGabixP0SMQ8rqqI9zQVao4LCnIUg6hxZJh31T8qWT6dhCISrTkjvvFEOhZY6Rl5-Z0_OSZR30FC1C-_NBgE24Oh4dtEOk0YfB61/s1800/DSC_3514_tilted_building_Norcator_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqasx1a3Q77HaE8TKQP903B63TCqLQK8tsvELKAohXHTv9b5wDFMJ_tc4e7jan4lPKH4fId9x-5F4S_ryMgq7jGabixP0SMQ8rqqI9zQVao4LCnIUg6hxZJh31T8qWT6dhCISrTkjvvFEOhZY6Rl5-Z0_OSZR30FC1C-_NBgE24Oh4dtEOk0YfB61/w400-h266/DSC_3514_tilted_building_Norcator_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tilted building, Norcator, Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYti1ZGK_hMIVN1NyAgSyREe3BKerHIWdQpWPWekXryEVwed7F04ffHoXOfO1d2qYobzt37PnxEntpAgvjUNzTCQO91tYGDUF4-iZ4cvlVHIUam5GpzdxVU-NydXCZuXcD_s7CdQkN1VMrcMVk4ybGMiVV2l2YyXBA6cjKhp4sT_Oqw0p_kUZ043KQ/s1800/DSC_3516_abandoned_farm_rt_24_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYti1ZGK_hMIVN1NyAgSyREe3BKerHIWdQpWPWekXryEVwed7F04ffHoXOfO1d2qYobzt37PnxEntpAgvjUNzTCQO91tYGDUF4-iZ4cvlVHIUam5GpzdxVU-NydXCZuXcD_s7CdQkN1VMrcMVk4ybGMiVV2l2YyXBA6cjKhp4sT_Oqw0p_kUZ043KQ/w400-h266/DSC_3516_abandoned_farm_rt_24_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Abandoned farmhouse, Rt. 24 west of Clay Center, Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzm3fwv5RQe1vaSUDu02Rt7e8PlLFYXW8kR61YiA-KdwcnCfAIbFm-6K-fJgqs50Y8MMxlYzMz4Oe4s_ZTuTYweaSB5eGJaSOm2LrhqEinvSzC8ret9VpJziby37RFjcRWu2_7gd9wuaRY05o_wlLrW03_14t8wU1nwRykJ-oj02OwlwZq8TO0z0bO/s1800/DSC_3518_troughs_abandoned_farm_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzm3fwv5RQe1vaSUDu02Rt7e8PlLFYXW8kR61YiA-KdwcnCfAIbFm-6K-fJgqs50Y8MMxlYzMz4Oe4s_ZTuTYweaSB5eGJaSOm2LrhqEinvSzC8ret9VpJziby37RFjcRWu2_7gd9wuaRY05o_wlLrW03_14t8wU1nwRykJ-oj02OwlwZq8TO0z0bO/w400-h266/DSC_3518_troughs_abandoned_farm_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Troughs west of Clay Center, Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigo4jdRzDRv4QVR8Eho3JYPA9a5eNdQWZVo6ci-8rTrr5MZJmP-OUm9Gwkbh4lkphmj96guzynRRCHNPr9PrOUf7ApVcKchLzjcnkl_rql95SvAG3skjOlLlijU2SwEyn9UjE5NvHgPneXLjH6U9_4IuBOTpC9Wjho6W963rptpAnUjg8fVhi0_DUN/s1800/DSC_3520_interior_abandoned_farm_rt_24_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigo4jdRzDRv4QVR8Eho3JYPA9a5eNdQWZVo6ci-8rTrr5MZJmP-OUm9Gwkbh4lkphmj96guzynRRCHNPr9PrOUf7ApVcKchLzjcnkl_rql95SvAG3skjOlLlijU2SwEyn9UjE5NvHgPneXLjH6U9_4IuBOTpC9Wjho6W963rptpAnUjg8fVhi0_DUN/w400-h266/DSC_3520_interior_abandoned_farm_rt_24_W_of_Clay_Center_KS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Farm interior west of Clay Center, Kansas.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2OjDmD94Qmx3ZO3qHu6s-t75-v81OmLKeTojatPhsRncEaq90H2bResFNFKxtQK-TeR0XCUwJQhMGsCyD4rEdtnjfxRCl2wqE0TRfPI49EwQyeEeD3B2wxLQ2RfqUDFiua_Cp9pNczUCCWKx3NjppHktS1dJVTpsjo-ACOtRF0-c8Td4_AiGydTJ/s1800/DSC_3523_drilling_equipment_Carmi_IL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2OjDmD94Qmx3ZO3qHu6s-t75-v81OmLKeTojatPhsRncEaq90H2bResFNFKxtQK-TeR0XCUwJQhMGsCyD4rEdtnjfxRCl2wqE0TRfPI49EwQyeEeD3B2wxLQ2RfqUDFiua_Cp9pNczUCCWKx3NjppHktS1dJVTpsjo-ACOtRF0-c8Td4_AiGydTJ/w400-h266/DSC_3523_drilling_equipment_Carmi_IL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drilling equipment, Carmi, Illinois.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpoCOq5INgLTwR6i3OpNPbv3RzQQDPcALI8ruQONcJd9cHaaTVoY0EPxi5D1Ca5TDmae4pA862I8Gd8xwNZWRCPA6eKZX6M0092Px33X-ShCGe-QPx8969nTDqGalsgWpHuDhI9UKI1ifHyT10ugLw3xmYPZ3stFUwj1UpCiZcrtx0z494vIxC7Ks/s1800/DSC_3527_abandoned_church_hwy_168_IN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpoCOq5INgLTwR6i3OpNPbv3RzQQDPcALI8ruQONcJd9cHaaTVoY0EPxi5D1Ca5TDmae4pA862I8Gd8xwNZWRCPA6eKZX6M0092Px33X-ShCGe-QPx8969nTDqGalsgWpHuDhI9UKI1ifHyT10ugLw3xmYPZ3stFUwj1UpCiZcrtx0z494vIxC7Ks/w400-h266/DSC_3527_abandoned_church_hwy_168_IN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Empty church, Hwy. 168, Indiana.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQU884ssOsvtRsiCh9_qraZ7-1JUB0mBsqAvIVQnBp-rY1V2dmoKRiX7tFJTQ9xzP7lpCaiXZkt3_d8vWfEP-Y28frxcPrcPCNWxjazVRGlFpbAixfIK2b1ysjoI9xhwqCbO_wEMvMyR3OS2BRLDcSOqm1cj-hYKXRoNq1Kg2SJXEnGbn_UyNRcL9/s1800/DSC_3530_church_interior_hwy_168_IN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQU884ssOsvtRsiCh9_qraZ7-1JUB0mBsqAvIVQnBp-rY1V2dmoKRiX7tFJTQ9xzP7lpCaiXZkt3_d8vWfEP-Y28frxcPrcPCNWxjazVRGlFpbAixfIK2b1ysjoI9xhwqCbO_wEMvMyR3OS2BRLDcSOqm1cj-hYKXRoNq1Kg2SJXEnGbn_UyNRcL9/w266-h400/DSC_3530_church_interior_hwy_168_IN.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Church interior, Hwy. 168, Indiana.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtF5oB9OXiHKSSv6zafTukOXPYWCg9jss7JqkSmkVBWX5L-sWMwuwkZYeZS4QpfQIHbp9BnuM1NK7S5OUrSdXLWQwb_Dk-qBj8DV0Rr7fnqrhABwCStyfL_8qvQyxGQhJXrPmOdinMhhmpZhcl3e0DFQjs25iDU_wIneqCziWOnDZA580A94i7PGZe/s1800/DSC_3531_hydrant_by_church_hwy_168_IN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtF5oB9OXiHKSSv6zafTukOXPYWCg9jss7JqkSmkVBWX5L-sWMwuwkZYeZS4QpfQIHbp9BnuM1NK7S5OUrSdXLWQwb_Dk-qBj8DV0Rr7fnqrhABwCStyfL_8qvQyxGQhJXrPmOdinMhhmpZhcl3e0DFQjs25iDU_wIneqCziWOnDZA580A94i7PGZe/w400-h266/DSC_3531_hydrant_by_church_hwy_168_IN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fire hydrant, Hwy. 168, Indiana.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHVOkHpIV7VaJLhPkvSfi7ZmjRW_quRHBUreMJwU1UGfLPCJEdHQxLSdy-CvhDDXm-F0xEOgdasNIW2Yj_YrbIakSRAFiXirXqA_UOosU3ZHmZENTBMD_dmXN1YaKsxbWFDE0--A0h5YWfORoNGUoX699CNYPhVqkkyc2XK-P-nutkPjXM9MgLbWH/s1800/DSC_3534_Cook's_Marine_Georgetown_IN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHVOkHpIV7VaJLhPkvSfi7ZmjRW_quRHBUreMJwU1UGfLPCJEdHQxLSdy-CvhDDXm-F0xEOgdasNIW2Yj_YrbIakSRAFiXirXqA_UOosU3ZHmZENTBMD_dmXN1YaKsxbWFDE0--A0h5YWfORoNGUoX699CNYPhVqkkyc2XK-P-nutkPjXM9MgLbWH/w400-h266/DSC_3534_Cook's_Marine_Georgetown_IN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cook's Marine, Georgetown, Indiana.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQKoaO3SSnHJ2_-1ZIzYzT5LAw0athSQ3zqVHAMcwDLOEu1t6MAA1lqA_99wX8nvL1BNZuq_Wz4UA4o4uk2c0gOd2KP22PlMW4RzxAo-EcCZ6ZQQgYZnjk4i6vmTJEOSwlEFdUjKFD1pijhaydf20nxYZ2mE0GcanBp1Tj6Bl6cV1z8R0WyLS3zM2/s1800/DSC_3538_Dehart's_Bible_and_Tire_WV.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQKoaO3SSnHJ2_-1ZIzYzT5LAw0athSQ3zqVHAMcwDLOEu1t6MAA1lqA_99wX8nvL1BNZuq_Wz4UA4o4uk2c0gOd2KP22PlMW4RzxAo-EcCZ6ZQQgYZnjk4i6vmTJEOSwlEFdUjKFD1pijhaydf20nxYZ2mE0GcanBp1Tj6Bl6cV1z8R0WyLS3zM2/w400-h266/DSC_3538_Dehart's_Bible_and_Tire_WV.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dehart's Bible and Tire. Morehead, Kentucky.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuznImLbPq4R6oal1WW6kN9owFALBXvMspHKBQr0n7dF37H6JRfXctiDlQXN8RCSR5O71EafVr-FjjiB79oug0ujE7zYScVcm4LsyEaBjLRJ2EdC5yxVEqYf6-zPbwUCMtsr77J-nfRHVs5HzYMEAvXF5xBhbTau6hPhA_wLRaONQRJorz8Lgfb40F/s1800/DSC_3541_hinton_west_virginia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuznImLbPq4R6oal1WW6kN9owFALBXvMspHKBQr0n7dF37H6JRfXctiDlQXN8RCSR5O71EafVr-FjjiB79oug0ujE7zYScVcm4LsyEaBjLRJ2EdC5yxVEqYf6-zPbwUCMtsr77J-nfRHVs5HzYMEAvXF5xBhbTau6hPhA_wLRaONQRJorz8Lgfb40F/w400-h266/DSC_3541_hinton_west_virginia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hinton Hardwoods, Hinton West Virginia.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEq_EmZn8CHB2_DDnkn0mM0rucIcc4F2_XOUzcDJLzUVmCoxvLy4FJ1CejkjzK3a3-qp4SnkeG7YxfUUGy_e8lXpqxI-0zW0MuP-5oFoPA0_AYjN3MqzMDjuQ9cI-_EzvdyYi66oSD9s-io7zO-xSQCi0x4rWr5kFZNtJIfETmKEPr2EDl8kNRVk4/s1800/DSC_3549_hinton_west_virginia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEq_EmZn8CHB2_DDnkn0mM0rucIcc4F2_XOUzcDJLzUVmCoxvLy4FJ1CejkjzK3a3-qp4SnkeG7YxfUUGy_e8lXpqxI-0zW0MuP-5oFoPA0_AYjN3MqzMDjuQ9cI-_EzvdyYi66oSD9s-io7zO-xSQCi0x4rWr5kFZNtJIfETmKEPr2EDl8kNRVk4/w400-h266/DSC_3549_hinton_west_virginia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hinton, West Virginia.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fu0Ut-aPFt4CP8ZuYUEwq0lDHyLLOZWcp8O7rWUM6milDIk5kHseFZ7LeO8Hx5U7QYUGLCZkUq2VZC11o1N3HoMfA56VgyvgS4lAhA9fXpgo1RXk--DoAeXeX3SIsAvTVIZM9sbgzNGBRx-TqHBSvBDQYZqFb3KCIEdcJvpT_-g8y9dBRqBBn8-P/s1800/DSC_3551_manequins_rts_3_and_12_WVA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fu0Ut-aPFt4CP8ZuYUEwq0lDHyLLOZWcp8O7rWUM6milDIk5kHseFZ7LeO8Hx5U7QYUGLCZkUq2VZC11o1N3HoMfA56VgyvgS4lAhA9fXpgo1RXk--DoAeXeX3SIsAvTVIZM9sbgzNGBRx-TqHBSvBDQYZqFb3KCIEdcJvpT_-g8y9dBRqBBn8-P/w400-h266/DSC_3551_manequins_rts_3_and_12_WVA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Manequins, Rts. 3 and 12, West Virginia.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHlD6zJ5Lc1htT0dIJSZKrS7U7b3UBrrZi1hXuDDGKqfuj2nMSs3HB_pVxwg2P_6UUFsI8sdsMpZ_nGIoT2HmACHjsopdDKo95ESdM6ajpeOODDsG979e1Lxwwdyo2eYvXUYZgLZCuHUseBu1hfs6g2bk0wDuUne4iA5ZnQCfL38qEoI__1C3KfHC/s1800/DSC_3562_near_buena_vista_virginia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHlD6zJ5Lc1htT0dIJSZKrS7U7b3UBrrZi1hXuDDGKqfuj2nMSs3HB_pVxwg2P_6UUFsI8sdsMpZ_nGIoT2HmACHjsopdDKo95ESdM6ajpeOODDsG979e1Lxwwdyo2eYvXUYZgLZCuHUseBu1hfs6g2bk0wDuUne4iA5ZnQCfL38qEoI__1C3KfHC/w400-h266/DSC_3562_near_buena_vista_virginia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vegetation, Blue Ridge Mountains.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTXpADwl2hLXGni0OE-4IbUi5qXQ8v9pt5JH2wNe7oTupHBC05dAPXRpovjxFfBv1fVaZA7rIYfNEXk0u5N7erQD-99dLiTNgznObwTfxoxZTlItGZ0kvk--SB5gQqy50cku-IgSwjIdILpHEob8IVA85kO3YKz4wEj95VGo6x36u_fItwvwV6vMl/s1800/DSC_3571_forks_of_buffalo_virginia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTXpADwl2hLXGni0OE-4IbUi5qXQ8v9pt5JH2wNe7oTupHBC05dAPXRpovjxFfBv1fVaZA7rIYfNEXk0u5N7erQD-99dLiTNgznObwTfxoxZTlItGZ0kvk--SB5gQqy50cku-IgSwjIdILpHEob8IVA85kO3YKz4wEj95VGo6x36u_fItwvwV6vMl/w400-h266/DSC_3571_forks_of_buffalo_virginia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Forks of Buffalo, Virginia.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-86554831164182091842022-02-04T07:43:00.000-08:002022-02-04T07:43:02.158-08:00Photographing the Nebraska Panhandle in Black and White<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq-c8z0DEYK5sgeR_g-G4kx12cAp2dEJ1wnEzEK51B9Xc9Rd2bqYu67rbrMNhQelGULOJnuKmDqClBx3JnuHbwo62zYKHwrPL7qjy1-r-eIHRFkoEm9UUoUoQkyQ4ggsXFamNA-mOXetJSuF6CfLGT1GI891r1ZZ8v9aG7mnWncLmOFKPv5kMBYKjb=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq-c8z0DEYK5sgeR_g-G4kx12cAp2dEJ1wnEzEK51B9Xc9Rd2bqYu67rbrMNhQelGULOJnuKmDqClBx3JnuHbwo62zYKHwrPL7qjy1-r-eIHRFkoEm9UUoUoQkyQ4ggsXFamNA-mOXetJSuF6CfLGT1GI891r1ZZ8v9aG7mnWncLmOFKPv5kMBYKjb=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Grain storage in Crawford, Nebraska.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click on images to view larger)</span></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In his book, <i><a href="https://www.alabamabooksmith.com/signed-copies/dirt-meridian" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Dirt Meridian</a></i>, photographer <a href="https://www.andrewlmoore.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Andrew Moore</a> published a series of color <a href="https://www.andrewlmoore.com/dirt-meridian" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">photographs</a> of the western Great Plains, many taken from a small plane flown low over the Nebraska Panhandle. His <a href="https://www.andrewlmoore.com/dirt-meridian" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">images</a> capture stark landscapes, abandoned farms, and people who live and work there. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I love this genre: documentary images of hardscrabble scenes. Moore’s <a href="https://www.andrewlmoore.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">website</a> suggests that his projects “<i>record the effect of time on the natural and built landscape</i>,” but they transcend a mere record, blending documentation with a keen aesthetic eye<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Color photography has always felt the most natural to me, but I also admire the black and white masters whose craft requires a less intuitive way of seeing, translating color to tone and managing complex tonal relationships. Recently, <a href="https://www.greggwaterman.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Gregg Waterman</a>, himself a talented photographer, pointed me to the work of <a href="https://www.davidplowden.com/" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">David Plowden</a>, who spent over 50 years photographing landscapes like those featured in <i><a href="https://www.alabamabooksmith.com/signed-copies/dirt-meridian" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Dirt Meridian</a></i>, but in B/W and from the ground rather than the air. <a href="https://www.davidplowden.com/photographs" style="color: #954f72;">His work</a> documents the natural beauty of the Great Plains and Midwest but also the remains of farms and ranches abandoned in the American migration to cities. Plowden recognizes this change in a quote on his website:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><blockquote>“<i>I have been beset, with a sense of urgency, to record those parts of our heritage which seem to be receding as quickly as the view from the rear of a speeding train. I fear that we are eradicating the evidence of our past accomplishments so quickly that in time we may well lose the sense of who we are.</i>” (<a href="https://www.davidplowden.com/about" target="_blank"><span style="color: #954f72;">S</span>ource</a>)</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Plowden studied under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_White" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Minor White</a>, a pioneer of meticulous B/W photography of subjects ranging from rural America to the male figure, and he rubbed elbows with Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston. White’s influence is evident in his work, but Plowden’s photographic voice is his own. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Inspired by Plowden’s photographs, I drove east from Laramie to the Nebraska Panhandle on a warmish late-January day, first to Sidney and then north to Chadron, stopping to explore along the way before turning towards home. It was fun but a little sad to be out photographing small towns and old farms. Many buildings were boarded up and downtowns mostly abandoned despite the nice weather. I enjoyed not-too-bad onion rings from a tiny store and basked in the warm sun, welcome after months of Wyoming wind and cold.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">These photographs are my favorites from the trip, clumsily processed. B/W requires different skills than color photography, and I’ve always enjoyed the photographing more than the processing, but these scenes, especially in winter, lend themselves to monochrome. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio8xyMf7GKgpcxV7FqqXdh7goQyEvjyz9W_w7jkP-6nmyqHAbfcIRJfGr3MoFpbQPDRsx_mXZZ8-G_puSG2xmjlezno9zUTuJAB8cA9_ayycPh_n93w3O2NNSDanxRitJVc2ffYwqD220xgwR2JrWLrnROtQSi3r6mNz4dymTVBEB5qEHhlUaMKQjD=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio8xyMf7GKgpcxV7FqqXdh7goQyEvjyz9W_w7jkP-6nmyqHAbfcIRJfGr3MoFpbQPDRsx_mXZZ8-G_puSG2xmjlezno9zUTuJAB8cA9_ayycPh_n93w3O2NNSDanxRitJVc2ffYwqD220xgwR2JrWLrnROtQSi3r6mNz4dymTVBEB5qEHhlUaMKQjD=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jackson's Garage, Bridgeport, Nebraska.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDx-zVND7-o8NNgEYRU3caKSfyppxpV0JwJBRw7GswFD4ltRXm4ZhZrpR6Vb_YJGwLw_aI8EnKuA6V0M1JkQ9iNFEeuWbVKkqrJY2rhOSQLi3BdRLECBlrJZqXiPboUR4C-yhUNZkbk0ZusN-Z3uujqfR9a1yEZNBq74TBQIJbN6dMbm6IcUTkc_r5=s8256" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDx-zVND7-o8NNgEYRU3caKSfyppxpV0JwJBRw7GswFD4ltRXm4ZhZrpR6Vb_YJGwLw_aI8EnKuA6V0M1JkQ9iNFEeuWbVKkqrJY2rhOSQLi3BdRLECBlrJZqXiPboUR4C-yhUNZkbk0ZusN-Z3uujqfR9a1yEZNBq74TBQIJbN6dMbm6IcUTkc_r5=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jackson's Garage detail.</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-JvCS_SMWmGLLVNVk5PHG5uLFYxgZ-ziyicQbgeGP7YpHwgYJ85DEqvFznvjMUFlnkgJAxv_tMqI83FCnixaSNdwuxNbCWBi8TD5_yVlYVwqQQGgoojO30uEIVu2Rul-pnROgFu1CtwiWJAxGz4OB321_VclbRYDwHbLZI3gVPPbEI3SML1KvXNMY=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-JvCS_SMWmGLLVNVk5PHG5uLFYxgZ-ziyicQbgeGP7YpHwgYJ85DEqvFznvjMUFlnkgJAxv_tMqI83FCnixaSNdwuxNbCWBi8TD5_yVlYVwqQQGgoojO30uEIVu2Rul-pnROgFu1CtwiWJAxGz4OB321_VclbRYDwHbLZI3gVPPbEI3SML1KvXNMY=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Abandoned farm, Rt. 20 west of Crawford, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqfqQHJIAmYtaK6dy8xzm-SRPrPmMEzHU6CAJUnAd2CUTmLgk2mvX88DBn4K5aApDcXkraCliGY_43bVrmNfAoAOWBxENsdxny4R2Sp-PGTishRW5p0kcs2tvMZimiO5ee0e1WqTQBNglb0TXwtpXURGFwsDCWkJgvb4Y_Ch9sLVxQCk63Iq_sLfAn=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqfqQHJIAmYtaK6dy8xzm-SRPrPmMEzHU6CAJUnAd2CUTmLgk2mvX88DBn4K5aApDcXkraCliGY_43bVrmNfAoAOWBxENsdxny4R2Sp-PGTishRW5p0kcs2tvMZimiO5ee0e1WqTQBNglb0TXwtpXURGFwsDCWkJgvb4Y_Ch9sLVxQCk63Iq_sLfAn=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jars and workbench, abandoned farm west of Crawford, Nebraska.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieqMUheorQTij11hIaW0Zw3lfvTpKCDDmdXPo0JrzzezJUwJIQL67qJxAG8F6pR0nBV6WL57TmpM57lU64oZ4dSshaEtyaJL_U6Pj4s7WoM54toFdYBhdvftZ-0W7LvVTJvnQPSk5FJXg2CRTbFX5o1Tyd_TW7VEA50wiNG4emwXvzjPsfIoe58jcF=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieqMUheorQTij11hIaW0Zw3lfvTpKCDDmdXPo0JrzzezJUwJIQL67qJxAG8F6pR0nBV6WL57TmpM57lU64oZ4dSshaEtyaJL_U6Pj4s7WoM54toFdYBhdvftZ-0W7LvVTJvnQPSk5FJXg2CRTbFX5o1Tyd_TW7VEA50wiNG4emwXvzjPsfIoe58jcF=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ranch signs south of Dalton, Nebraska.</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPpA0IpRx7WGjCm0ERtAQY7O5FfJZuOX9_97-40p_s_V9iZKPzrneWbLZhAoE67LZBl7Q5DNOljs8T0DQQg2gQSBUh1aOnZUpVHKZqnQr-X6hY1FVWM6Wt0L6ohRyLsWH9YK_g4g7XSUutrskHK-U0opxUZLvtHFlciLcJ-xju8lMLbXkYjYmO5Mqs=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPpA0IpRx7WGjCm0ERtAQY7O5FfJZuOX9_97-40p_s_V9iZKPzrneWbLZhAoE67LZBl7Q5DNOljs8T0DQQg2gQSBUh1aOnZUpVHKZqnQr-X6hY1FVWM6Wt0L6ohRyLsWH9YK_g4g7XSUutrskHK-U0opxUZLvtHFlciLcJ-xju8lMLbXkYjYmO5Mqs=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trees and fields, Route 20 near Nebraska-Wyoming border.</span></i></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHnGlFLEI94sJzoi8zyIgGGGXOzFaer2z-9NoyYrHMxEjjJvr4399sOTReCj31RmsS6ilTqzgc-FUsQRtzGLjI_kX94i2Q_DPZhaeDl8b5JPgvS9MhD5g4qCL5y2uFwFLO59m__VTM7kQjD7xo9CeHk_R80keeqQaipIKJOAWW5fUChvBBhDepDQ9R=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHnGlFLEI94sJzoi8zyIgGGGXOzFaer2z-9NoyYrHMxEjjJvr4399sOTReCj31RmsS6ilTqzgc-FUsQRtzGLjI_kX94i2Q_DPZhaeDl8b5JPgvS9MhD5g4qCL5y2uFwFLO59m__VTM7kQjD7xo9CeHk_R80keeqQaipIKJOAWW5fUChvBBhDepDQ9R=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Grain elevator near Bushnell, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiBNDcdYCz689e1dcG1uPHHcV0ZRp-8akj2hJasYK2TXtmBluqGGdY7_sRU64fSlHX5sxbC4EPtGhTwR5pSDUPl45W8pFmiadwFyYlVG9bR5jvYsUFaROXDOZ_TPI9siXmozRsEXFSCu0b8OxIpl4h-ZMkD2nuxwj8JqxcxjkwUXrr-oPcKsBA8M2u=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiBNDcdYCz689e1dcG1uPHHcV0ZRp-8akj2hJasYK2TXtmBluqGGdY7_sRU64fSlHX5sxbC4EPtGhTwR5pSDUPl45W8pFmiadwFyYlVG9bR5jvYsUFaROXDOZ_TPI9siXmozRsEXFSCu0b8OxIpl4h-ZMkD2nuxwj8JqxcxjkwUXrr-oPcKsBA8M2u=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Insulators east of Dix, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnoJAHvUu0y8Zjr4RNHnyqhJRrhPmBg8f8wZo5-mfgTBWgnNA5OWgfXRwNsip08L8csJ-a-sC1LoUTs_k1ZJPDlg9RcyE77OZr-Ibd5NDjcjeL911IVZYdW138KLurP_w_d26cyvG4EnL_MOS64rlg_d7cgG_HyL4iHyCpspnD1ZTrjLmwV9XmZ4Vz=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnoJAHvUu0y8Zjr4RNHnyqhJRrhPmBg8f8wZo5-mfgTBWgnNA5OWgfXRwNsip08L8csJ-a-sC1LoUTs_k1ZJPDlg9RcyE77OZr-Ibd5NDjcjeL911IVZYdW138KLurP_w_d26cyvG4EnL_MOS64rlg_d7cgG_HyL4iHyCpspnD1ZTrjLmwV9XmZ4Vz=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Building, Bridgeport, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis5EzCUE8tNwurhtQilLjnmSFLD8gFfW8H7aV8cAyUC0dgnh66AjSviH-Ykgs7ddhgqhlw-B27wBnYM5D0bsG9X7kFz2zBbsPj4nY_fyNuUD4ZIDRxIr_TQZUfOY5x8CsAmC8WEPP9jPsS4tgA7Ro_XhSP6gsAUsRfV94XxsNme8HLSBMSpZBTnBGM=s6520" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6520" data-original-width="6520" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis5EzCUE8tNwurhtQilLjnmSFLD8gFfW8H7aV8cAyUC0dgnh66AjSviH-Ykgs7ddhgqhlw-B27wBnYM5D0bsG9X7kFz2zBbsPj4nY_fyNuUD4ZIDRxIr_TQZUfOY5x8CsAmC8WEPP9jPsS4tgA7Ro_XhSP6gsAUsRfV94XxsNme8HLSBMSpZBTnBGM=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Downtown Crawford, Nebraska.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-50747437590472531082022-02-01T11:33:00.001-08:002022-02-01T13:48:36.387-08:00Backpacking in Grand Gulch: Collins Spring to Kane Gulch<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBQcuTx9d-LhV50FrLz3PTFVFfW12gtFWLWZmdAxZNCVZlP79Lp-jPO0YOgSKSxfneu_In_lJ7xc0aEdrMZNQ959zBaSQCVoH_80nZWF6r7J6NCOG6YCe_NwgDSWjHhmcTKC0WaPeMR9Mj-fm3ZWycP2Hph6K4UKKfVEwSm9_PDx56tmfk48pDpHnJ=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBQcuTx9d-LhV50FrLz3PTFVFfW12gtFWLWZmdAxZNCVZlP79Lp-jPO0YOgSKSxfneu_In_lJ7xc0aEdrMZNQ959zBaSQCVoH_80nZWF6r7J6NCOG6YCe_NwgDSWjHhmcTKC0WaPeMR9Mj-fm3ZWycP2Hph6K4UKKfVEwSm9_PDx56tmfk48pDpHnJ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scott Lehman at one of my favorite petroglyph panels.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click on images to view larger)</span></i></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I first visited Cedar Mesa in the 1980s, Grand Gulch was obscure, with word-of-mouth descriptions of arduous bushwacking and secret ruins. Since then, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-Canyon-Region-dp-1493028839/dp/1493028839/ref=dp_ob_title_bk" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">guidebooks</a> have been published, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=in+search+of+the+old+ones&gclid=CjwKCAiA3L6PBhBvEiwAINlJ9BTP-1n90ZDaip0aH5dWHiCbzu1epDW5iaEeZ9grn6cXbLBhWv-a6hoCO5EQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241577219005&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9029244&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13230132215066951568&hvtargid=kwd-420023015&hydadcr=15305_10335439&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_2gg2kn21z4_e" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">books</a> written, and the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/utah/bears-ears-national-monument" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">Bears Ears National Monument</a> created, diminished, and finally restored, hopefully forever. A growing number of people hike regularly in the Gulch and its tributaries, and it seems that everyone has a secret undisclosed discovery, enticing the rest of us to keep looking. Despite growing popularity, it remains one of my favorite places; no one will ever peer into every hidden alcove or look behind every exfoliated boulder to find the last undiscovered treasure, and even without its cultural heritage, Grand Gulch is stunning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In March of 2021, I spent a week with Ellen and our friends, Scott and Bay, hiking from Collins Spring to Kane Gulch, about <span>38 miles</span>. We’d all walked much of this section and many of its side canyons before but in pieces on many trips over many years, so it was fun to traverse it in one hike. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">While the walking was easy (we planned short days to leave time for ruins and rock art), the drought presented challenges. Water in much of the canyon had disappeared, and hikers, us included, planned our days and camps around what little water could be found, some barely drinkable even with filtering. I recently wrote about <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2021/12/ancestral-puebloans-and-climate.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">climate migrations in the Southwest</a>, partly stimulated by this experience of traversing the canyon in a dry year. Until about 700 years ago, it supported a thriving Ancestral Puebloan community. The gist of that post was that drought destabilized their society, leading to abandonment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">While on this hike, I realized that drought need not be long-term to drive people out. After a few years without good monsoon rains or winter snow, most of the water was gone. How long could permanent residents of Cedar Mesa live and farm without regular rain? A few years? A decade? How much water could they store from ephemeral summer showers or winter snow? Are there enough obscure springs to sustain a substantial population through several dry years? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but when we were in the canyon in March, there was barely water to support a few dozen backpackers on their vacations, passing through the canyon for only a few days. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>These are a few pictures from our trip. Except for some of the well-known sites, I don't specify locations.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGGGbT-ZoBJEAz20q5dc1aVLJgE6SjJDjRi--kimCjtvhzd2r7DFup9Zv7JGjzI76y8h2UxKP2f7yka51_t_z-icaLyZ7vDjwH_0-B700NcQ8m65fzb-f73tJnTmBlCpK3jqkSfZNGhnI2IriKgLyUi581uIqoJDS07jvcg5LL_kEIhwZrx3ht8DxB=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGGGbT-ZoBJEAz20q5dc1aVLJgE6SjJDjRi--kimCjtvhzd2r7DFup9Zv7JGjzI76y8h2UxKP2f7yka51_t_z-icaLyZ7vDjwH_0-B700NcQ8m65fzb-f73tJnTmBlCpK3jqkSfZNGhnI2IriKgLyUi581uIqoJDS07jvcg5LL_kEIhwZrx3ht8DxB=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ellen and Bay (not Bei, our daughter!) enjoying pictographs in a Rincon north of the junction of Grand Gulch and Collins Spring.</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfiGW0SczyXCZgv8M7i41QnRbYo-BXZKV2QalrUN3EoCe8x5KpagSxfsXfayKbvJJ-GKNyR-5DoPyFGm6vRSLahEjardqaicIFTMxb9cDvDSxXS3fB4vjEiliUj5og96OPXwyNjWamKY4XWNY35HsQiD_B_8Jy4DDg3_ydFRcOTTZOdPyWWYXiQEKa=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfiGW0SczyXCZgv8M7i41QnRbYo-BXZKV2QalrUN3EoCe8x5KpagSxfsXfayKbvJJ-GKNyR-5DoPyFGm6vRSLahEjardqaicIFTMxb9cDvDSxXS3fB4vjEiliUj5og96OPXwyNjWamKY4XWNY35HsQiD_B_8Jy4DDg3_ydFRcOTTZOdPyWWYXiQEKa=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Bannister Ruin. We camped near here on the first night. Bannister spring was dry (we carried water from the trailhead) but I scrambled to a pothole above the canyon floor that was filled with good water.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigXXfMQjnC-ec02DImh2Kw13Qw83mEttVsF61cqdtQfiTsD40WR1l70n4L0q67rda_D6jxWaww-IERN3ZMJK3Xed4mf6dCykgIC_-fUUP65sog30Js4hn1_FSrtMeZU99cSS6khqlTyDF-k4I0Om3T5LBxz1mmNovxQ0lKCWEHH6U6dNhV93IyeC_c=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigXXfMQjnC-ec02DImh2Kw13Qw83mEttVsF61cqdtQfiTsD40WR1l70n4L0q67rda_D6jxWaww-IERN3ZMJK3Xed4mf6dCykgIC_-fUUP65sog30Js4hn1_FSrtMeZU99cSS6khqlTyDF-k4I0Om3T5LBxz1mmNovxQ0lKCWEHH6U6dNhV93IyeC_c=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">An arrowhead found in the wash and returned to it after being admired. I recommend Craig Child's book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Finders-Keepers-Archaeological-Plunder-Obsession/dp/031606646X" target="_blank">"Finders, Keepers" </a>for those of you interested in respecting archeological finds.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMzwkqRnHuV3kzjgI52oMTgoIYZhEUGY1CnSPM5FAkAhemw6wsq-K-LG9T6h3OkHQdIF3tzOiE2O5CgkHzBl5uJSJIs_IhYg9q2eEbsTyum2GYypPU5timbbtiOPjiiK2tNxiQOSAp-s22OutvR7uuz1HUNhlqPSU_rpmFEHa2jmpXESN2sNtdMXvb=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMzwkqRnHuV3kzjgI52oMTgoIYZhEUGY1CnSPM5FAkAhemw6wsq-K-LG9T6h3OkHQdIF3tzOiE2O5CgkHzBl5uJSJIs_IhYg9q2eEbsTyum2GYypPU5timbbtiOPjiiK2tNxiQOSAp-s22OutvR7uuz1HUNhlqPSU_rpmFEHa2jmpXESN2sNtdMXvb=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Handprints.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjfO_3QOuRnQGXV6e30_MERD1WT1K_d9xlIv1ZvTxJpa603GqxlZV38vMbjfVz47hqJe13UOUPv_EOK-QjEcpIFRMdpvHoKGMfjbdwrDpA8QDtPgVB4_kQt3_I7pB_8XKl4c2RHRCY2VXsljCi3xSXzObZcsPhBrJRD7tp9Yacy7_9xWfIIcAhXo7y=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjfO_3QOuRnQGXV6e30_MERD1WT1K_d9xlIv1ZvTxJpa603GqxlZV38vMbjfVz47hqJe13UOUPv_EOK-QjEcpIFRMdpvHoKGMfjbdwrDpA8QDtPgVB4_kQt3_I7pB_8XKl4c2RHRCY2VXsljCi3xSXzObZcsPhBrJRD7tp9Yacy7_9xWfIIcAhXo7y=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Routefinding is not too tough when you are following a major canyon, but keeping track of side canyons requires some attention.<br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDEiOWWbi0lRvhnOjH_NkCPiT6f7OTKBVgaldfn-7F_4Ws2gt9YC_Vx2vqd-XtmnNG6a1-u2_FriUWarMIAKAcGV9_YcydBvMqt3UaEl0_OvBJDbG10xXJMJEW8xWWJwc8lYzo7Wa35TAIY7F_EstRGi13-Z8gBCTE-bBJ4Vt3FYy3kAbKtQ0z8atv=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDEiOWWbi0lRvhnOjH_NkCPiT6f7OTKBVgaldfn-7F_4Ws2gt9YC_Vx2vqd-XtmnNG6a1-u2_FriUWarMIAKAcGV9_YcydBvMqt3UaEl0_OvBJDbG10xXJMJEW8xWWJwc8lYzo7Wa35TAIY7F_EstRGi13-Z8gBCTE-bBJ4Vt3FYy3kAbKtQ0z8atv=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A small man (me), and woman (Ellen) sit below the Big Man Panel north of Polly's Canyon. </span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNEaSUT4RNsI7tG4UWjfK-tG2TgGbMlzV9AAHj7f4Wa3_THOw7af1LA_vA7ncn3tx0Hye6Rs72QiD84tlt_cgYhUvjq8xAKrlE7HKQmAyVPKvxmdVPw8R4OWCsCrDbTbopxIdxzkg1GU-UpoBy-azkoBX0HickJNYI1izsZppoD1vQ8XQT4pYZukIG=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNEaSUT4RNsI7tG4UWjfK-tG2TgGbMlzV9AAHj7f4Wa3_THOw7af1LA_vA7ncn3tx0Hye6Rs72QiD84tlt_cgYhUvjq8xAKrlE7HKQmAyVPKvxmdVPw8R4OWCsCrDbTbopxIdxzkg1GU-UpoBy-azkoBX0HickJNYI1izsZppoD1vQ8XQT4pYZukIG=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">More handprints. Bay recreates the moment.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYFX_005lTncF-acJjcuQhyr-iiQW4mcg1BYbIBPq-sp3GjKSROimzoplXwE_83MArWH-lLjoIkYu6p8SU9NFRdp1m2nI4lLfldQW5yZF-EFe5Oz1GyxiEsWUgP5daFlviO8sMpNk2Co7bIqyhnlouf7ibai_4ieW-hcUmghF7IlmHAxZ1gBzRelfd=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYFX_005lTncF-acJjcuQhyr-iiQW4mcg1BYbIBPq-sp3GjKSROimzoplXwE_83MArWH-lLjoIkYu6p8SU9NFRdp1m2nI4lLfldQW5yZF-EFe5Oz1GyxiEsWUgP5daFlviO8sMpNk2Co7bIqyhnlouf7ibai_4ieW-hcUmghF7IlmHAxZ1gBzRelfd=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">An intact granary tucked beneath a reticulated roof.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVLT8jQQxEGCzaLHgJZYfn69f_bLv7awF_uKngNgPrCFLU0vmuFyhLMpz1oohhz-pbs7PyLkYF8Jjq7ITTaVpu2jzseVwYGCD0baTyVRjdOzq3yk2fmQMFcgN3mKu2E_eu3RZxrc151arEIyx8gPLTAuyZMXlu59Ud3p4aFob-5eX5uop-T1i78HsG=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVLT8jQQxEGCzaLHgJZYfn69f_bLv7awF_uKngNgPrCFLU0vmuFyhLMpz1oohhz-pbs7PyLkYF8Jjq7ITTaVpu2jzseVwYGCD0baTyVRjdOzq3yk2fmQMFcgN3mKu2E_eu3RZxrc151arEIyx8gPLTAuyZMXlu59Ud3p4aFob-5eX5uop-T1i78HsG=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The bird panel. I carried my lightweight backpacking camera without a very long lens, and these were high above the canyon floor, but you can zoom in to see better. The pictographs are exquisitely detailed. </span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_DAz-jQ_Utd0xS1WEPvBfnIlWPlzuVxZTvaoX6MCq0zua-Bf6xkRXy1_aZ-PImP3kiFRR-fPht_4KidcGKFMM8VphUgXrW7shsnB-6bKphUdW4ffkO_NTwpFGL-zGT4VaqIkXKWMwYcNe3yAVrjxGtHcny5YGoSPeEmkKeYiQnr-Hm1NR8sm5954n=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_DAz-jQ_Utd0xS1WEPvBfnIlWPlzuVxZTvaoX6MCq0zua-Bf6xkRXy1_aZ-PImP3kiFRR-fPht_4KidcGKFMM8VphUgXrW7shsnB-6bKphUdW4ffkO_NTwpFGL-zGT4VaqIkXKWMwYcNe3yAVrjxGtHcny5YGoSPeEmkKeYiQnr-Hm1NR8sm5954n=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ellen and Bay scrambling to see a ruin and rock art in a side canyon.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihKSKzgK6sqHWRFdmX8l1h8E9MSoHVospTRNOyIaMUewiv9a-FBPY7nCtJ03dmNlRjtsH88oNKBdhk6yuoK-J6QBcu2lzPGKhAlrLGijPvoV5I2KEdQofSCN068KwV69CZx27WMrtRCLSxzLGr9332DjCNUIAnO3W3ypibh1_GWQEALm_jvmMuNNxY=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihKSKzgK6sqHWRFdmX8l1h8E9MSoHVospTRNOyIaMUewiv9a-FBPY7nCtJ03dmNlRjtsH88oNKBdhk6yuoK-J6QBcu2lzPGKhAlrLGijPvoV5I2KEdQofSCN068KwV69CZx27WMrtRCLSxzLGr9332DjCNUIAnO3W3ypibh1_GWQEALm_jvmMuNNxY=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bay (left) and Ellen enjoying rock art.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDQp28i9DJGi7xqx2eBof4vdodBKTI1b6mJXqKuZJ74WVoAo18zxytlNh81m4itkHQHV5g0eD58p782VTiJRu1PFRovTpnMB2mhakE1HU-beMP6-31wTvr-_uWZbRqRUeB2iuEkFUg_gSRT443P-xld1jEvvhse0qEgNUknnNNqFq1o7RAAa9B4z-G=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDQp28i9DJGi7xqx2eBof4vdodBKTI1b6mJXqKuZJ74WVoAo18zxytlNh81m4itkHQHV5g0eD58p782VTiJRu1PFRovTpnMB2mhakE1HU-beMP6-31wTvr-_uWZbRqRUeB2iuEkFUg_gSRT443P-xld1jEvvhse0qEgNUknnNNqFq1o7RAAa9B4z-G=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The breech birth panel. </span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgli1QT9E_oSgZu_w3DTdZPI0WMKN4RNzKfExAtVI5ZMN-83CeTC9qs9pp03zzCcefNkVg0YFF7kvUkONJRECuieQvhQogXFgVk3AG3wL9glH3TQUvaV16LuwG-adqmYtZydoK7LutmV-NcdzHop9GFEL6-aYW4g1O_NkxgpRi8fyOlD9cAaL-nM-NP=s6000" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgli1QT9E_oSgZu_w3DTdZPI0WMKN4RNzKfExAtVI5ZMN-83CeTC9qs9pp03zzCcefNkVg0YFF7kvUkONJRECuieQvhQogXFgVk3AG3wL9glH3TQUvaV16LuwG-adqmYtZydoK7LutmV-NcdzHop9GFEL6-aYW4g1O_NkxgpRi8fyOlD9cAaL-nM-NP=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our camp on a ledge above Coyote Canyon. The spring in the canyon bottom produced good water.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimmUyiZ2OaKDqxjLCBw6vo1HUPUP123MuWc0tJUH5uimsy1I-YZC2hCtm3NTW1SGBAe17blfehMjjSUTrvAIDl_wgKZD-z9ReWutHE7Xf0fhqdQTVivNVv9hUwC6s0GwY1LBvQnzF9Tjfn-6GIs9OZoEy4KlEyT7r34cjKTt0mtEbW-kX4jPTgMkh4=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimmUyiZ2OaKDqxjLCBw6vo1HUPUP123MuWc0tJUH5uimsy1I-YZC2hCtm3NTW1SGBAe17blfehMjjSUTrvAIDl_wgKZD-z9ReWutHE7Xf0fhqdQTVivNVv9hUwC6s0GwY1LBvQnzF9Tjfn-6GIs9OZoEy4KlEyT7r34cjKTt0mtEbW-kX4jPTgMkh4=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A potsherd inside a ruin.</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYH5NBSyAFw5eiPWrNOnUt_DGKrfUHuDGSajirhbeYA9wNOJ7xWnvYxGz21XcGO2NxRkx2cjWE0zbPvgE0rApZrrBot1sP8nb_nUoci7P3vwtZAXzqqZzPjR1dp8BnC59G4TOLFzQw63yb4JC-Nr5034pj7EksduqnMBuTPbYWJ3P85vTBI6veBxJJ=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYH5NBSyAFw5eiPWrNOnUt_DGKrfUHuDGSajirhbeYA9wNOJ7xWnvYxGz21XcGO2NxRkx2cjWE0zbPvgE0rApZrrBot1sP8nb_nUoci7P3vwtZAXzqqZzPjR1dp8BnC59G4TOLFzQw63yb4JC-Nr5034pj7EksduqnMBuTPbYWJ3P85vTBI6veBxJJ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>A wall tucked behind a fallen boulder, with pictographs lined up under the arch behind it.</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8EoWYCVfXDz2w5rO3EoVQUHNhJ8cTrrCIGo5M3qM9MwFo7IL6XBNmlI_CiItNI6M7j6Pg0mTN6FsZxi8L5OwbrIXgugaojqLf2HEYIzfYvVZRe3CnXxPTo-PHWP6eac-b2f65N52bzMLpH6sUluCZLx9pAfq8XI-x3dowTp-d25bSZy4rQxMSBSmh=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8EoWYCVfXDz2w5rO3EoVQUHNhJ8cTrrCIGo5M3qM9MwFo7IL6XBNmlI_CiItNI6M7j6Pg0mTN6FsZxi8L5OwbrIXgugaojqLf2HEYIzfYvVZRe3CnXxPTo-PHWP6eac-b2f65N52bzMLpH6sUluCZLx9pAfq8XI-x3dowTp-d25bSZy4rQxMSBSmh=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Bay admiring a petroglyph panel at the mouth of Todie Canyon.</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxZCWP8YIS0Te2WAuuDwlinlq3FZlC4ZzzqWaRBAXwHOgCAluWNph6mEEmJBweIRaEJ8Spvg0071q1CEO8onEYBLey3Vjmw_e9J0uidg9Lyj9-YpL2BUoYXS7mwRuIPi9NbVO1i752D5Xrnak_EMrWQRzca7wx72hgIP6YgwqopZHM4fMGSJt7lExt=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxZCWP8YIS0Te2WAuuDwlinlq3FZlC4ZzzqWaRBAXwHOgCAluWNph6mEEmJBweIRaEJ8Spvg0071q1CEO8onEYBLey3Vjmw_e9J0uidg9Lyj9-YpL2BUoYXS7mwRuIPi9NbVO1i752D5Xrnak_EMrWQRzca7wx72hgIP6YgwqopZHM4fMGSJt7lExt=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>After the hike. Left to right: Bay Roberts, Scott Lehman, Ellen Axtmann, and me.</i></span></div><div><br /></div><b><u>Water info</u></b>: Grand Gulch was very dry after a multi-year drought and the failure of the monsoon the previous summer. We found water in a pothole (ephemeral) at our first camp <b>near the Banister ruin</b> on a slickrock shelf that required scrambling to access. There was water in <b>lower Collins Canyon</b> and for short way up Grand Gulch from the confluence, and again in <b>pools in the main Gulch just downcanyon from Polly's</b>. Water was available <b>a short way up Green Canyon</b> and farther along <b>in Green Mask Canyon</b> below the well-known rock art site. The <b>Coyote Canyon spring</b> was running. Farther up, we filtered nasty water from <b>a pool under a pouroff down canyon from the mouth of Todie Canyon</b>. We were told that there was water <b>up Todie in the North Fork</b>, but we used our filtered water instead. From there, we walked out to Kane Gulch. <div><br /></div><div>Don't rely on the BLM office in Monticello, though they may have some information. If the Kane Gulch Ranger Station is open, it’s a more reliable source of information. Of course, there can be much more or much less (!) water depending on the year. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another much more detailed blog post on this hike going in the other direction is at this <a href="https://40yearsofwalking.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/grand-gulch-iii-kane-to-collins-1115/" target="_blank">link</a> and there are many other detailed accounts online if you search for them.<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-27704808271394282952022-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:002022-01-20T15:52:09.116-08:00Bighorn Basin Photographs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9ZLmWNOCqbjjGX_9cqFTTrcwiNZtQEhh2tdVH-Vs34Wl0fE_ECBtbegMSiQUH5FscGFZOIRQwpGmnm1uR_eQ2r4E6gaw79fd8G0G-iKF1huCG-ubgfamsmf2YzlZ96sbRClW69Fbsc0/s1600/DSC_5075_red_barn_bighorn_basin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9ZLmWNOCqbjjGX_9cqFTTrcwiNZtQEhh2tdVH-Vs34Wl0fE_ECBtbegMSiQUH5FscGFZOIRQwpGmnm1uR_eQ2r4E6gaw79fd8G0G-iKF1huCG-ubgfamsmf2YzlZ96sbRClW69Fbsc0/s320/DSC_5075_red_barn_bighorn_basin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A farm building in the southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(click images to view larger)</span></div>
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I started this post a little over three years ago and never finished it after getting wrapped up with new (then) work responsibilities. Now retired, I'm cleaning up old blog drafts, and I enjoy these images enough to publish this without much text. For those who aren't familiar with the geography, the Bighorn Basin occupies a large area in north-central Wyoming between the Bighorn Mountains to its east and the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains and Yellowstone National Park to its west. The Owl Creek and Bridger Mountains wrap around the southern edge of the basin and the Pryor Mountains rise just over the Montana border to the north. The basin is sparsely populated and agricultural where there is water to irrigate and very dry elsewhere, occupied by sparse shrublands and a lot of saltbush. It's a beautiful place to explore.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/bighorn-basin-wyomings-bony-back-pocket" target="_blank">Wyohistory.org</a> has an excellent overview of the basin and its history that I won't paraphrase here. The photos in this post were collected during several excursions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLqQ3YKfvCn4_Nqjo6_32U32d22QTYaJcZ3pQSnKtYUupt11I_5V7AjzZHeJpgWGyzcbZafWlgLr3HQVvWjWoA4CCWGF3Wl_n9kozzQ1Vj_gpE-1wafsPDtUOa-CL1thPvIvvxvHZuxM/s1600/DSC_5094_grain_elevator_basin_wy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLqQ3YKfvCn4_Nqjo6_32U32d22QTYaJcZ3pQSnKtYUupt11I_5V7AjzZHeJpgWGyzcbZafWlgLr3HQVvWjWoA4CCWGF3Wl_n9kozzQ1Vj_gpE-1wafsPDtUOa-CL1thPvIvvxvHZuxM/s320/DSC_5094_grain_elevator_basin_wy.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Grain elevator, Greybull.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtEO0_8twOYdCl0rVKwvR3F4MCLtbVMjTEkjic0FYTUB0_i5aVMH1Xd2YAwUvguHNlLNzVJR1eXbDbPe36vM_9BQmWJ_gO-U6MA36Bn6pERXo38JQs7wvw9bE3ack3Xsw0rhnbfT2rPs/s1600/Driese_Big_Horn_County_DSC_4091.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtEO0_8twOYdCl0rVKwvR3F4MCLtbVMjTEkjic0FYTUB0_i5aVMH1Xd2YAwUvguHNlLNzVJR1eXbDbPe36vM_9BQmWJ_gO-U6MA36Bn6pERXo38JQs7wvw9bE3ack3Xsw0rhnbfT2rPs/s320/Driese_Big_Horn_County_DSC_4091.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Trees, Northern Bighorn Basin.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gc4P_w_o7iw25vI9oMmqvMdSUVXBryNKAIULl7X8mSYAahdJoMcs0V1g6cTmMPKZN5yZ2D429pMmirz0wxd_MwMbbdOXPtpAwYP_kgYfpQpSPuTYzuqTkASuKT-Nl1OrpxkpG4NScuo/s1600/DSC_5212_gate_greybull_auction_house.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gc4P_w_o7iw25vI9oMmqvMdSUVXBryNKAIULl7X8mSYAahdJoMcs0V1g6cTmMPKZN5yZ2D429pMmirz0wxd_MwMbbdOXPtpAwYP_kgYfpQpSPuTYzuqTkASuKT-Nl1OrpxkpG4NScuo/s320/DSC_5212_gate_greybull_auction_house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Gate. Greybull Livestock Auction.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pgch2GzOkJR1Naf1k0gKbuOCUpwX1ODMrDnmaFKtQZvc4nqfQfX241DYmLudBxWZkLTfndtwzpVb1rILkjUDWu0xkILXwuhwH-TPS6FJlFIbXxUX6XYyngvXq88Mwa7z29hsExtFKg4/s1600/DSC_5123_greybull_trailer_decorations.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pgch2GzOkJR1Naf1k0gKbuOCUpwX1ODMrDnmaFKtQZvc4nqfQfX241DYmLudBxWZkLTfndtwzpVb1rILkjUDWu0xkILXwuhwH-TPS6FJlFIbXxUX6XYyngvXq88Mwa7z29hsExtFKg4/s320/DSC_5123_greybull_trailer_decorations.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Trailer with statues. Greybull.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Boulder, Red Gulch. Eastern Bighorn Basin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Stop and Proceed.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Rags. Industrial area, Greybull.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbSVZj4RgZ5XvASTtu0EPLKvya3zAUtMHu2eE6LzOtd8tDrLi3GCQtCGQX5R_LReX3OzeIeRFF4DmsLs39RNCkfSOE6ddtrDsTNxQUqXHme9yCFHb_2BjWo4r_PboB7Ujk_r6X93-Ek8/s1600/DSC_5152_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbSVZj4RgZ5XvASTtu0EPLKvya3zAUtMHu2eE6LzOtd8tDrLi3GCQtCGQX5R_LReX3OzeIeRFF4DmsLs39RNCkfSOE6ddtrDsTNxQUqXHme9yCFHb_2BjWo4r_PboB7Ujk_r6X93-Ek8/s320/DSC_5152_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Greybull Livestock Auction.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQs10yzTeU1l541fMeHDP6QEpFQSb2uJahMF-ZAm3Fa-4FySsW3gvN-_7qb1U5tmhBLmrd0KVpZb9btlyj37nsNR9SoqMYtqnwyQQQtEOsLdaK6IrpE5_k7k8-f3LjFzNvJIIiFmLpto/s1600/DSC_5151_old_seats_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQs10yzTeU1l541fMeHDP6QEpFQSb2uJahMF-ZAm3Fa-4FySsW3gvN-_7qb1U5tmhBLmrd0KVpZb9btlyj37nsNR9SoqMYtqnwyQQQtEOsLdaK6IrpE5_k7k8-f3LjFzNvJIIiFmLpto/s320/DSC_5151_old_seats_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Chairs. Greybull Livestock Auction.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>160-180 million year old dinosaur track, Red Gulch. Species unknown (Therapod?)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnPUOYk-6ju2S05jZJkQpHz3-gTEFrWpgvyjrSuMZ8ytxK8VP2rXNKuTqNGnUp0qblRBu_Nyd7Hg4YkdHLnibLjBntNyeZkZNE9NmfzUKNL936sKhAWDhwbu2Oh1s0wiOeztfVk6rNZw/s1600/DSC_5176_greybull_livestock_auction_chute.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnPUOYk-6ju2S05jZJkQpHz3-gTEFrWpgvyjrSuMZ8ytxK8VP2rXNKuTqNGnUp0qblRBu_Nyd7Hg4YkdHLnibLjBntNyeZkZNE9NmfzUKNL936sKhAWDhwbu2Oh1s0wiOeztfVk6rNZw/s320/DSC_5176_greybull_livestock_auction_chute.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Chute, Greybull Livestock Auction</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCzQOqWhf7119hc4J8AznWtK7o5KWT3mI9dAHH435HYRN7gHmeZNvW_8Shwb1_n3dIXIedLf8o-DG3vqmlMQQcpDyI_HMmQH1LJj9X9L-ICyRXXIHCw_6sccfJSUOj_6ullQeq73xAZI/s1600/DSC_5179_livestock_chute_greybull_auction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCzQOqWhf7119hc4J8AznWtK7o5KWT3mI9dAHH435HYRN7gHmeZNvW_8Shwb1_n3dIXIedLf8o-DG3vqmlMQQcpDyI_HMmQH1LJj9X9L-ICyRXXIHCw_6sccfJSUOj_6ullQeq73xAZI/s320/DSC_5179_livestock_chute_greybull_auction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Chute, Greybull Livestock Auction</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0OJh6UlWBdgzBgG6JQsH_esaur2VU1w1tTsOrXEoEFmkV5_0wCdLUWwr1LfLDRm1odLdnrXbS0YgQUyBZ4W6Rb5v44ocf7TFu5AhKvaEy2ajkO25FDZ_kT6J0JixRKK4Jim4Wg2yuvM/s1600/DSC_5197_horseshoe_greybull_auction_house.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0OJh6UlWBdgzBgG6JQsH_esaur2VU1w1tTsOrXEoEFmkV5_0wCdLUWwr1LfLDRm1odLdnrXbS0YgQUyBZ4W6Rb5v44ocf7TFu5AhKvaEy2ajkO25FDZ_kT6J0JixRKK4Jim4Wg2yuvM/s320/DSC_5197_horseshoe_greybull_auction_house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Greybull Livestock Auction.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpbS-qD9bscAyqGR0ESkCr6nj3k_t3L6A2msEQcTF4IRQhUG1Gg3qufTYHr1sZKaXlZEBt2UsSqxW3lgXbWxMvhtibVJkTe6jUNprMuCjj8AdZlqMqK8SXIrv459c5m9W8nyNH_cYRzM/s1600/DSC_5233_tree_marks_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpbS-qD9bscAyqGR0ESkCr6nj3k_t3L6A2msEQcTF4IRQhUG1Gg3qufTYHr1sZKaXlZEBt2UsSqxW3lgXbWxMvhtibVJkTe6jUNprMuCjj8AdZlqMqK8SXIrv459c5m9W8nyNH_cYRzM/s320/DSC_5233_tree_marks_greybull_livestock_auction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Trees and wind leave their mark, Greybull Livestock Auction.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicIIiWm4fhcuAtChup1SI13p2Y4sW3_RxruwPMOifco5vRwU3YBrE9k_-3tVlI-vF6dwU8U48uYVxfVyFrt8_pVasYEwXeQfZQ7vhe440oA9xZ44uZRQvtazYhMSe4zPI47dbymANAO4/s1600/DSC_8741_badlands_red_gulch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicIIiWm4fhcuAtChup1SI13p2Y4sW3_RxruwPMOifco5vRwU3YBrE9k_-3tVlI-vF6dwU8U48uYVxfVyFrt8_pVasYEwXeQfZQ7vhe440oA9xZ44uZRQvtazYhMSe4zPI47dbymANAO4/s320/DSC_8741_badlands_red_gulch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Badlands, Eastern Bighorn Basin.</i></span></div>
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<br />Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-52270503873423087472021-12-13T06:38:00.000-08:002021-12-13T06:38:21.986-08:00Ancestral Puebloans and Climate Migration<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTNTMElQok_sDucGyltO8qEoYcXMvIADqce-M4lMCo-ae2nyGpiK-FHVOZpDVy0HqBOL0m64E_Z1X_28sb4AQkY7OwLUWHELIIOL56LKg70k_zkuYVXtv2KNs-GfchP72i2m5tj3cy3hyXyJR-cdouXxy_IcDVvKvBLHN9J9zEgewa4tCOGBR5mWFf=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTNTMElQok_sDucGyltO8qEoYcXMvIADqce-M4lMCo-ae2nyGpiK-FHVOZpDVy0HqBOL0m64E_Z1X_28sb4AQkY7OwLUWHELIIOL56LKg70k_zkuYVXtv2KNs-GfchP72i2m5tj3cy3hyXyJR-cdouXxy_IcDVvKvBLHN9J9zEgewa4tCOGBR5mWFf=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Dollhouse Ruin in the Bear's Ears region.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Click on images to view larger)</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The U.S. desert southwest is remarkable in its concentration of archaeological sites, relics of the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied the Four Corners region until about 1300 AD when, somewhat mysteriously, they left. Anthropologists have pondered the abandonment of places like Cedar Mesa, Chaco Canyon, and Mesa Verde for over a century, and many theories have emerged to explain why these people abandoned elaborate structures and a well-developed civilization. The simplest explanation is that a “megadrought” in the late 1200s drove them out, but hypotheses are more nuanced, invoking resource depletion, violence from both within and outside, the breakdown of complex religious hierarchies, and increased vulnerability to environmental change caused by reliance on agriculture, to name a few. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU9WdDP1t5NV2sQZTLDrC0XC-l0nLGBHj4Z9-cl05OFYMzYapoyAUNBjisKGNdXgh2Wbr5MrppNnByycHVTIVK3ItP8-OynRcS5C6_M1n0O81ZAyGoluilK6LL39ZLEE34KkrZHXCxv2k2fwtVd57ptS-X3hFbdM6Zp05GqCxpRQP5yIWqHjqXnSDb=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhU9WdDP1t5NV2sQZTLDrC0XC-l0nLGBHj4Z9-cl05OFYMzYapoyAUNBjisKGNdXgh2Wbr5MrppNnByycHVTIVK3ItP8-OynRcS5C6_M1n0O81ZAyGoluilK6LL39ZLEE34KkrZHXCxv2k2fwtVd57ptS-X3hFbdM6Zp05GqCxpRQP5yIWqHjqXnSDb=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Reliance on corn may have been a mixed blessing for Ancestral Puebloans because of increased vulnerability to changes in climate. (Comb Ridge, October 2021).</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1xhUlxDF6x5y2sojf5_Z346ZbFIDQU4hGI3JbSWrN1xpEBLwMQlAddC0QFGIB96OviY1eksrzvvcSWAwnMP8pKpbjDQ0KlRFvfM_fgoZmt4cHQmve-eGBqu8eHEJA05ZU2lZkYfKNJTPQ605VZoDGC20ebXCE8CZ-OhXdX4AYXsbOjpxHFORmIuh-=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1xhUlxDF6x5y2sojf5_Z346ZbFIDQU4hGI3JbSWrN1xpEBLwMQlAddC0QFGIB96OviY1eksrzvvcSWAwnMP8pKpbjDQ0KlRFvfM_fgoZmt4cHQmve-eGBqu8eHEJA05ZU2lZkYfKNJTPQ605VZoDGC20ebXCE8CZ-OhXdX4AYXsbOjpxHFORmIuh-=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A granary on Cedar Mesa used for storing corn. (October 2021)</i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There is general agreement that by 1300, most of the sites across the Four Corners were abandoned. Evidence suggests that the Ancestral Puebloans migrated south and integrated with Hopi and Zuni peoples and other groups in the Rio Grande drainages, though it is still unclear why they moved from one dry place to another. What <i>is</i> clear is that environmental pressure led to a breakdown in society that culminated in abandonment and migration.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4VCckfw7NkRVZ2v-NETZJzdnw-2XsqCh7kXoX8iKzmyxvTc59pSXPxabB01QzjyFTs7untmpAKsMsV3pn3RZi3RtdJ0Vc384C7Ppcz6TIQVIabMbfMEsvAmz3m6gx9vIzQMmmjApc33jxc1eDHC2h0fsSYb0kvjGalSgZ7-Sul0rYZKeyr6ZKibmw=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4VCckfw7NkRVZ2v-NETZJzdnw-2XsqCh7kXoX8iKzmyxvTc59pSXPxabB01QzjyFTs7untmpAKsMsV3pn3RZi3RtdJ0Vc384C7Ppcz6TIQVIabMbfMEsvAmz3m6gx9vIzQMmmjApc33jxc1eDHC2h0fsSYb0kvjGalSgZ7-Sul0rYZKeyr6ZKibmw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Masterfully constructed structures at Hovenweep National Monument, Utah. Why were these built on boulders? (October 2021)</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb7WCKOvHIODTZSeT01jUYzJbtTOx4HIbtuKDDjWh59TaJOf-9LgvLxc2Vu6L2Ecve0kO6EzIV4WdxIa4yody85J5KVxwpPxP4HJQdes6y1ueZz92VUyzgz2r8ASH33fPsb2bVxrTGbnF57hCjZC8Q5tMfMKetSDO2WAKua1DVmhkXv5XeJVLCUwfC=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb7WCKOvHIODTZSeT01jUYzJbtTOx4HIbtuKDDjWh59TaJOf-9LgvLxc2Vu6L2Ecve0kO6EzIV4WdxIa4yody85J5KVxwpPxP4HJQdes6y1ueZz92VUyzgz2r8ASH33fPsb2bVxrTGbnF57hCjZC8Q5tMfMKetSDO2WAKua1DVmhkXv5XeJVLCUwfC=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A ruin at Hovenweep as a storm builds in the distance. (October 2021)</i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">While I was in the Southwest this fall, I read Douglas Preston’s book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Ground-Douglas-Preston/dp/1982112190/ref=asc_df_1982112190/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343242926153&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12215782973330030792&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-762250086193&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=67797265423&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343242926153&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12215782973330030792&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-762250086193" target="_blank">Talking to the Ground</a></i>, about a 400-mile horseback trip he and his family took in 1992 across the Navajo Reservation, tracing creation stories and talking with Navajo people along the way. In his 2019 epilogue, Preston espouses the idea that Chacoan power hierarchy depended on the belief that religious leaders controlled the rain, a strategy that worked well for them in wet years but not so well when multi-year drought inevitably arrived. This led to violence and the breaking of bonds holding geographically disparate groups together. Though theories continue to evolve, the gist remains the same—drought-caused stress catalyzed changes leading to abandonment of vast areas and dissolution of a well-developed civilization. Preston writes: </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“What we know is this: one thousand years ago, the Anasazi embarked on a great religious experiment at Chaco Canyon, an experiment based on the (illusory) control of nature. It was an experiment whose ultimate consequences the Anasazi did not foresee. And it failed.” </i>(Preston pg. 261) </blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRd55AR7Y9sfLLjuWI_nN45zJFxsFJqwMsUGFfN0LjXJDnukAL_6cpuESKp8N0mcIe4eob_1L5p5tPnij_EWOE0v1xxaOnGz13MroDZMmWTtSe8sSc03BZHCekuc477u0KaBG7HAZDqN3CtFEnPs_KFJAFwvhCI6rg1DgZo2gXXZXmWmBqDdQt3FmV=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRd55AR7Y9sfLLjuWI_nN45zJFxsFJqwMsUGFfN0LjXJDnukAL_6cpuESKp8N0mcIe4eob_1L5p5tPnij_EWOE0v1xxaOnGz13MroDZMmWTtSe8sSc03BZHCekuc477u0KaBG7HAZDqN3CtFEnPs_KFJAFwvhCI6rg1DgZo2gXXZXmWmBqDdQt3FmV=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ruins at Chaco Canyon (June 2018).</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZA3v3DVcFpeycAPMOZBxeHFwV4KjMPrdd7Mdo95KdrmwbxMDDMNue_lfydD2UQte3oOZTDulBChLfb8HEWJxWjRS3kHn3beCojnFSRzrVHcmZozY4FVjLLakqmIY8mZEhNr3vflc2rbSLi6GiErXCzobs5JcmsJ5qCfG-UUgaqBBfPPU7DCX3KA5T=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZA3v3DVcFpeycAPMOZBxeHFwV4KjMPrdd7Mdo95KdrmwbxMDDMNue_lfydD2UQte3oOZTDulBChLfb8HEWJxWjRS3kHn3beCojnFSRzrVHcmZozY4FVjLLakqmIY8mZEhNr3vflc2rbSLi6GiErXCzobs5JcmsJ5qCfG-UUgaqBBfPPU7DCX3KA5T=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The well-known Citadel ruin on Cedar Mesa. Did ruins become more defensive as resources became scarce? (March 2016)</i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/science/08anasazi.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank">2008 New York Times article</a> by George Johnson acknowledges this idea but suggests that abandonment may have been less sudden, though still ultimately driven by changing environmental conditions. The article concludes:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“Amid the swirl of competing explanations, one thing is clear: The pueblo people didn’t just dry up and blow away like so much parched corn. They restructured their societies, tried to adapt and when all else failed they moved on.”</i></blockquote><p><i> </i></p><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuMJ9jcxqQjzHZKqBOEZ66b5n05gnfnDYlkfgSGXASOSXo1WD2R4oGMDRfsllDPsJRmAEB83USEYQaqGPiLYrgLkyvwwgIAraGc_tztoqggko00rvgyCqqGy0qt7YU_LPYybVWDwaHuq4T5XKJ3kAbwq9uzHJNfaN2yFWCiQcsL6t8w7lO6FqlCVm9=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuMJ9jcxqQjzHZKqBOEZ66b5n05gnfnDYlkfgSGXASOSXo1WD2R4oGMDRfsllDPsJRmAEB83USEYQaqGPiLYrgLkyvwwgIAraGc_tztoqggko00rvgyCqqGy0qt7YU_LPYybVWDwaHuq4T5XKJ3kAbwq9uzHJNfaN2yFWCiQcsL6t8w7lO6FqlCVm9=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We still have marks on door trim in our house showing our daughter's height as she grew up. Maybe the handprints above this dwelling were the same. We think of ancient migrations in the abstract, but these were people like us whose lives were uprooted. (Cedar Mesa, March 2017)</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Migrations in response to changing climate were not new, even in 1300. The populating of the Americas was mediated by the last ice age as people crossed the land bridge from Asia and walked southward. Further back, there is <a href="https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/soestwp/announce/press-releases/past-climate-change-swings-orchestrated-early-human-migration-waves-out-of-africa/" style="color: #954f72;">evidence</a> that waves of migration of <i>Homo sapiens</i> from Africa into southern Europe beginning almost 100,000 years ago may have been driven by periodic climate changes that opened green corridors between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Humans have always moved to more favorable environments </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u>when they could</u></i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">In September (2021) on our way to SE Utah to camp, hike, and visit ruins, we drove along I-70 in Colorado through the heavy smoke of the 2021 fire season, entering Glenwood Canyon where an extensive wildfire the previous year had denuded the canyon walls of vegetation. Earlier in the summer, unusually heavy monsoon rains generated enormous landslides, trapping people in their cars, briefly damming the Colorado River, and decimating parts of the highway, which was still being repaired months later. We arrived in Utah during an unseasonable heat wave and sweltered for several weeks before it finally cooled down. These extremes—wildfires, torrential rain, landslides, heat—are signs of a changing climate, but unlike the changes in the 1200s, modern climate change is global, not regional. </span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">Even in 1995, Douglas Preston and the Navajo people he visited were aware of modern parallels to the Chacoans:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>“As the twentieth century draws to a close, we find ourselves in a similar effort to control nature, only this time on a much larger scale. Our experiment is not based on ritual but on technology. We believe, as the Chacoans did before us, that we have gained a certain mastery over nature. Our God gave us dominion.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>The question is: have we really achieved it? Could our mastery of nature be as much an illusion as the rain ceremonies of the Chacoans? Are we, like the Anasazi, headed for an environmental or technological disaster?”</i> (Preston pgs. 261-262 of )</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Today, Preston’s last question seems quaint. The answer is clear, but still we struggle to respond in a meaningful way to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gasses we spew into the thin film of atmosphere clinging to the earth.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2VVNdrAg6BxwmRrXWHdDPGvrLu1D2wpYpq8kstybEXsBOehjVhXCV-sePglcaYmiX-gVKy8DtH2IFZEFCgkyV1NGz1w914gq_nBrZooDeOG2v1VfTamJN6Dv8zYGbhPhdP-rlaJY2k6v0U2XH3D4src7Q7AMkeuLU1qrcCjea11FAZfK1BL6F8u8U=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2VVNdrAg6BxwmRrXWHdDPGvrLu1D2wpYpq8kstybEXsBOehjVhXCV-sePglcaYmiX-gVKy8DtH2IFZEFCgkyV1NGz1w914gq_nBrZooDeOG2v1VfTamJN6Dv8zYGbhPhdP-rlaJY2k6v0U2XH3D4src7Q7AMkeuLU1qrcCjea11FAZfK1BL6F8u8U=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Wildfire smoke during the Mullen Fire west of Laramie, Wyoming. Smoky summers are part of our lives now. Ten years ago they were the exception. (September 2020)</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br />During his journey, Preston speaks with a Navajo man named Edsel Brown. The Navajo, who themselves once migrated from the northwestern North America to the desert, believe that the earth is a living relation rather than a “resource.” Edsel Brown tells Preston (emphasis at the end is mine):</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“This cycle goes back to a long time ago. It goes back to the first invention that was created. It goes back to when the Bilagaana </i>[white man]<i> realized that they had the power to make things. They had the power to create things. And they started to look on the land as a resource. They didn’t look at the land as relatives, as living beings, which it is. And they made these inventions, electricity, dams, cars, bombs, pesticides, everything. They kept thinking that all these inventions would help them. And yet, they’re still not helping them. And now, today, things are starting not to work for them, and <u>they have no place to go</u>, and they have a hard time realizing what is happening.”</i> (Quote from a Navajo man, Edsel Brown in Preston, pgs. 263-264)</blockquote><p></p><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It’s hard for us to see changes that happen over decades or centuries, but the effects of climate change are increasingly obvious. Are we creating our own ruins? Who will visit them?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivnxeOK99WJ46xhfInkMKRGNdNe4d-QIpKnl68d4jPNe6WDoOEzmNf8z1ZDXKdzIYXyjpRFycZO5YOO6NWEVuu2to_3WEcr_bHlfBSeFpFYncg35miVLVd9wZacoxY7My6JSdRpnROiu2wiWJVzbIQL2J1TlGkNMZffU-iE-ruNHq-tl4rhVdsS5PA=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivnxeOK99WJ46xhfInkMKRGNdNe4d-QIpKnl68d4jPNe6WDoOEzmNf8z1ZDXKdzIYXyjpRFycZO5YOO6NWEVuu2to_3WEcr_bHlfBSeFpFYncg35miVLVd9wZacoxY7My6JSdRpnROiu2wiWJVzbIQL2J1TlGkNMZffU-iE-ruNHq-tl4rhVdsS5PA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ruins and graffiti at an abandoned industrial site in Laramie (2011). Where will <u>we</u> migrate?</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></p></div>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-39235706234657877782021-12-10T15:16:00.000-08:002021-12-10T15:16:49.788-08:00Mountain Biking: The White Rim <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LBf3XUfsn_OIbcbr5jGR9cyfu9pnmpRWB__F51C8AB9DRID2OX2-e_J3GV-v72socFai9fYg2B-A3iCz7TaAcUgNEnPRDUuFAPIspTphZOI8KJvPUnNnd8G_JkNYYNdVnVddrxa3qTI/s1800/DSC_0838_shafer_overlook_view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LBf3XUfsn_OIbcbr5jGR9cyfu9pnmpRWB__F51C8AB9DRID2OX2-e_J3GV-v72socFai9fYg2B-A3iCz7TaAcUgNEnPRDUuFAPIspTphZOI8KJvPUnNnd8G_JkNYYNdVnVddrxa3qTI/w400-h266/DSC_0838_shafer_overlook_view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Looking out over the first part of the smoky, hot (90s) White Rim from the Shafer Overlook. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click images to view larger)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the first of three nights spent on the White Rim Trail we camped at the exposed Airport site, and after dinner, the 90+ degree cloudless day gave way to violent wind and lightning. We did our best to hold our tents together. I plastered myself against the windward wall of our Big Agnes Copper Spur 2, while Ellen lay on her back supporting the poles with her feet and the opposite wall with her arms. One pole snapped and ripped through the fly, but we stayed mostly dry even as blowing sand filtered through netting onto our pillows and sleeping bags. After more than an hour of wind (60 mph? 70mph? more?) and just enough rain and hail to turn the dust to mud, the storm moved on, and we reunited in the dark with our friends to assess the damage, comb the desert downwind of camp for lost crap, and compare stories. Despite the violent storm, it never got even remotely cool.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The trip included eight of us from all over the West (Laramie, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Bisbee, Seattle). We mountain biked the route over four days in mid-September, when temperatures each day hovered in the 90s and low 100s, well above "normal" for that time of year, but not that unusual either. 90s and 100s are <i>less</i> ideal than other temperatures, but despite the heat and wildfire smoke, it was a very fun trip--much more fun, for example, than the plethora of pandemic-spawned Zoom meetings (graphic below) all of us have faced.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The world has changed since the last time I was on the White Rim decades ago. Mountain biking wasn't even a <i>thing </i>then, when, with no permit required, friends and I camped for a week in Taylor Canyon to climb Moses and Zeus (sandstone spires) and didn't see another soul. Moab, then relatively sleepy, is now a hellscape of ATVs, traffic, tourists, hotels, restaurants, and t-shirt stores; it's hotter and smokier in the West every year; covid rages; and mountain bikers (including us) are everywhere. Despite that, the White Rim remains beautiful and uncrowded. What a pleasure, even in the heat, to ride with good friends along the Colorado and Green Rivers, past Wingate cliffs with spires coming into view around every corner and good meals at every camp. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are a few photos from our trip, and a little information follows on logistics. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RQboVW6W0D6OnDWUCg7OvD5qP1iaKahdwPeSselzZgWseVzP3biIZ9K070TXE-vm5VRZNivWsjnnFkVcLPVASK8jixeWgV0q3Khnth0pZwb-KGaWkSRMFg0rPBV3Awbm7W_mIXnu8yc/s1800/white_rim_graphic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1800" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RQboVW6W0D6OnDWUCg7OvD5qP1iaKahdwPeSselzZgWseVzP3biIZ9K070TXE-vm5VRZNivWsjnnFkVcLPVASK8jixeWgV0q3Khnth0pZwb-KGaWkSRMFg0rPBV3Awbm7W_mIXnu8yc/w400-h284/white_rim_graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Daytime temperature on the White Rim vs. Enjoyment. (graph concept <span style="text-align: left;">copied from</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://semirad.com" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">semi-rad.com</a>).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphOjVjxEt5p_kv8fZ0TDt1FTcDixcjLXdKuPcqATEyv_w2Fl_ndSxQ0bBEtw7vgcfWHBaTV6uC8zhBCeCC2aDqP9hqYKFA2iv2GE4XTr_ft-Qp4Lrd0yWLJ8sV0n3TCCJ8ABsgRP2wnQ/s1800/DSC03544_white_rim_start.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphOjVjxEt5p_kv8fZ0TDt1FTcDixcjLXdKuPcqATEyv_w2Fl_ndSxQ0bBEtw7vgcfWHBaTV6uC8zhBCeCC2aDqP9hqYKFA2iv2GE4XTr_ft-Qp4Lrd0yWLJ8sV0n3TCCJ8ABsgRP2wnQ/w400-h266/DSC03544_white_rim_start.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(L to R): Me, Ellen, Brian Collins, Larry Scritchfield, Allie Ruckman, Ben Leonard, Bret Ruckman, Judy Ruckman. We were barely sweating at all before we started riding.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JtioQ5hIiiaHuJXvIdzOr9u93tqEHh3FzJBwaMEngQBFR-1FaXkMolqQ6rrxoRJoDX_k3-TxiOZ0GIuqZ8gNCkmsjC2_xRC3asACW6npI0Cbpp8Z95XX5OuL9VnJxwRtIoVUMayAI5o/s1800/DSC03541_larry_shaffer_road.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JtioQ5hIiiaHuJXvIdzOr9u93tqEHh3FzJBwaMEngQBFR-1FaXkMolqQ6rrxoRJoDX_k3-TxiOZ0GIuqZ8gNCkmsjC2_xRC3asACW6npI0Cbpp8Z95XX5OuL9VnJxwRtIoVUMayAI5o/w400-h266/DSC03541_larry_shaffer_road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Shafer Overlook: Larry looking down at the Shafer switchbacks--the descent route to the White Rim. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZiszsRvsw49iH4ZeKgWBYljo0O7-3jF9OtsEmmQd8Ohe7KOGdWDJRcq4EeKj6OBSpzC4cLi5Rz22adeuGBjDa02HxU2gbAQevoaXK6J6km9aBp4agV1WsSiSR6IKNTcnEIZ-sfug2A0/s1800/DSC03566_bret_crows_head.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZiszsRvsw49iH4ZeKgWBYljo0O7-3jF9OtsEmmQd8Ohe7KOGdWDJRcq4EeKj6OBSpzC4cLi5Rz22adeuGBjDa02HxU2gbAQevoaXK6J6km9aBp4agV1WsSiSR6IKNTcnEIZ-sfug2A0/w400-h266/DSC03566_bret_crows_head.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 1: Bret pointing out Crow's Head Spire, a climbing destination. We camped on the rim near there after finishing the 4-day ride.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeWZKBygLj-44cNRivU0BKdIiWam8vnr_N9Lrds1RGdTKxmMAv4gO38NcAYk5jJyGlvyBg49RMu-3F5suAiojyLoWwAsNIB2IwRru4yXMfSa5XDm5PXIq6hnsYv5dioyuTBQxJIhlv8M/s1800/DSC03573_white_rim_breakdown.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeWZKBygLj-44cNRivU0BKdIiWam8vnr_N9Lrds1RGdTKxmMAv4gO38NcAYk5jJyGlvyBg49RMu-3F5suAiojyLoWwAsNIB2IwRru4yXMfSa5XDm5PXIq6hnsYv5dioyuTBQxJIhlv8M/w400-h266/DSC03573_white_rim_breakdown.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 1: White Rim sandstone capping mini-spires along the rim. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7evknuRaOrUt6p8qtGSzrC2dwYnLbQFTq8YLF6aFkizDVncXBrDKojD84VKGMaq9xPbkJ_EI6iWquHhmfnsCogSIV80Bfh_GCY1hQwS3xGuhVADC4tAVvGaPpL4JyKAYOLQ7hltOHxs/s1800/DSC03579_musselman_arch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7evknuRaOrUt6p8qtGSzrC2dwYnLbQFTq8YLF6aFkizDVncXBrDKojD84VKGMaq9xPbkJ_EI6iWquHhmfnsCogSIV80Bfh_GCY1hQwS3xGuhVADC4tAVvGaPpL4JyKAYOLQ7hltOHxs/w400-h266/DSC03579_musselman_arch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 1: Musselman Arch. Walking across it is prohibited, but rumor has it that it's been traversed by ATVs (and probably motorcycles). </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nzz3ii3NVwceVL3Z0QuobHFO2gGS4ulwCbXlhHLGJ3eHGvv8TTJPPkke2VukyPRAGztsANqZcWU7LhXwBR_O3mF-FwMJLwTCqps3rldh5Oq7tDLEqBf21QLbm_ErGiRLsau7GhZy1hw/s1800/DSC03596_white_rim.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nzz3ii3NVwceVL3Z0QuobHFO2gGS4ulwCbXlhHLGJ3eHGvv8TTJPPkke2VukyPRAGztsANqZcWU7LhXwBR_O3mF-FwMJLwTCqps3rldh5Oq7tDLEqBf21QLbm_ErGiRLsau7GhZy1hw/w400-h266/DSC03596_white_rim.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 1: One of many enticing canyons cut into the White Rim. The heat kept us from getting too enticed though. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe7URefWtca0IA81PmJdAkAWTwfaMsOS6hfhMuo480YvuOdzm3ZjPKVoRgy4nHIdEGSnQu1Tf53un1HPfNDBfBYrOEnP5f9Je9JI6KKEs6itLpbN_7K2xNfp_lz0rP7oGj53ny-b6Uys/s1800/DSC_0841_white_rim_landscape.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe7URefWtca0IA81PmJdAkAWTwfaMsOS6hfhMuo480YvuOdzm3ZjPKVoRgy4nHIdEGSnQu1Tf53un1HPfNDBfBYrOEnP5f9Je9JI6KKEs6itLpbN_7K2xNfp_lz0rP7oGj53ny-b6Uys/w400-h266/DSC_0841_white_rim_landscape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">Camp 1: Not so ominous (we thought) storm clouds gather near our first camp at the exposed Airport site. After we retired for the night, the storm unleashed 60-70 mph wind and rain, hail, and lightning for over an hour, during which we all fought private battles to keep our tents from being tattered and rolled across the desert. It was engaging and amusing.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrW_UacuaxjwuiVcOQPV6eM1X69WJYmdZPq1gE9XZtQ6w34nkfEeyWr0LxSyUne0OljNI_gVFTDCd_caWQcSjzN7Jz3KdIObv5jn6xBPsylAxSGLNr2HnVO1PpAOa5T09ST5eyH-YTPw/s1800/DSC_0846_larry_brian_white_rim_airport_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrW_UacuaxjwuiVcOQPV6eM1X69WJYmdZPq1gE9XZtQ6w34nkfEeyWr0LxSyUne0OljNI_gVFTDCd_caWQcSjzN7Jz3KdIObv5jn6xBPsylAxSGLNr2HnVO1PpAOa5T09ST5eyH-YTPw/w400-h266/DSC_0846_larry_brian_white_rim_airport_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">Camp 1: Larry (R) and Brian (L) set up their tents at the Airport site. Unlike some of us, they had the wisdom to attach their tent flies BEFORE the wind reached tropical storm force.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWAqOF1tFtWbuk-exSaOikKp1o8hwuY7s2ZAz3OiJkQNh6lMOEMFFQRIXS4AYAORYlY8wqt4lgV7AqxOwv4NTdm3qPxWNqYNDu3H90QRpiyT4Zg9NGOXV1g36_X-Wi8WfId_XEKsZCac/s1800/DSC_0859_ellen_judy_airport_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWAqOF1tFtWbuk-exSaOikKp1o8hwuY7s2ZAz3OiJkQNh6lMOEMFFQRIXS4AYAORYlY8wqt4lgV7AqxOwv4NTdm3qPxWNqYNDu3H90QRpiyT4Zg9NGOXV1g36_X-Wi8WfId_XEKsZCac/w400-h266/DSC_0859_ellen_judy_airport_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">Camp 1 (morning): The next morning, Ellen (L) and Judy (R) compare notes on how to hold a tent up with your feet in 60+ mph wind.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQv7CoKSLMpopTsCj8IRovawEGStY_3di0ptnzyaO0pJQzDJefYOMtwsjGGPyptUQsahAjrQVOYPzCJsyV_w4iCQb3JkGbRi_0e9KBh1XBNsnfkCgOP8OKsmDe0cWx6CeJHYZQwQqNQM/s1800/DSC_0863_airport_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQv7CoKSLMpopTsCj8IRovawEGStY_3di0ptnzyaO0pJQzDJefYOMtwsjGGPyptUQsahAjrQVOYPzCJsyV_w4iCQb3JkGbRi_0e9KBh1XBNsnfkCgOP8OKsmDe0cWx6CeJHYZQwQqNQM/w400-h266/DSC_0863_airport_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Camp 1 (morning): The storm-battered crew prepares for the second day of riding. </i><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01OeiELAnUvgvDJaaHlD7cXKIBCe5aFJuk_wyxb6mKEUXB_1AlsjWfxA-afnGD3KLjDyPmQvN7jLHfTOOeHh9-xxz4X5bNx_l7faaij7GgT_EE2Yv-mK5JxBS5uFmxD5dOFl3otuwuqg/s1800/DSC03612_bret_monster_washer_woman_towers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01OeiELAnUvgvDJaaHlD7cXKIBCe5aFJuk_wyxb6mKEUXB_1AlsjWfxA-afnGD3KLjDyPmQvN7jLHfTOOeHh9-xxz4X5bNx_l7faaij7GgT_EE2Yv-mK5JxBS5uFmxD5dOFl3otuwuqg/w400-h266/DSC03612_bret_monster_washer_woman_towers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 2: Bret riding with Monster and Washer Woman Towers in the background.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvVXp1z6zAhikWgcnsB4k-kxPNfTJbzNHvBc5dV1IAPHKCs9njEDnn2dRhg8a47uSABAldwTWQ4MImhTY6YgDK96V2h_wL-Ak8fz17hu7OLecSKDC2zB_85Wnt0iBxFYTAqUN6U4Tflk/s1800/DSC03615_allie_judy_ben_white_rim.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvVXp1z6zAhikWgcnsB4k-kxPNfTJbzNHvBc5dV1IAPHKCs9njEDnn2dRhg8a47uSABAldwTWQ4MImhTY6YgDK96V2h_wL-Ak8fz17hu7OLecSKDC2zB_85Wnt0iBxFYTAqUN6U4Tflk/w400-h266/DSC03615_allie_judy_ben_white_rim.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 2: Allie and Judy share the shade of an umbrella. My umbrella self-destructed at our first rest stop on day 1 ($5.99 just doesn't buy the quality it used to), so I was left with only my hat for shade.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xeAWBhY63GeAdhQWYakU5HKXsZWxwfGKo1ZimoHSldU3SfqFLJ8JHM8fGeywzOWhMec1x9MZ_CSaEckiPP9aRIsbOOMkZMWjbTkv5nN6rGTz6Z28NBF-apEhWAt6l28Mh2Z005TxhWM/s1800/DSC03619_white_rim_pourover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xeAWBhY63GeAdhQWYakU5HKXsZWxwfGKo1ZimoHSldU3SfqFLJ8JHM8fGeywzOWhMec1x9MZ_CSaEckiPP9aRIsbOOMkZMWjbTkv5nN6rGTz6Z28NBF-apEhWAt6l28Mh2Z005TxhWM/s320/DSC03619_white_rim_pourover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 2: Bret standing on the rim of an enormous alcove undercutting the road/trail.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmL4O1TvPJZkjqL82J2JBDuKBTe8EC7qHjd9HxpBCimiCS7n9trSSEqt8QeRr4ihJS43UOzzMlN5Cva7IUUOE88c367gwZII58IlJ5cdJU1KSAmtA0ZNgC-XGcRsrIa6alhnBXGWzOSv4/s1800/DSC03635_white_rim_rest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmL4O1TvPJZkjqL82J2JBDuKBTe8EC7qHjd9HxpBCimiCS7n9trSSEqt8QeRr4ihJS43UOzzMlN5Cva7IUUOE88c367gwZII58IlJ5cdJU1KSAmtA0ZNgC-XGcRsrIa6alhnBXGWzOSv4/w400-h266/DSC03635_white_rim_rest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 2: 90s? 100s? Shade?</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwY75lVmbEG-0EVJow2R6ZXojp-gwhzWdXmYR2Rvx7JfRkGW5wY6CCK-R2EYLGyrU1sZwvVnXtMBWIREWpvC3EKdhGSFrQjT_pVAO3FV0wnnGGVhMtJ-RTqeBuBgTuchCmLuEV7kwtFh8/s1800/DSC03641_ellen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwY75lVmbEG-0EVJow2R6ZXojp-gwhzWdXmYR2Rvx7JfRkGW5wY6CCK-R2EYLGyrU1sZwvVnXtMBWIREWpvC3EKdhGSFrQjT_pVAO3FV0wnnGGVhMtJ-RTqeBuBgTuchCmLuEV7kwtFh8/w400-h266/DSC03641_ellen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 2: Ellen approaching the steep climb to Murphy's Hogback near the end of the second day of riding.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4LuautAzLS9lCCkYSkzZfPLXL_xbVLnG6DcymJ4_W82zGO-EQI4k-u3a3beJYKLnlujb2GMNQ8WzHagcpUUaxrf1OriGWzTKrbkOGJAMdg5k2mHZIfJvcRcv1xTDrTBn5yeRzONNXjk/s1800/DSC_0885_danny_mcgee_murphy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4LuautAzLS9lCCkYSkzZfPLXL_xbVLnG6DcymJ4_W82zGO-EQI4k-u3a3beJYKLnlujb2GMNQ8WzHagcpUUaxrf1OriGWzTKrbkOGJAMdg5k2mHZIfJvcRcv1xTDrTBn5yeRzONNXjk/w400-h266/DSC_0885_danny_mcgee_murphy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Danny McGee, our sag driver. He works occasionally for Rim Tours, a Moab outfitter. Rim Tours was great to work with, and Danny was incredibly accommodating and patient as we wobbled along in the heat. He's a climber and knew Bret from Boulder, so there was an immediate connection. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs3vCPb0zeYQyPvlo1fwL074tR1IbNNj2igJrMuB_Zr8_ZXIahmJ3VtLU8mYvuTM_zKY_w7wuV3S7zsB3QH9vRMg034eswOGISwDybxphTGOZtLjvsQLF5wzlfPMG2VE4z0PxuOFj_No/s1800/DSC_0893_murphy_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs3vCPb0zeYQyPvlo1fwL074tR1IbNNj2igJrMuB_Zr8_ZXIahmJ3VtLU8mYvuTM_zKY_w7wuV3S7zsB3QH9vRMg034eswOGISwDybxphTGOZtLjvsQLF5wzlfPMG2VE4z0PxuOFj_No/w400-h266/DSC_0893_murphy_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp 2 - Murphy Hogback: We camped on top of the Murphy Hogback after walking our bikes up the steep hill that leads up it. We enjoyed great views from the camp and no more storms.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlSZ0cJPFZ_s0wyc2rIUimj_qjOeJ4XLg7PB2mp-PC4snnS36Qh6Z0wdqo6HhHlsAg6xTkApYtgQQH1GmZ9v7n8LwiUJw6hRJuZvUL1mbI3Buf55Fn8Odhzi5_IOdAUTL0W4eGkDY0FI/s1800/DSC_0895_bret_murphy_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlSZ0cJPFZ_s0wyc2rIUimj_qjOeJ4XLg7PB2mp-PC4snnS36Qh6Z0wdqo6HhHlsAg6xTkApYtgQQH1GmZ9v7n8LwiUJw6hRJuZvUL1mbI3Buf55Fn8Odhzi5_IOdAUTL0W4eGkDY0FI/w400-h266/DSC_0895_bret_murphy_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp 2: Bret organizing his and Judy's tent on Murphy's Hogback as the sun set. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoKwfUmb9NBoFxvpoGg8HQuueb8-6DLb1TlArXluvo9NhkfV0JnLYq7xjJDA4USD3zxs9-kAwZg0QrwJgs3yRoAX8oA2qJUSde0ljb7grcPoSVevOPxn4iecOfqlTgP8HicyaiADAi9s/s1800/DSC03658_shrimp_pool_black_crack_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoKwfUmb9NBoFxvpoGg8HQuueb8-6DLb1TlArXluvo9NhkfV0JnLYq7xjJDA4USD3zxs9-kAwZg0QrwJgs3yRoAX8oA2qJUSde0ljb7grcPoSVevOPxn4iecOfqlTgP8HicyaiADAi9s/w400-h266/DSC03658_shrimp_pool_black_crack_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 3: Watching freshwater shrimp in a pothole at Black Crack. Black Crack is a deep fissure that runs parallel to the rim for hundreds of meters where a part of the White Rim sandstone is separating from the rim.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbE_nNAEwktsee6FtIFzUTK7pNwAFwdiaSRFOxfNz42a_ejicybYbXp3owMiQ3p3Hso-_rht8QUyzmVQuHJAw7QkSJRh8m5d7BE8glNXOQ-5m89eWjZuk-JktlQOvP53lV4rwuZ0F2wI/s1800/DSC03670_brian_day_3_shade.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbE_nNAEwktsee6FtIFzUTK7pNwAFwdiaSRFOxfNz42a_ejicybYbXp3owMiQ3p3Hso-_rht8QUyzmVQuHJAw7QkSJRh8m5d7BE8glNXOQ-5m89eWjZuk-JktlQOvP53lV4rwuZ0F2wI/w400-h266/DSC03670_brian_day_3_shade.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 3: Brian taking refuge in a rare spot of shade on a day when a passing 4WD group told us it was 103 degrees. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6sPE9TaA74oB8ehc0h7HIy1H0r4FSxu99xcOHD0wNf-HSrJbDiak0lj39bqcTwP6UpGMQwxeGlpzzsmGuzPlmFf16lKHfTKMyLHwiBW84-uh5KSzp29VH_FuPJ45TUtJjGzMXABipoQ/s1800/DSC03677_lunch_holeman_slot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6sPE9TaA74oB8ehc0h7HIy1H0r4FSxu99xcOHD0wNf-HSrJbDiak0lj39bqcTwP6UpGMQwxeGlpzzsmGuzPlmFf16lKHfTKMyLHwiBW84-uh5KSzp29VH_FuPJ45TUtJjGzMXABipoQ/w400-h266/DSC03677_lunch_holeman_slot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 3: Lunchtime in the shade where the trail crosses the Holeman Slot. After lunch, we descended partway down the slot, which was shady and full of pools of water. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4Kjf4GaPkrTGkaFrEnjw4-rZuAyV4SODeuX7w-oq_i_FA4fLb3zzvQVnqYinlX_xBLFtM_0ZvCZO4Cg_ZtHAQ_mi962L2Dv6i2ETr_Ewz-YfAMcNPm8KPVx9vsnY7z3wTsp44zc46jc/s1800/DSC03697_bret_judy_allie_ben_holeman_slot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4Kjf4GaPkrTGkaFrEnjw4-rZuAyV4SODeuX7w-oq_i_FA4fLb3zzvQVnqYinlX_xBLFtM_0ZvCZO4Cg_ZtHAQ_mi962L2Dv6i2ETr_Ewz-YfAMcNPm8KPVx9vsnY7z3wTsp44zc46jc/w266-h400/DSC03697_bret_judy_allie_ben_holeman_slot.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 3: Bret spotting Judy on a downclimb in the slot. With muddy feet, The slab below him was the crux of the climb out on our return.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjAwzn2vd6RETVGEgxCCTmFNH3ES2FwFqP3RBI99pMwP5CBphx-kfKA1hNxm07BiFJvBA5c1EATrCzlmKiQ2VbF3QOBoDkkGufrLga-D_Un9n3TUrPiaPT6rsTut4wjmi4ojqkB5_K_0/s1800/DSC03716_tire_repair_day3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjAwzn2vd6RETVGEgxCCTmFNH3ES2FwFqP3RBI99pMwP5CBphx-kfKA1hNxm07BiFJvBA5c1EATrCzlmKiQ2VbF3QOBoDkkGufrLga-D_Un9n3TUrPiaPT6rsTut4wjmi4ojqkB5_K_0/w400-h266/DSC03716_tire_repair_day3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 3: Fixing a flat tire in the shadeless desert.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS3wu8_2uj1nQk0RxXbOU32DyUqIPCUudrHEMFY1zuLMVFla6Z3kc0EHPl1eQ6m5WQAn9vyaa6d3u3SzPEjzA3beDrWV-8Z8QGWmRwx3Cm2MPENIWLNuR_NHYJObs624oqAUXlTH9lSk/s1800/DSC_0902_white_rim_moon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS3wu8_2uj1nQk0RxXbOU32DyUqIPCUudrHEMFY1zuLMVFla6Z3kc0EHPl1eQ6m5WQAn9vyaa6d3u3SzPEjzA3beDrWV-8Z8QGWmRwx3Cm2MPENIWLNuR_NHYJObs624oqAUXlTH9lSk/w400-h266/DSC_0902_white_rim_moon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp 3: Sundown at Hardscrabble Bottom on the Green River, our last camp. After a day of riding in 100+ degree blazing sun, we lowered our body temperatures in the Green River and sat in the shade of an awning drinking beer.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF3aZSght_fjy8fEBHaheAAoTlYqNNSM0t-6Yf_VXaOfIOzL2K9Ba5fGTv_4vpAMKmm0Sp8wgIwGndHOHzq1C31zQThaofTpLeXLZD7wILivCmAZj-5O3az8nsAFbqnQHO9hYN8W83k0/s1800/DSC_0904_bret_bacon_hardscrabble_bottom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF3aZSght_fjy8fEBHaheAAoTlYqNNSM0t-6Yf_VXaOfIOzL2K9Ba5fGTv_4vpAMKmm0Sp8wgIwGndHOHzq1C31zQThaofTpLeXLZD7wILivCmAZj-5O3az8nsAFbqnQHO9hYN8W83k0/w400-h266/DSC_0904_bret_bacon_hardscrabble_bottom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp 3: Bret with bacon! Breakfast on our last day.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIUtldOvvyliMEaFiZ2owZkNwhgMBwn1VdX-1-dGfgjj4lo4cqg22zlkKmDltymp0L10YOte1Da-_00AkWqT566CyZJ-FvFANTgRTmmEqVABQmMDEuBWNySqpUDRKEinXBL9p25vW87I/s1800/DSC_0916_view_from_hardscrabble.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIUtldOvvyliMEaFiZ2owZkNwhgMBwn1VdX-1-dGfgjj4lo4cqg22zlkKmDltymp0L10YOte1Da-_00AkWqT566CyZJ-FvFANTgRTmmEqVABQmMDEuBWNySqpUDRKEinXBL9p25vW87I/w400-h266/DSC_0916_view_from_hardscrabble.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 4: Sunrise. Hardscrabble Bottom.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPPYhp0mU3D9YQtZqnhYmpwLaU3KpwjHtD3o5_iKijmoNaaSkhp6smbvOUQ23TmmuLnigmj-32kjk_fUA5VeEB5X7Gh_3CyXu_wEFMlUVDDwfTMEZuKcrKh_QHfz14yJZZlFeDdBKXVM/s1800/DSC03724_allie_ben_green_river_day4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPPYhp0mU3D9YQtZqnhYmpwLaU3KpwjHtD3o5_iKijmoNaaSkhp6smbvOUQ23TmmuLnigmj-32kjk_fUA5VeEB5X7Gh_3CyXu_wEFMlUVDDwfTMEZuKcrKh_QHfz14yJZZlFeDdBKXVM/w400-h266/DSC03724_allie_ben_green_river_day4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 4: Allie and Ben ride along the Green with youthful enthusiasm on the last day. Morning shade made youthful and oldful enthusiasm more achievable.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUwaXO_IknUVzABUQUmlpimhnhLteDwb3CPjdgQtIg2rBnuiyyh7A96rzWkTgtUz7adVhKycXXaftTFORahrSzskAsm23pxhn-lKUpiPpWMMDRUdpvO2FsCYyXFZdPNob3mHSAKp6bhc/s1800/DSC_0927_top_of_mineral_bottom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUwaXO_IknUVzABUQUmlpimhnhLteDwb3CPjdgQtIg2rBnuiyyh7A96rzWkTgtUz7adVhKycXXaftTFORahrSzskAsm23pxhn-lKUpiPpWMMDRUdpvO2FsCYyXFZdPNob3mHSAKp6bhc/w400-h266/DSC_0927_top_of_mineral_bottom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Day 4: Back to the car shuttle at the top of Mineral Bottom.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimG8DnNRbjplAmE5rENYsdh-kUx3Gn_7Iqk4OWtcHonqfPUApzLeTvvAAa1cJWTr-L22m6jJJ8wmR2qKIyU-2Qz_wtuhTQbRB2p_5G-vH060apjwVsW36AbfQhOGRZQXRePhfGdZ0jKy8/s1800/DSC_0956_crows_head_view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimG8DnNRbjplAmE5rENYsdh-kUx3Gn_7Iqk4OWtcHonqfPUApzLeTvvAAa1cJWTr-L22m6jJJ8wmR2qKIyU-2Qz_wtuhTQbRB2p_5G-vH060apjwVsW36AbfQhOGRZQXRePhfGdZ0jKy8/w400-h266/DSC_0956_crows_head_view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camp -- post trip: Crow's Head Spire from the rim (see earlier picture). Ellen and I camped with Bret, Judy, Allie, and Ben near here before we all headed off in different directions.</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Logistics</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We rode from Shafer to Mineral Bottom, which seemed good, but people ride the other way too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's no shortage of information online about the White Rim (see links below). The challenge is reserving well-spaced campsites along the way; our strategy was for 3 of us to hover over our keyboards on the day they opened up reservations for the time slot we wanted. The camps we got (Airport, Murphy's Hogback, Hardscrabble) were pretty good--Murphy's was great. White Crack seems to be the camp everyone wants to get, but we weren’t fast or lucky enough to grab it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We paid <a href="https://rimtours.com/" target="_blank">Rim Tours</a> to sag our trip so that all of us could ride every day and to save our own vehicles from the rough road. Most of the road was good, but the climbs up Murphy’s Hogback and Hardscrabble Hill seemed a little gnarly, and there were some deep mud holes on the last day. Presumably, the road gets graded now and then (??), but I was glad we didn’t drive it ourselves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We bought food as a group and took turns cooking and cleaning up. That worked well on our trip, but required a lot of planning with a big group. The alternative would be for everyone to buy their own food and cook for themselves. That choice is just a matter of group preference. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">See the following for more info:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://bearfoottheory.com/white-rim-trail-mountain-biking/" target="_blank">Bearfoot Theory</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm" target="_blank">NPS information</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/205150/white-rim-trail" target="_blank">Mountain Bike Project</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-47980029113295957942021-11-24T14:51:00.003-08:002022-01-31T08:14:31.566-08:00Photographing Autumn in the Shadow of Eliot Porter<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuA0N6A4wWFrg18wTebgznl2NkQPD0ourtl6iy5KZ-Hd3Aax-7Ow-CMWlp5k9dcd2MElbP_XHZTLo3bI909x8ipWY7y8avEObVzLOoSS2iBPFNU1CzckekBIUrmvN-Wr2dopbpBnaYNDU/s1800/DSC03727_maple_canyon_fall_colors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuA0N6A4wWFrg18wTebgznl2NkQPD0ourtl6iy5KZ-Hd3Aax-7Ow-CMWlp5k9dcd2MElbP_XHZTLo3bI909x8ipWY7y8avEObVzLOoSS2iBPFNU1CzckekBIUrmvN-Wr2dopbpBnaYNDU/w400-h266/DSC03727_maple_canyon_fall_colors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Maple Canyon, Utah. October 2021 </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Click on photos to view larger versions)</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Eliot Porter's (1901-1990) photographs evoked his love of the natural world, and his work has influenced photographers for decades. He was an early advocate for color in fine art photography, an innovation resisted by photographers and critics </span><span style="text-align: left;">who saw color photography as purely documentary </span>even into the 1980s<span>. In black and white prints they insisted, colors are rendered as tones at the discretion of the photographer, and these choices are the basis of art. In the book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eliot-Porter/dp/0821216759" target="_blank">Eliot Porter</a></i>, he reported that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Evans" target="_blank">Walker Evans</a>, another influential photographer, once griped, "...<i>in I suspect a reckless, not-to-be-quoted moment, that color is vulgar, nature is trivial, and beauty is not important.</i>"<sup>1</sup> Porter believed just the opposite.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Eliot Porter photographed intimate details in natural scenes rather than grand landscapes. Layers of texture and pattern combined to fill his frames, which were at once simple and complex. </span>Weston Naef, in the Afterword of the folio, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Landscapes-Eliot-Porter/dp/0870992090/ref=asc_df_0870992090/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=519541282464&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7578758345365902848&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-1260763267182&psc=1" target="_blank">Intimate Landscapes</a></i> that accompanied a 1979 exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, observed that:</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>"His strongest compositions have the look of carefully planned randomness in which the surface is a tapestry of uniformly significant elements arrayed from one edge of the picture to the other." (pg. 126)<sup>2</sup></i></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">Eight years later, Martha Sandweiss, a curator at the Amon Carter Museum, in the foreword to the book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eliot-Porter/dp/0821216759" target="_blank">Eliot Porter</a></i>, documenting her museum's 1987 exhibit of his photographs, echoed this view:</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>"Porter's pictures are generally composed without a single eye-catching focus. Each is carefully laid out from edge to edge, and the picture frame feels full" (pg. 8)<sup>1</sup></i></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">While the arrangements of elements in natural scenes are deterministic, the result of their interactions can appear random. Over time, Porter became increasingly aware of the paradox of random processes creating harmonious compositions. In the preface to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Landscapes-Eliot-Porter/dp/0870992090/ref=asc_df_0870992090/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=519541282464&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7578758345365902848&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-1260763267182&psc=1" target="_blank"><i>Intimate Landscapes</i></a>, he says, </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i>"In mixed woods of pine and maple, the needles of pines drop throughout the year, building jackstraw mats of thin brown bundles on which, at the time of the fall of the leaf, the bright maple leaves settle at random, arranging themselves in harmonious patterns that defy improvement as though placed there intentionally." (page 11) <sup>2</sup></i></span></blockquote><p>And he notices, not without awe, that: </p><p></p><p> </p><blockquote><i>"The details of geologic formations exhibit the most extraordinary combination of shapes and colors...and the haphazard occurrence of fractures can be discovered in harmonious arrangements that seem to defy the chance working of natural forces" (pgs. 11-12)<sup>2</sup></i></blockquote><p></p><p a="" accessible="" and="" author="" book="" by="" chaos="" collaboration="" eventually="" gleick="" images="" james="" led="" made="" many="" nature="" of="" on="" p="" popular="" porter.="" porter="" published="" s="" style="text-align: left;" subsequently="" text="" that="" the="" theory="" this="" to="" us.="" view="" with="" world=""></p><p style="text-align: left;">His fascination with the paradox of harmony in randomness led eventually to a collaboration with James Gleick, who made chaos theory accessible in his book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Making-Science-James-Gleick/dp/0143113453/ref=asc_df_0143113453/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312057593249&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12933832134379455917&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-458845606034&psc=1" target="_blank">Chaos: Making a New Science</a></i>.<sup>4</sup> Gleick and Porter published <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Chaos-Eliot-Porter/dp/0316609420" target="_blank">Nature's Chaos</a></i> in 1990 with text by Gleick and a selection of images by Porter. In the forward to that book, Porter reflected that:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>"Although I was aware that it was possible to select and photograph fragments of nature that expressed the idea that nature was an orderly process, I began to realize that my photographs also emphasized the random chaos of the natural world--a world of endless variety where nothing was ever the same." (pg. 6)<sup>3</sup></i></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">In <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Landscapes-Eliot-Porter/dp/0870992090/ref=asc_df_0870992090/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=519541282464&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7578758345365902848&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029244&hvtargid=pla-1260763267182&psc=1" target="_blank">Intimate Landscapes</a></i>, Porter succinctly describes the challenge of photographing randomness in a way that highlights harmony:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>"In the broadest sense of the term, an optical image is an abstraction from the natural world--a selected and isolated fragment that stands before the camera." (pg. 11)<sup>2</sup></i></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This is much more difficult than it sounds, but over his 50-year career, Porter relied on a practiced intuition that resulted in an unmatched body of work. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Freed from teaching, I spent much of the fall traveling in the West, grateful to wander, watching the seasons and the leaves change. Faced with hillsides and canyons awash in yellow, red, and green foliage; punctuated by aspen, oak, maple, and cottonwood trunks; interrupted by deadfall; fragmented by meshes of bare branches; and all draped over topography and geology, it seemed impossible not to limp along in Porter's footsteps. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuD8XgmqSVtUI5xU3RnDQ4X3hPQltTyff7l-W1_GNOoNlwtkVxdCvPc59B2pY1-oPTqolhBkmMHGGT2YKP1BmU_kEOuEwWQfcrhyphenhyphen_MUClHh0Uw7wH3oUx7RgHinaVwC380hDoEiYLwt8/s2048/DSC_1164_fall_color_southern_oregon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuD8XgmqSVtUI5xU3RnDQ4X3hPQltTyff7l-W1_GNOoNlwtkVxdCvPc59B2pY1-oPTqolhBkmMHGGT2YKP1BmU_kEOuEwWQfcrhyphenhyphen_MUClHh0Uw7wH3oUx7RgHinaVwC380hDoEiYLwt8/w400-h266/DSC_1164_fall_color_southern_oregon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Central Oregon. September 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdxKPJ32ghm1oAn8tRyzhXiEH0JX266r3DcyJpiTgndLcwXozn7Diz0byAHdG1qj3H9I6mlQoGDzqxLLtWFDV0KuD31JnWu53iYLFYSfh1YN_8apv34h-Llpa91Qt9Qpjn6uWBN3PZLg/s1800/DSC_1167_creek_near_ukiah_nv.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdxKPJ32ghm1oAn8tRyzhXiEH0JX266r3DcyJpiTgndLcwXozn7Diz0byAHdG1qj3H9I6mlQoGDzqxLLtWFDV0KuD31JnWu53iYLFYSfh1YN_8apv34h-Llpa91Qt9Qpjn6uWBN3PZLg/w400-h266/DSC_1167_creek_near_ukiah_nv.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Central Oregon. September 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73zJdKhtoautWHzKY5ZVVJQXx0c1j_gzFwbM7z3HWtDLDMbsKhr6CCsDhfL6CscPO3EOK3Lip1_X9WxKbiM5JwKt79DWHiOvrgM3FL1uaqLDutAjP3Btrpr3Q8W5_j80eKypB2rXPNpg/s1800/DSC_1160_foliage_near_ukiah_v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73zJdKhtoautWHzKY5ZVVJQXx0c1j_gzFwbM7z3HWtDLDMbsKhr6CCsDhfL6CscPO3EOK3Lip1_X9WxKbiM5JwKt79DWHiOvrgM3FL1uaqLDutAjP3Btrpr3Q8W5_j80eKypB2rXPNpg/w400-h266/DSC_1160_foliage_near_ukiah_v2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Central Oregon. September 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcLmlVOG_k12cynwFpxyN6pMaVrPtAmlm68sryV-LzIv0jvEk0lRwAXz6BHoa9qrY_nYFtAf4LTT-5bGk9uALPriq-778ToVfDOCGJU-gIluZsBt6ZMcKo6Q3XN-hfHG-6miShOyqLeg/s1800/DSC_1165_foggy_woods_near_ukiah_nv.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcLmlVOG_k12cynwFpxyN6pMaVrPtAmlm68sryV-LzIv0jvEk0lRwAXz6BHoa9qrY_nYFtAf4LTT-5bGk9uALPriq-778ToVfDOCGJU-gIluZsBt6ZMcKo6Q3XN-hfHG-6miShOyqLeg/w400-h266/DSC_1165_foggy_woods_near_ukiah_nv.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Central Oregon. September 2021</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmNq1IwkyUEznDeAnu-dXanLuPNzDpJKZlcqQFCqC2i68j7-GdsWql4lJb4JzKZshl7iKwE-n36ovI_HJSBldjFJ0E5QnEwYPTcxU5XtCx_BebcJmFhDi2AR7nZWnldCkBQ6musPuYX4/s1800/DSC_1175_mushrooms_lost_lake_trail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmNq1IwkyUEznDeAnu-dXanLuPNzDpJKZlcqQFCqC2i68j7-GdsWql4lJb4JzKZshl7iKwE-n36ovI_HJSBldjFJ0E5QnEwYPTcxU5XtCx_BebcJmFhDi2AR7nZWnldCkBQ6musPuYX4/w400-h266/DSC_1175_mushrooms_lost_lake_trail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chuckanut Mountains, Western Washington. September 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiF1s52VaCZazMFggbKPczhMKgU1czAdamPA7izq_feJTRiDD0oDK8zE1-nHeZguLCSHcU8Rkfgi4kitMaHL20w2W3cGx6Wt0aPGKUXI96BqHSXbq4L9OOV2p0saNhWg495-guRb7UX4/s1800/DSC_1459_fall_color_rt_31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiF1s52VaCZazMFggbKPczhMKgU1czAdamPA7izq_feJTRiDD0oDK8zE1-nHeZguLCSHcU8Rkfgi4kitMaHL20w2W3cGx6Wt0aPGKUXI96BqHSXbq4L9OOV2p0saNhWg495-guRb7UX4/w400-h266/DSC_1459_fall_color_rt_31.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah (Rt. 31). October 2021</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYt9kYM6heWwT4XajX46TKMUIkeb3AErKRxWRs4mPSeRh3ooWcOQoTPaLa9Zw7tyoi1oANyvNO3PF2Wmr7lKiIQXUx1AvM4bfgALAOZweOfWxiFhIcT_Q4Xf_yjx9fuHRkGqAHjzqqOs/s1800/DSC_1468_rt_31_foliage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYt9kYM6heWwT4XajX46TKMUIkeb3AErKRxWRs4mPSeRh3ooWcOQoTPaLa9Zw7tyoi1oANyvNO3PF2Wmr7lKiIQXUx1AvM4bfgALAOZweOfWxiFhIcT_Q4Xf_yjx9fuHRkGqAHjzqqOs/w400-h266/DSC_1468_rt_31_foliage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah (Rt. 31). October 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXBw947Tt4Exev2KXrqAX2Zgq3gN_VSaZ3834FAdtfDkZgFc6CpDMxBZlcRoEp3k5uB_9XnxkC44Gs-2NerEwnE3HUkTH6s5XnTG530RZ-k8GfxUQtQYCbR4w263jCdphVJBmFlQoFLA/s1800/DSC_1471_fall_color_rt_31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXBw947Tt4Exev2KXrqAX2Zgq3gN_VSaZ3834FAdtfDkZgFc6CpDMxBZlcRoEp3k5uB_9XnxkC44Gs-2NerEwnE3HUkTH6s5XnTG530RZ-k8GfxUQtQYCbR4w263jCdphVJBmFlQoFLA/w400-h266/DSC_1471_fall_color_rt_31.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah (Rt. 31). October 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUauh1YxMpF7fCS3NabZmvhxxJmCGxOzEFT6uQuBaQvayxpXERZRiyaLTNM4uluVsh1hGXd5bs7wrh00u1sFD4fR0xQOCcvpkdNXCq9HI4zh_rS4dm2ci7fKqwkPhe3aX9Vt8tmf-QPMY/s1800/DSC_1485_maple_canyon_fall_colors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUauh1YxMpF7fCS3NabZmvhxxJmCGxOzEFT6uQuBaQvayxpXERZRiyaLTNM4uluVsh1hGXd5bs7wrh00u1sFD4fR0xQOCcvpkdNXCq9HI4zh_rS4dm2ci7fKqwkPhe3aX9Vt8tmf-QPMY/w400-h266/DSC_1485_maple_canyon_fall_colors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Maple Canyon, Utah. </i><i>October 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTLhBiYnuG0JcZ_GSp5s4OU3GSWo5xGJ4nIYj2haP3iSJsSBpG34uk2m92Q9RG1s-mo1fpQnxJAKUwivsxsqPjojlEZJevPGDSFOIpR6N0nNzQdC38XjZfygILaPUh1JpM1JYJFlogRU/s1800/DSC_1528_yellow_shrub_near_water_canyon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTLhBiYnuG0JcZ_GSp5s4OU3GSWo5xGJ4nIYj2haP3iSJsSBpG34uk2m92Q9RG1s-mo1fpQnxJAKUwivsxsqPjojlEZJevPGDSFOIpR6N0nNzQdC38XjZfygILaPUh1JpM1JYJFlogRU/w400-h266/DSC_1528_yellow_shrub_near_water_canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Todie Canyon, Utah. October 2021</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsos4WwydogNJR0qMvqwZOEgNUnj7mK9hqzSHrSCTWtgehamlvNHIKKyXzDv63pTuyQQzS0qnBqp2Zmgy37eCSE08abhXeuJ5Q3rv3cT7T1ScE-c12b5HnfNtkXaWEr2lqk-DYSEVdjc/s1800/DSC_1931_bluebird_hovenweep_v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsos4WwydogNJR0qMvqwZOEgNUnj7mK9hqzSHrSCTWtgehamlvNHIKKyXzDv63pTuyQQzS0qnBqp2Zmgy37eCSE08abhXeuJ5Q3rv3cT7T1ScE-c12b5HnfNtkXaWEr2lqk-DYSEVdjc/w400-h266/DSC_1931_bluebird_hovenweep_v2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Blue Jay and yellow leaves, Hovenweep National Monument, Utah. October 2021</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtOKu0HiD-guMbAA-ToH6SXXutTvWZy9d5CSmCuAZ0tZi9V-kz1BKLYtFvmVEfindnWno-awEz6-AXb-_rV308Ue7HkZ5X9xyqOd9mTzY0VgsAmlP-h5QrpN_LvRmH-syPx8VlpaJ9Js/s1800/DSC_1740_juniper_berries_comb_ridge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtOKu0HiD-guMbAA-ToH6SXXutTvWZy9d5CSmCuAZ0tZi9V-kz1BKLYtFvmVEfindnWno-awEz6-AXb-_rV308Ue7HkZ5X9xyqOd9mTzY0VgsAmlP-h5QrpN_LvRmH-syPx8VlpaJ9Js/w400-h266/DSC_1740_juniper_berries_comb_ridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Juniper berries, Comb Ridge, Utah. October 2021.</div></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>References</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><sup>1</sup><i>Eliot Porter: Photographs and Text by Eliot Porter.</i> 1987. Published by New York Graphics Society Books, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, in association with the Amon Carter Museum. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><sup>2</sup><i>Intimate Landscapes: Photographs by Eliot Porter</i>. 1979. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. E.P. Dutton. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><sup>3</sup><i>Natures Chaos</i>. 1990. By James Gleick and Eliot Porter. Viking Penguin. Penguin Books, New York. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><sup>4</sup>Gleick, James. 1987. <i>Chaos: Making a New Science</i>. Penguin Books, New York.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p><br /></p><p></p>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-25483840960591970722021-11-10T07:49:00.003-08:002021-11-10T19:20:01.134-08:00Packrafting: Oregon's John Day River<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw5Y4HVhddwRaEmSGyNwQmZevy1txbV1sWQ6aLUCxlCovUObbgDQEc1gFKkRc3xm6qbI3irGMwNwE_B9MMr1wx9L6Iavu_TJ4UzMsBy3VYYY5oRojUC8Qfv0xYfuxG4m2vxH615e_Cdc/s1800/DSC03449_morning_john_day_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw5Y4HVhddwRaEmSGyNwQmZevy1txbV1sWQ6aLUCxlCovUObbgDQEc1gFKkRc3xm6qbI3irGMwNwE_B9MMr1wx9L6Iavu_TJ4UzMsBy3VYYY5oRojUC8Qfv0xYfuxG4m2vxH615e_Cdc/w400-h266/DSC03449_morning_john_day_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Morning on the John Day River -- June 2021</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">There are many ways to be remembered after you’ve died, some better than others. John Day may have preferred to remain a footnote in history, where he’s been described as a “lanky, good-natured, forty-year-old"<sup>1</sup> hunter from Virginia who accompanied John Jacob Astor’s Astorians across the U.S. in the early 1800s in a bid to establish the first trading post on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Instead, he is immortalized in Central Oregon by a town, a river, and a national monument because he managed to stumble back to friendly settlements after being stripped naked and left in the wilderness by Native Americans perhaps in retribution for an earlier killing of two of their people by whites. The resulting PTSD by some accounts left him sometimes ranting and babbling incoherently. <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DB361N8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">Peter Stark’s “Astoria</a>,” an engaging book on the history of John Jacob Astor’s campaign to establish a trading presence at the mouth of the Columbia, provides more information on John Day’s fate and the difficulties of gaining a foothold in the Northwest, then a vast unmapped wilderness. Today, Central Oregon is neither wilderness nor unmapped, but it is beautiful, with rolling volcanic hills covered by grass and shrublands punctuated by forests, farms, and small towns kept alive during drought by water sucked from nearby rivers, including the John Day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>En route</i> to our first packrafting trip, an easy 4-day float interrupted by a few minor rapids, Ellen and I stopped at three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, drove through the town of John Day, and finally, on the only rainy day in a month of traveling, along with our friends Brian and Jenny from Seattle, inflated our packrafts at <a href="https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/oregon/john-day-river-service-creek-clarno" target="_blank">Service Creek</a> and headed down the river for four days to the Clarno takeout with flotillas of bass fisherman and families. The trip was a gentle introduction to packrafting. Drought had lowered the river enough so that the main challenges were dodging rocks and scraping bottom rather than getting pushed around in the infrequent rapids and riffles. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p>John Day died in 1819 or 1820 in Idaho at a place called “Day’s Defile.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dyThimPg9cYCu4q6Ro4L8e20qP9CDXjELDqQrJRmuguPagcbajlBeZL0_vtKnzw5vyEpX_vLHok6gV2KDhN4KdNeMDWIKMvMvzsoEEMpPYDd4jHqNIGKSdvR1lDfLtzj74eM9G1eVaU/s1800/DSC_0268_john_day_fossil_beds_blue_basin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dyThimPg9cYCu4q6Ro4L8e20qP9CDXjELDqQrJRmuguPagcbajlBeZL0_vtKnzw5vyEpX_vLHok6gV2KDhN4KdNeMDWIKMvMvzsoEEMpPYDd4jHqNIGKSdvR1lDfLtzj74eM9G1eVaU/w400-h266/DSC_0268_john_day_fossil_beds_blue_basin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The John Day Fossil Beds. Trails lead only a short distance into the Monument, and off-trail hiking isn't allowed probably to prevent fossil collection.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoQyDjTunB6Fjy2lTi43oSwjJATOrejbHnb1Sqtlpo6oVSDy_QmFsd5dixTisxGxJyKaTgA_u6zmSbTIwcR0eMikhkfU8jI9cjF8qhlpJbs83YF8BV_3ahssZH7Yw8tmU-2nF9KDktdU/s1800/DSC_0279_ellen_painted_hills_john_day_fossil_beds.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoQyDjTunB6Fjy2lTi43oSwjJATOrejbHnb1Sqtlpo6oVSDy_QmFsd5dixTisxGxJyKaTgA_u6zmSbTIwcR0eMikhkfU8jI9cjF8qhlpJbs83YF8BV_3ahssZH7Yw8tmU-2nF9KDktdU/w400-h266/DSC_0279_ellen_painted_hills_john_day_fossil_beds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Ellen descending from a viewpoint at the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds the day before we put-in.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j01fCIjm9QUvfrfYqQ6vOaeXwoWNk6nBmrvRcWNIjngyxSMdtHBY6dLXt6tEyGw5iP6BssH-sSlIYqS7ncMLiEmRD1lZcwJdMVEzgTrsIQW46UBxJ7qxQZ6SdDlqGRAv3qPJhEOQHtE/s1800/DSC03375_brian_ellen_jenny_service_creek_put-in.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j01fCIjm9QUvfrfYqQ6vOaeXwoWNk6nBmrvRcWNIjngyxSMdtHBY6dLXt6tEyGw5iP6BssH-sSlIYqS7ncMLiEmRD1lZcwJdMVEzgTrsIQW46UBxJ7qxQZ6SdDlqGRAv3qPJhEOQHtE/w400-h266/DSC03375_brian_ellen_jenny_service_creek_put-in.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rigging our boats at the Service Creek put-in on the only rainy day of the trip. Brian (left), Ellen, and I used Alpacka Expeditions, and Jenny (right) floated in the sea kayak that she built herself. The sea kayak was faster on flat water, but not as suited to rocky rapids.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuJAIGTYgMlfut9J5UzSNzc1opXWExk3oLjO6IIfW1L_5_Dg6GmW7mXOErPq4odCW1LoCciyv5lZcbH4bg-ga3qEmHbIzakR-JpTxNfBmZE4dJZId-0XeosTysM8ZIgQbKDmL053a3Xs/s1800/DSC03384_john_day_river_packraft_day1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuJAIGTYgMlfut9J5UzSNzc1opXWExk3oLjO6IIfW1L_5_Dg6GmW7mXOErPq4odCW1LoCciyv5lZcbH4bg-ga3qEmHbIzakR-JpTxNfBmZE4dJZId-0XeosTysM8ZIgQbKDmL053a3Xs/w400-h266/DSC03384_john_day_river_packraft_day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>On the water. After this trip, Ellen and I had our boats retrofitted so that our gear could be stored inside the inflated boat tubes rather than strapped to the bow. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-rQJcClfho22-tQBOVDRIqH76gB9mHu_rTYnI69B_UfofRXm1DF0TrlEmsD9GWrVooPpChRAqLZVEqwLL2Ptfbph9u48usRq2Xti8er5HNDACC2cP09NPG5z8jqkgUX1NB4WsT-OOXs/s1800/DSC03387_brian_ellen_john_day_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-rQJcClfho22-tQBOVDRIqH76gB9mHu_rTYnI69B_UfofRXm1DF0TrlEmsD9GWrVooPpChRAqLZVEqwLL2Ptfbph9u48usRq2Xti8er5HNDACC2cP09NPG5z8jqkgUX1NB4WsT-OOXs/w400-h266/DSC03387_brian_ellen_john_day_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Brian consulting the river <a href="https://www.gorgeflyshop.com/store/pc/John-Day-River-Recreational-Guide-p15144.htm" target="_blank">guidebook</a>. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrN7pKeWLNaz5rbbzd3HXtb8C4nbC3iHD0B0lxUyXPc-yUrQ6SJcc2pVw5xl9h6WK41ser8-HzlEtOWVwvWDooXMBSxLJPF9RiznUW1__BUDqFUmKAvNBQuZ1JtVvgdhm_t9SuHMFAKNQ/s1800/DSC03408_john_day_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrN7pKeWLNaz5rbbzd3HXtb8C4nbC3iHD0B0lxUyXPc-yUrQ6SJcc2pVw5xl9h6WK41ser8-HzlEtOWVwvWDooXMBSxLJPF9RiznUW1__BUDqFUmKAvNBQuZ1JtVvgdhm_t9SuHMFAKNQ/w400-h266/DSC03408_john_day_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The river from one of the volcanic bluffs near our first campsite.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjnjmBBh7utQAlBVIOrdVjLbH7VMbV-4AXDBeJQF9MQ7kWhZgOfqpe3E8XtMIv6oTu5W8HSzIS_Vs8Z3NY4AtHCnFufv7ZBtnu8EX-sUx2_Ck2jrsJ3OBXxEu1qSQeB4rMQ7KC12fAVs/s1800/DSC03413_breaking_camp_john_day_river_packraft.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjnjmBBh7utQAlBVIOrdVjLbH7VMbV-4AXDBeJQF9MQ7kWhZgOfqpe3E8XtMIv6oTu5W8HSzIS_Vs8Z3NY4AtHCnFufv7ZBtnu8EX-sUx2_Ck2jrsJ3OBXxEu1qSQeB4rMQ7KC12fAVs/w400-h266/DSC03413_breaking_camp_john_day_river_packraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Packing up for a day of floating.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxGMXbNpd5gXCQByvV9vqg-MlxWeuyQa2RKWz2lgqfQsEBzReIiTuDJxMFQQgo5rE3oUJttrBoXrl3SatxTw32C6zr9J2n_D4DeacjRxscsXQrxpcWNSp8AnQ98-n9nsAjfL3oMH1J4M/s1800/DSC03428_ellen_jenny_above_john_day_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxGMXbNpd5gXCQByvV9vqg-MlxWeuyQa2RKWz2lgqfQsEBzReIiTuDJxMFQQgo5rE3oUJttrBoXrl3SatxTw32C6zr9J2n_D4DeacjRxscsXQrxpcWNSp8AnQ98-n9nsAjfL3oMH1J4M/w400-h266/DSC03428_ellen_jenny_above_john_day_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen and Jenny scoping the river.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpbis6oAwIdwv6vyzAh8JfJZ0-ZxEJANH3vfuZAPnLlUwVcRXB5ZVGG0wKk6SAJzKXiSutXHve9ZvNnGqRJ1NfNhz6JRZhfVkJ7sBD-51vDiC9n343Cb11ORl9WL_SJBAAlNasUWcwZA/s1800/DSC03440_john_day_landscape.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpbis6oAwIdwv6vyzAh8JfJZ0-ZxEJANH3vfuZAPnLlUwVcRXB5ZVGG0wKk6SAJzKXiSutXHve9ZvNnGqRJ1NfNhz6JRZhfVkJ7sBD-51vDiC9n343Cb11ORl9WL_SJBAAlNasUWcwZA/w400-h266/DSC03440_john_day_landscape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Central Oregon landscape. The vegetation was crispy dry, which seemed surprising for Oregon in June. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Kh8QpzRF7ih6oAeLkP6xn0Ilv2NPwh9_qChXPhYKlOuxntVVH373mTVRFc4jTw-pPMj866B022LzI90YjkYpFEVK__fay2AcLYrUMrNCOHXDj9S_rAKKsPkyL_IJu4BDa8c301igfUA/s1800/DSC03450_ellen_brian_john_day_camp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Kh8QpzRF7ih6oAeLkP6xn0Ilv2NPwh9_qChXPhYKlOuxntVVH373mTVRFc4jTw-pPMj866B022LzI90YjkYpFEVK__fay2AcLYrUMrNCOHXDj9S_rAKKsPkyL_IJu4BDa8c301igfUA/w400-h266/DSC03450_ellen_brian_john_day_camp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Brian and Ellen cooking breakfast at camp.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIW89n30vFKLn2oUl6lJqjqnQKoda-jHkh3E9bWSs26-Xs0pz6X6Oc1GukJpGVuBaqc10Y1GpravRjxitADUKH5I3DzbYPAgfmF_Pch-j8kCYfWWtNjJy1KxYBPRX9FNJrfDm2pdA18I/s1800/DSC03456_ellen_brian_morning2_john_day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIW89n30vFKLn2oUl6lJqjqnQKoda-jHkh3E9bWSs26-Xs0pz6X6Oc1GukJpGVuBaqc10Y1GpravRjxitADUKH5I3DzbYPAgfmF_Pch-j8kCYfWWtNjJy1KxYBPRX9FNJrfDm2pdA18I/w400-h266/DSC03456_ellen_brian_morning2_john_day.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Packing up.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarc68WbbWDorY06ayxAVS8YAOc80AI6HDKA1Tre4E7xTtHx6iRqDtH-czynv3pBWxP3Q5bkndYr5yaZyvbeAMAKV4h9b41GPkcuUg5KQKq-znN3gnH5rdn3-KRp8Mqop28eIbuhVYVsw/s1800/DSC03470_ellen_homestead_rapid_john_day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarc68WbbWDorY06ayxAVS8YAOc80AI6HDKA1Tre4E7xTtHx6iRqDtH-czynv3pBWxP3Q5bkndYr5yaZyvbeAMAKV4h9b41GPkcuUg5KQKq-znN3gnH5rdn3-KRp8Mqop28eIbuhVYVsw/w400-h266/DSC03470_ellen_homestead_rapid_john_day.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen negotiating Homestead Rapid, the biggest on the trip. We scouted it since none of us had packrafting experience, but the line was straightforward in low water and required only dodging couple of rocks. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktvATem84A9z2oK-_urdgTTOyFME885eaPmg1otlJUIZrkivaJdLXumlpgUq-KuHub8HMmk5ijJvcTlgOvYNpZ-6GCIzmVhdHG05T8rR6Qint75sn5KEuvh2s5ROmFlr2Ym8yxsHPkJg/s1800/DSC03490_ellen_brian_jenny_last_camp_john_day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktvATem84A9z2oK-_urdgTTOyFME885eaPmg1otlJUIZrkivaJdLXumlpgUq-KuHub8HMmk5ijJvcTlgOvYNpZ-6GCIzmVhdHG05T8rR6Qint75sn5KEuvh2s5ROmFlr2Ym8yxsHPkJg/w400-h266/DSC03490_ellen_brian_jenny_last_camp_john_day.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Packrafts make good camp chairs. </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMSM2FqPpt6kR6j46wh8YDvTxEEV8kIZlyu87EqE93dGNsAWsZ_SSeuplnAOYEyMK5pcnLvGqL4g0ZZxWj4naphnAfGWRAjAMtwXWWLbbPRIzQcWfVByY0sVyiXapDB5MQFpV86f-_WI/s1800/DSC03500_ellen_cathedral_peak_john_day_river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMSM2FqPpt6kR6j46wh8YDvTxEEV8kIZlyu87EqE93dGNsAWsZ_SSeuplnAOYEyMK5pcnLvGqL4g0ZZxWj4naphnAfGWRAjAMtwXWWLbbPRIzQcWfVByY0sVyiXapDB5MQFpV86f-_WI/w400-h266/DSC03500_ellen_cathedral_peak_john_day_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ellen floating on flat water towards Cathedral Peak.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJw0tWL0y04cRYROJ9_09zlh_ZZMxiH4fqYjPGSnDJWwO5MD9i_u1TzBUl6DN2FVQ8YW97V003QLqiP3vZAdGpVIx12s_B2pq_XL5PaL6u1gqC0-n32qaHOuPLg8PG2kpGFq_Omn69E0/s1800/DSC_0293_ellen_brian_transit_camp_oregon_badlands.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJw0tWL0y04cRYROJ9_09zlh_ZZMxiH4fqYjPGSnDJWwO5MD9i_u1TzBUl6DN2FVQ8YW97V003QLqiP3vZAdGpVIx12s_B2pq_XL5PaL6u1gqC0-n32qaHOuPLg8PG2kpGFq_Omn69E0/w400-h266/DSC_0293_ellen_brian_transit_camp_oregon_badlands.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Camping in the Oregon Badlands SW of the takeout after the trip. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>1. Stark, Peter. 2014. Astoria: John Jacob Aster and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival. Ecco. 403 pgs.</i></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p></div>Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-83393189465146464882017-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:002017-12-17T10:59:25.834-08:00The Kaiparowits Plateau<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxz7Q1OBlBuaeR2bJ6geFDEHhDNYf0wp0TTQLS01SmkEK5PEgJ6fluOzdDhBjBXZuBcOn0DdfZEi7PATFsAzOfqCZ0xZbtdl716YSXM7ydx6_PCmbX5NYN4m1U9ohxAnl0vw70oSp56yU/s1600/DSC_5391_collett_top_arch_ruin_kairparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxz7Q1OBlBuaeR2bJ6geFDEHhDNYf0wp0TTQLS01SmkEK5PEgJ6fluOzdDhBjBXZuBcOn0DdfZEi7PATFsAzOfqCZ0xZbtdl716YSXM7ydx6_PCmbX5NYN4m1U9ohxAnl0vw70oSp56yU/s320/DSC_5391_collett_top_arch_ruin_kairparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Collet Top Arch and granary on the Kaiparowits Plateau.</span></div>
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Last May (2017), before Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke decided,
against the will of the vast majority of 2.8 million public commenters, to radically
shrink the Bear’s Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, I
drove the Smoky Mountain Road across the <a href="http://action.suwa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WATE_kaiparowits" target="_blank">Kaiparowits Plateau</a> on my way to the <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2017/06/canyoneering-fern-glen-to-tuckup-in.html" target="_blank">Grand Canyon</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like many who have hiked in the more accessible and popular
canyons of the Escalante River (<a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-break-2014-fence-canyon-to.html" target="_blank">link</a>,
<a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2012/02/dreaming-of-spring-break.html">link</a>,
<a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2012/03/back-from-desert.html" target="_blank">link</a>,
<a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2015/05/canyon-walls.html">link</a>),
I’d always been curious about the Kaiparowits, looming to the southwest above
the Straight Cliffs. It is notable for many reasons, but the ones that <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/after-bears-ears-and-grand-staircase-escalante-where-will-trumps-war-on-public-lands-end" target="_blank">conflict the most</a> in today’s politics are its size, remoteness, and lack of human
impact <i>versus</i> the <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1625b/Reports/Chapters/Chapter_T.pdf" target="_blank">enormous amount of coal</a> that lies beneath it. I fear that the recent decision to shrink National
Monuments has more to do with this coal than anything else, and removing it
would destroy all of the other qualities of this place, perhaps as rugged and
untrammeled as anywhere in the lower 48 states.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of the relatively few people who have spent any time on the
Kaiparowits, most have done what I did—spent a couple of days driving the Smoky
Mountain Road and day-hiking. A few are more ambitious, crossing the
plateau on the <a href="http://www.hayduketrail.org/" target="_blank">Hayduke Trail</a>, or
finding their own routes through the dry, incised terrain (<a href="http://hayduketrail.blogspot.com/2008/05/kaiparowits-plateau-days-34-44-81-miles.html" target="_blank">link</a>,
<a href="https://hayduketrail.wordpress.com/blog/" target="_blank">link</a>). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
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Help protect the Kaiparowits by calling your senators and
representatives and by supporting organizations like the <a href="https://suwa.org/" target="_blank">Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance</a> (SUWA).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMREGjOvWkVx9PhDyqfBe-QFv-7_fdKQJOcoyUWS0cFL96Ih9BGE-2gF8zn7q8rlztHWLDDg04Pg1ETwIN2VMSPIjmI478XwnbIWAQlzM5qAYGFCtgQ-qG1bZEqlUwc9zqidhj33oSoA/s1600/DSC_5451_kaiparowits_morning_smoky_mt_road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMREGjOvWkVx9PhDyqfBe-QFv-7_fdKQJOcoyUWS0cFL96Ih9BGE-2gF8zn7q8rlztHWLDDg04Pg1ETwIN2VMSPIjmI478XwnbIWAQlzM5qAYGFCtgQ-qG1bZEqlUwc9zqidhj33oSoA/s320/DSC_5451_kaiparowits_morning_smoky_mt_road.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kaiparowits landscape from the southern portion of the Smoky Mountain Road.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAMV41l0PkE9AAj7cEbGCSPgwM6Imd8XahY3LooY3KL_urLMvLSEqeohCf4nR_IRMpYHxLnWh2CD39J1akcDeMmbYvVYILnR3ATj9yXiC8uJlMGg4VuJgP91SJ6KaRM0pmPmiXPCO_wk/s1600/DSC_5416_claret_cup_cactus_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAMV41l0PkE9AAj7cEbGCSPgwM6Imd8XahY3LooY3KL_urLMvLSEqeohCf4nR_IRMpYHxLnWh2CD39J1akcDeMmbYvVYILnR3ATj9yXiC8uJlMGg4VuJgP91SJ6KaRM0pmPmiXPCO_wk/s320/DSC_5416_claret_cup_cactus_kaiparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Claret Cup Cactus, Kaiparowits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6X7zAyo1cqGLEzyouwS_IYWr3iqvPPwBnnzeX0k6LY1zzunpx09kTvybEON5Xx4qxgdllZ_5mIjFIRiid4Wgo953mwaqBKjxShgvnyDWdmTGopousOIr1DfEzJmTCZmLaITeZj-KA5bY/s1600/DSC_5430_last_chance_creek_smoky_mt_road_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6X7zAyo1cqGLEzyouwS_IYWr3iqvPPwBnnzeX0k6LY1zzunpx09kTvybEON5Xx4qxgdllZ_5mIjFIRiid4Wgo953mwaqBKjxShgvnyDWdmTGopousOIr1DfEzJmTCZmLaITeZj-KA5bY/s320/DSC_5430_last_chance_creek_smoky_mt_road_kaiparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Last Chance Creek -- a rare source of reliable water on the dry plateau. I camped here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2JAkiPRgUEja9HEyZv7FU7Sww2OfH4yKWLF1ShY3CunZVETtf5eG_zqGPm5nuaSLuDgFFBVf1_OQXIPT5uGeK9PRnUJadVlvsS-o2qmhZRK756GebIen-SH_tbps-r5hj6RLMRGUQNc/s1600/DSC_5436_cottonwood_last_chance_creek_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2JAkiPRgUEja9HEyZv7FU7Sww2OfH4yKWLF1ShY3CunZVETtf5eG_zqGPm5nuaSLuDgFFBVf1_OQXIPT5uGeK9PRnUJadVlvsS-o2qmhZRK756GebIen-SH_tbps-r5hj6RLMRGUQNc/s320/DSC_5436_cottonwood_last_chance_creek_kaiparowits.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cottonwood, Last Chance Creek.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ip5EQv0dyv7E1b8gcEtNrV-D2vg1MhnxAfQZ7vsrnB6pxRMY8VjP_Ohy97y7Qk-FV2Da0ndLwJtTudb_zWvBB8pcfxVJ3C1o1O4Vp75tLfYIBeqKpnbaWl9P8CGCE2jzftR7hXSJ7GM/s1600/DSC_5437_water_last_chance_creek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ip5EQv0dyv7E1b8gcEtNrV-D2vg1MhnxAfQZ7vsrnB6pxRMY8VjP_Ohy97y7Qk-FV2Da0ndLwJtTudb_zWvBB8pcfxVJ3C1o1O4Vp75tLfYIBeqKpnbaWl9P8CGCE2jzftR7hXSJ7GM/s320/DSC_5437_water_last_chance_creek.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Water in Last Chance Creek.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGWvT3VDTf0c1oxzMH6A8-vpV4OSiknm5tQpeKdoJooK17vrKZ26vQ5CuS3sy2KuwoEuafXlqLeds9i5mMsmD4Onn1dlu9aJRR76CRI3GhH4y2GCeyt7lHWXVEnSKJusYz5Yo1x0rRAs/s1600/DSC_5426_dry_fork_last_chance_creek_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGWvT3VDTf0c1oxzMH6A8-vpV4OSiknm5tQpeKdoJooK17vrKZ26vQ5CuS3sy2KuwoEuafXlqLeds9i5mMsmD4Onn1dlu9aJRR76CRI3GhH4y2GCeyt7lHWXVEnSKJusYz5Yo1x0rRAs/s320/DSC_5426_dry_fork_last_chance_creek_kaiparowits.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dry Fork, Last Chance Creek. I tried to hike down this, but quickly was forced out of the canyon by a pour-over and couldn't find a way back in.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyBXdTiDlleD093Azwhafa_Y_s9lMGg__3rEKHrXzmFQyJT772MPLQ8__w4HwOwDNYdXdJmgO19V-prvTfFj0Cyoe8GKMyzx1oPon2FVWUNdQ76pPNO0nncGJzj0BRvirJpWIXHXZ_HQ/s1600/DSC_5415_bone_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyBXdTiDlleD093Azwhafa_Y_s9lMGg__3rEKHrXzmFQyJT772MPLQ8__w4HwOwDNYdXdJmgO19V-prvTfFj0Cyoe8GKMyzx1oPon2FVWUNdQ76pPNO0nncGJzj0BRvirJpWIXHXZ_HQ/s320/DSC_5415_bone_kaiparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Bone, Kaiparowits Plateau.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqug933oxGFdWfGVB4JAJ1Htl49xyutYK8bRKC7AQaFJ6vyroOrZDs9-Z8eccIYM9f83dMVPbRoe7KYHcvUIRrCR09r7O9mLtC-QLtsx6z_bq3W82SBqGL6yqV13PScrFqnBS_G-uYEY/s1600/DSC_5441_moonset_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqug933oxGFdWfGVB4JAJ1Htl49xyutYK8bRKC7AQaFJ6vyroOrZDs9-Z8eccIYM9f83dMVPbRoe7KYHcvUIRrCR09r7O9mLtC-QLtsx6z_bq3W82SBqGL6yqV13PScrFqnBS_G-uYEY/s320/DSC_5441_moonset_kaiparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Moonset, Kaiparowits.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw-fLEgCr5ABihKsHvGnY0T6Xty58ub-Zj4XSpkSwMbQ_wagGNAyP_zGo-CBodsSAfDvSiN1KHHAvUS_qU1eRORL_VrplQudL7GLeRSaWYHHjTgIl5nr-kJTYQJn_OpkJlgYrCGL5ZCQ/s1600/DSC_5460_princes_plume_smoky_mt_road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw-fLEgCr5ABihKsHvGnY0T6Xty58ub-Zj4XSpkSwMbQ_wagGNAyP_zGo-CBodsSAfDvSiN1KHHAvUS_qU1eRORL_VrplQudL7GLeRSaWYHHjTgIl5nr-kJTYQJn_OpkJlgYrCGL5ZCQ/s320/DSC_5460_princes_plume_smoky_mt_road.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Prince's Plume, southern edge of the plateau.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeT8wlR7w7mlYj7nx52_xbSOboIkmBaHz1Q7_pTsZJRFNFyiynyVji9WKGSJdIjTg3W7Jqrh6ywNqtbZqmxaCHnDoKcV-p76UgenmH-En3p-g-kWJ6Q0H6eGjL0rb0LMCuUiyz4AtgRT0/s1600/DSC_5462_smoky_mountain_road_view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeT8wlR7w7mlYj7nx52_xbSOboIkmBaHz1Q7_pTsZJRFNFyiynyVji9WKGSJdIjTg3W7Jqrh6ywNqtbZqmxaCHnDoKcV-p76UgenmH-En3p-g-kWJ6Q0H6eGjL0rb0LMCuUiyz4AtgRT0/s320/DSC_5462_smoky_mountain_road_view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Southern escarpment of the plateau above Bigwater, Utah.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8ajQSdJQUScIb_NEOIRuM-0NOt02sR854hevPXc6cIKWSpCbran4WVrAqRBPEhX-vCQDbulYq2eLLlU2dmMyYJfWP9YUhwqQzSxm7ailz3qk-USnf-i6Md0LB5g5azpytcWH6uPq918/s1600/DSC_5467_south_edge_kaiparowits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8ajQSdJQUScIb_NEOIRuM-0NOt02sR854hevPXc6cIKWSpCbran4WVrAqRBPEhX-vCQDbulYq2eLLlU2dmMyYJfWP9YUhwqQzSxm7ailz3qk-USnf-i6Md0LB5g5azpytcWH6uPq918/s320/DSC_5467_south_edge_kaiparowits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">View southwest from the southern edge of the plateau.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSeJBNz1LAKDjPFpBiAREhWugMo-K435CnHtGROj_sp_GblPMFdHy-Py49coV1rIAq1zV9bTk6qb2Cw0VyzreY0CnAc3chFYkhdZ5uQLDgsF5wFxlnRGMecicC_nOVIQgPSw2JdCvKgM/s1600/DSC_5493_badlands_near_bigwater_ut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSeJBNz1LAKDjPFpBiAREhWugMo-K435CnHtGROj_sp_GblPMFdHy-Py49coV1rIAq1zV9bTk6qb2Cw0VyzreY0CnAc3chFYkhdZ5uQLDgsF5wFxlnRGMecicC_nOVIQgPSw2JdCvKgM/s320/DSC_5493_badlands_near_bigwater_ut.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Boulder near Bigwater, Utah. I found <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/112172291/big-water-boulders" target="_blank">chalk</a> on some of these boulders</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFr0ZPdumnI4k-nuaDr4pd7JzZwIdIu3EmibAAiFNQPJ1VBRT_vLkiwCfyRzbyV7-AHNIdMpm-lKEmTuCM428t_E7W2k1QYXZ2fL5Q_PEIaMLNnozXCt8NyodHQPQeQGHZs3-IvIknEA/s1600/DSC_5499_boulder_near_bigwater_ut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFr0ZPdumnI4k-nuaDr4pd7JzZwIdIu3EmibAAiFNQPJ1VBRT_vLkiwCfyRzbyV7-AHNIdMpm-lKEmTuCM428t_E7W2k1QYXZ2fL5Q_PEIaMLNnozXCt8NyodHQPQeQGHZs3-IvIknEA/s320/DSC_5499_boulder_near_bigwater_ut.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/112172291/big-water-boulders" target="_blank">Boulders</a> and badlands below the Kaiparowits near Bigwater.</span></div>
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Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-51237725360331419962017-10-22T10:02:00.000-07:002017-10-22T10:02:34.182-07:00Canyoneering: Black Hole of White Canyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qC9Nb0MVKBqjtTLVLh22WDkEgTCrHCluz7sscAs5TYD_wYzvNCEhsL8dM07JgtFZDPeCJiJsRdaiJlYeB7NOKD7dz38E730cMrqoU6EWAxIxiT6jmJI0E20TEB8JgOoOlxDwhlRPx2E/s1600/DSC00832_larry_black_hole_white_cny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qC9Nb0MVKBqjtTLVLh22WDkEgTCrHCluz7sscAs5TYD_wYzvNCEhsL8dM07JgtFZDPeCJiJsRdaiJlYeB7NOKD7dz38E730cMrqoU6EWAxIxiT6jmJI0E20TEB8JgOoOlxDwhlRPx2E/s320/DSC00832_larry_black_hole_white_cny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry Scritchfield deep in the Black Hole of White Canyon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click on images to view larger)</span></div>
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It's easy in a blog post to fall into the trap of making a canyoneering trip sound more dangerous and dramatic than it really was, but the Black Hole of White Canyon is one of the pure fun ones, at least in the conditions we experienced--clear and warm early fall weather, no danger of flood, easy swimming, and reasonable water temperatures. Conditions change, and this trip <i>can</i> be more serious, but except for a couple of short stinky pools and a short, tricky climb up a log to get back to the rim at the end (probably avoidable), our trip in early October was not at all scary. We used a short piece of rope to belay the log (thanks, Larry), but otherwise, needed no gear besides our wetsuits. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vPVcKfohkH069N6foycqBqrN9GEWWo-zgWgQ6mxnx9E2pvlvXUlix96m6LLyhQJLVHmtaHvQMBncbL0L0VUnXADHA5duxNp_BwrZUYg8tMdOyqEl5FOEhB1pv8aNAFgLA9I8pKuBD1k/s1600/DSC00688_larry_fry_canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vPVcKfohkH069N6foycqBqrN9GEWWo-zgWgQ6mxnx9E2pvlvXUlix96m6LLyhQJLVHmtaHvQMBncbL0L0VUnXADHA5duxNp_BwrZUYg8tMdOyqEl5FOEhB1pv8aNAFgLA9I8pKuBD1k/s320/DSC00688_larry_fry_canyon.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry Scritchfield on a warm-up hike in Fry Canyon the day before we did the Black Hole.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxT5x2FsI1FHUwiArCrR6YP8eJRgwCqxSH03yC5gZ__W8WUEmEjtDIfDJ7anLof3OpxKFu96Ef8XOS-ho5nrLe4LtR4585-aJTuv505LNo0y1yp-PP-2Mg4T-_36SzcEhNXIQWwjpst8/s1600/DSC00701_larry_jim_black_hole_approach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxT5x2FsI1FHUwiArCrR6YP8eJRgwCqxSH03yC5gZ__W8WUEmEjtDIfDJ7anLof3OpxKFu96Ef8XOS-ho5nrLe4LtR4585-aJTuv505LNo0y1yp-PP-2Mg4T-_36SzcEhNXIQWwjpst8/s320/DSC00701_larry_jim_black_hole_approach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Approaching White Canyon--it drains a vast complicated area.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwitgefxzBAoutPqrpIkYp263V7MV2JGgx-q-CIHYMuqE6Wuc9UrAf6qmBlduBz5cY7XtfXpjXmtT-I85YJWGErdHLS6GDjrnvaVPncn9FNznNl951XtMXo2S9XqxwLLq7AvR-3JN60Ek/s1600/DSC00703_ken_larry_black_hole_warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwitgefxzBAoutPqrpIkYp263V7MV2JGgx-q-CIHYMuqE6Wuc9UrAf6qmBlduBz5cY7XtfXpjXmtT-I85YJWGErdHLS6GDjrnvaVPncn9FNznNl951XtMXo2S9XqxwLLq7AvR-3JN60Ek/s320/DSC00703_ken_larry_black_hole_warning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Me and Larry at the warning sign that was placed one season when a huge "unstable debris jam" clogged the Black Hole. The jam has since been washed away. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitV12ptyrzIm5G2rSC3HV4CXwrxV5z0kh5Ppdoyhgl9b873th8bViN4JbFVsNFrOr_9VVocCqmGMGvRd5J0OnA8z7HKD2u5R9K89vCYWX_j0QzpccCoFSHMFJGjHHzxXBHuB21raXM3HE/s1600/DSC00723_black_hole_white_cny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitV12ptyrzIm5G2rSC3HV4CXwrxV5z0kh5Ppdoyhgl9b873th8bViN4JbFVsNFrOr_9VVocCqmGMGvRd5J0OnA8z7HKD2u5R9K89vCYWX_j0QzpccCoFSHMFJGjHHzxXBHuB21raXM3HE/s320/DSC00723_black_hole_white_cny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">In White Canyon above the Black Hole.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgbQBndq2MAnXWjvXlsIF6wilOqfKBhDYixFX749yLOE4nv3NyS6ISDbm0PygSkt_MWtMkngog_7j5etEwMVHYpcden80C93aDxelab5Pi7MzYOeDu9Tc_UGxe83YK5qTkigZjB-lzwE/s1600/DSC00732_larry_jim_suiting_up_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgbQBndq2MAnXWjvXlsIF6wilOqfKBhDYixFX749yLOE4nv3NyS6ISDbm0PygSkt_MWtMkngog_7j5etEwMVHYpcden80C93aDxelab5Pi7MzYOeDu9Tc_UGxe83YK5qTkigZjB-lzwE/s320/DSC00732_larry_jim_suiting_up_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Getting ready to suit up for the Black Hole--the water was cold enough for wetsuits, but not very uncomfortable with them on.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVuKbH1eItsBmKjnBmt4x75WXgcZFePSi69bfIBicBpUe9caRo5vnhzqDAh8ydpEpUke7rpVAn2ppMB_ovpaMC3dwvLc2v3_o_4I-Ygp1pvka8Y88mqp3hT00AOvEXCKCL7D0XaSYlnn0/s1600/DSC00748_jim_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVuKbH1eItsBmKjnBmt4x75WXgcZFePSi69bfIBicBpUe9caRo5vnhzqDAh8ydpEpUke7rpVAn2ppMB_ovpaMC3dwvLc2v3_o_4I-Ygp1pvka8Y88mqp3hT00AOvEXCKCL7D0XaSYlnn0/s320/DSC00748_jim_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim Akers, emerging from one of the early swims.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJKWuejrtortx_i0anqGosemyu8vvKILUd2gSLuze-VGTNCX59a3KAgKNjgxnN5JNWTPoEkY0s8qr7TMyQd8JyFpnuP0lpay2T2kYhLUY7314mdeIG30PoR1vZaMy_4MILUzE3KPYLHg/s1600/DSC00750_boulder_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJKWuejrtortx_i0anqGosemyu8vvKILUd2gSLuze-VGTNCX59a3KAgKNjgxnN5JNWTPoEkY0s8qr7TMyQd8JyFpnuP0lpay2T2kYhLUY7314mdeIG30PoR1vZaMy_4MILUzE3KPYLHg/s320/DSC00750_boulder_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Asteroid?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytR7EIA-n-9XZc9C51wMc5owfa9nkeXdBWSeAzq0pwmXIVLt7lEU-XpXzPZbSyGp7XxrSQtXTBCTy0tZOmceBc3ulN2kY8Ubo7s-zASOrXauLWnYBahzY_UndqHEOx5yI1ZNbloH8ZmQ/s1600/DSC00759_jim_larry_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytR7EIA-n-9XZc9C51wMc5owfa9nkeXdBWSeAzq0pwmXIVLt7lEU-XpXzPZbSyGp7XxrSQtXTBCTy0tZOmceBc3ulN2kY8Ubo7s-zASOrXauLWnYBahzY_UndqHEOx5yI1ZNbloH8ZmQ/s320/DSC00759_jim_larry_black_hole.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim and Larry in a Black Hole slot.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUL5uI-jxdjq2-lDUMoCcebQbLQ3MS8oT4G7gQt-ENslyrCpbAtPC1a85w33voHe43zsv9EDI5V2vfAtekJ6zffm14YK5HeJ41Kc9Qg30Hg1xSTsDE2XRVzpQzTCFU2pRYYEbA3PQ15c/s1600/DSC00773_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUL5uI-jxdjq2-lDUMoCcebQbLQ3MS8oT4G7gQt-ENslyrCpbAtPC1a85w33voHe43zsv9EDI5V2vfAtekJ6zffm14YK5HeJ41Kc9Qg30Hg1xSTsDE2XRVzpQzTCFU2pRYYEbA3PQ15c/s320/DSC00773_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Swimming. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCIl7g8hAWxC3QTZqTxCKWBz10y09qkiHI4_Uv6quV_MPxYflVFnTnHrI3bViDkwlvm1JosgbMmGJG8NM9UvvcZL2nUWzXofT5WwKnc0NmASm18giC6NKcAcUQfMgP45KPBTup6VApq4/s1600/DSC00793_larry_jim_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCIl7g8hAWxC3QTZqTxCKWBz10y09qkiHI4_Uv6quV_MPxYflVFnTnHrI3bViDkwlvm1JosgbMmGJG8NM9UvvcZL2nUWzXofT5WwKnc0NmASm18giC6NKcAcUQfMgP45KPBTup6VApq4/s320/DSC00793_larry_jim_black_hole.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim and Larry, emerging from one slot swim...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKIhLbSvZXYrPZiM_CkO1TDPy7A0N6q6ROSe0qHb-9YjAgcTV-RuzOpDYRUJAGsmNw32SVWGGkMdwINxJn_F4Mey1IChEe4Bhf8QasOzvDxq0dJKelDggU9aNE6OJEZ5-HWaAD8cyVUw/s1600/DSC00796_larry_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKIhLbSvZXYrPZiM_CkO1TDPy7A0N6q6ROSe0qHb-9YjAgcTV-RuzOpDYRUJAGsmNw32SVWGGkMdwINxJn_F4Mey1IChEe4Bhf8QasOzvDxq0dJKelDggU9aNE6OJEZ5-HWaAD8cyVUw/s320/DSC00796_larry_black_hole.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">...and entering another.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGv0yq1UzSqLQpf0Lmdw-2ovaKj9SFNHG0YaqMQpDZ7mizgahzOj6nfwc_X_6FtWOYBzPN7S_ITQhc7KxwHWZcAAfaF-dEF8FC1WNuSaIaqri1ocu6XZ1rZNDHIuVbFDsjlAaFkV2GZow/s1600/DSC00806_larry_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGv0yq1UzSqLQpf0Lmdw-2ovaKj9SFNHG0YaqMQpDZ7mizgahzOj6nfwc_X_6FtWOYBzPN7S_ITQhc7KxwHWZcAAfaF-dEF8FC1WNuSaIaqri1ocu6XZ1rZNDHIuVbFDsjlAaFkV2GZow/s320/DSC00806_larry_black_hole.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">More swimming--at one point, we swam past a tarantula sitting on a ledge, but it turned out to be dead. How did it get there in the first place?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybgbbO-ty73t2UMHk7YxiLz8X5zPecmysShHzHm8Aar8vsKNB-qT28NeMcKXRCdmoPYK6AKRqL6WMZB74PSBePt-Vu90nV91oLvxLC0sMtDibdQqw-a_ZxOtAlH9oPmkNWuaHudVvVH8/s1600/DSC00810_jim_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybgbbO-ty73t2UMHk7YxiLz8X5zPecmysShHzHm8Aar8vsKNB-qT28NeMcKXRCdmoPYK6AKRqL6WMZB74PSBePt-Vu90nV91oLvxLC0sMtDibdQqw-a_ZxOtAlH9oPmkNWuaHudVvVH8/s320/DSC00810_jim_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim Akers in full neoprene.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYmftCuRpucWwfu4tPiF5F17DvZwFux_YUESDcK4RnuFMtvrZFEZYVyASJm0rzU0s-c107lQfkgr9joKXyoU3MGsbeFffN3tsXJnmUi7BKpU9zvl3u7_QmVoZhhdDnqH51S8-s2bxATY/s1600/DSC00812_larry_jim_warming_up_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYmftCuRpucWwfu4tPiF5F17DvZwFux_YUESDcK4RnuFMtvrZFEZYVyASJm0rzU0s-c107lQfkgr9joKXyoU3MGsbeFffN3tsXJnmUi7BKpU9zvl3u7_QmVoZhhdDnqH51S8-s2bxATY/s320/DSC00812_larry_jim_warming_up_black_hole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Warming up, like guards at Buckingham Palace, but less ridiculous.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AKTGKMD8SCc3dtJ1BZQ6Vl9oCXgM5gWV-r4yllgmGVc-dFQp4zpsluE7flt8D7dJV84-cgo7Eezfnqypx3FnAgo30IJ_48gI_4sc0o0dfIoNz1h0McHnpWER_yiTfLdGsN-xa4ykSBc/s1600/DSC00817_black_hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AKTGKMD8SCc3dtJ1BZQ6Vl9oCXgM5gWV-r4yllgmGVc-dFQp4zpsluE7flt8D7dJV84-cgo7Eezfnqypx3FnAgo30IJ_48gI_4sc0o0dfIoNz1h0McHnpWER_yiTfLdGsN-xa4ykSBc/s320/DSC00817_black_hole.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Easy travel between pools. Note the flood debris wedged in about 30 feet above Larry's head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Unpleasant travel in log-filled pools. Luckily, there was only one small section like this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim and Larry, avoiding a stinky pool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim with a stick. You'd have to ask Jim.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A corkscrew section, with occasional water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fins and water, deep in the Black Hole.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry and Jim approaching a fin section.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Climbing on slickrock to avoid another stinky pool (most were not stinky).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim, mucking around before climbing past a stinky section near the end of the difficulties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Out! We left cars at the beginning and end of the trip, with cold beer in the latter.</span></div>
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<br />Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-8775301813447665492017-06-05T16:26:00.001-07:002017-06-05T16:52:47.948-07:00Canyoneering: Fern Glen to Tuckup in the Grand Canyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlA2YSPMCF5G6sj8p_kPO3r6bqAe3vlU_h77l9_vGwE9NWvRyKkmHxnCHEPQJMgFV-zvJSOYhlMtRn-cpkQsa9xRmIYKdweytuDhXd5zsuRfKwEuBQqmxk_E0JReVrmauSkrLipK9FHc/s1600/DSC00209_larry_fern_glen_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlA2YSPMCF5G6sj8p_kPO3r6bqAe3vlU_h77l9_vGwE9NWvRyKkmHxnCHEPQJMgFV-zvJSOYhlMtRn-cpkQsa9xRmIYKdweytuDhXd5zsuRfKwEuBQqmxk_E0JReVrmauSkrLipK9FHc/s320/DSC00209_larry_fern_glen_day2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don Reyes on Muav limestone in lower Fern Glen Canyon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click on images to view larger!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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As Grand Canyoneering goes, the 5-day loop down Fern Glen
Canyon to the Colorado, along the river (upstream) for a few miles (an
understated George Steck route), and then up Tuckup Canyon to return to your
starting point is relatively mellow. Technical obstacles are a series of
rappels and downclimbs in Fern Glen and chockstones in Tuckup that have to
be groveled over. Total mileage is a little under thirty. No packraft is
required.<br />
<br />
But it beat us up relentlessly every single day.<br />
<br />
Each
morning there were terrible noises as Larry Scritchfield, Don Reyes, and I tried
to slowly get ourselves moving. We figured that our collective 175 years added
to our suffering, but to be sure, others much older than us have done bigger trips. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tom Jones (<a href="http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/" target="_blank">Canyoneering USA</a>) describes canyoneering in the
Grand Canyon well in a <i>Rave</i>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My knees still hurt.
But this is not usual. I do one hiking trip each spring to the Grand Canyon,
carrying a BIG PACK (camping, canyoneering, pool toying) and it wrecks me. Then
it takes a year for me to forget</i>.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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It's been two years since I canyoneered in the Grand Canyon (see <a href="http://boobyhatcher.blogspot.com/2015/06/canyoneering-salt-trail-canyon-and-big.html" target="_blank">blog post</a>), and one year since I had my right knee replaced. The knee performed perfectly on this trip--but the rest of me suffered. </div>
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Admirably, a community of highly motivated
and strong people tackle big Grand Canyon trips more frequently, and Todd Martin’s
book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.toddshikingguide.com/GrandCanyoneering/" target="_blank">Grand Canyoneering</a></i>, is a
masterpiece of documented experiences that collectively seem almost
unimaginable. Martin himself acknowledges many, both recent and historic, who inspired him—exploring in the Grand
Canyon has a rich history that pre- and post-dates European arrival in the New World. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
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These are some captioned photos from our trip, followed by a
little info on logistics to supplement Martin’s excellent descriptions, and a
paragraph about a new camera I tried out on this trip.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdgc3q8rt-QIeLbukFvE4tr-NkpC-l-4witQstBIiYmQbGEj_uCWw13iVgwEo2zcYx8JBLcP3ReDBqFb6kg-e0iqrhzeOmXvlxoEWMj8dNZtIUOuzU5uWoHPb3qJBD_UF3XnM2m87GUE/s1600/DSC_5576_camp_tuckup_trailhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdgc3q8rt-QIeLbukFvE4tr-NkpC-l-4witQstBIiYmQbGEj_uCWw13iVgwEo2zcYx8JBLcP3ReDBqFb6kg-e0iqrhzeOmXvlxoEWMj8dNZtIUOuzU5uWoHPb3qJBD_UF3XnM2m87GUE/s320/DSC_5576_camp_tuckup_trailhead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Tuckup trailhead. Not a bad place to spend a couple of nights if you have enough chips and salsa and a wee bit of tequila.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauahsL47FLSNjVKYnQeJu1pU8UEoNLkW1ou_zhjymP5zUxznoCygvw0QY5gbckIl524PTQgEF8Nx8F6pQSnihrdE0aVn_tf_sLaPtaAEB4-SD6r4BgkNhUm2pEywGxSmy1mZ7IsMA6Y4/s1600/DSC00087_don_jim_trailhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauahsL47FLSNjVKYnQeJu1pU8UEoNLkW1ou_zhjymP5zUxznoCygvw0QY5gbckIl524PTQgEF8Nx8F6pQSnihrdE0aVn_tf_sLaPtaAEB4-SD6r4BgkNhUm2pEywGxSmy1mZ7IsMA6Y4/s320/DSC00087_don_jim_trailhead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim Akers and Don Reyes checking out the canyon. Jim camped on the rim and did gnarly solo-dayhikes, including the trail down to Lava Falls, while we lugged our backpacks around. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUptdk3dcXtfL9Yah7TINNSJ25x_Ll2-kAMYexO23ZVHv2EOr-BnIa6HAJP88i2C67Q8VWByRKXDjB7x5XIIQniUQr5b_ytSQfoyImQkkSQyaVvZ2JfLXZzssg9hksIflVjjS1k53w8ls/s1600/DSC00096_crinoids_kaibab_limestone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUptdk3dcXtfL9Yah7TINNSJ25x_Ll2-kAMYexO23ZVHv2EOr-BnIa6HAJP88i2C67Q8VWByRKXDjB7x5XIIQniUQr5b_ytSQfoyImQkkSQyaVvZ2JfLXZzssg9hksIflVjjS1k53w8ls/s320/DSC00096_crinoids_kaibab_limestone.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Crinoid fossils in Kaibab limestone near the rim along the Tuckup Trail early on the first day when we were still perky.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWt1TLabOyGuuFS4Vhsxtt_f9KDalyXuQbMFbs9M4jeScaAdMHt9ioknF1LKOjZU7Nn2jvNO_tDc3TYUaTZcRQdKIzITKltGEPJ8dWpURNxMPotshE2DuZ7Cabkc1O9Dg9hgfFoPfl9I/s1600/DSC00100_larry_esplanade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWt1TLabOyGuuFS4Vhsxtt_f9KDalyXuQbMFbs9M4jeScaAdMHt9ioknF1LKOjZU7Nn2jvNO_tDc3TYUaTZcRQdKIzITKltGEPJ8dWpURNxMPotshE2DuZ7Cabkc1O9Dg9hgfFoPfl9I/s320/DSC00100_larry_esplanade.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry Scritchfield surveying the Esplanade after descending from the trailhead. This is near the top of Tuckup, and we returned to this place at the end of our hike.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss2-0XeKIPebW7Wg8TBkfQbnAjyBUsak4wmRtR44N-azL4FIctiVukc8h5EQWTTwUqhIqQ6md-MikAkUlM1OHyCrgzmc1x64YrLRwy69AXDsRyLXHshBC9EVnXIRJlHwWvmZvxkJ_E28/s1600/DSC00114_larry_day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss2-0XeKIPebW7Wg8TBkfQbnAjyBUsak4wmRtR44N-azL4FIctiVukc8h5EQWTTwUqhIqQ6md-MikAkUlM1OHyCrgzmc1x64YrLRwy69AXDsRyLXHshBC9EVnXIRJlHwWvmZvxkJ_E28/s320/DSC00114_larry_day1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry near the head of Cottonwood Canyon, where there is a spring and the first water after leaving the rim.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y7fZ8VuGoF4fD91TrBfFIJRjmF_TUw-gXyd7Kg1TnWZWaS_RgMqxyDwG2ZuBHFcjdpAkVchJigSV09pk8DcRE14Vd2eMnTNluSUL6xoACepjOPqh4USXmZW5bIMp0oLg76vgoPFfM6s/s1600/DSC00120_larry_esplanade_day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y7fZ8VuGoF4fD91TrBfFIJRjmF_TUw-gXyd7Kg1TnWZWaS_RgMqxyDwG2ZuBHFcjdpAkVchJigSV09pk8DcRE14Vd2eMnTNluSUL6xoACepjOPqh4USXmZW5bIMp0oLg76vgoPFfM6s/s320/DSC00120_larry_esplanade_day1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry traversing the Esplanade on the first day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBDcmgvBIVfmM9oGy5NXWCchCyDs2LtjJpW1rGRVg7MX5jxRO4o-QL6lvbqdy7aI9Urm58etDGDpKgdnWg7s8j4_Etphkhb_hBlzNbNy6YbCspasDCDvBmUEqYtXxwcwQOjwcAfH7kas/s1600/DSC00124_don_fern_glen_day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBDcmgvBIVfmM9oGy5NXWCchCyDs2LtjJpW1rGRVg7MX5jxRO4o-QL6lvbqdy7aI9Urm58etDGDpKgdnWg7s8j4_Etphkhb_hBlzNbNy6YbCspasDCDvBmUEqYtXxwcwQOjwcAfH7kas/s320/DSC00124_don_fern_glen_day1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don looking into Fern Glen Canyon from near where we spent our first night.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnQ8urVgx6cYT_Q_-ZTaHREyLBUtaMA1znQB-Rzmljhrbds63XxGw6wPrnyIVm02CvrX633Iqy7ZwXjK5YPYLxengpEFk0BmnmZdtSVXX5Qs5DQ8qEmx0cf_FrHlqE8uwVSVwEnNOF_k/s1600/DSC00126_larry_don_the_dome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnQ8urVgx6cYT_Q_-ZTaHREyLBUtaMA1znQB-Rzmljhrbds63XxGw6wPrnyIVm02CvrX633Iqy7ZwXjK5YPYLxengpEFk0BmnmZdtSVXX5Qs5DQ8qEmx0cf_FrHlqE8uwVSVwEnNOF_k/s320/DSC00126_larry_don_the_dome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry and Don with The Dome in the background. Our loop circumambulated this feature, but mostly while deep down in the canyons.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvUWaSnR6xdPVUevb4Ht92LBkkc_QtgJKE5j64ytVc2tkH0XxOPO7zC5HB-zfdeF3kDt3il_l8wDx0ZacP_z5o2TD-WVu_H7G4W2C5LDL4adRopTIEoPhXBmWwWTTCkG2-rzGYt6_JnU/s1600/DSC00136_larry_don_upper_fern_glen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvUWaSnR6xdPVUevb4Ht92LBkkc_QtgJKE5j64ytVc2tkH0XxOPO7zC5HB-zfdeF3kDt3il_l8wDx0ZacP_z5o2TD-WVu_H7G4W2C5LDL4adRopTIEoPhXBmWwWTTCkG2-rzGYt6_JnU/s320/DSC00136_larry_don_upper_fern_glen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry and Don descending through the Supai sandstone in upper Fern Glen on our second day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfegivLk_Bszs9qddTjFG94cBqZHJi_4JxMBJj1kHNecHb7jy6mCzNIxRN_FXU1fsFkjkg-Oh7fQDyTpbsrAy5s6_vvKg_Ro6LHMXJ7gcjIFChfQnJXaSbk_b_rfmJcXx5NPmpOHuJj4/s1600/DSC00150_fern_glen_rappel_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfegivLk_Bszs9qddTjFG94cBqZHJi_4JxMBJj1kHNecHb7jy6mCzNIxRN_FXU1fsFkjkg-Oh7fQDyTpbsrAy5s6_vvKg_Ro6LHMXJ7gcjIFChfQnJXaSbk_b_rfmJcXx5NPmpOHuJj4/s320/DSC00150_fern_glen_rappel_day2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">One of many rappels in Fern Glen. All were awkward due to undercut lips, but anchors were generally good.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0T0uKWeg439vtu1AezRATR0hEYGeb7qsxtoQAv7PAgNr0F2vF3rU137_ysPGbQLVn2x4o2SzZCL0O0nJ0RIA4trkZpqJH9zUYIsmM69nBQExLgJ-amNSxriat5Y00lF8FYwOKHbpsUug/s1600/DSC00152_don_awkward_rappel_fern_glen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0T0uKWeg439vtu1AezRATR0hEYGeb7qsxtoQAv7PAgNr0F2vF3rU137_ysPGbQLVn2x4o2SzZCL0O0nJ0RIA4trkZpqJH9zUYIsmM69nBQExLgJ-amNSxriat5Y00lF8FYwOKHbpsUug/s320/DSC00152_don_awkward_rappel_fern_glen.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don wrestling with a short rappel.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmhRZPT7F3yi6IschZAV7aOwTa98MxXnybbejXJ3GWp_dpjKO6GioucWBznvVrstAlIrqIVbYAvU_P7rrCEAO8YMNVgTHj1urbHvonYvkV5wcLMDNiBhKKPm9vIYfQwDJk4Y0LhKX0wo/s1600/DSC00155_fern_glen_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmhRZPT7F3yi6IschZAV7aOwTa98MxXnybbejXJ3GWp_dpjKO6GioucWBznvVrstAlIrqIVbYAvU_P7rrCEAO8YMNVgTHj1urbHvonYvkV5wcLMDNiBhKKPm9vIYfQwDJk4Y0LhKX0wo/s320/DSC00155_fern_glen_day2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The top of the Redwall limestone in Fern Glen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy8LDPlse1EUlVrDAbUc_saQZYzE0sQGFtENScSHljInaNMgLuY-z3UljfTFTK-QKP5Ip7QyAm5P2gPQSUiNY2GqBrG5Eo33YZAV3MbTsWVa0_B_kUaUjFPqiwuj7x8bc7q3bbIWUiEw/s1600/DSC00158_don_larry_wetsuits_fern_glen_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy8LDPlse1EUlVrDAbUc_saQZYzE0sQGFtENScSHljInaNMgLuY-z3UljfTFTK-QKP5Ip7QyAm5P2gPQSUiNY2GqBrG5Eo33YZAV3MbTsWVa0_B_kUaUjFPqiwuj7x8bc7q3bbIWUiEw/s320/DSC00158_don_larry_wetsuits_fern_glen_day2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Suiting up for swimming in Fern Glen. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcWAZRqchcxiJFXbLVG7bjgY4Ckt0AJklWfjCCs59FGvigJ5ZzyJTyjXpsWSkAoWkEvVdlr_9dPI0wer-7x0GYmFT86AR50iSSjVWyJtYsJcE2V_eqeZYZsDOUCyDTlr1UWAuY2KnNsQ/s1600/DSC00163_larry_don_fern_glen_pool_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcWAZRqchcxiJFXbLVG7bjgY4Ckt0AJklWfjCCs59FGvigJ5ZzyJTyjXpsWSkAoWkEvVdlr_9dPI0wer-7x0GYmFT86AR50iSSjVWyJtYsJcE2V_eqeZYZsDOUCyDTlr1UWAuY2KnNsQ/s320/DSC00163_larry_don_fern_glen_pool_day2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don (entering water) and Larry in Fern Glen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ED9UoRGf67fkGvCh0kONkeCPrXPdrW2LBMrIcOaM1DPHdgjv_lsikAQPf29EO8LkeOUZ2Ju2BPPMF9qmZAVef5c5AVVq1D2Evl-iVKotXuOrXcdFXBVDA68VR8UVOjwTBX3GRTQKdwM/s1600/DSC00166_fern_glen_big_drop_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ED9UoRGf67fkGvCh0kONkeCPrXPdrW2LBMrIcOaM1DPHdgjv_lsikAQPf29EO8LkeOUZ2Ju2BPPMF9qmZAVef5c5AVVq1D2Evl-iVKotXuOrXcdFXBVDA68VR8UVOjwTBX3GRTQKdwM/s320/DSC00166_fern_glen_big_drop_day2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The longest rappel in Fern Glen is 200' in three stages. This is looking down at the bottom of the first stage, with the second around the corner to a deeper pool and swim.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFJOaqxSestDiJyjGbD_X3Dtp35GAOJSI17rC1CHqG_wI7DukNSeP61HRYcjXuypAgmrK4DMxMpvkUUoif76tlcHcgHk0Lu6lI4F9fkFfqZ74uIDfXidlTAPGD55rae7huWJJnAGYC44/s1600/DSC00179_larry_don_fern_glen_cactus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFJOaqxSestDiJyjGbD_X3Dtp35GAOJSI17rC1CHqG_wI7DukNSeP61HRYcjXuypAgmrK4DMxMpvkUUoif76tlcHcgHk0Lu6lI4F9fkFfqZ74uIDfXidlTAPGD55rae7huWJJnAGYC44/s320/DSC00179_larry_don_fern_glen_cactus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">No ferns in this particular part of Fern Glen, but they did grow in others.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12zZTTvvrJax2xqC91yBo_beg6QwQZxZPyjtA3S_2tDgx0mEACyVHO_TQtJVq28zsKT8Gd8bO5_kwc4Ets3R5r9hmVG20nCz4vX2B3sCzV1iC0mQ_t23a-bdmZm18PSnJO-2IeFB4Lqw/s1600/DSC00184_larry_fern_glen_rappel_pool_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12zZTTvvrJax2xqC91yBo_beg6QwQZxZPyjtA3S_2tDgx0mEACyVHO_TQtJVq28zsKT8Gd8bO5_kwc4Ets3R5r9hmVG20nCz4vX2B3sCzV1iC0mQ_t23a-bdmZm18PSnJO-2IeFB4Lqw/s320/DSC00184_larry_fern_glen_rappel_pool_day2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another Fern Glen chockstone rappel.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrzoamef9fz9g6yTbMlFeTSMfyfY1sn7hrnZDtxM43tJjihLntYGkwWWt_xdz_cfTHjRDvUlsljb48wr5xf8UxJernkDmFg1MJ94xjT2jY4tIxkjnuekPxzJb-UX5yyFKetAUwSt1syg/s1600/DSC00188_larry_lower_fern_glen_pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrzoamef9fz9g6yTbMlFeTSMfyfY1sn7hrnZDtxM43tJjihLntYGkwWWt_xdz_cfTHjRDvUlsljb48wr5xf8UxJernkDmFg1MJ94xjT2jY4tIxkjnuekPxzJb-UX5yyFKetAUwSt1syg/s320/DSC00188_larry_lower_fern_glen_pool.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry, cagily dodging a swim.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgvhIh5yAFwvWrltqX9yd3FL3_yepO5PuvmWmBA0Kf_Wi7dVAi0VU4pcmg51l3cLQgE_DBBIxKS0_zbZHOqjZEPIM_bZTPnSu20tgTIf4v3swZ5bBMDmsOCMVJih_pPrnh4lThKO7L5M/s1600/DSC00206_larry_don_fern_glen_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgvhIh5yAFwvWrltqX9yd3FL3_yepO5PuvmWmBA0Kf_Wi7dVAi0VU4pcmg51l3cLQgE_DBBIxKS0_zbZHOqjZEPIM_bZTPnSu20tgTIf4v3swZ5bBMDmsOCMVJih_pPrnh4lThKO7L5M/s320/DSC00206_larry_don_fern_glen_day2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry (R) and Don (L) entering the Muav limestone in lower Fern Glen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRAE9xRuttV7J2uh4zPOQL96x-LL3KJ5Bov93fX63sIES8UzXf0Fbj3o18htVzs0GedmeW8M59QaYT580DXL_fudOazQG9XPXpvUGj2HpGMJNoP_8F-tQK6EbHQ7lmLYamO_aOLHeDxY/s1600/DSC00207_don_lower_fern_glen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRAE9xRuttV7J2uh4zPOQL96x-LL3KJ5Bov93fX63sIES8UzXf0Fbj3o18htVzs0GedmeW8M59QaYT580DXL_fudOazQG9XPXpvUGj2HpGMJNoP_8F-tQK6EbHQ7lmLYamO_aOLHeDxY/s320/DSC00207_don_lower_fern_glen.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Descending through the beautiful Muav limestone.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEFyp7Wh9hmteEFrREzdpcr__z1uahzjUWLNBcILu-B0miDyjtyvXndf6VgaN3LJQy-DP-xEqX-KsYwvk0foxCUP8iPXRTd9vQQYovgMNoz7CycLc5LMevS5ZLsDEooXJkeQAW0goco/s1600/DSC00212_last_fern_glen_rappel_lightning_storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEFyp7Wh9hmteEFrREzdpcr__z1uahzjUWLNBcILu-B0miDyjtyvXndf6VgaN3LJQy-DP-xEqX-KsYwvk0foxCUP8iPXRTd9vQQYovgMNoz7CycLc5LMevS5ZLsDEooXJkeQAW0goco/s320/DSC00212_last_fern_glen_rappel_lightning_storm.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The final Fern Glen rappel, in pouring rain during a lightning storm. Do you hear a freight train?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbiG2AsfiWviFwqTBDGE1t0QQ5khgwL1KVoNE5nGUAsOkw8-djCq4COOA6YIlAJIO_9eK22Yb3k2eG31RT7I-FU2lPrH_0Gu_wSqoamjDCqICsKMBfhvo4n75iJSOUoo71LqNhc-dcMM/s1600/DSC00214_rainbow_colorado_river_day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbiG2AsfiWviFwqTBDGE1t0QQ5khgwL1KVoNE5nGUAsOkw8-djCq4COOA6YIlAJIO_9eK22Yb3k2eG31RT7I-FU2lPrH_0Gu_wSqoamjDCqICsKMBfhvo4n75iJSOUoo71LqNhc-dcMM/s320/DSC00214_rainbow_colorado_river_day2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Double rainbow over the Colorado River.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1ExcbQqxSv-XE8PjObx8ZABsFV2nLi9j4trMkersKXWBECj7H8BegqObtA13aJPWQLh33iALh4tlU0A4BlbXexop-P2uuJl8Eyx9A2gYAx9hDq8nZ47iGhKIBR_LV4jIM2gdQ2l5Mn8/s1600/DSC00216_bivvy_day2_colorado_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1ExcbQqxSv-XE8PjObx8ZABsFV2nLi9j4trMkersKXWBECj7H8BegqObtA13aJPWQLh33iALh4tlU0A4BlbXexop-P2uuJl8Eyx9A2gYAx9hDq8nZ47iGhKIBR_LV4jIM2gdQ2l5Mn8/s320/DSC00216_bivvy_day2_colorado_river.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our second bivy under a big overhang along the river upstream from the mouth of Fern Glen. By this time, the rain had stopped.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKi0LV7oejesXUfJC0n4LShwj_spNiINiw28XnIU6Gwcv_RnkRgj8LoD7HVDoWvfGlVtq7GLo5w56zwI2e5orLmcXhnmn1E6fBOWM3RCuGZfuHKDG1uZAbeRCZWz3pg59qIC8aRceim04/s1600/DSC00225_colorado_river_traverse_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKi0LV7oejesXUfJC0n4LShwj_spNiINiw28XnIU6Gwcv_RnkRgj8LoD7HVDoWvfGlVtq7GLo5w56zwI2e5orLmcXhnmn1E6fBOWM3RCuGZfuHKDG1uZAbeRCZWz3pg59qIC8aRceim04/s320/DSC00225_colorado_river_traverse_day3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">An example of the hideous river traverse. Pick your line.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Opkl6RrY9M2Pb-FTIQUO3U9DjQTbi8FNB0UkK004Huf5obUIja0aSkdkg84IEccubtAJYiKQMiQ3HJD23w0QkvII9GMUuZT0HTGvpRNI9aB6ydPHsmITle1tAgYDb5YMdz0wBUhueJA/s1600/DSC00231_rafters_larry_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Opkl6RrY9M2Pb-FTIQUO3U9DjQTbi8FNB0UkK004Huf5obUIja0aSkdkg84IEccubtAJYiKQMiQ3HJD23w0QkvII9GMUuZT0HTGvpRNI9aB6ydPHsmITle1tAgYDb5YMdz0wBUhueJA/s320/DSC00231_rafters_larry_day3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">As we traversed upstream through cat's claw, rafters traveled the other direction in a much more pleasant parallel universe.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNa4rUMpFownDUBPTxX6E-_z3tHg5-6vjkKdhu6wX0SYfFmWZ0tE3isg78j5DV1tswI1N5qz-GuyYyAffVMC2J15yvkOf0zkocdRnZ6bQviEk9HaqXtDRNZEEdgG-ncOTZ4IXbj6qGdI/s1600/DSC00240_larry_catching_beer_river_traverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNa4rUMpFownDUBPTxX6E-_z3tHg5-6vjkKdhu6wX0SYfFmWZ0tE3isg78j5DV1tswI1N5qz-GuyYyAffVMC2J15yvkOf0zkocdRnZ6bQviEk9HaqXtDRNZEEdgG-ncOTZ4IXbj6qGdI/s320/DSC00240_larry_catching_beer_river_traverse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rafters throwing Larry some beers after taking pity on the bleeding old men carrying packs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsexJm9vgzK9wr9dEr58M4BOCfqVhNC3MIv9tyrmNzDWr9EjFkO94gxtI6CeO0h8kbG1jIHbrepzW5QVPrz2cmdqTtuR0zyitbCJ9Szt5cRHHkBjb5hN8hb0TsUdLZhpBBCvfT2mjGD8/s1600/DSC00249_tuckup_pack_haul_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsexJm9vgzK9wr9dEr58M4BOCfqVhNC3MIv9tyrmNzDWr9EjFkO94gxtI6CeO0h8kbG1jIHbrepzW5QVPrz2cmdqTtuR0zyitbCJ9Szt5cRHHkBjb5hN8hb0TsUdLZhpBBCvfT2mjGD8/s320/DSC00249_tuckup_pack_haul_day3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hauling packs up a chockstone in lower Tuckup Canyon on our third day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RExvLoUds32RGLVkPCafpHaVELXwCBgOC1CvT69sDwR2s-6U6SZFtUVLvr7bkAHn8xqHQY1_e3NjKUsRpSKLAoqt2Ba4hD2WLTITMF-epYUrsVAl3fxuNGaxE2OrCgnrq7JU99_Ku8w/s1600/DSC00251_larry_tuckup_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RExvLoUds32RGLVkPCafpHaVELXwCBgOC1CvT69sDwR2s-6U6SZFtUVLvr7bkAHn8xqHQY1_e3NjKUsRpSKLAoqt2Ba4hD2WLTITMF-epYUrsVAl3fxuNGaxE2OrCgnrq7JU99_Ku8w/s320/DSC00251_larry_tuckup_day3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry in Tuckup.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm2a6WIyDeb9D4OcBPu-22abtlMrAX4v865cG4mwjYO83XMaY0Ul1B6uDXcSQQytg8fxj6sd2yndxfljnBaVZNrYNk8-84RkKvrRqsYowgKveQcJRqWIDXzoNc8NgdurexvhUEAeDAQg/s1600/DSC00254_larry_tuckup_chockstone_day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm2a6WIyDeb9D4OcBPu-22abtlMrAX4v865cG4mwjYO83XMaY0Ul1B6uDXcSQQytg8fxj6sd2yndxfljnBaVZNrYNk8-84RkKvrRqsYowgKveQcJRqWIDXzoNc8NgdurexvhUEAeDAQg/s320/DSC00254_larry_tuckup_chockstone_day3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Bouldering our way up Tuckup Canyon.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBGVhC-9vuggOrHRxum5yklRI3mpzpuZJzZ1_QHfhljGQm4HI31Hsglmd5vc4Xp2OG1qVZkZbVCsMG_W-qi92nPtw-WlxQTVz_IyTvc4SfC-WFd5XCB5UjG8v11vHy1s1_bCKokvbLv4/s1600/DSC00268_larry_tuckup_bivy_morning_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBGVhC-9vuggOrHRxum5yklRI3mpzpuZJzZ1_QHfhljGQm4HI31Hsglmd5vc4Xp2OG1qVZkZbVCsMG_W-qi92nPtw-WlxQTVz_IyTvc4SfC-WFd5XCB5UjG8v11vHy1s1_bCKokvbLv4/s320/DSC00268_larry_tuckup_bivy_morning_day4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our third bivy. Partway up Tuckup Canyon.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9pcD70iINwPPc-M2G-7Q9zabvrhPNiDaYZqxX4eTS5yGMs64RK3zcsrhmGjbFLd0V5xYx3qKqXUJ7dVnaUtbQJWPQVLrYjCRTRRzpQmZMv0fmf3F7CK0GBhVxCO9MrxoNrKiDZWn_ak/s1600/DSC00297_side_canyon_tuckup_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9pcD70iINwPPc-M2G-7Q9zabvrhPNiDaYZqxX4eTS5yGMs64RK3zcsrhmGjbFLd0V5xYx3qKqXUJ7dVnaUtbQJWPQVLrYjCRTRRzpQmZMv0fmf3F7CK0GBhVxCO9MrxoNrKiDZWn_ak/s320/DSC00297_side_canyon_tuckup_day4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A side canyon in Tuckup. Lovely little terrarium.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ytwY5XZ1cNK4_nB-24INoo5lhOcmXpph86VQxiGdk0Lcp5xqvH3833Jt77f-Q0Itux4UOnsWOI1yzA_0FjmDb1Dc6vy9c6DDHz39QckbjY_pgxB2OLI30wIDAxpZVmdQlRJKvjF-q6E/s1600/DSC00303_don_tuckup_chockstone_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ytwY5XZ1cNK4_nB-24INoo5lhOcmXpph86VQxiGdk0Lcp5xqvH3833Jt77f-Q0Itux4UOnsWOI1yzA_0FjmDb1Dc6vy9c6DDHz39QckbjY_pgxB2OLI30wIDAxpZVmdQlRJKvjF-q6E/s320/DSC00303_don_tuckup_chockstone_day4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don surmounting a Supai boulder in the Redwall.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6TvJ7pxWxTeLFPv8-mxVWgghHCvVo1RnvivYC-iZnq_hB_vKqe9uZp54EeOxAhg9d0aGtDxo0yc58rGtiLHIRzdiaNvKZIxDVT1rO_VccpvCS0SLO5D3n-ES0E6ejNpnwMZURX9-6VNo/s1600/DSC00310_tuckup_canyon_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6TvJ7pxWxTeLFPv8-mxVWgghHCvVo1RnvivYC-iZnq_hB_vKqe9uZp54EeOxAhg9d0aGtDxo0yc58rGtiLHIRzdiaNvKZIxDVT1rO_VccpvCS0SLO5D3n-ES0E6ejNpnwMZURX9-6VNo/s320/DSC00310_tuckup_canyon_day4.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Redwall limestone in Tuckup.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gVGiB-yfUTCsFtnFo3jzYddNNTESAkNoLJdboTfI2A8U3On3tcZK07NtpTzPkCsz_aqLFrhhOxP-0vDVNcnENBtXP3z-e6tCGXQZaVSSO7lGGC_vYLi4-cStd9o4nBKMN3KGXktwJ70/s1600/DSC00327_shamen_panel_day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gVGiB-yfUTCsFtnFo3jzYddNNTESAkNoLJdboTfI2A8U3On3tcZK07NtpTzPkCsz_aqLFrhhOxP-0vDVNcnENBtXP3z-e6tCGXQZaVSSO7lGGC_vYLi4-cStd9o4nBKMN3KGXktwJ70/s320/DSC00327_shamen_panel_day4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our first view of the Shaman Panel. Information <a href="https://backcountrypost.com/threads/shamans-gallery-aka-gordons-panel-pictographs-in-grand-canyon.1990/" target="_blank">here</a> and a great high resolution image and description <a href="http://www.xrez.com/case-studies/shamans-panel-rock-art-capture/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaqhQ4IQbomr3fdxsuVIl6UgnVc1JWs0vyLWXYUjQSY-GXIlz7H1EdQ5COUHu55tETdTYelELOe7VEize7GYq6aj0vRtzhawyak__mLL72SE4saSFhIf60MQpva_jsmrx_NWj0HEAh5M/s1600/DSC00334_ancient_boulderers_shamen_panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaqhQ4IQbomr3fdxsuVIl6UgnVc1JWs0vyLWXYUjQSY-GXIlz7H1EdQ5COUHu55tETdTYelELOe7VEize7GYq6aj0vRtzhawyak__mLL72SE4saSFhIf60MQpva_jsmrx_NWj0HEAh5M/s320/DSC00334_ancient_boulderers_shamen_panel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Look closely. These guys are clearly early boulderers working on a roof problem (about a third in from the left).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TwGErm_WGVt4YiiZGUwJWYTg-NBVkdw2SMl75iovclkDWVs8okMtx4giIMDLK1V_QGHymczP6Fpjqjp7HDWpJDGXdQOu7EqjvnnBHLIHzXJ5BQlyP7FZlTwnvwXoxZzl28rWdfE75H8/s1600/DSC00336_larry_shamen_panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TwGErm_WGVt4YiiZGUwJWYTg-NBVkdw2SMl75iovclkDWVs8okMtx4giIMDLK1V_QGHymczP6Fpjqjp7HDWpJDGXdQOu7EqjvnnBHLIHzXJ5BQlyP7FZlTwnvwXoxZzl28rWdfE75H8/s320/DSC00336_larry_shamen_panel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry enjoying the Shaman panel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry and Don at the Shaman Panel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Shaman Panel.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwI-2ndcwvFdi8wiu3xXahOKyStQdYrJo8mt6esMkhc5askzyTAy7NnnycTbUVJ9b15DoXlbVSXc1KHqDkhSFUu7HOmrBT9qT_mFxfYMPWwC7bCm4QuXhhHJOzTh_8wBc9WYBIlniboA/s1600/DSC00349_don_with_scotch_day4_bivy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwI-2ndcwvFdi8wiu3xXahOKyStQdYrJo8mt6esMkhc5askzyTAy7NnnycTbUVJ9b15DoXlbVSXc1KHqDkhSFUu7HOmrBT9qT_mFxfYMPWwC7bCm4QuXhhHJOzTh_8wBc9WYBIlniboA/s320/DSC00349_don_with_scotch_day4_bivy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sha-men with a flask of scotch on our last night.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QICl4hrxFzYpX3WBJQovb12lxA9kPf8pyLK0RAPi5IVdc_am_LHk4Na32KM3zAwM5Fmf3y5Bu6SDI57c2KLwoHYbzmY5weDKT1Asd-JiK34KNRYL_2_-BySHo9QsNxClGHrtWxVmq3I/s1600/DSC00364_ken_selfie_day5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QICl4hrxFzYpX3WBJQovb12lxA9kPf8pyLK0RAPi5IVdc_am_LHk4Na32KM3zAwM5Fmf3y5Bu6SDI57c2KLwoHYbzmY5weDKT1Asd-JiK34KNRYL_2_-BySHo9QsNxClGHrtWxVmq3I/s320/DSC00364_ken_selfie_day5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A rare selfie.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BOimeBDkLv1uMCp7VWZdjcb0yxBmtFTUXOvfXq6ZDUZm5TEdx4GomL4liKZrrb2-U9zd5afdxC9U4e4ln1Qwalt-p9s39uau_HpjHSF1dkJkghZwQLcjCQe4zaDCbC_wwv_cNfbfD9Q/s1600/DSC00368_jim_near_rim_day5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BOimeBDkLv1uMCp7VWZdjcb0yxBmtFTUXOvfXq6ZDUZm5TEdx4GomL4liKZrrb2-U9zd5afdxC9U4e4ln1Qwalt-p9s39uau_HpjHSF1dkJkghZwQLcjCQe4zaDCbC_wwv_cNfbfD9Q/s320/DSC00368_jim_near_rim_day5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim met us near the rim with cold beer on his way down to visit the Shaman Panel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Trip Logistics (brief)</b>:
Fern Glen and Tuckup canyons are well-described in Todd Martin’s book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grand Canyoneering</i>, but I’ll add a
little info here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rather than doing the steep drop-in approach Todd describes,
we opted for hiking down the Tuckup trail from the Tuckup trailhead and then traversing
around the Esplanade to the head of Fern Glen. This was a sloggish 9-mile hike,
with water at Cottonwood Canyon and in potholes at the head of Fern Glen. Larry
aptly described passing the heads of several canyons as being “trapped in a
fractal.” Staying as far above the canyon heads as is reasonably possible is a
good strategy—the “trail” is helpful but often hard to find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we didn’t do the steep approach, I can’t
say which is better or faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way
we went was mostly gentle but long. We spent our first night at the head of
Fern Glen (some shelter under overhangs, but we all had tents or bivy sacks). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The second day we descended Fern Glen to the Colorado River
and then traversed up the river for about a quarter-mile to bivy under a big
arching overhang visible from the mouth of Fern Glen. It was a dry, flat, reasonable
bivy spot. The only notes about Fern Glen that vary from Martin’s book are that
the early downclimb of a “steep, unpleasant slope” (Martin) that looked
horrendous to us was easily avoided by rappelling off a tree. Rappel anchors
were reasonable for the remaining (~9—I lost count) rappels in Fern Glen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “pile of rocks” used for the 200’ rappel
is really more of a wedged chockstone pinch-point, and it seemed very secure
compared to the teetering cairn-bollard that we were all picturing. There are two bolt anchors described by
Martin lower in the canyon. The upper one had been chopped (badly) and replaced with
a secure natural anchor. The lower one consisted of two rusty ¼-inch bolts (one
a button head, the other a hex head). Those are suspect, but we used them
anyway. At some point, they should either be replaced or abandoned. The last
rappel included the jammed knot that Martin describes and a large stopper—we were
in a lightning storm at that time and didn’t check it out thoroughly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The river traverse is not fun! It’s 3 miles of fighting
through tamarisk, desert broom, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and cat’s
claw</i>, traversing up onto sharp scree to escape all of that and then
descending back into the flesh-ripping brush to escape impassible boulders. One party
suggested traversing the cliff base for significant distances, but we had
little success with that because cat’s claw seemed to also enjoy hugging the
cliff forcing you back down.
Steck supposedly did the traverse in 3 hours. It took us 6. Near the end, we
received 4 cold beers from a passing raft trip! We arrived, bleeding, at
Tuckup, ate lunch, drank the beer, and then staggered up canyon for a few hours to a good bivy
under an overhang above the wash on the right (looking upstream).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Across from the bivy was a big Redwall alcove
with an odd little spire that we called The Pope attached to the base of the wall.
The main difficulties in Tuckup were climbing up boulders that regularly choke
the drainage. These were strenuous, but not terrible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On the fourth day, we continued up Tuckup (mostly easy) to a
dry camp at the incredible Shaman Panel, carrying water from where it seemed to
peter-out in upper Tuckup. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The last day was the climb back to the rim on the Tuckup
Trail.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camera nerdery</b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This trip was the maiden voyage for my new Sony
a6300 mirrorless camera, recently purchased for backpacking to avoid the burden
of carrying a full-sized DSLR. I have not bought any additional lenses for
this camera, so I used the “kit lens,” a low quality16-50 mm. Aside
from the lens, which is soft (focus) and not snappy in terms of color,
I was happy with the camera. It inadvertently (no idea how) was changed from
ISO 400, which I had deliberately set, to ISO 1250, which I hadn’t, and stayed
that way for much of the hike until I noticed it on the way out (the pitfalls
of unfamiliarity with a new camera). The picture quality as a result isn’t
exceptional, but I think with a better lens and more familiarity, this will be a
great camera when weight is an issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
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Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4623122414867216011.post-52446320493396344912016-05-24T17:40:00.000-07:002016-05-24T18:31:00.236-07:00Cedar Mesa Flowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL_y4GdLt4shIEbQZ16dUE353orsynHoWNARlKH17CujIWdBkUj5045bjzuYdOBplI4ysA32yKtFyLmsJTym8nIm0jSkWDq8iwNYHwUlZPeri1Xt7bToT6rCPFrr4UPRtZYpx5RjB8iQ/s1600/DSC_3262_cactus_flower_cedar_mesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL_y4GdLt4shIEbQZ16dUE353orsynHoWNARlKH17CujIWdBkUj5045bjzuYdOBplI4ysA32yKtFyLmsJTym8nIm0jSkWDq8iwNYHwUlZPeri1Xt7bToT6rCPFrr4UPRtZYpx5RjB8iQ/s320/DSC_3262_cactus_flower_cedar_mesa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Claret cup cactus, Lime Canyon rim, Cedar Mesa.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click images to view larger)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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I googled “flower pictures” and in 0.58 seconds was
presented with “about 90,000,000 results.” Many of the first 100 of these are
garden flowers, but some are wild, with disturbingly cheerful flocks of
butterflies flitting around them; geometrically precious drops of
water cling to others, causing brilliant sunbursts(!). Who
knows what floral eddies the remaining 89,999,900 will probe.<br />
<br /></div>
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For this and other reasons (the google result for “flower clichés”
connects flowers and vaginas within four hits), I hesitate to probe further. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But…anticipating a summer of recovery from a planned knee
surgery, I rushed to Cedar Mesa, Utah after classes ended and spent four days wandering
(limping), looking for ruins and savoring perfect weather. I was surprised
that the desert was blooming—something I don’t usually see, since we
normally go south in March before it has greened up much, or in September
after most of the flowers have faded. The cacti were particularly spectacular,
eroding my resolve to stay above all of that, photographically.<br />
<br /></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<div class="MsoNormal">
So here are desert flower pictures and now I have dedicated one
blog post to flowers. If I do this again, slap me, even if I beg.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayX0bAcLOuhmMghk_G6KQCKFu68VCJjbwwlEMg0A5iYP64nofaoIx9xOIhaSCRNyMGx6O-z0Cj6BOrIfhSvFpCF7RLMwy3aWv7YgmcfRedcP7qu-7Ps3FmId3AmJk-UOLFOA94XnheN4/s1600/DSC_3408_prickly_pear_flowers_san_juan_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayX0bAcLOuhmMghk_G6KQCKFu68VCJjbwwlEMg0A5iYP64nofaoIx9xOIhaSCRNyMGx6O-z0Cj6BOrIfhSvFpCF7RLMwy3aWv7YgmcfRedcP7qu-7Ps3FmId3AmJk-UOLFOA94XnheN4/s320/DSC_3408_prickly_pear_flowers_san_juan_river.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Prickly pear flowers and the San Juan River, near the River Petroglyph Panel west of Bluff.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHU2qXz6f3oxbsxC09rh3FsTA6ayjp-LLzzD_aayDlwYtxBy4oQwKlKVNGB7PFT638ZUsyBGvgW4nWVTNWrZGCR6fQdnsC0YO_Pqqy9VWg02CIFvXPqQJPMIsSnMQ8SOy5MButMTIdhaA/s1600/DSC_3261_cactus_flowers_cedar_mesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHU2qXz6f3oxbsxC09rh3FsTA6ayjp-LLzzD_aayDlwYtxBy4oQwKlKVNGB7PFT638ZUsyBGvgW4nWVTNWrZGCR6fQdnsC0YO_Pqqy9VWg02CIFvXPqQJPMIsSnMQ8SOy5MButMTIdhaA/s320/DSC_3261_cactus_flowers_cedar_mesa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Claret cup cactus.</span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl85xI3VH4nhCGCVrqCP1JZ8aVgydZ7QXkU0M8dpYkj8ipDgmA4Mk5NtQ-6gvfg1vcpdH45bPyzXSrURblM1fJr-C4S_Kal4Hk4fbTXE4tLMUgjsAicvluMisBBNq8BjBCgr-Po5jpcbc/s1600/DSC_3270_cactus_flower_lime_canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl85xI3VH4nhCGCVrqCP1JZ8aVgydZ7QXkU0M8dpYkj8ipDgmA4Mk5NtQ-6gvfg1vcpdH45bPyzXSrURblM1fJr-C4S_Kal4Hk4fbTXE4tLMUgjsAicvluMisBBNq8BjBCgr-Po5jpcbc/s320/DSC_3270_cactus_flower_lime_canyon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Claret cup cactus in Lime Canyon.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLmHpCJ-_z7AOMayWNBcizZuLPsNLqhtHXDx4AWDSWUnlOiKz6M5LLyb4hqAa-iA2uzoSigd0wGCOU-yXw3OMWn1qIDCx084E1sRpeI5J6GmEMTgRsEFTL1aQ_F5AGTSDisipK3_hKZg/s1600/DSC_3273_paintbrush_prickly_pear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLmHpCJ-_z7AOMayWNBcizZuLPsNLqhtHXDx4AWDSWUnlOiKz6M5LLyb4hqAa-iA2uzoSigd0wGCOU-yXw3OMWn1qIDCx084E1sRpeI5J6GmEMTgRsEFTL1aQ_F5AGTSDisipK3_hKZg/s320/DSC_3273_paintbrush_prickly_pear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Indian paintbrush and prickly pear, with yucca.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfde-j8ztQ5Ubf6u0sXMB2ByZj5ZwVB5wbTIiiUMKNU94RuOhwubkt7Ba691rgDlHMEmf4meH06rfEwByft_-2KFfHPSfdGeqn4KBl4z0OojRBeQs-ezcoAAXjb4IXO7hbZ8KLb4_fIg/s1600/DSC_3286_cactus_flowers_lime_canyon_rim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfde-j8ztQ5Ubf6u0sXMB2ByZj5ZwVB5wbTIiiUMKNU94RuOhwubkt7Ba691rgDlHMEmf4meH06rfEwByft_-2KFfHPSfdGeqn4KBl4z0OojRBeQs-ezcoAAXjb4IXO7hbZ8KLb4_fIg/s320/DSC_3286_cactus_flowers_lime_canyon_rim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">More claret cups.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyM08J_8Ps5o3ArfMZ-MAEov0z_6v9eKD0aVdqdikNEIDrVXJpvXxA1XquzQNEfdjIE3go50DU6tWXFQLDekGJkStZKXb1GyDexxdIoTpNjIAcUoI4cUumMh_rSHjPKGnmbrMmLX6veU/s1600/DSC_3306_cactus_flowers_lime_creek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyM08J_8Ps5o3ArfMZ-MAEov0z_6v9eKD0aVdqdikNEIDrVXJpvXxA1XquzQNEfdjIE3go50DU6tWXFQLDekGJkStZKXb1GyDexxdIoTpNjIAcUoI4cUumMh_rSHjPKGnmbrMmLX6veU/s320/DSC_3306_cactus_flowers_lime_creek.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And more, with dead juniper.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNYvs3Z0p6mIKmMJ7gkrtqwygJivfziwFwSt0ejrt_Ub2z8J8DZuG2-0QlDpqHYi_73BO7OzdjY405aJnCUS3asK6e5IF4Xr_R1zKJGvDh0Jt6CgueiHrhBfQy_DVJyNvIk7qtfASzTo/s1600/DSC_3309_ground_cover_lime_canyon_rim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNYvs3Z0p6mIKmMJ7gkrtqwygJivfziwFwSt0ejrt_Ub2z8J8DZuG2-0QlDpqHYi_73BO7OzdjY405aJnCUS3asK6e5IF4Xr_R1zKJGvDh0Jt6CgueiHrhBfQy_DVJyNvIk7qtfASzTo/s320/DSC_3309_ground_cover_lime_canyon_rim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ground cover. Lime Canyon rim.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFm2fxmv-3SdrBA2w5bNs3b2z5zrBgdBFdL0xyxcaG51GLLDVPotJ4xWo1MKycE5lcvIKqeU_Y6WQcuAoyz1FkKkwPuGygOf3TA4J6V_ba7_B_xeYWyInTYApT_VQHFD9TPPqcVNT2pc/s1600/DSC_3313_flowers_cedar_mesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFm2fxmv-3SdrBA2w5bNs3b2z5zrBgdBFdL0xyxcaG51GLLDVPotJ4xWo1MKycE5lcvIKqeU_Y6WQcuAoyz1FkKkwPuGygOf3TA4J6V_ba7_B_xeYWyInTYApT_VQHFD9TPPqcVNT2pc/s320/DSC_3313_flowers_cedar_mesa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lime canyon rim.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQesBiEjf5uFxqbsOxQL40vnF-b4ew5PZK0YljUuRMVxzp32HchWK18kjt-M_V_5N_OrTqc8bzgSFAyl8yFgKmr81Horp-Y4dceyqYXliU2-6CJXVLBxGYo4fZMJnaj2wcKEYkAZxdrU/s1600/DSC_3401_prickly_pear_flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQesBiEjf5uFxqbsOxQL40vnF-b4ew5PZK0YljUuRMVxzp32HchWK18kjt-M_V_5N_OrTqc8bzgSFAyl8yFgKmr81Horp-Y4dceyqYXliU2-6CJXVLBxGYo4fZMJnaj2wcKEYkAZxdrU/s320/DSC_3401_prickly_pear_flowers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Prickly pear along the San Juan River.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNtY8bABqz3nv2OrWgQ_9_IYHuu8_ktNw5J4jZfPLcNX3qwMo-CQ1sMVEeSOvn064pAtr1bsq3gNHRhBNpJ_UhE1PMKBA1Ul8N6K443kbxJs6dsnEJ0fwmI-BovWj__937EvYz1thyphenhyphenT0/s1600/DSC_3405_hummingbird_cactus_flower_river_panel_san_juan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNtY8bABqz3nv2OrWgQ_9_IYHuu8_ktNw5J4jZfPLcNX3qwMo-CQ1sMVEeSOvn064pAtr1bsq3gNHRhBNpJ_UhE1PMKBA1Ul8N6K443kbxJs6dsnEJ0fwmI-BovWj__937EvYz1thyphenhyphenT0/s320/DSC_3405_hummingbird_cactus_flower_river_panel_san_juan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">With hummingbird.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76fqo9x17gkaQ7UZkdQnsw1pLg3UAR2CbpyTVcoyHLjkgvon9UCUvRsYH3lb0XSYDG6soYK2vG-CpmSSLFptf3Fwvu_zA_yCCikVAg_fiVWoy-FIhGmKWfOLIBU6h-wf_cf0DAqm4D2s/s1600/DSC_3416_lizard_prickly_pear_flowers_river_panel_san_juan_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76fqo9x17gkaQ7UZkdQnsw1pLg3UAR2CbpyTVcoyHLjkgvon9UCUvRsYH3lb0XSYDG6soYK2vG-CpmSSLFptf3Fwvu_zA_yCCikVAg_fiVWoy-FIhGmKWfOLIBU6h-wf_cf0DAqm4D2s/s320/DSC_3416_lizard_prickly_pear_flowers_river_panel_san_juan_river.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lizard watching the hummingbird pollinate the prickly pear along the San Juan River near the petroglyph panel.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyX9-RPel6YgmsGZDFsIcsUFlJkX-wpMd-m6kn19974Uni2I0YXo666Trz2KX8alBgJ0cdk6TkA59ukQy3eVCmgkBM2g-L0DtLusolpJStY4zJm39MDtYW7lxpeiGZqXZWxwKt3q8lvM/s1600/DSC_3425_flowers_monarch_cave_ruins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyX9-RPel6YgmsGZDFsIcsUFlJkX-wpMd-m6kn19974Uni2I0YXo666Trz2KX8alBgJ0cdk6TkA59ukQy3eVCmgkBM2g-L0DtLusolpJStY4zJm39MDtYW7lxpeiGZqXZWxwKt3q8lvM/s320/DSC_3425_flowers_monarch_cave_ruins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Flowers below the Monarch Cave Ruin, Comb Ridge.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwAZMQ6CnBTefRGfQFA2uI1x6B98Sn3dljJZmtkbprGurYmC4QTzdizmMDpilH1IT0kkln4NG4dBruRjEtNC76Fl7RLKsTMSeAXdU6EQTWdGwIASnCZ2wdEt8TuMVseUpX482Y2hpsYU/s1600/DSC_3444_cottonwood_cotton_monarch_cave_camp_comb_ridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwAZMQ6CnBTefRGfQFA2uI1x6B98Sn3dljJZmtkbprGurYmC4QTzdizmMDpilH1IT0kkln4NG4dBruRjEtNC76Fl7RLKsTMSeAXdU6EQTWdGwIASnCZ2wdEt8TuMVseUpX482Y2hpsYU/s320/DSC_3444_cottonwood_cotton_monarch_cave_camp_comb_ridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cottonwood cotton and weeds.</span></div>
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Ken Driesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.com1