tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33157013343417335142024-03-05T09:05:10.292-08:00Jim McGillisSince 2007, I have been writing a blog at http://jamesmcgillis.com. In order to reach more readers, I have selected the best of my blog articles and published them here. I hope that you enjoy...Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.comBlogger353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-14537119264763962222023-08-16T15:16:00.000-07:002023-08-16T15:16:01.212-07:00<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140522_Lake_Powell_Wahweap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A view of Wahweap Marina, Lake Powell, Arizona in May 2014 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140522_Lake_Powell_Wahweap_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="A view of Wahweap Marina, Lake Powell, Arizona in May 2014 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">The Impending Demise of the Colorado River<br />
</h1>
<p>As most people in the Western United States know, we
are experiencing an extended drought. The aridness in the West has
resulted in a severely diminished flow of water along the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=74">Colorado River</a>.
In fact, the river no longer discharges into the Sea of Cortez in
Mexico. From that now dormant coastal estuary, most wildlife
disappeared long ago. In 2022, with the advent of a limited
pilot-program, a tiny amount of Colorado River water will flow again to
the sea.<br />
<br />
That is a hopeful sign during an otherwise bleak hydrological
environment in the West. Ironically, humankind’s misplaced desire to
control that once mighty river could result in a destructive wave
traveling from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=129">Glen Canyon Dam</a>
all the way to the Sea of Cortez. Stay with me to the end of this
article to learn how such an apocalyptic fate for the iconic river is
possible.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/160222_Boulder_City_Green_Lawn_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="As with this home in Boulder City, Nevada, an emerald green lawn anywhere in the Colorado River Basin is the sure sign of an entitled scofflaw - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/160222_Boulder_City_Green_Lawn_sm.JPG" title="As with this home in Boulder City, Nevada, an emerald green lawn anywhere in the Colorado River Basin is the sure sign of an entitled scofflaw - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Why
is the Colorado River failing? Historical and updated river-flow data
allows us to predict its demise. There is no longer an “if.” Now it is
all about “when.” As less rain falls and the snowpack diminishes in the
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=129">Upper Colorado River Basin</a>,
another phenomenon takes hold. For some it consists of blind ignorance.
For many, it is the irrational human need to utilize and be wasteful
of water. Either scenario raises demand for water, as if it emanates
from an unlimited source.<br />
<br />
One tankless water heater manufacturer promotes “endless hot water,
which is now available” with their system. A nearby neighbor in
Southern California defies current “<a href="https://www.bewaterwise.com/" target="_blank">one-day-each-week</a>”
outdoor watering limits. He runs his lawn sprinklers daily, often
before sunrise to avoid detection, then follows up by hand-watering his
entire front yard. Each day, almost ten gallons of potable water flows
down the gutter past our house. Our front lawn is dead. His lawn is
lush, green, and currently going to seed. In Southern California and
now throughout the Southwest, a green lawn is the sure sign of a
scofflaw. The attitude of many people throughout the Southwest, is one
of entitlement. For them, cheating on their water budget or ignoring
their legal limits is a way of life.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/220420_Lake_Powell_Wahweap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Wahweap Marina in April 2022 was at its lowest elevation since the initial filling of Lake Powell in the 1960s - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/220420_Lake_Powell_Wahweap_sm.jpg" title="Wahweap Marina in April 2022 was at its lowest elevation since the initial filling of Lake Powell in the 1960s - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In the Upper Colorado River Basin, the drought now brings <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=381">Lake Powell</a>
to its lowest elevation since initial filling in the 1960s. How low is
it? In April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), which
operates the major dams throughout the Colorado River system made a
surprise announcement. From Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming’s largest,
they released 500,000-acre-feet of water. From there, the water flowed
down the Green River, and then into the Colorado River. The plan was
to replenish and stabilize the water level in Lake Powell.<br />
<br />
The USBR has touted this plan as a prudent way to keep power flowing
from the hydroelectric turbines at Glen Canyon Dam, at least through
2023. Ironically, the original public proposal for the Glen Canyon Dam,
promoted it as a “flood control dam,” not as a lynchpin in the
electrical grid. Because the reservoir was beautiful and grand when at
least half full, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=382">Lake Powell</a>
also became an indispensable recreational resource. Few people
realized that the reservoir rested on soft and porous sandstone. In
addition to relentless evaporation, the reservoir “banks” about fifteen
percent of its water volume each year.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Navajo_Generating_Station_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Prior to its decommissioning in 2019, the Navajo Generating Station at Page, Arizona was the single largest water user from Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Navajo_Generating_Station_sm.JPG" title="Prior to its decommissioning in 2019, the Navajo Generating Station at Page, Arizona was the single largest water user from Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>For almost fifty years, the coal-fired <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=335">Navajo Generating Station</a> (NGS) operated near the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona. Utilizing coal mined at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=293">Black Mesa, Arizona</a>,
its furnaces polluted the air, and its pumps withdrew vast quantities
of water from Lake Powell. While wasting over ten percent of its power
conveying its own cooling water and coal supply, NGS also broke records
for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution. Although there was
onsite wastewater recycling, losses due to both steam turbine
generation and cooling tower evaporation made the NGS the largest
single user of water in the Upper Colorado River Basin.<br />
<br />
The main purpose of the NGS was to annually pump 50,000 acre-feet of
“excess” Colorado River water over four mountain ranges to both Phoenix
and Tucson, Arizona. Along the way, Arizona diverted vast amounts of
water into shallow desert aquifers near the Palo Verde Nuclear Power
Plant. The idea was to later mine that water from the desert and supply
it to Phoenix. Currently, a large aqueduct is under construction
there. Since the scheme has no precedent, no one knows if or for how
long this <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=292">desert water mining</a> will work.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/151017_Lake_Powell_NGS_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="As seen from Wahweap Overlook, the Navajo Generating station sucked, pumped and boiled off more water from Lake Powell than any other single user - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/151017_Lake_Powell_NGS_sm.JPG" title="As seen from Wahweap Overlook, the Navajo Generating station sucked, pumped and boiled off more water from Lake Powell than any other single user - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Despite
the excessive air, water and ground pollution associated with the NGS,
for decades it was like the monster that would not die. Not until the
vast over development of <a href="https://moablive.com/moabgas/" target="_blank">natural gas resources</a>
in the Four Corners Region did the NGS's economic costs outweigh its
job-related or power production benefits. In 2019, twenty years into a
regional drought of millennial proportions, the NGS finally shutdown.
If we are looking for a culprit in the current desiccated condition of
Lake Powell, the NGS would be a prime target for investigation. In fact,
the same flawed arguments that allowed the construction of Glen Canyon
Dam go hand in hand with the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291">commissioning of the NGS</a> in the mid-1970s.<br />
<br />
In 2022, all of us who now rely on the Colorado River have both an
environmental and an economic bill to pay. How long can we collectively
afford to subsidize lush green golf courses in Page, Arizona, alfalfa
fields in the Imperial County, California, cotton growing in Pima
County, Arizona, or my neighbor’s green lawn? More importantly, do
humans have the capacity to create and implement a plan that will save
the Colorado River system? Taking shorter <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/060624_Glen_Canyon_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Although it is no longer the case, in 2006 Lake Powell was clearly visible from the edge of Wahweap Overlook - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/060624_Glen_Canyon_Dam_sm.JPG" title="Although it is no longer the case, in 2006 Lake Powell was clearly visible from the edge of Wahweap Overlook - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>showers, eliminating public fountains and decorative turf will not be enough to turn that tide.<br />
<br />
What we need now is a clear-eyed look at the entire <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=74">Colorado Riverway</a>,
from the high mountains to the low desert and everywhere in between.
Affected states still adhere to the outdated Colorado River Compact of
1922. A century ago, all the states touching the Colorado River
watershed agreed to over allocate its resources for generations to
come. Politics played its role, with water rights assigned according to
historical usage and population density. As a result, the compact
granted the irrigation district in Imperial County, California
(population 180,000), the largest single claim on Colorado River water.
Why? Because long before huge dams and hydroelectric power allowed for
the long-distance pumping of river water, inventive farmers directly
tapped the river. In fact, a Colorado River dike which broke early in
the 20th century resulted in the forming of the Salton Sea. Near
Blythe, California resourceful farming families have succeeded in
transforming the desert into cropland.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/170220_Lake_Mead_lg.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/170220_Lake_Mead_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In February 2017, Lake Mead was already showing great signs of stress, as displayed by its low water level - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/170220_Lake_Mead_sm.jpg" title="In February 2017, Lake Mead was already showing great signs of stress, as displayed by its low water level - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
Colorado River Compact expires in 2026. Often acrimonious discussions
regarding its replacement are already underway. The participants include
the Upper Basin (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming), the Lower
Basin (Arizona, California, and Nevada), Mexico and several tribal
nations. According to a 2019 federal <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/dcp/" target="_blank">Drought Contingency Plan</a>
(DCP), as Lake Mead falls below 1,045’ elevation, the USBR must now
declare a “Stage 2b Water Shortage Emergency”. On August 8, 2022, the
reservoir stood at 1,229’ elevation, only four feet above a DCP Stage 3
declaration.<br />
<br />
As a temporary measure, Congress recently approved $4 billion for
emergency drought mitigation within the Colorado River Basin. Much of
that money will go to pay Indian tribes and alfalfa growers in the
Imperial Valley not to plant crops. The various USBR shortage decrees
have flown by so quickly, it is hard for even the experts to keep track
of water allocations. As of August 16, 2022, a Department of Interior
declaration cut 2023 water allocations to Arizona by 21%, with smaller
cuts to Nevada and Mexico. Senior water rights in California <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/160420_Hoover_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Hoover Dam, as pictured here in 2016 will soon be in danger of producing no electricity or even passing water through the dam to locations downstream - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="135" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/160420_Hoover_Dam_sm.jpg" title="Hoover Dam, as pictured here in 2016 will soon be in danger of producing no electricity or even passing water through the dam to locations downstream - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>assured that there would be no cuts to its water deliveries in 2023.<br />
<br />
In a surprise move, the Department of the Interior also allowed the
acrimonious and unfruitful negotiations among the signatories to the “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=33">Law of the River</a>”
to proceed. It is an election year, and no one wanted to restrict
anyone’s water rights further than already agreed upon. While Nero
fiddled, Rome burned. While recalcitrant negotiators wrangle over
cutting the allocations of others, but increasing their own, the
Colorado River is not participating in the discussions.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/220315_Lake_Powell_Water_Levels_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In 2022, as Lake Powell approaches Minimum Power Pool and then Dead Pool, its viability as a power station, flood control device and a recreational site will all come together in a multi-pronged disaster for the entire Colorado River System - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/220315_Lake_Powell_Water_Levels_sm.jpg" title="In 2022, as Lake Powell approaches Minimum Power Pool and then Dead Pool, its viability as a power station, flood control device and a recreational site will all come together in a multi-pronged disaster for the entire Colorado River System - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Protracted
negotiations or litigation will extend any true solution until it is
too late to save hydroelectric production at both Glen Canyon and Hoover
Dams. Achieving the “dead pool” elevation of 3,370’ at Lake Powell and
895’ at Lake Mead, when water can no longer pass through either dam,
becomes more likely over time. Prior to dead pool, there will be too
little water in the reservoirs to send down the penstocks and spin the
electrical turbines. The USBR interim plan to “balance the two pools”
will delay the inevitable, but not change the outcome.<br />
<br />
In 2022 and 2023, a physical danger lurks in the “minimum power pool,”
coming soon to Lake Powell. With typical 20th century hubris, the
designers of Glen Canyon Dam did not anticipate a future time when its
hydroelectric plant would go offline. As of September 6, 2022, Lake
Powell was at an elevation of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/130117_Outlet_Structure_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Once it reaches Minimum Power Pool, giant, unlined sandstone tunnels, known as the Outlet Works may become the only way to release water from Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/130117_Outlet_Structure_sm.JPG" title="Once it reaches Minimum Power Pool, giant, unlined sandstone tunnels, known as the Outlet Works may become the only way to release water from Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>3,523’, or almost seventy-eight feet lower than two years prior. The lake’s elevation
rests just thirty-three feet above minimum power pool. At minimum
power pool, there will not be sufficient "head" for gravity to send
water down the penstocks and spin the turbines.<br />
<br />
Unless weather patterns and water usage change drastically, that
critical level will come sometime in 2023. Below minimum power pool,
the reservoir will still have millions of acre-feet of sequestered
water. What it will lack is a safe method of releasing any of that
water through the dam. To fully grasp this eventuality, picture the
Grand Canyon becoming a permanent dry wash. Still, a potentially unsafe
method of water release from Glen Canyon Dam does exist. It involves
what are known as “diversion tunnels” or the “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=269">outlet works</a>.”<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1960_Outlet_Structure_Coffer_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="During the early stages of construction, both the Coffer Dam and the Outlet Works are clearly visible in this photo from around 1960 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1960_Outlet_Structure_Coffer_Dam_sm.JPG" title="During the early stages of construction, both the Coffer Dam and the Outlet Works are clearly visible in this photo from around 1960 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>To
facilitate construction of the dam in the 1950s, engineers first bored
two enormous tunnels through the canyon walls. They then constructed a
coffer dam, which temporarily diverted river water through the new
diversion tunnels. The resulting outlet works could divert and convey
even a large spring flood safely downstream. Luckily, no major floods
occurred until after the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=266">1964 commissioning</a>
of Glen Canyon Dam. Upon completion, crews dismantled the coffer dam,
and closed the enormous gates at the head of the diversion tunnels.<br />
<br />
All went well until the spring of 1983. In anticipation of summer
electrical generation needs, the USBR kept Lake Powell at an elevated
level. As spring wore on, there were huge snowstorms in the Upper Basin
watershed, followed by rainstorms and rapid snow melt. Quickly, water
in Lake Powell reached the top of the dam. Only hastily constructed
plywood and lumber bulwarks atop the dam kept it from a disastrous
overtopping. Unable to divert sufficient water through the
hydroelectric plant, the operators “opened the floodgates,” better known
as the outlet works.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1983_Lake_Powell_Full_Pool_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Seen here in Spring 1983 with all electrical turbines operating and both Outlet Works discharging farther downstream, Lake Powell was in danger of over-topping - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="179" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1983_Lake_Powell_Full_Pool_sm.jpg" title="Seen here in Spring 1983 with all electrical turbines operating and both Outlet Works discharging farther downstream, Lake Powell was in danger of over-topping - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>For
weeks, enormous outflows subjected the unlined sandstone tunnels to
unanticipated stress. As a result, the outflow ejected huge chunks of
raw sandstone downstream of the dam. Contemporary reports by persons
not authorized to speak publicly told of the dam humming or thrumming,
as if in major distress. Soon thereafter, the water level of Lake
Powell dropped far enough to allow closure of the outlet works and
resumption of water release solely through the hydroelectric station.
Chastened, the dam’s operators never again let the lake rise even close
to capacity prior to the end of spring runoff. Ironically, this
conservative approach to reservoir management meant that Lake Powell
would never again approach “full pool.”<br />
<br />
The 2022 emergency release of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir has
bought the USBR one more year before the prospect of a minimum power
pool at Lake Powell. In their version of Two Card Monte, dam operators
are accepting 500,000 acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge and
reducing deliveries downstream to Lake Mead by a similar amount. As Oz
famously said <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/050212_BVlack_Canyon_City_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="If the Outlet Works at Glen Canyon Dam were to fail, the entire contents of Lake Powell could be transported through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/050212_BVlack_Canyon_City_sm.JPG" title="If the Outlet Works at Glen Canyon Dam were to fail, the entire contents of Lake Powell could be transported through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>in
the Wizard of Oz, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
Likewise, should we pay no attention to the huge amount of water
retained in Lake Powell?<br />
<br />
If you were to write a <a href="https://jimmcgillis.com/book.asp?page=28" target="_blank">disaster movie script</a>,
you would include a scene in which veteran Glen Canyon Dam workers
face the prospect of reopening the compromised outlet works. In
releasing any remaining water from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, they fear
the cracking and ultimate destruction of Glen Canyon Dam. In the next
scene, they would open the creaking gates of the outlet works. For a
time, everything would work correctly. Then, they would hear a low
harmonic sound emanating from the dam. Soon, the humming would become a
roar. Too late to save themselves, the workers would run for the
exits, only to have the dam disintegrate around them.<br />
<br />
<img align="right" alt="If the Glen Canyon Dam Outlet Works were to fail, a tsunami of previously unseen proportions could enter Lake Mead and imperil Hoover Dam - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/220823_tsunami_warning_sm.jpeg" title="If the Glen Canyon Dam Outlet Works were to fail, a tsunami of previously unseen proportions could enter Lake Mead and imperil Hoover Dam - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="238" />The
result would be the immediate draining of the second largest reservoir
in America. Almost immediately, the biggest flood on the Colorado River
since the creation of the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=214">Grand Canyon</a>
would ensue. At Lake Mead, downstream, the wave would surge to a
height greater than any tsunami in history. As the surge created by the
wave would impinge on Hoover Dam, that too would disintegrate. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=114">Farther downstream</a>,
the remaining dams would fall one after another. Within hours, the
once sequestered contents of the Colorado River would rush into the Sea
of Cortez, creating a saltwater tsunami.<br />
<br />
Such a catastrophe cannot happen, you say. In 1983, the dam almost
failed. There is nothing to say that our next attempt to save the
Colorado River will not result in its untimely demise. Thousands of
years hence, descendants of survivors in the Southwest might tell tales
of a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=110">Great Flood</a>, from which their ancestors survived. Other than not including an ark full of animals, that story has a familiar ring.<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </p>
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<p></p></div>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0US-89, Page, AZ 86040, USA36.9371988 -111.48366938.6269649638211519 -146.6399193 65.247432636178843 -76.3274193tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-42117744583832988352021-12-21T17:36:00.002-08:002021-12-21T17:36:14.322-08:00From a Flat Tire in Kanab to The Stratosphere in Las Vegas - 2021<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/201022_Kanab_RV_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Some California wildfire smoke obscures the background in this October 2020 image of Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/201022_Kanab_RV_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Some California wildfire smoke obscures the background in this October 2020 image of Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">From a Flat Tire in Kanab to The Stratosphere in Las Vegas<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">After an uneventful trip from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=335">Page, Arizona</a> to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=328">Kanab, Utah</a>, I set up camp at the venerable <a href="http://www.kanabrvcorral.com/" target="_blank"> Kanab RV Corral</a>.
By booking early, I was able to enjoy the bucolic charm of old Kanab.
Since I first stayed at the RV Corral in 2006, tourist facilities in
the City of Kanab have expanded exponentially. New hotels and RV Parks
seem to sprout up every year. Even so, the population of Kanab now
stands at only 4,636.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
To the east of the city, the Grand Plateau RV Resort features eighty RV
spaces and fifteen cabins. Nearby, Red Canyon Cabins features
approximately fifty-five individual cabins, which wrap around the Kanab
Quality Inn. Upon my arrival at the Kanab RV Corral, I learned that
there was not a single unreserved RV </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Kanab_Parry_Lodge_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Once a private residence, the iconic Parry Lodge in Kanab, Utah shows the town as it once was - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Kanab_Parry_Lodge_sm.jpg" title="Once a private residence, the iconic Parry Lodge in Kanab, Utah shows the town as it once was - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>space in Kanab that night. Not ironically, the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/kaibab/recarea/?recid=11705" target="_blank"> Kanab Creek</a> aquifer draws on the same </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">watershed that feed the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=292">Colorado River</a> and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=33">Lake Mead</a>
downstream. As the eastern gateway to Zion National Park and Bryce
Canyon National Park, Kanab now appears dominated by developers and
hoteliers. Each new facility uses untold amounts of water.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
While in Kanab, I visited the historic <a href="https://parrylodge.com/" target="_blank">Parry Lodge</a>,
first built as a private home in 1892. In 1930, the Parry brothers,
converted the large property into a Hollywood movie support
destination, complete with motel and luxury hotel accommodations. In
2021, with decreased revenue and an increased cost of operation, the
property closed during the depths of the health crisis. As of August
2021, the historic lodge is again open for business.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Joel_McCrea_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Western actor Joel McCrea is on of many who shot movies in Kanab, Utah and stayed at the historic Parry Lodge - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Joel_McCrea_sm.jpg" title="Western actor Joel McCrea is on of many who shot movies in Kanab, Utah and stayed at the historic Parry Lodge - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>Although
tourists could not enter during my visit, I could peer down the
driveway and see “Randolph Scott’s Room”, which was the first door along
an otherwise deserted driveway. John Wayne’s room was farther down the
driveway. Out front, there were memorial plaques honoring various
Western movie heroes of the 20th century, including Ronald Reagan and
Joel McCrea. On August 14, 2003, the complex became a listing on the
National Register of Historic Places. While I was strolling the
grounds, a woman told me about a nearby historical movie site.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Intrigued, I drove up along Kanab Creek to the <a href="https://bestfriends.org/" target="_blank">Best Friends Animal Sanctuary</a>.
Remembering it as a small outpost of animal care in 2006, I was amazed
to see a huge ranch and campus designed to care for everything from
horses to raptors. Since I did not have a tour reservation, I stuck to
the dirt road and went up canyon. Near the upper reaches of the
facility, I discovered an <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Kanab_Horse_Barn_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="One lucky rescue horse occupies the historic barn and movie set at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Kanab_Horse_Barn_sm.jpg" title="One lucky rescue horse occupies the historic barn and movie set at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>historical
red barn. Other than a new roof, the barn looked just as it did for
over a century. During that time, the wooden structure had served as
both a horse barn and a Hollywood Western movie location. From the
woman in town, I had learned that none other than the late, great
George “Gabby” Hayes had filmed there.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
On the morning of May 26, I prepared for the 207-mile trip from Kanab to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=236">Las Vegas, Nevada</a>.
While checking my RV tires, I realized that my left-rear tire was
woefully low on pressure. Although I could not see it then, a steel
screw had punctured the tread. After a failed attempt to pump up the
tire, I decided to roll my rig slowly to the <a href="https://ramsaytowandservice.com/" target="_blank">Ramsay Towing & Service Center</a>,
just up the highway. There, the nice woman behind the counter said it
would be a minimum two hour wait for service. I decided to roll slowly
down the back streets of Kanab to the nearby Best Tire and Wheel <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Kanab_RV_Corral_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The picturesque RV space where I discovered a flat tire before departure from Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Kanab_RV_Corral_sm.jpg" title="The picturesque RV space where I discovered a flat tire before departure from Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Shop.
There, a tired voice from the back of the shop told me that he had
appointments stacked up and more customers expected soon. He suggested
that I try Hatch Automotive, just across the highway.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
At the rustic Hatch Automotive garage, an older gentleman (Dr.
Livingston, I presume) stood inside, wearing a sparkling clean set of
clothes. As I waited for him to finish a conversation, I noticed a
tire-busting machine in the corner of the garage. It looked like it had
last seen service twenty years prior. When the gentleman turned to me,
he almost chuckled at my request for assistance. He pointed to the
depths of the garage and said that a young man who was up to his elbows
in grease was the only person who did any work around there. It was
then that I realized that Hatch Automotive was probably a hobby for
that retired gentleman. “I guess I’ll just fix it myself”, I said.
“That would be a good idea”, the gentleman replied.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Kanab_Flat_Tire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="With the front axle of my RV rolled up on wooden blocks, I was ready to dismount the rear flat tire - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Kanab_Flat_Tire_sm.jpg" title="With the front axle of my RV rolled up on wooden blocks, I was ready to dismount the rear flat tire - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>From
there, I slowly rolled my rig to a wide street behind the nearby La
Quinta Inn. I remember what a mobile tire-buster once told me near the
Arizona border. "You can do it yourself. Just roll one axle up high
enough that the second axle lifts its tire off the ground. Then it is
as easy as changing a tire on your car". Utilizing various pieces of
lumber that I normally use to level my rig, I managed to pull forward
on to my makeshift wooden ramp. With the rear axle suspended in the
air, I used my trusty lug wrench to remove the offending wheel. Way
back in Needles, on the first day of my trip, I had checked my spare
tire for proper inflation. Confident that it could do the job, I rolled
my spare tire and rearward and then mounted it on the rear axle.
Within twenty minutes, I finished by using my trusty torque wrench to
cinch down the lug nuts to a proper level. After rolling off my
makeshift lumberyard, I was ready to roll. Soon, the stress of looking
for nonexistent tire-service in Kanab disappeared. Happy to be moving
again, I looked at my watch. My entire tire escapade in Kanab had taken
just over one hour. It felt like <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=110">instant manifestation</a> all over again.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Kanab_Tire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="With help from my lug wrench, I was able to put the spare tire on my RV in Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Kanab_Tire_sm.jpg" title="With help from my lug wrench, I was able to put the spare tire on my RV in Kanab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Across
the U.S. there is a shortage of labor, especially in the smaller towns.
For the available wages, young people do not want to bust tires or
learn automotive repair. If he was paid a fair wage, the 1980's Chevy
Dinosaur that the young mechanic was digging into at Hatch Automotive
would not be worth the time it took to repair. With a college or a
trade school degree, a young person could escape the grease and grime
associated with being an underpaid mechanic in Kanab, Utah. A young
auto mechanic would be better off taking an unpaid apprenticeship at a
Tesla Service Center. At least there is a future in working on electric
vehicles. With over 570,000 RVs sold in the past year, there are now
tens of thousands more travelers on the road. The lesson I learned on
this trip was to depend on myself for minor repairs. If you need a flat
tire fixed in Kanab, be prepared to wait most of a day for service. If
you need after-hours roadside RV service near <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=72"> Aztec, New Mexico</a>,
be prepared for a $500 service call, plus time and one half for any
actual repairs. With that, the price to change and fix a flat tire on
the road could easily approach $1,000. My new motto is, “Be Prepared.
Have a spare.”<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210526_Las_Vegas_Coach_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="At the Las Vegas RV Resort in late May 2021, I found intense heat and inadequate air conditioning in my coach - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210526_Las_Vegas_Coach_sm.jpg" title="At the Las Vegas RV Resort in late May 2021, I found intense heat and inadequate air conditioning in my coach - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>From the snow of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=14"> Southwestern Colorado</a> to the heat of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=340">Las Vegas</a>,
my arrival in Nevada was a shock. My fifth wheel has a single air
conditioning unit aboard. Until arriving in Las Vegas in late May 2021,
I never imagined that I might need a second A/C unit. After a
relatively cool first night, I spoke with my neighbor at the <a href="https://www.lasvegasrvresort.com/" target="_blank"> Las Vegas RV Resort</a>.
He was a specialist in industrial plumbing design and installation. He
and his wife had recently arrived in Las Vegas from his Florida home.
His main task in Las Vegas was to design and oversee the installation of
industrial piping at the former <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mp-materials-ipo/u-s-rare-earths-miner-mp-materials-to-go-public-in-1-47-billion-deal-idUSKCN24G1WT" target="_blank"> Molycorp Mine</a> (Now called the Mountain Pass Mine), south of Primm, Nevada. Mountain Pass Mine is not an <a href="https://cerrogordomines.com/" target="_blank">historical mine</a> tucked into a romantic mountain pass. It is a <a href="https://mpmaterials.com/about/" target="_blank">strip mine</a>, pure and simple.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210526_Las_Vegas_Stratosphere_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Las Vegas - The land of ultimate excess, as exemplified by the Stratosphere tower near Downtown - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210526_Las_Vegas_Stratosphere_sm.jpg" title="Las Vegas - The land of ultimate excess, as exemplified by the Stratosphere tower near Downtown - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>When
he arrived in Las Vegas, my RV neighbor found inadequate Wi-Fi and
scorching desert heat. With plans to spend fourteen months in Las Vegas,
he needed quick relief. By the time I departed, two days later, he had
shade cloth installed on all his exterior windows and a microwave
Wi-Fi disk installed atop his access ladder. With high-speed internet,
he could view and revise the water, chemical and steam pipes required
to restart one of the few rare-earth mineral mines in the United
States. Although the Department of Defense had partnered with the
mine’s new owners in 2019, decades of neglect and intermittent closures
at the mine had left its infrastructure inoperable. Apparently, it was
in worse shape than any highway I had recently driven in the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=117">Four Corners Region</a>. In essence, the entire mineral processing system at the mine would require a redesign and replacement.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
When I asked how long that would take, he sighed and said, “They think
the mine can be operational in twelve to fourteen months”. After a long
pause, he said, “I’m not sure I can get enough skilled pipe-fitters to
complete that task in the 120-degree heat of the Mojave Desert”. The
former owner of the <a href="https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/mountain-pass-rare-earth-mine/" target="_blank"> Mountain Pass Mine</a>
was Molycorp, which went bankrupt in 2014. The mine had suffered the
same fate as many “green energy” technologies, such as solar panels and
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210526_Las_Vegas%20_Monorail_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Like so many follies in the Nevada desert, the Las Vegas Monorail stands defunct and useless near the Strip - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210526_Las_Vegas%20_Monorail_sm.jpg" title="Like so many follies in the Nevada desert, the Las Vegas Monorail stands defunct and useless near the Strip - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>lithium-ion
batteries. For decades, China had undercut U.S. domestic prices and,
in this case, had driven the only major rare-earth minerals mine in
America out of business.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense awoke from its slumber and
agreed to partially fund the reopening of the Mountain Pass Mine. As we
know, if China were to curtail the supply of rare-earth minerals to
the U.S., the emerging electrical vehicle (EV) industry would fail
almost immediately. The <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/11/12/the-collapse-of-american-rare-earth-mining-and-lessons-learned/" target="_blank"> Mountain Pass Mine</a>
is located just across the Nevada border, in San Bernardino County,
California. As such, every part of the refurbishment project will be
subject to review by California state agencies. When he had retrofitted
paper mills throughout the Southern U.S., my neighbor told me, the
state of jurisdiction would issue one permit for an entire project.
California, he said, requires a separate permit for each aspect of
design and construction. With California environmental rules and
bureaucracy in mind, the reopening of the Mountain Pass Mine in late
2022 sounded like a “pipe dream” to me.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210526_Las_Vegas_Chapel_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Little White Chapel in Las Vegas still advertises that both Joan Collins and Michael Jordan were once married there - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210526_Las_Vegas_Chapel_sm.jpg" title="The Little White Chapel in Las Vegas still advertises that both Joan Collins and Michael Jordan were once married there - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On
my layover day in Las Vegas, the air temperature rose to about
105-degrees. On the asphalt pads of the RV Park, the temperature was
ten or fifteen degrees higher. The intense heat and my under-powered
air conditioner reminded me about a story from Yuma, Arizona. For
decades, Yuma was renowned as the hottest city in America. Tired of
constantly being the butt of “hot city” jokes, Yuma relocated its
official weather station to the center of a well-watered citrus orchard.
Almost instantly, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=8">Phoenix, Arizona</a>
became the hottest city in America, with 169 days each year at 90F
degrees or more. As the Colorado River wanes to a trickle, there will be
insufficient imported water for cotton farming and cattle ranching in
Southern Arizona. Soon after that, we can expect outlawing of the
outdoor <a href="https://theplumber.com/the-pros-cons-of-outdoor-misting-systems/" target="_blank"> water-mister</a> systems that make dining or relaxing outdoors in Phoenix possible.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150418_Primm_Solar_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility has no no energy storage capability - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150418_Primm_Solar_sm.JPG" title="The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility has no no energy storage capability - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On Friday May 28, I bid my Las Vegas RV Resort neighbor adieu and drove the final 305-miles home to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=212"> Simi Valley</a>,
California. While in Las Vegas, I had spent under $20 to get my Kanab
flat tire repaired and ready for redeployment. As luck would have it, my
final dash through the Mojave Desert was uneventful. The following
week, I visited Simi RV. The parts specialist there had a Dometic
refrigerator thermo fuse replacement kit hanging on the rack. The RV
refrigerator failure at the beginning of my trip had been an
inconvenience, but not a full-scale disaster. Looking back, I had spent
$24 for three temporary foam coolers, $30 for two Igloo permanent
coolers and $15 for ice, just to keep my food from rotting. Then I
spent $168 for the unneeded printed circuit board (PCB), $34 to exchange
the PCB for a proper spare. I paid another $212 for a technician in
Aztec, New Mexico to fully diagnose the thermo fuse issue. Adding $65
for my new thermo-fuse replacement kit brought the grand total for RV
refrigerator repairs to over $550.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210630_Baffle_Raw_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A mock-up of my RV refrigerator wind deflector on our RV - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210630_Baffle_Raw_sm.jpg" title="A mock-up of my RV refrigerator wind deflector on our RV - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>While
purchasing my new thermo fuse replacement kit, I told the owner of Simi
RV about my refrigerator issue. He said that other owners of some
Cougar and Montana model RVs had experienced similar thermo-fuse
failures. With a lot of research and testing, he had determined that
wind created a low-pressure area along the side of the RV. Wind
entering the upper vent was making the propane flame burn too hot, thus
burning out the thermo-fuse. The remedy was to put an aluminum wing or
baffle at the leading edge of the refrigerator vent. That would
deflect the passing air around the refrigerator unit and keep the flame
operating at the proper temperature.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Since my RV is beyond its warranty period, he could fix the problem, but
Simi RV had almost a three month wait for service. Instead, we agreed
that I would complete my own repair. He gave me an unfinished, bent
piece of aluminum, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210821_Baffle_Finished_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Final installation of my RV refrigerator wind deflector - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210821_Baffle_Finished_sm.jpg" title="Final installation of my RV refrigerator wind deflector - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>which
I customized to my satisfaction, including a black paint job. I
installed long screws, which passed through my new creation and into
the structure of the upper RV vent. Soon, I shall take another RV trip,
which will include a live test of my new baffle.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
On the bright side, for $550 I got my RV refrigerator working. For that
amount, I also now have the equivalent of an associate degree in RV
refrigerator repair. Since I was able to avoid scuttling my annual,
two-week visit to the Four Corners Region, I believe it was all well
worth the price. After a subsequent RV trip to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=377">Morro Bay</a>, California, I am happy to report that my refrigeration issue appears to be solved.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
This concludes Part Five of a Five-Part Article. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379">HERE</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 03:39 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=383&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=383" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Kanab, UT 84741, USA37.0474855 -112.52631458.737251663821155 -147.6825645 65.357719336178846 -77.3700645tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-53780486330536882021-12-21T17:34:00.001-08:002021-12-21T17:34:04.349-08:00The Historical Saga of Glen Canyon Dam and Wahweap Bay - 2021<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/640625_Glen_Canyon_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Glen Canyon Dam nears completion in the early 1960s - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/640625_Glen_Canyon_Dam_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Glen Canyon Dam nears completion in the early 1960s - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="172" /></a>
<h1 align="center">The Historical Saga of Glen Canyon Dam and Wahweap Bay<br />
</h1>
<p><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/640625_Glen_Canyon_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Any visit to </span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=129">Glen Canyon Dam</a> and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=266">Lake Powell</a>
is a memorable event. The surreal nature of a giant concrete plug
embedded in soft Arizona sandstone, while holding back the second
largest reservoir in America is a site to behold. Visitors can walk
across the bridge that spans the 800-foot chasm just downstream of the
dam. As large trucks rumble across the bridge at well over the
twenty-five mile per hour speed limit, the whole structure resonates at
a low pitch. Many of the smaller vehicles flagrantly violate the speed
limit. There are no automated “Slow Down” signs and little actual
enforcement of the speed limit.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
On a recent visit, I trained my camera lens between the chain links that
make up the safety fencing along the bridge. Looking down at the dam,
which registers 710-foot tall, I noticed a strange anomaly. Where the
canyon wall abuts the lower-right portion of the dam, steel rods and
plates had been installed to keep the sandstone from crumbling. To make
the scene even more startling, water had seeped from behind the dam
and along a horizontal seam. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Glen_Canyon_Seepage_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Seepage and emergency repairs are evident at the base of Glen Canyon Dam - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Glen_Canyon_Seepage_sm.JPG" title="Seepage and emergency repairs are evident at the base of Glen Canyon Dam - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
result was a large, horizontal mosey patch leading downstream from the
dam itself. Apparently, the dam was weeping around its eastern edge,
and engineers had installed protective bolts and plates. Their intent
was to keep the lower canyon wall from crumbling away and exposing more
of the concrete dam.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
If you have ever observed a concrete patch on an asphalt road or an
asphalt patch on a concrete road, you know that the hard concrete and
the softer asphalt to not make for a happy marriage. Concrete and
asphalt expand and contract deferentially under pressure, heat or
moisture. The result is that sooner or later the two will separate and
create a greater problem than before the patch was made. Likewise, the
4,901,000 cubic yards of ever-hardening concrete within <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=269">Glen Canyon Dam</a> are embedded in the soft and porous sandstone of Glen Canyon itself.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/161006_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="When water levels are high, Lake Powell is a serene, blue water paradise for visitors - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/161006_Lake_Powell_sm.jpg" title="When water levels are high, Lake Powell is a serene, blue water paradise for visitors - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>When
fully stressed by an overfilled condition in 1983, Lake Powell
contained over 27-million acre-feet of water. To avoid spilling water
over the front of the dam and possibly losing it all together, water
managers were forced to run both spillway tunnels at their designed
maximum of 208,000 cubic feet per second. Anonymous sources later
revealed that as the extended water release activity continued, the
entire dam resonated and thrummed. Since parts of the twin spillway
tunnels were bored through sandstone, huge chunks of that natural
formation broke loose and swept out into the Colorado River.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
How much lasting damage was done during the 1983 water release event
will never be known. Large public agencies like the United States
Bureau of Reclamation (<a href="https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=144" target="_blank">USBR</a>),
which runs Glen Canyon Dam, have a habit of hiding as much
controversial information as they can. What they cannot hide is the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/650625_Glen_Canyon_Dam_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Glen Canyon Dam, as seen from Lake Powell in the summer of 1965 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="168" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/650625_Glen_Canyon_Dam_sm.jpg" title="Glen Canyon Dam, as seen from Lake Powell in the summer of 1965 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>thermal
stress on the dam. In January the average high temperature at nearby
Page, Arizona is 44F degrees. In July, the average high temperature is
97F degrees, or 57F degrees higher.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Daily temperature cycles should also be considered. Each day throughout
the year, the high and low air temperatures vary by up to 24F degrees.
Although the concrete in the dam does not thermally cycle as
dramatically, the face of the dam is shaped like a parabola thus
concentrating the sun on its southeastern exposure. With cold water
behind the dam and hot sun shining on the front of it, how does the dam
dissipate that energy into the sedimentary rock in which it stands?
Maybe that differential stress is why the unmentioned grout, steel bolts
and plates have been installed in the sandstone canyon wall along the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Glen_Canyon_Bridge_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Roadway of the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, looking to the east - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Glen_Canyon_Bridge_sm.JPG" title="Roadway of the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, looking to the east - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>lower right face of the dam.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
After traveling over the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, I proceeded west on
Highway 89 to the Wahweap Overlook turnoff. The directional signage
from Highway 89 West is minimal, so the obscure turnoff is easy to
miss. The paved road up the hill to the overlook is adequate, but the
unpaved parking area at the top has no traffic markings or designated
parking spots. Since the inception of the dam, the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/SnsAUqpNcgjhu8sL8" target="_blank">Wahweap Overlook</a>
has defined how an “overlooked” overlook might look. Given the
popularity of the site and its status as a senior citizen, authorities
should have paved the parking area and installed a restroom facility
sixty years ago. Perhaps it is a moot point, since the drying of Lake
Powell could soon leave Wahweap Overlook as just another dry knoll in
the Arizona desert.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Glen_Canyon_Downstream_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The view downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Glen_Canyon_Downstream_sm.JPG" title="The view downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In
May 2021, from Wahweap Overlook I could still see Wahweap Marina on the
near shore of Wahweap Bay. In the middle distance lay Castle Rock,
which looks as much like a castle as any other “Castle Rock” in the
Western U.S. Farther north and east stands the eroded volcanic shape of
Navajo Mountain (elevation 10,387’). With some effort and a short hike
down the hill, I could look downstream and see the top portion of Glen
Canyon Dam. Ironically, the water level was about the same as I
remembered it from my first visit to Lake Powell in 1965. Keep in mind
that Lake Powell was then still receiving its initial fill of once
abundant <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=334">Colorado River</a> water.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Even with its steadily shrinking size, Wahweap Bay still looks grand,
giving Lake Powell a spacious, breathtaking feel. Most visitors do not
realize that prior to the construction of the dam, the flow of the
Colorado River never touched <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/300530_Future_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="the majestic and sacred Navajo Mountain overlooks much of Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/300530_Future_Lake_Powell_sm.JPG" title="the majestic and sacred Navajo Mountain overlooks much of Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>what
we now call Wahweap Bay. The main canyon, known as Glen Canyon,
meanders northeast from the dam in a rocky trench. The containment
created by that sheer cliff does not broaden out again for many miles.
From the Wahweap Overlook, I could see neither Glen Canyon or the Castle
Rock Cut, which once was Lake Powell’s much shorter version of the
Suez Canal. As such, it was a manmade cut in the sandstone, which
allowed boats to pass from Wahweap Bay upstream to Warm Creek Bay.
Transiting that trench by boat bypassed a stretch of Glen Canyon,
shortening the distance from Wahweap to the upper reaches of Lake
Powell by twelve miles, or over one hour of travel time.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Part of Wahweap Bay, as seen from Wahweap Overlook in 2015 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Lake_Powell_sm.JPG" title="Part of Wahweap Bay, as seen from Wahweap Overlook in 2015 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>First
cut into the sandstone in the 1970s, and with its bottom deepened to
3,600’ elevation in 2014, the Castle Rock Cut served boaters for
decades. As of 2021, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/5sHeVXnQHihKzjyJA" target="_blank">Google Maps</a>
still shows the cut as if it is operational. I suppose the map keepers
at Google Maps are either too lazy to show current reality or perhaps
they believe that the lake will refill itself and reactivate the cut for
boat travel. An environmental assessment in 2008 had optimistically
stated that the cut could be deepened to 3,580’ elevation. On July 23,
2021, the reservoir’s level fell to 3,555’ elevation, or twenty-five
vertical feet below the final proposed depth of the Castle Rock Cut. In
other words, the Castle Rock Cut now stands high and dry.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The iconic scene of Charlton Heston finding a destroyed Statue of
Liberty in the 1968 original Planet of the Apes movie was filmed on the
beach at Paradise <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Sandcrawler_Model_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A model of the Sandcrawler, from the Star Wars series of movies - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="137" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Sandcrawler_Model_sm.jpg" title="A model of the Sandcrawler, from the Star Wars series of movies - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Cove,
California. However, the opening scene, which depicts his prior crash
landing in a spacecraft was filmed at Lake Powell. With such Science
fiction credibility already established at Lake Powell, I suggest that
the “<a href="https://www.starwars.com/databank/sandcrawler" target="_blank">Sandcrawler</a>”,
a fictional transport vehicle in the Star Wars universe that is found
on the desert planet Tatooine be redeployed to the Castle Rock Cut.
There it could be utilized as a houseboat transporter. It could scoop up
a boat from Wahweap Bay, and then use its many treads to crawl the
Castle Rock Cut to Warm Creek Bay. There, it could disgorge the
houseboat and its happy passengers, all in a matter of minutes.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140525_Houseboat_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Sitting on blocks in 2014, most similar houseboats can no longer launch into Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140525_Houseboat_sm.JPG" title="Sitting on blocks in 2014, most similar houseboats can no longer launch into Lake Powell - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Back
in the reality of the twenty-first century, the Castle Rock Cut joined
the Bullfrog Main Launch Ramp, Antelope Point Public Launch Ramp, Hite
Launch Ramp and Stateline Launch Ramp on the list of closed Lake Powell
boating facilities. As of this writing, the main launch ramp at
Wahweap Marina had an expected closure date of mid-August 2021.
Recently, the National Park Service (NPS) began preparing a smaller,
“Auxiliary Ramp” not used since the 1960s. It will be able to launch or
retrieve only two boats at a time. The NPS was also preparing the
Stateline Auxiliary Launch Ramp for limited use later this year.
Neither auxiliary ramp will accommodate houseboats over thirty-six feet
in length.<br />
</span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg120510_Dust_Lift_lg_lg.jpg" target="_blank"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/120510_Dust_Lift_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Dust spontaneously lifts into the air near Lake Powell, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillios.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/120510_Dust_Lift_sm.JPG" title="Dust spontaneously lifts into the air near Lake Powell, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillios.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Thinking back to the original <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/planet-of-the-apes-1968" target="_blank">Planet of the Apes movie</a>,
I imagined an event thousands of years from now. An errant spaceship,
piloted by a descendant of Elon Musk might aim his disabled spacecraft
for the dead pool of Lake Powell. Assuming a successful water landing,
the survivors might hike out in the direction of what once was Wahweap
Bay. There, Elon the 125th and his crew might come across the huge
concrete ramp at Wahweap. With Lake Powell no longer reaching Wahweap
Bay, the long concrete ramp at the former Wahweap Marina would be as
mysterious as the Pyramids at Giza. The survivors might ask, “What type
of spacecraft could have launched from this dry and desolate ramp?”<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Throughout my own lifetime, the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell have represented <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291">subterfuge</a>,
boom and bust. As I reflected on that, I knew it was time to go.
Fifty-six years after my first visit to Wahweap in 1965, I wondered if
this would be my last. Having photographically documented the Wahweap </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210524_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In 2021, a stretch of Wahweap Bay Bay, showing how far the water has sunk from the same scene above in 2015 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210524_Lake_Powell_sm.jpg" title="In 2021, a stretch of Wahweap Bay Bay, showing how far the water has sunk from the same scene above in 2015 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>Overlook
view for the past fifteen years, I snapped a few more pictures and
then departed. What my photos revealed was the continued desiccation of
Lake Powell. In the past six years alone, a large section of Wahweap
Bay had gone dry.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Finished in the early 1960s, Wahweap’s concrete launch ramp extended
farther and deeper into the lake than any other launch ramp. At the
time no one imagined that the surface of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=336">Lake Powell</a>
would ever fall below the end of the concrete ramp. As I drove away,
the question in my mind was, “Once it is reduced to a shadow of its
former glory, will Wahweap Marina ever again thrive as a pleasure
boating facility?” <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=89">I have my doubts</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This concludes Part Four of a Five-Part Article. To read Part Five, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=383">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379">HERE</a>.</span> </span></p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 04:29 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Colorado%20River" title="Colorado River">Colorado River</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=382&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=382" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona 86040, USA36.9371981 -111.48366958.6269642638211579 -146.63991950000002 65.247431936178856 -76.3274195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-9827624376175252662021-12-21T17:32:00.001-08:002021-12-21T17:32:13.874-08:00Saving The Colorado River - Are We Doing Too Little, Too Late? - 2021<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Wahweap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In August 2015, The Wahweap Marina in Lake Powell was riding high in its bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Wahweap_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="In August 2015, The Wahweap Marina in Lake Powell was riding high in its bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Saving The Colorado River - Are We Doing Too Little, Too Late?<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">On Monday, May 24, 2021, I departed </span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Wahweap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=106">Monument Valley</a> for <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=328">Kanab, Utah</a>, via <a href="https://jimmcgillis.com/book.asp?page=28" target="_blank">Page, Arizona</a>. The weather was clear, with only a light breeze. Page, Arizona owes its current existence to the nearby <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=269"> Glen Canyon Dam</a> and its reservoir, inaptly named “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=265">Lake Powell</a>”.
Loved by power boaters but decried by environmentalists since its
completion in the mid-1960s, both the dam and the “lake” are
anachronistic constructs of 20th century groupthink. To justify its
initial construction, dam advocates and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(USBR) had touted the proposed dam as a flood control mechanism.<br />
<br />
Later, those running the dam’s <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_Wahweap_Marina_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="As water levels continued to fall, by May 2021, Wahweap Marina stretched from bank to bank across its bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_Wahweap_Marina_sm.jpg" title="As water levels continued to fall, by May 2021, Wahweap Marina stretched from bank to bank across its bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>electrical
generators switched to promoting its ability to produce electricity
from a supposedly renewable resource. Current lake levels would suggest
otherwise. By 2023, the hydro-power intake structures will stand above
the projected lake level. In other words, the dam will likely create
no hydro-power at all.<br />
<br />
As of 2021, drought and structural overdrawing of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=33">Colorado River water</a>
supplies have made a mockery of the Glen Canyon Dam and its rapidly
shrinking reservoir. The Upper Colorado River Basin is in such extreme
drought that the prospects of a catastrophic flood are near zero. As
for the power boaters, most of their launch ramps now look like ski
jumps, with a long drop-offs to the rocks below. The lake itself is so
much smaller, snags, unseen sandbars and lack of beaches for camping
make the boating experience more hazardous each year. Shorelines of
quicksand and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210524_Page_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Looking as if they stepped out of an earlier century, two your girls run and play at Wahweap Overlook at Lake Powell, Arizona. Missing from the mesa in the background is the recently dismantled Navajo Generating Station - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210524_Page_Lake_Powell_sm.jpg" title="Looking as if they stepped out of an earlier century, two your girls run and play at Wahweap Overlook at Lake Powell, Arizona. Missing from the mesa in the background is the recently dismantled Navajo Generating Station - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>gravel
bars not seen in over fifty years will consume the unwary. Lake Powell
is fast approaching its all-time low water mark and is unlikely to
rebound in the next decade or two.<br />
<br />
In November 2019, the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291"> Navajo Generating Station</a>
(NGS) near Page, Arizona ceased operations. If anyone thought that
Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell were cynical constructs of 20th century
infrastructure, they should study the development and ultimate demise
of the coal fired NGS. Owned by the Salt River Project, the largest
public utility in the State of Arizona, the main <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=292">purpose of NGS</a> was to create electricity to pump Colorado River water over five mountain ranges to Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210517_Black_Mesa_Coal_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The abandoned coal silos at Shonto, Arizona once stoked the Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210517_Black_Mesa_Coal_sm.jpg" title="The abandoned coal silos at Shonto, Arizona once stoked the Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>To power the three huge furnaces at NGS, miners extracted and shipped coal from the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=293">Black Mesa Complex</a>, near Kayenta, Arizona. Black Mesa lies above what used to be the largest aquifer in the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=142">Navajo Nation</a>.
Contemporaneous with the NGS, unscrupulous power brokers had tapped
that aquifer to send a slurry of coal to a now defunct power plant at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=146">Laughlin, Nevada</a>.
Peabody Coal and its successor corporations operated the Black Mesa
Mine on contract to the Navajo Nation. In exchange for some transitory
jobs and revenue, the Navajo received a strip-mined mesa and the
despoilment of their precious water resources. As a concession to the
Navajo, the mine offered free coal for home heating each year. Since
many Navajo households have no electricity, the foul and deadly coal
was their only heat source during the winter. To add insult to injury,
the Navajo had to line up with their personal pickup trucks and trailers
to cart off the "free coal".<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210517_Hwy_89_North_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The old aquifer at Cow Springs, Arizona is now dry, which was a consequence of strip mining at nearby Black Mesa, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210517_Hwy_89_North_sm.jpg" title="The old aquifer at Cow Springs, Arizona is now dry, which was a consequence of strip mining at nearby Black Mesa, Arizona - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Although
the mine and the NGS did provide some jobs for Navajo tribal members,
the true legacy of the NGS was polluted groundwater and air throughout
the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=134">Four Corners Region</a>. For over forty years, visitors to the nearby <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=130">Grand Canyon</a>
often looked down on a smokey pit, not the natural wonder they came to
see. At one time, the NGS was the largest producer of airborne
nitrogen oxide in the United States. Only far cheaper electricity
provided by natural gas and renewable sources doomed the NGS. <br />
<br />
When Arizona won a larger share of Colorado River water in federal
lawsuits during the 1960s, the largest user of water in Southern
Arizona was agriculture. Pima cotton got its name from Pima County,
where Tucson now boasts a population of over one million residents. In
the days when cotton was king, Phoenix, Arizona had a population of
under 600,000. Today, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=132">Greater </a><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/141017_Navajo_Generating_Plant_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The now defunct Navajo Generating Station at Page, Arizona was once the largest single nitrogen oxide emitter in the continental U.S. - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/141017_Navajo_Generating_Plant_sm(1).jpg" title="The now defunct Navajo Generating Station at Page, Arizona was once the largest single nitrogen oxide emitter in the continental U.S. - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>Phoenix
has a population of 4.485 million. As agriculture subsided, the vast
and thirsty megalopolis of Phoenix/Tucson grew in its place.<br />
<br />
A little-known fact about the NGS was its thirst. During its 45-years of
operation, it was the single largest consumer of water from Lake
Powell. It also used over ten percent of its electrical power
generation to transport coal via rail and to pump its cooling water
from Lake Powell. Looking back, the NGS stole water from the Navajos
and wasted that precious water to power itself and its electric trains.
To complete the circle of complicity, Arizona built its current wealth
on the false premise of abundant water, pumped from an unsustainable
water supply. Like a science fiction monster, the NGS laid waste to
water and land while using profligate amounts of energy to power
itself. For 45-years, the NGS wasted water, power and environmental
resources, all in the name of “progress”.<br />
<br />
By 2021 and prior to the major delivery cutbacks to come, Arizona had banked about two years of water supply in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=215">shallow desert aquifers</a>. Most of it is near <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/151017_NGS_Water_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Navajo Generating Station on a cool day in October 2015, with all three furnaces emitting toxic gases and all six cooling towers wasting untold amounts of Colorado River water - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/151017_NGS_Water_sm.JPG" title="The Navajo Generating Station on a cool day in October 2015, with all three furnaces emitting toxic gases and all six cooling towers wasting untold amounts of Colorado River water - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>the
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, west of Phoenix. With the water
table so close to the surface, water samples there can register over
80-f degrees. To stave off potential water shortages, construction
crews are installing pumps and delivery systems from those aquifers to
north Phoenix. For as long as that water bank lasts, Phoenix can
continue to pretend that it has an adequate supply of water. When it
becomes obvious that supplies will tighten, expect land values in more
recent suburbs, like Anthem Arizona to experience a major slump in
housing prices. Water may soon become too expensive or scarce to supply
all who want it.<br />
<br />
When the reservoir downstream from Lake Powell, which is Lake Meade
reaches its official drought emergency level in August 2021, Arizona
and Nevada will take the deepest cuts in future water deliveries. With
unending </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/160816_NGS_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A parched view of the Navajo Generating Station in August 2018, with all three furnaces still spewing pollution into the Four Corners Region - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/160816_NGS_sm.JPG" title="A parched view of the Navajo Generating Station in August 2018, with all three furnaces still spewing pollution into the Four Corners Region - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>drought
and decreased flows in both the Upper Colorado Basin (Lake Powell) and
the Lower Colorado River Basin (Lake Mead), there is no guarantee of
sufficient water in either or both basins to supply basic water needs
to the 40 million people in the Southwest who depend on it. Although
Arizona and Nevada will take the biggest initial cut in water
deliveries, the entire region is likely to experience extreme shortages
in the next decade.<br />
<br />
The history of water politics in the West is one of over optimism and
faulty projections. Instead of inaction and dithering as the West dries
up and blows away, both the federal government and the states that
make up the Colorado River Compact should take bold action. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Each year, </span>Lake Powell losses up to fifteen percent of its volume to evaporation and percolation into its sandstone basin. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210524_NGS_Scrap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The ongoing dismantling of the Navajo Generating Station in May 2021 - Click for larger image (htts://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210524_NGS_Scrap_sm.jpg" title="The ongoing dismantling of the Navajo Generating Station in May 2021 - Click for larger image (htts://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>The USBR should immediately <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=336">decommission Lake Powell</a>. They should then conduct a controlled release of water from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=350">Lake Powell</a>
into the Colorado River. When that still substantial volume of water
reaches Lake Mead, it will then occupy a smaller geographical
“footprint”. Unlike the substantial percolation at Lake Powell, Lake
Mead’s granite lined basin will retain much more of its received water.<br />
<br />
How would these bold moves affect the Colorado River and its water
consumers? First, Page Arizona would decline in population, back to
near its size before construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Power boaters
would have to travel to a more viable Lake Mead, farther downstream.
As Lake Powell recedes, river runners could once again conduct rafting
tours of the actual Glen Canyon. For the first time in over fifty
years, hardy tourists could visit the most spectacular ecosystem ever
destroyed by a desert reservoir. In time, Glen Canyon would recover,
and the “Eden of the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210525_NGS_Scrap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Rolling through Kanab, Utah, a scrapper hauls away remnants of the Navajo Generating Station - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210525_NGS_Scrap_sm.jpg" title="Rolling through Kanab, Utah, a scrapper hauls away remnants of the Navajo Generating Station - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Desert” could well become a greater draw than the transitory “lake”. With luck and realistic planning, Phoenix, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=236">Las Vegas</a> and even <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=319">Los Angeles</a> could survive, albeit on a much tighter water budget.<br />
<br />
On the bright side, Page Arizona could become both a rafting and a
mining center, quarrying desert sandstone for use in xeriscape
throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. Personally, I would be happy
to repopulate my Southern California front yard with succulents and
cacti, interspersed among expanses of “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=335">Navajo Sandstone</a>”. As I write this in August 2021, my plan sounds harsh. In 2022 and beyond, it may sound like “too little and too late”.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This concludes Part Three of a Five-Part Article. To read Part Four, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=382">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379">HERE</a></span> </p>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Email James McGillis</span></a></span></div>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 01:47 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Colorado%20River" title="Colorado River">Colorado River</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=381&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(1)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=381" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0100 Lake Shore Dr, Page, AZ 86040, USA36.9935293 -111.48415288.6832954638211532 -146.6404028 65.303763136178844 -76.3279028tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-66374031728787263262021-12-21T17:30:00.001-08:002021-12-21T17:30:07.168-08:00Four Corners Part Two - Spring Snow Turns To Dust - 2021<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210520_Durango_Train_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Venerable Engine No.493 heads up the Animas Valley under full steam at Durango, Colorado - Click for large image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210520_Durango_Train_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Venerable Engine No.493 heads up the Animas Valley under full steam at Durango, Colorado - Click for large image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Four Corners Part Two - Spring Snow Turns To Dust<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">On Saturday May 22, 2021, it was time for me to start the long trek home to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=284">Simi Valley, California</a>. Since the beginning of the health crisis in 2020, this was the first day of full operations on the <a href="https://moablive.com/durangosteam/" target="_blank"> Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad</a>. By now, the 2018 coal-cinder sparked “<a href="https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/trial-accusing-durango-railroad-of-starting-416-fire-to-take-place-in-denver/" target="_blank">416 Fire</a>” was a fading memory. Up the Animas River Canyon, crews had replaced a <a href="https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-train-receives-2-million-grant-to-replace-bridge/" target="_blank">2020 washout</a>
of the tracks north of Cascade Station. As I watched, the venerable
Engine 493 steamed on by. As with their other locomotives, the railroad
had used downtime during the health crisis to convert that locomotive
from coal fire to fuel oil.<br />
</span> </p>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>
<p> </p>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>
<div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EZdjPNh2qW8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Watch the Action - The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad 2021</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <br />
The little helper engine had already chugged up alone. The two
locomotives would connect 26-miles up the tracks at Cascade Station.
From there to Silverton, the helper engine would then lead the way,
adding traction on the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">long, steep grades. This type of “double header” may have coincided with the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">baseball term. For me, it was exciting to see rolling history making its way past </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">our newly installed <a href="http://durangojim.com/" target="_blank">webcam</a>.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Aztec_Pops_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Pop's Truck and RV Center in Aztec, New Mexico - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Aztec_Pops_sm.jpg" title="Pop's Truck and RV Center in Aztec, New Mexico - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span>Tearing
myself away from the railroad activities, I connected my fifth wheel
to my truck and proceeded forty miles south to Aztec, New Mexico. There,
I had a loose appointment with Anthony, a certified RV refrigerator
technician at <a href="https://www.popstruckandrv.com/About" target="_blank">Pop’s Truck and RV Center</a>.
Since they close as early as Noon on Saturdays, I planned to get there
early. Once and for all, I hoped to have a live, qualified technician
diagnose and fix my errant Dometic RV refrigerator. So far, my emergency
repair had held, but I was still nervous about a possible second
failure. Since it was Saturday, I had to pay time and one-half for the
diagnosis and repair. About an hour after arrival, I departed Pop’s,
but still sporting the temporary jumper-wire on my refrigerator.
Anthony had diagnosed the blown thermo-fuse for me, but he did not have
a spare in stock. That bit of education cost me $212.50.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210520_San_Juan_Forest_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The San Juan National Forest, as seen from Aztec, New Mexico in lat May 2021 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210520_San_Juan_Forest_sm.jpg" title="The San Juan National Forest, as seen from Aztec, New Mexico in late May 2021 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>As I departed for <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=106">Goulding’s</a>
RV Park in Monument Valley, I looked back to the San Juan National
Forest near Durango. The slopes glistened with snow from the recent
storm, making the scene look more like winter than late May. When I
reached Farmington, New Mexico, wind gusts and blowing sand buffeted my
rig. As I passed west of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=72">Shiprock, New Mexico</a>, a sand and dust storm was growing. Being unfamiliar with that particular route to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=134">Kayenta, Arizona</a>
I had to trust my GPS to guide me. Luckily, the delineated route was
the correct one. With the gathering storm, it became difficult to see
any landmarks or even road signs.<br />
<br />
The 165-mile trip from Aztec, New Mexico to Monument Valley, Arizona was
difficult. Lofted by strong winds, the entire desert landscape
appeared to be moving to a new location. Most of my four-hour trip
consisted of driving on a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210522_Shiprock_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Ship Rock, New Mexico becomes enveloped with the dust of a rising regional wind storm - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210522_Shiprock_sm.jpg" title="Ship Rock, New Mexico becomes enveloped with the dust of a rising regional wind storm - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>highway obscured by blowing sand and dust. Of all my <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=103">Four Corners Region</a> visits in the past twenty years, I had never seen or felt a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=193">dust storm</a>
of such size and intensity. Somehow, I made it with only some paint
chipped off the hood of my truck. “Nothing that a little touch-up paint
won’t fix”, I said to myself. Setting up my campsite at Goulding’s
involved ingesting a lot of blowing dust, sand and dirt. By the time I
finished and retreated inside, dust was in my eyes, nose, mouth and
even my ears. It took hours to wash the fine grit from my mouth.<br />
<br />
Looking down the canyon toward Monument Valley itself, I pitied the poor
souls staying at the Monument Valley KOA Journey RV Park. All of
Monument Valley became enveloped in a dust cloud that extended from
ground level to atop the famed Mitten Buttes. The next day, the wind
abated, and everything at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210524_Mnmt_Valley_Clear_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Monument Valley, as seen from Goulding's RV Park on a clear day - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210524_Mnmt_Valley_Clear_sm.jpg" title="Monument Valley, as seen from Goulding's RV Park on a clear day - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Goulding’s
looked normal again. The only evidence of the great dust storm was one
worker who was patiently using a blower to remove dust and dirt off
the walkways and building entrances. For campers arriving from the
south, there was no sign of the intense storm I had endured less than a
day before.<br />
<br />
With a juxtaposition of such different realities in so short a time, I felt a kinship with the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=214">Spirit of the Ancients</a>, who inhabit that sacred land.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<br />
This concludes Part Two of a Five-Part Article. To read Part Three, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=381">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379">HERE</a> </span>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Email James McGillis</span></a></span></div></div><br clear="all" />
<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 04:43 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=380&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=380" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0United Campgrounds of Durango, United Campgrounds of Durango, 1322 Animas View Dr, Durango, CO 81301, USA37.3199405 -107.85064649.0097066638211558 -143.00689640000002 65.63017433617884 -72.6943964tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-29821994272390308032021-12-21T17:28:00.002-08:002021-12-21T17:28:18.976-08:00Four Corners Part One - Ice Cream Melts in the Desert - 2021<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Mojave_Virgin_Orbit_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Virgin Orbit mother plane is serviced prior to the successful drop and launch of several satellites at Mojave, California - Click for large image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Mojave_Virgin_Orbit_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="The Virgin Orbit mother plane is serviced prior to the successful drop and launch of several satellites at Mojave, California - Click for large image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Four Corners Part One - Ice Cream Melts in the Desert</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">On Saturday May 15, 2021 – I traveled 358-miles from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=364">Simi Valley</a>, California to the <a href="https://fortbealervpark.com/" target="_blank">Fort Beale RV Park</a> in Kingman, Arizona. Towing our fifth wheel trailer across the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=17">Mojave Desert</a>
took longer than the expected six hours. Once I was set up for the
night, I opened the refrigerator in my coach, seeking a cold drink. To
my surprise, the refrigerator was dark inside, indicating some form of
power failure.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Needles_Tesla_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Tesla owners facing West, frying their brains with cosmic rays at a Tesla Supercharger station in Needles, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Needles_Tesla_sm.jpg" title="Tesla owners facing West, frying their brains with cosmic rays at a Tesla Supercharger station in Needles, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>I
checked the fuses, circuit breakers and switches in the coach, but the
control panel for the fridge remained dark. Since I had packed the
unit with two weeks’ worth of frozen and fresh foods, I knew I had a
problem. Not wanting to scuttle my trip on the first day, I walked to a
nearby Chevron Station and purchased three disposable foam coolers,
plus 30-pounds of ice. Back at the coach, I packed ten pounds of ice
into the freezer and transferred as much of the fresh food into my
coolers as possible. Then it was time to eat some melting ice cream and
throw the remainder away.</span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Needles_Tesla_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><br class="auto-style1" />
</a> <br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">In the morning, I called a local RV repairman,
but he was out of town on another call. He suggested that the printed
circuit board (PCB), which is the electronic brains of the unit may
have failed. Since I had a non-refundable reservation that night in
Flagstaff, Arizona, I could not afford to stay another day in Kingman.
On the way out of town, I stopped at </span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_icecream_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="After my Dometic refrigerator failure on my RV, my remaining ice cream melted in the desert heat - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_icecream_sm.jpg" title="After my Dometic refrigerator failure on my RV, my remaining ice cream melted in the desert heat - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>the
local Wal-Mart, where I purchased two 48-quart red, white and blue
Igloo brand ice chests. In the Wal-Mart parking lot, I transferred my
fresh food from the leaky foam coolers to my bright new All-American
coolers. At $14.85 each, they would do a more efficient job of keeping
my food chilled. I put a fresh bag of ice in the non-working freezer
and used the previous night’s ice to flood the ice chests.<br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">With nothing more to do in Kingman, I headed 150-miles east on <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=283">Interstate I-40</a>. My destination was the <a href="https://www.kitcarsonrvparkflagstaff.com/" target="_blank">Kit Carson RV Park</a>
in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Kit Carson RV Park declares itself to be
the second oldest continuously operating RV Park in the nation. At 6,900
feet elevation, it is always a rustic and cool stopping point during
my regional travel. As with most RV Parks, it is best to make your
reservations well in advance. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Dinosaur_PCB_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Looking like a city of skyscrapers, My Dinosaur Brand Printed Circuit Board (PCB) soon became a spare on my RV - Click for larger image (https;//jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Dinosaur_PCB_sm.jpg" title="Looking like a city of skyscrapers, My Dinosaur Brand Printed Circuit Board (PCB) soon became a spare on my RV - Click for larger image (https;//jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Many, including Kit Carson now accept reservations only on a prepaid and non-refundable basis.</span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Dinosaur_PCB_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><br class="auto-style1" />
</a> <br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Still determined to get my refrigerator operating, I called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/budsmobilerepair/" target="_blank"> Buddy’s Welding & RV</a>,
which happened to be along my route north the following morning. After
looking up my Dometic refrigerator model and serial number, the nice
person there said that she had the appropriate PCB to complete my
repair. On my way to Monument Valley, Arizona, I stopped at Buddy’s and
paid $168 for the Dinosaur Electronics brand aftermarket PCB that was
to replace my supposedly defunct OEM model.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Refrigerator_Access_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The outside access panel to my Dometic RV refrigerator looked like a maze of wires, a burner and refrigerant lines - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Refrigerator_Access_sm.jpg" title="The outside access panel to my Dometic RV refrigerator looked like a maze of wires, a burner and refrigerant lines - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>After traveling 175-miles to <a href="https://gouldings.com/monument-valley-rv-campgrounds/" target="_blank"> Goulding’s RV Park</a> in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=16"> Monument Valley</a>,
Arizona, I quickly set up for a two-night stay. I then opened the
refrigerator access panel on the outside of the coach. Soon, I had the
replacement board installed and ready for the final electrical
connections. Having carefully marked each wire-lead with a black
marking pen, I soon noticed an extra connection wire, without a
corresponding terminal on the PCB. It was approaching 4 PM PDT when I
called customer service at <a href="http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Company_Info.htm" target="_blank"> Dinosaur Electronics Inc.</a> in Lincoln City, Oregon.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">After describing my issue to Joe at Dinosaur
Electronics, he quickly determined that I had the wrong board. He said
it was an easy mistake for the person at Buddy’s to make. In the process
of agglomerating Dometic model and serial numbers, a third-party
database could not be <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Kingman_Refrigerator_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Due to wind turbulence outside my RV, the thermo-fuse inside my Dometic refrigerator had failed and shut the refrigerator down - Click for larger image (https;//jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Kingman_Refrigerator_sm.jpg" title="Due to wind turbulence outside my RV, the thermo-fuse inside my Dometic refrigerator had failed and shut the refrigerator down - Click for larger image (https;//jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>relied
upon for reliable information. There were simply too many combinations
of refrigerator models and PCB numbers for the database to handle.
Once it was corrupted, there was no way to straighten the database out.
Live and learn, I thought. By then, the last of my ice was melting in
my coolers. My freezer would soon thaw completely. Standing there in
the hot sun, I felt the pangs of bad luck returning.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">It was then that Joe said, “Let us see what we
can do. Do you have a multi-meter?” “At home, but not here”, I said.
“Wait, Joe, my neighbor here had earlier offered to help”. “OK,
reinstall your old board, get the multi-meter and call me back”, said
Joe. My RV neighbor at Goulding’s was a veteran of the Alcan Highway to
Alaska, so of course he had a multi-meter buried somewhere in his huge
Class-A motorhome. Once I had the old board reinstalled and the
multi-meter in hand, I called Joe back and said I was ready. First, he
asked what make and model number multi-meter I had. He then looked up
that information on the internet and said, “That is an old analog
meter”.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210515_Dometic_PCB_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="After an hour working in the desert sunshine, I had my Dometic RV refrigerator operating again, if only temporarily - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210515_Dometic_PCB_sm.jpg" title="After an hour working in the desert sunshine, I had my Dometic RV refrigerator operating again, if only temporarily - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Over
the next twenty minutes, we checked all the 12-volt and 120-volt
connections that converge inside the refrigerator access panel. After
all that, Joe said, “It sounds like you have a bad thermo fuse”. Again,
my heart sank at the same rate that my remaining ice was melting. “Do
you have wire?”, Joe asked. “I just bought 30-feet of it in Kingman”, I
said. “Good. Cut a length of wire and strip it at both ends. Then, get
out your electrical kit, find a spade-connector and crimp it on to one
end of your wire”. By some good fortune, I had an automotive style
electrical kit, complete with spare spade-connectors.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">“OK, done”, I said. Luckily, I had a wireless
headset for my mobile phone, or I never could have balanced the phone,
multi-meter and replacement <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210518_Monument_Valley_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="While approaching Monument Valley from the south, this twister was a harbinger of the dust storm I would experience there a week later - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210518_Monument_Valley_sm.jpg" title="While approaching Monument Valley from the south, this twister was a harbinger of the dust storm I would experience there a week later - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>parts
outside of my RV. “Alright, attach the spade connector to the F-5
terminal on the PCB and crimp the other end into the 12-volt terminal
block.” After a few more minutes sweating in the afternoon sun, I had
the repair completed. “Go inside and see if it lights up”, said Joe.
After sprinting inside my rig for the fifth or sixth time, “Still
dead”, I reported. “You blew a fuse”, he said. Go to the 12-volt panel
in your coach and replace the blown 15-amp fuse”. Luckily, I still had
several spare fuses in my kit.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">When I plugged the spare fuse into the
receptacle, the orange LED on the refrigerator control panel lit up.
“You are good to go, for now. The jumper wire is for test purposes only.
You need to get it diagnosed and repaired as soon as possible”, said
Joe. He had already offered to replace my erroneous Dinosaur Board with
the correct model number, so I had <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210518_Monument_Valley_Twister_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Near Monument Valley, a growing twister ripped up the soil and flung it high in the air - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210518_Monument_Valley_Twister_sm.jpg" title="Near Monument Valley, a growing twister ripped up the soil and flung it high in the air - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>him ship that to my next stop, in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=13">Durango, Colorado</a>.
The replacement cost another $34, but at least I would have the
correct spare board. Thanking Joe for his amazing service, I signed off
and enjoyed the hum of my refrigerator, as it slowly chilled my frozen
food. Above air conditioning and running water, refrigeration in the
desert is what makes RVing possible.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">After two nights in bucolic <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=134">Monument Valley</a>,
I hooked up and headed northeast to Durango, Colorado, 165-miles away.
To me, the refrigerator still seemed like a ticking time-bomb, waiting
to go off at any moment. Somehow, the jumper-wire repair held, and my
fresh and frozen foods were all chilling in the Dometic unit. Although
the frozen meats and fish came close to melting, only one hamburger
patty melted a bit and then refroze solid to the bottom of the freezer.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210519_Durango_RV_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Formerly a farm in the Upper Animas Valley in Durango, Colorado, the site is now the United Campgrounds, Durango RV Park - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210519_Durango_RV_sm.jpg" title="Formerly a farm in the Upper Animas Valley in Durango, Colorado, the site is now the United Campgrounds, Durango RV Park - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Arriving at <a href="https://moablive.com/durangorv/" target="_blank">United Campgrounds, Durango</a>
in the late afternoon I unhooked for three nights in the picturesque
Upper Animas River Valley. Almost a decade prior, I had installed a <a href="http://durangojim.com/" target="_blank">primitive webcam</a>
at the RV Park, but it had failed during the recent health crisis. In
October 2020, I was so concerned with health protection that I forgot
to bring a $25 replacement webcam to Durango. The old Dell computer
system whirred away each day, but no images made their way to the
internet. Determined to get the webcam operating, I had planned my
entire 1,800-mile round-trip with the focus of replacing that webcam.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">For those who do not know, the <a href="https://moablive.com/durangosteam/" target="_blank">Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad</a>
first operated in 1882. With a few minor alterations and with some new
locomotives from the 1930’s, it still operates today. It is an
international tourist attraction that I first rode with my father in
1965. As <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210520_Engine_493_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Venerable Steam Engine 493 enters the Upper Animas Valley in Durango, Colorado - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210520_Engine_493_sm.jpg" tiytle="Venerable Steam Engine 493 enters the Upper Animas Valley in Durango, Colorado - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>it
was in the 1880s, the railroad is still the economic lifeblood of
Durango, Colorado. The webcam is located adjacent to the tracks, within
the United Campgrounds RV Park. For years, people from all over the
world have relied on the webcam for a glimpse of the trains running
through the RV Park. Unless I could repair the system, all that
visitors would see was a frozen image from summer 2020.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Borrowing a stepladder from Tim and Sheri
Holt, the owners of the iconic RV Park, I swapped out the old Microsoft
webcam for an equally old spare that I had brought from home. When I
restarted the 20-year-old Dell tower computer, the system booted up and
began firing images to the internet ever six seconds. With all the
refrigerator electronics issues I had recently experienced, you can
imagine how happy I was to see this old electronic marvel spring back
to life.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/210520_Durango_RV_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs through the United Campgrounds of Durango RV Park - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/210520_Durango_RV_sm.jpg" title="The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs through the United Campgrounds of Durango RV Park - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On my second day in Durango, a cold rainstorm, including some hail in the evening, swept through the Upper Animas Valley. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">Even though it was May 20</span></span>,
the surroundings mountains received fresh snow. I was content to go
shopping in Durango for fresh food and to avoid highway traffic. One
woman at the City Market declared, “So many people have moved here in
the past few years, they don’t even know it can rain here”.<br />
<br />
For almost twenty years, the entire Four Corners Region has been in the grip of a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=290">long-term drought</a>. It is of a magnitude not seen since the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=208">Anasazi</a>, or <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=72">Pre-Puebloan</a> Indians vacated the region in about 1,200 CE.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span> </span> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This concludes Part One of a Five-Part Article. To read Part Two, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=380">HERE</a>. </span></p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 05:02 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=379" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com02101 W Rte 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA35.1875733 -111.67962166.8773394638211514 -146.83587160000002 63.497807136178842 -76.5233716tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-88175734722372918072021-12-18T17:57:00.001-08:002021-12-18T17:57:07.587-08:00Mammoth Mountain and Mammoth Lakes are Beautiful, but in a Seismically Active Zone - 2020<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/170629_Mammoth_Mountain%20_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Mammoth Mountain as seen from the east, at Deadman Creek, Mono County, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/170629_Mammoth_Mountain%20_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Mammoth Mountain as seen from the east, at Deadman Creek, Mono County, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Mammoth Mountain and Mammoth Lakes are Beautiful, but in a Seismically Active Zone<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">As most people know, over the past few decades, weather patterns in California have tended toward <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=281">drought</a>. In addition, the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=377">wildfire season</a> extends from at least July until November. One of the hardest hit areas, regarding smoke impact is the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=256">Sierra Nevada</a>.
Fires tend to start on the western slopes of the Sierra, while
prevailing winds blow the smoke to the east. That phenomenon can cover
the prime recreation areas of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=276">Yosemite</a>, Inyo and <a href="https://moablive.com/monojim/index.asp" target="_blank">Mono Counties</a> for weeks or even months at a time.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"> <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=374">Global pandemic</a> or not, huge crowds descended on the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=256">Town of Mammoth Lakes</a>
and all the surrounding area for the Fourth of July holiday 2020.
Young athletes came to town by the hundreds, expecting to enjoy clean
air and high altitude training. Many are disappointed by the
lung-searing smoke that soon covered the area for much of the summer.
With only two supermarkets <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/160822_Mammoth_Runners_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/160822_Mammoth_Runners_sm.jpg" title="Young athletes train in high elevation on the streets of Mammoth Lakes, prior to wildfire smoke engulfing Mono County - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>in
town, even staying safe while buying food can be a daunting task. In
order to beat the crowds and smoke, we planned our annual visit to
Mammoth Lakes for late June. With any luck, the air would still be
clear and the holiday crowds would not yet be in town.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">On June 27, 2020, Carrie and I arrived at the <a href="https://www.mammothrv.com/" target="_blank">Mammoth Mountain RV Park</a> for a four-night stay. With a trip distance from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=322">Simi Valley</a>
of exactly 300 miles, towing our new fifth wheel required over six
hours of travel time. With an elevation at the RV Park of over 7,500
feet, we knew it would take a day or two to acclimate. For most of the
first day, we stayed in camp, enjoying the fresh air and breezy
weather. Neighbors in RV parks like to talk. In this case, our maskless
neighbor approached too close for my comfort. Even outdoors, no one
knows how far virus particles can travel on the wind.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200627_Mammoth_RV_Park_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200627_Mammoth_RV_Park_sm.jpg" title="Our idyllic campsite at Mammoth Mountain RV Park in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In June 2020, we were all learning about airborne viruses, social distancing and the value of wearing a mask in public. Tiny <a href="https://www.inyocounty.us/" target="_blank">Inyo County</a>,
with a full-time population of around 11,000 had registered only a few
cases of the dreaded Covid-19 virus. Many people still thought there
were “safe zones”, where the virus could not reach. Having studied the
“Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918, I knew better. Still, many people
walked around both the campgrounds and the town in large groups. Many
shunned masks altogether.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">On our second day, we
drove up Main Street and through the largely deserted Town of Mammoth
Lakes. Turning right on Minaret Road, we could see crowds of people
retrieving take-out orders from inside the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/Vy8MtnyHfKZmmSm7A" target="_blank">Mammoth Brewing Company</a>.
In order to enjoy their meal, most customers stayed crowded on the
nearby outdoor benches. To me it looked like a dangerous petri-dish of
potential infection. Several weeks after the July Fourth holiday, the <a href="https://coronavirus.monocounty.ca.gov/" target="_blank">infection rate</a> in Mono County spiked for the first time. Virus testing <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200627_Carrie_Kokopelli_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="During most of our time at Mammoth Lakes, we stayed in camp and enjoyed clear clean air in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200627_Carrie_Kokopelli_sm.jpg" title="During most of our time at Mammoth Lakes, we stayed in camp and enjoyed clear clean air in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>determined
that infected restaurant and other food workers drove those numbers
up. Apparently, mountain air does not provide immunity from viral
infections.<br />
<br />
As of January 2020, Mono County is under a regional "stay at home"
order, thus prohibiting short overnight stays for recreational purposes.
Although condominium owners may visit and stay in their own units,
they cannot rent them out on the formerly lucrative short-term rental
market. Keep in mind that many recent condo owners purchased their units
based on the concept that short-term rentals could pay their
mortgage. If the "stay at home" order continues for both the winter and
summer seasons of 2021, expect a wave of condominium foreclosures to
follow.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Continuing our excursion up Minaret Road, we passed the <a href="http://www.easternsierranevada.com/eastern-sierra-adventures/2018/11/14/mammoth-scenic-loop" target="_blank">Mammoth Scenic Loop</a>,
which is neither “scenic”, nor a “loop”. After a significant
earthquake swarm in the early 1980’s, the road was initially designed
and built as the “Mammoth Lakes Volcanic Escape Route”. Escape what,
you might ask? </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200628_Mammoth_Mtn_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Northeastern flank of Mammoth Mountain, as seen from upper Minaret Road - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200628_Mammoth_Mtn_sm.jpg" title="The Northeastern flank of Mammoth Mountain, as seen from upper Minaret Road - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>Escape
a potential phreatic eruption or toxic gas ejection, if Mammoth
Mountain were to erupt. Real estate and business interests soon
squashed the “Escape Route” moniker, preferring to promote the obscure
and misleading “Scenic Loop”. After the 1980’s, despite the ongoing
seismic risk, thousands of condominiums and second homes appeared all
over the town of Mammoth Lakes. As seismicity declined, real estate
prices rose to unprecedented heights.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">If you shop for real
estate in Mammoth Lakes, do not expect your agent or broker to mention
the Long Valley Caldera. According to Wikipedia, “<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera/long-valley-caldera-field-guide-mammoth-mountain" target="_blank">Long Valley Caldera</a>
is a depression in eastern California that is adjacent to Mammoth
Mountain. The valley is one of the Earth's largest calderas, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">measuring
about 20 miles long, 11 miles wide, and up to 3,000 feet deep”.
According to experts on the subject, the caldera contains 240 cubic
miles of magma. If asked about the threat, most locals will shrug and
say that the eruption that created the caldera, was 760,000 years ago.<br />
<br />
In other words, do not worry about toxic carbon dioxide CO<sub>2 </sub> gas discharging from the <a href="http://www.magadb.net/locations/519/" target="_blank">South Side Fumarole</a>
just above the town. Carbon dioxide is about 1.5 times the weight of
air, which makes it heavier. If released into the atmosphere it will
seek to concentrate at lower elevations. Despite cascading waves of CO<sub>2</sub> emanating from the fumarole, the USGS claims that the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera/long-valley-caldera-field-guide-horseshoe-lake?qt-science_support_page_related_con=4#qt-science_support_page_related_con" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera/long-valley-caldera-field-guide-horseshoe-lake?qt-science_support_page_related_con=4#qt-science_support_page_related_con" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200628_Chairlift2_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="An apparent blast of Co2 gas descends Mammoth Mountain in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200628_Chairlift2_sm.jpg" title="An apparent blast of Co2 gas descends Mammoth Mountain in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Horseshoe Lake tree-kill area is caused solely by CO<sub>2</sub>
flowing up from the ground. Other than warning visitors not to walk
their dogs into depressions or to lie down in the Horseshoe lake area,
the ongoing asphyxiation risk to humans and animals is accepted as
“normal”.<br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">Continuing up the road,
we arrived at the parking area for what used to be “Chairlift #2”. As
with most landmark names recognizable from the early days of the <a href="https://www.mammothmountain.com/" target="_blank">Mammoth Mountain Ski Area</a>,
the old “double chair” was replaced with a mega chairlift named “Stump
Alley Express”. In late June, there was not a trace of snow near the
parking area, but there was plenty of weather activity. As we
approached on Minaret Road, a huge cloud of volcanic ash and dust
descended the mountain and across the road. With my vehicle window
open, the tiny shards of glass and volcanic dust filled the interior
and pitted the front window.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150819_Mamoth_Peak_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Mammoth Mountain, as seen from the smoky peak in 2015 is subject to both wildfire smoke and toxic gas emissions coming directly from the mountain - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150819_Mamoth_Peak_sm.JPG" title="Mammoth Mountain, as seen from the smoky peak in 2015 is subject to both wildfire smoke and toxic gas emissions coming directly from the mountain - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In
all, three waves or vortices of volcanic dust descended the mountain
and across the road. At that time, I did not know that the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mammoth-mountain/volcanic-gas-monitoring?qt-science_support_page_related_con=4#qt-science_support_page_related_con" target="_blank"> Mammoth Mountain Fumarole</a> was almost directly above our location. Therefor, I did not realize that we may have witnessed a CO<sub>2 </sub>
gas emission from the mountain. As the toxic gas descended the slope,
it mixed with the air, kicking up even more dust and volcanic glass
particles. After seeing how violent a relatively small gas emission
from the fumarole could be, I pondered what an actual pyroclastic flow
from Mammoth Mountain might look like. Unless preceded by smaller
"warning events", a larger eruption would leave no time to search for
the “Volcanic Escape Route”, let alone a “Scenic Loop” leading to
supposed safety at Highway 395. In past years, smoke from fires and
elevated CO<sub>2</sub> levels had made us gasp for breath at Mammoth
Lakes. Luckily, this time the volcanic dust cloud passed by without too
much damage. To see a short video of the incident, click <a href="https://youtu.be/8t6keH1ko68" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200629_Minarets_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Carrie McCoy at the Minaret Vista Point in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200629_Minarets_sm.jpg" title="Carrie McCoy at the Minaret Vista Point in June 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Not
stopping at the Main Lodge, we continued up Minaret Road to the Minaret
Vista Entrance Station. The ranger informed us that the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/depo/planyourvisit/fees.htm" target="_blank">Devil’s Postpile National Monument</a>
was filled, so we looped around and ascended the San Joaquin Jeep
Road, also known as Lookout Point Road. At the top of that short road
was a parking area and a stone platform appropriately named <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/T9kYmT9fTM3Hj2Jd9" target="_blank">Minaret Vista</a>.
Eschewing the confusion of unmasked people mounting the stairway to
the vista point, we walked to the edge of the parking area and took in
the view.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">To the southwest was the imposing sight of <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/BUkPeqZdfmnMWTFt5" target="_blank">Mammoth Mountain</a>,
elevation 11,053 feet. Beyond the valley created by the Middle Fork of
the San Joaquin River, and dominating the western horizon were “The
Minarets”. Although the jagged, saw tooth range features several named
peaks, most people prefer to lump them altogether as if they were a
single entity. Even in late June, many of the steep canyons were filled
with ice and snow. After dodging several more maskless individuals in
the parking area, we drove back to the RV Park.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/130807_Inyo_Craters_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Erosion around the two Inyo Craters is dramatic. Here, part of the pipe-rail safety fence hangs in thin air - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/130807_Inyo_Craters_sm.JPG" title="Erosion around the two Inyo Craters is dramatic. Here, part of the pipe-rail safety fence hangs in thin air - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>The
following day, we retraced our route up Minaret Road, but this time we
took the “Volcanic Escape Route” to Highway 395. About halfway up the
"Loop" and a half mile off the road are the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recarea/?recid=20410" target="_blank">Inyo Craters</a>. By some estimates, the twin craters sprang forth in the mid-14th century. Due to excess mineralization and possible CO<sub>2 </sub>intrusion,
the lake in the larger of the two craters is a milky turquoise blue.
Hiking maps of the area published in the 1980's show the craters as
being dry, so their small lakes are among the youngest permanent water
features in the Sierra Nevada.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">After proceeding north for less than two miles on Highway 395, and just short of <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera/long-valley-caldera-field-guide-obsidian-dome" target="_blank"> Obsidian Dome</a>, we turned northeast on to <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/2GdH4cS3rEiBeJof9" target="_blank">Owens River Road</a>.
Soon, the pavement ended, and we were on a gravel road. Somewhere
along that road Deadman Creek became the Owens River. As the river
meandered through a broad, flat valley, it also picked up the name Dry
Creek. In the confusion of names and myriad creeks, it was easy to lose
our way. After passing the local landfill, we missed the left turn at
Owens River Road. Thus, our new road was Hot Creek Hatchery Road, also
known as Whitmore Tubs Road. As you might guess, with all these
conflicting names, a detailed local map is recommended.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150818_Obsidian_Dome_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Obsidian Dome is a volcanic upthrust of recent geological origins. It is so similar to a moonscape that it has been featured in several science fiction movies - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150818_Obsidian_Dome_sm.JPG" title="Obsidian Dome is a volcanic upthrust of recent geological origins. It is so similar to a moonscape that it has been featured in several science fiction movies - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Arriving at the paved <a href="https://www.visitmammoth.com/trip-ideas/road-cycling-benton-crossing-road/" target="_blank">Benton Crossing Road</a>, we headed northeast to Benton Crossing itself. There <a href="https://www.monocounty.org/listing/browns-owens-river-campground/789/" target="_blank">Brown’s Owens River Campground</a>
sits next to the myriad creeks that comprise the upper reaches of the
Owens River. Realizing that we were getting farther away from our own
campsite, we headed back on Benton Crossing Road, which thankfully does
not change names before its dead-end next to the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/qNWNC2ZixfWCfz7D9" target="_blank">Green Church</a>
and Highway 395. Unseen along Benton Crossing Road are many nearby hot
springs. There are no signs along the road to tell you where they are.
So many of the hot springs had been trashed over the years, all
roadside signage was removed. Only those with local knowledge or a
topographical map can find most of them today.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">From our reentry on to Highway 395 North, we passed the “<a href="https://www.ci.mammoth-lakes.ca.us/98/Mammoth-Yosemite-Airport" target="_blank">Mammoth Yosemite Airport</a>”, which is near Mammoth but thirty-five miles from the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=357">Yosemite Tioga Road</a> Entrance Station. To me, the “Mammoth Yosemite Airport” moniker is a deceptive renaming of the old Mammoth Mountain <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200629_Upper_Owens_River_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Upper Owens River Valley is like a high altitude prairie, with only a handful of ranches to break up the landscape - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200629_Upper_Owens_River_sm.jpg" title="The Upper Owens River Valley is like a high altitude prairie, with only a handful of ranches to break up the landscape - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Airport.
Airports, like any physical object can exist in only one place. In
1997, local politicians in Mammoth Lakes tried to turn the windswept
and dangerous Mammoth Airport into a destination hotel and condominium
complex. The only problem was that the city forgot to do any formal
environmental impact study. When environmentalists and the state of
California sued the city, saying that a "world class airport" and
massive condo village would bring unwanted and unsustainable
development to the remote area. The judge agreed. His decision forced
the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to rescind the exclusive, binding
hotel development deal.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">After the FAA rescinded
its prior approval of the grandiose airport expansion plans, the
developer sued the City of Mammoth Lakes and won a <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/85j2368w" target="_blank">$43 million judgment</a>.
That action caused one of the largest municipal bankruptcies up to
that time. If you catch my drift, the political, business and real
estate </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/85j2368w" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200629_Sage_Grouse_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A rare and endangered Sage Grouse crosses the Owens River Road near Benton Crossing in Inyo County, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200629_Sage_Grouse_sm.jpg" title="A rare and endangered Sage Grouse crosses the Owens River Road near Benton Crossing in Inyo County, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>interests
in Mammoth Lakes have a long history of obscuring legal, seismic and
weather facts, often to suit their own financial needs. In fact, after a
$29 million final agreement, the Town of Mammoth Lakes plans to
"develop" its way out of the $2 million annual payments agreed to with
the spurned airport developer. By continuing to over-develop every
possible buildable site in Mammoth Lakes, the city plans to tax its way
back to prosperity. Now, even a stay at the local RV Park comes with a
daily hotel tax.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br class="auto-style1" />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Since the founding of
Mammoth Lakes in 1877, as a “gold mining town”, the boom and bust
cycles of Mono County have been obvious. By 1879, less than two years
since the first gold strike, the available gold and silver veins ran
out. As usual, those who came late to the gold fever at Mammoth Lakes
were <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200630_Lake_Mary_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Lake Mamie (pictured) and Lake Mary - Click for larger image - are two favorites of the anglers, fishing from small rafts in the summer months (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200630_Lake_Mary_sm.jpg" title="Lake Mamie (pictured) and Lake Mary - Click for larger image - are two favorites of the anglers, fishing from small rafts in the summer months (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>left
holding useless claims to nonexistent minerals. Thus occurred the
first of many real estate busts in Mammoth Lakes history.<br />
<br />
Although the area is beautiful, its remoteness puts it at the end of
logistical and telecommunications supply lines. Whether from Reno to the
North or Los Angeles to the south, one strong seismic event or a
massive snowstorm can isolate the city for days, if not weeks. To enjoy
an idyllic summer vacation in June, I will happily take my chances at
Mammoth Lakes. Even so, living there for more than a few days each year
is beyond what I would care to risk, either financially or physically.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 01:41 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=378&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=378" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546, USA37.648546 -118.9720799.3383121638211577 -154.128329 65.958779836178849 -83.815829tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-55925930835031480512021-12-18T17:47:00.003-08:002021-12-18T17:47:54.417-08:00Morro Bay - During a Health Crisis and Fire Season - 2020<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200817_Morro_Rock_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Morro Rock, chipped away and hauled away to make breakwaters up and down California still stands as the largest monolith on the California coast - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200817_Morro_Rock_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Morro Rock, chipped away and hauled away to make breakwaters up and down California still stands as the largest monolith on the California coast - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Morro Bay - During a Health Crisis and Fire Season<br />
</h1>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1">In mid-August 2020, we took our annual RV trip to Morro Bay, California. Having stayed at the <a href="https://morrodunes.com/" target="_blank">Morro Dunes RV Park</a>
many times before, we knew to make our reservations eleven months in
advance. For the entire summer, Morro Bay is a wildly popular <a href="https://www.morrobay.org/plan/visitor-information/" target="_blank">vacation destination</a>. With so many travelers escaping the heat of the nearby <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=136">San Joaquin Valley</a>, all the large RV sites are booked many months in advance.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/2200820_selfie_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Jim McGillis and Carrie McCoy standing before a smokey sky at Morro Bay, summer 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/2200820_selfie_sm.jpg" title="Jim McGillis and Carrie McCoy standing before a smokey sky at Morro Bay, summer 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>This
year was even worse. A week prior to our arrival, a dry-lightning
storm of unprecedented size and ferocity had swept up California’s
Central Coast and across the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=95">San Francisco Bay</a>
Area. Fires burning in coastal and inland California had created a
vortex of smoke that covered almost the entire state. In the weeks and
even months to follow, smoke repeatedly drifted out to sea and then
back onshore, as if controlled by a tidal force.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">When we arrived at the RV Park, there was a
smoky haze in the air. Being optimistic, we decided that it was no
worse than what we had recently experienced at home in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=284">Simi Valley</a>,
California. From any perspective, breathing foul air is not a pleasant
or healthy pastime. Encountering both poor air quality and an
unprecedented pandemic, our vacation on the Central Coast felt risky at
best.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Given the circumstances, we decided to curtail
strenuous activities. Instead, we elected to enjoy the relative peace
and quiet of our campsite and the nearby beach. While at camp, we were
comfortable sitting </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">outside without masks. Soon, that became problematic, as neighbors </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">and dog-walkers wanted to stop and chat. If we had no masks nearby, it </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200817_Cougar_RV_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Our Cougar fifth wheel in a shaded spot at the Morro Dunes RV Park, in Morro Bay, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200817_Cougar_RV_sm.jpg" title="Our Cougar fifth wheel in a shaded spot at the Morro Dunes RV Park, in Morro Bay, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span>became
a question of how far virus particles might travel in the open air.
Was it a risk to talk to someone standing ten or fifteen feet away?</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Looking back, as a super-wave of virus
infection now sweeps the nation, I would probably have been even more
cautious than we were. As Bob Dylan once sang, “You don’t need a
weatherman to know which way the wind blows”. Now, it is late fall and
as Joe Biden says, “We have a long dark winter ahead of us”. Reflecting
on my under-reactions at that time, I am now inclined to be even
warier of personal interactions and potential viral infection.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">On our first full day in Morro Bay, we walked
to the beach. Out in the open, we were ready to don our masks whenever a
human got within </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200818_Camp_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="As the afternoon wore on, smoke from California wildfires again filled the air in Morro Bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200818_Camp_sm.jpg" title="As the afternoon wore on, smoke from California wildfires again filled the air in Morro Bay - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>fifty
feet. Most people were respectful and did the same. Some people, both
then and now appear oblivious to the dangers of infection, or even
defiant. I read about some people’s perceived restrictions of their “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=361">freedom</a>”.
To me, freedom includes unfettered free speech, the right to
peacefully assemble and the right to seek redress of grievances.
Freedom does not include the right to ignore legitimate public health
warnings or to infect others with our bad breath.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Later on, we took a driving tour of the
waterfront area. There, we were astounded to see hundreds, if not
thousands of people dining, drinking and socializing in groups both
large and small. Rather than participate in what we knew was risky
behavior, we drove to the south end of Morro Bay. There, we enjoyed
time sitting together on a bench, while observing </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200811_poster_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A Biden Works For Iowa poster that I picked up in Nevada - Click for larger Image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200811_poster_sm.jpg" title="A Biden Works For Iowa poster that I picked up in Nevada - Click for larger Image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>the
sailboats and paddle boarders. Luckily, Carrie and I get along well
with each other and can observe dangerous behavior from a distance,
rather than partaking of it ourselves.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">During our time in Morro Bay, we enjoyed
watching the virtual Democratic National Convention (DNC) on TV. It was
as enjoyable as not watching the Republican National Convention (<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/20/fact-check-fake-claim-gop-convention-began-satire/5610663002/" target="_blank">RNC</a>)
the prior week. Seeing quick video shots of delegates casting their
votes from venues across the nation was interesting. From the advent of
motion pictures in the 1920s, the national conventions have always
looked the same. They featured star spangled bunting and long,
obnoxious political speeches. In this new format, the convention was far
more fun. For once, there were no bloviating politicians using their
two minutes of fame to command the </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200818_Las_Vegas_Vote_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Congresswoman Gina Titus casts the Nevada Democratic Convention delegates vote for Joe Biden - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200818_Las_Vegas_Vote_sm.jpg" title="Congresswoman Gina Titus casts the Nevada Democratic Convention delegates vote for Joe Biden - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>floor at a packed convention hall.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">By the second day, smoke from the Northern <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/" target="_blank">California wildfires</a> filled the air. Undaunted, we headed north on California Highway 1 to <a href="http://harmonytown.com/" target="_blank">Harmony</a>,
(elevation 175 feet and population 18). In the distant past, Harmony
featured a dairy farm and post office. Today, there is a pottery shop in
the old milking barn and across what once was the old highway, the <a href="https://www.harmonyglassworks.com/" target="_blank">Harmony Glassworks</a>
stands as an interesting curiosity. If you arrive at the right time,
the gas-fired kiln will be roaring and glowing inside like the fiery
disk of the sun. Masters and apprentices alike might be shaping molten
glass and using a blowpipe to expand each glass vessel into the desired
shape.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140313_Harmony_Glass1_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="An artist works with molten glass at the Harmony Glassworks, in Harmony, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140313_Harmony_Glass1_sm.JPG" title="An artist works with molten glass at the Harmony Glassworks, in Harmony, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>On
the day of our visit, just to the north of town, an impenetrable wall
of smoke hung in the air. While Carrie stayed in the hermetically
sealed safety of the truck, I donned my mask and made my way into the
Glassworks. After lurching around the shop, almost gasping for breath, I
located and purchased a coveted Harmony souvenir t-shirt. Once back in
the truck, we fled south to escape the worst of the smoke pall.
Arriving back in Morro Bay, the air was still unhealthy, but not
deathly, as it had appeared north of Harmony.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">Determined to enjoy ourselves, we walked to
the beach to observe the sunset. Looking seaward, Morro Rock was to our
left and the sun was </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">setting directly to the West. Zooming in with my camera, I could see a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200817_sun_stomach_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The sun and smoke combined to make a cartoonish image peeking over the top of a red hot stomach in the sky - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200817_sun_stomach_sm.jpg" title="The sun and smoke combined to make a cartoonish image peeking over the top of a red hot stomach in the sky - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span>strand
of smoke crossing the disk of the sun. Looking at the images later, I
could see that the smoke had filtered the sunlight in an animated way.
In one photo, the image a red-orange human stomach appeared on the
surface of the sun. In addition, a cartoonish image appeared to be
peaking over the stomach. In another image, the plasma that flows
directly from the sun was clearly visible.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">After four nights, we were tired of breathing smoke and ready to head south to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=364">Ventura County</a>.
As we passed through San Luis Obispo, smoke hung like fog in the
trees. In Santa Barbara, it was still smoky. By the time we reached
home, over three hours from the start, Simi Valley was still a smoky
mess. For the next several weeks, unhealthy air became part of our
daily lives. Some days were so unhealthful, we did not </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="auto-style1"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140313_Harmony_Glass3_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The blazing inferno of the glass kiln in Harmony, California looks much like the sun during our smokey visit to Morro Bay - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140313_Harmony_Glass3_sm.JPG" title="The blazing inferno of the glass kiln in Harmony, California looks much like the sun during our smokey visit to Morro Bay - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>venture
outside. Now, four months later, the air is clear again, at least by
Southern California standards. Still, the combination of fires and high
winds made this the smoggiest year in decades.</span><br class="auto-style1" />
<br class="auto-style1" />
<span class="auto-style1">We already have reservations for a return trip
to Morro Bay in the summer of 2021. Let us hope that California does
not have another horrendous fire season or a viral pandemic anything
like that of 2020. Adding to that ominous air of uncertainty, Morro
Dunes RV Park remained closed for the entire month of December 2020.</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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at 05:22 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=377&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=377" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Morro Dunes RV Park, 1700 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, CA 93442, USA35.3789968 -120.86200157.0687629638211575 -156.01825150000002 63.689230636178848 -85.7057515tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-9309686101147054092021-12-18T17:40:00.002-08:002021-12-18T17:40:39.177-08:00Panamint Springs Resort and Historic Darwin, California - Pandemic Memories - 2020<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Darwin_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Looking much like a tombstone, This handmade sign shows the way to Darwin, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Darwin_Sign_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Looking much like a tombstone, This handmade sign shows the way to Darwin, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Panamint Springs Resort and Historic Darwin, California - Pandemic Memories <br />
</h1>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Saturday May 2, 2020 (Continued from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=375">Part 1</a>).<br />
<br />
In the late afternoon, I departed <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=375">Panamint Springs Resort</a>, heading west on California <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_190" target="_blank"> State Route 190</a>.
Along the way, I found the unmarked entrance to the Old Toll Road,
leading to Darwin Falls. Its entrance was blocked by concrete “<a href="https://otwsafety.com/how-jersey-barriers-got-their-name/" target="_blank">Jersey barriers</a>”. Likewise, the entrance to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/father-crowley-vista-point-rainbow-canyon.htm?utm_source=place&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=experience_more&utm_content=small" target="_blank">Father Crowley Vista Point</a>
had barriers and warning signs. Farther along the highway, I found the
turnoff to the old mining town of Darwin, population 43, or perhaps
53.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Darwin_Sign2_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The official sign at Darwin, California includes its establishment in 1874 and its population, that ranges around fifty souls - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Darwin_Sign2_sm.jpg" title="The official sign at Darwin, California includes its establishment in 1874 and its population, that ranges around fifty souls - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The town, named for the 1860’s pioneer and miner Dr. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_French" target="_blank">Erasmus Darwin French</a>
reminded me of Bodie, a ghost town farther north. Darwin features many
homes, commercial establishments and mining properties, most of which
are in various states of decay. When the mining and smelting of lead
and silver played out, the town rapidly descended toward ghost town
status. Now, many of the buildings are in “arrested decay”, as are the
minimally maintained buildings in Bodie.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/california/darwin/" target="_blank"> Darwin</a>
post office opened in 1875 and closed up for a time, starting in 1902.
Although closed during my Saturday visit, it still operated in 2020.
During my brief visit to Darwin, I saw many old buildings and one
barking dog, but not a single human. It reminded me of the Twilight
Zone TV episode, when all the people disappeared from a small town.
Other than the dog, it seemed to me that there were no other living
beings on the planet. In Darwin, I saw no buildings newer than
eighty-three years, which is when Highway 127 (now <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Darwin_Post_Office_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Post Office at Darwin, California was first established in 1875 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Darwin_Post_Office_sm.jpg" title="The Post Office at Darwin, California was first established in 1875 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Highway 190) bypassed the city.<br />
<br />
The bypass reduced the maximum grade from 19 percent on the Old Toll
Road to 7.3 percent, and reduced the number of curves from 245 to 72.
For the ten years prior to completion of the bypass, the naturally
surfaced toll road to Panamint wound over hills and down steep walled
canyons.<br />
<br />
My mission that day was to travel the Old Toll Road down the canyon to
Darwin Falls. Built in 1925-26, and originally known as the <a href="https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/district-9/documents/f0005479-eichbaum-tol-rd-history-a11y.pdf" target="_blank"> Eichbaum Toll Road</a>,
it featured a natural surface roadway, thirty-five mile long and from
15-20 feet wide. Officially named the Death Valley Toll Road, it began
in Darwin Wash, east of the town of Darwin. From there it traveled over
the Argus Range via Darwin Canyon, across the Panamint Valley, and on
to the Stovepipe Wells Resort.<br />
<br />
After a false start or two that day, I found a promising track. As with
most roads in the area, it rose and fell with the terrain. Soon, I was
four wheeling down a long, steep walled canyon. From the looks of the
boulder strewn terrain, it was scoured by <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Water_Tank_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="An old waterworks, located between Darwin and China Garden Spring, along the Old Toll Road to Panamint Springs - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Water_Tank_sm.jpg" title="An old waterworks, located between Darwin and China Garden Spring, along the Old Toll Road to Panamint Springs - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>rushing
water during eons of thunderstorms. Somewhere down canyon, I found an
old waterworks, now long abandoned. It featured a huge, cast iron water
tank and the shell of a wooden garage. The pipes and valves dated to
the early twentieth century.<br />
<br />
Traveling deeper into the canyon, I came to what appeared to be the end
of the road. With so many floods having rearranged the canyon, the
actual roadway was hard to discern. Social roads and dry washes forked
off in several directions. With no signage or markings to guide me, I
took a wrong turn. Soon, at what seemed like the end of the Earth, I
found an oasis called <a href="https://www.intrepidlife.com/china-garden/" target="_blank">China Garden Spring</a>.
It featured many large trees and a dusty SUV parked by the side of the
road. The vehicle appeared to be in running condition, with its side
windows rolled down. Not wanting to disturb any campers or remaining
descendants of the Manson Family, I traveled a bit farther. While
preparing to </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Chevy_Sedan_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A 1937 Chevrolet two-door Town Sedan met its demise on the Old Toll Road near Darwin Falls, in Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Chevy_Sedan_sm.jpg" title="A 1937 Chevrolet two-door Town Sedan met its demise on the Old Toll Road near Darwin Falls, in Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>turn back toward civilization, I came across another side canyon. From a slight </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">rise, I could see two tents at the oasis I had just passed, but true to form, there were no people or human sounds.<br />
<br />
Similar to my previous experience at Minietta Road, I found the wreck of
an old car nearby. This one was the shell of a 1930’s Chevrolet. Some
chrome still shined back from the snaggle-toothed grill. On it, the
word CHEV—ROLET appeared split in half by impact. Comically, the
bullet-ridden hulk of the car appeared misshapen and smaller than its
original size. Had the driver made the same mistake I had at the fork
in the road, ending up here? Based on its location and despite its
battered looks, its vertical, truck-like grill, I assumed it to be a
1935-37 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Suburban#First_generation_(1935-1940)" target="_blank">Chevrolet Suburban Carryall</a>, making it one of the earliest examples of that vaunted model. After extensive photo research, I <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Chevy_Sedan2_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Prior to abandonment in the depths of a canyon in the Argus Range, Death Valley National Park, someone had welded a replacement grill on to this 1937 Chevy sedan - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Chevy_Sedan2_sm.jpg" title="Prior to abandonment in the depths of a canyon in the Argus Range, Death Valley National Park, someone had welded a replacement grill on to this 1937 Chevy sedan - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>determined that it was a <a href="http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/members/AardvarkPublisherAttachments/9990571761212/1937_Chevrolet_Info_B.pdf" target="_blank"> 1937 Chevrolet</a>
two-door Town Sedan. The vertical chrome grill initially threw me off
the trail. Later, I realized that it was a replacement grill, welded
into place.<br />
<br />
The </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“</span>new</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">”</span>
highway bypass would not to open until late 1937, so in the early
summer that year Henry and Mabel drove their Chevy down the Old Toll
Road. Earlier that day they had passed through the town of Darwin,
buying gasoline at the sole gas station there. Despite the storm clouds
and showers in the area, they wanted to make it to Panamint Springs by
nightfall. Late in the afternoon, in the depths of the canyon, they
took the same wrong turn that I had. While trying to turn around, their
car became high-centered on a protruding boulder. Stranded there, they
waited for help, but no one arrived. Sundown came early in the depths
of the canyon, so they did their best by sheltering in their car. As the
last light faded from the canyon walls, they thought they heard a
large truck approaching from up canyon. “It could be a tow truck”,
Henry said.<br />
<br />
As they stepped out on to the road to flag down the truck, a debris flow
ten feet high swept them away. “Goodbye, Henry”, Mabel said. “Goodbye,
Mabel”, Henry replied. Pummeled and smashed by rocks and water, the
wreckage of their Chevy remained high-centered, in that, its final
resting place. After the flash flood, Henry and Mabel were nowhere in
sight. To this day, all subsequent floods have left their abandoned car
high and dry on a small knoll. When I found it, fenders and
accessories were located in odd places around the body, as if exploded
by dynamite. There were no tires or wheels to remount. Not even a frame
was evident under the chassis, so I got back in my truck and retraced
my tracks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200504_Darwin_Business_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The town of Darwin, California looks much as it did when a new state highway bypassed the former mining town in 1937 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200504_Darwin_Business_sm.jpg" title="The town of Darwin, California looks much as it did when a new state highway bypassed the former mining town in 1937 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Legend
has it that eighty-three years later, Henry and Mabel reappeared,
overlooking the wreckage of a sports car near Minietta Road.<br />
<br />
Retracing routes in the desert is harder than it sounds. Driving down a
canyon is easy. Just keep turning downhill at every junction. When
returning, upstream, later in the day, everything can look quite
different. At two points, I had to follow a hunch and hope I was
heading back to Darwin. Obviously, it was not safe for me to venture
into the back-country alone without an off-road GPS and a topographical
map. Lucky for me, I had made the correct decisions on my return trip.
Soon I found myself in empty Darwin, and then headed back to Panamint
Springs via the 1937 bypass.<br />
<br />
Sunday May 3, 2020<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Gold_Medal_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="At the general store in Panamint Springs, Gold Medal all purpose flour was $2.29 per pound in May, 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Gold_Medal_sm.jpg" title="At the general store in Panamint Springs, Gold Medal all purpose flour was $2.29 per pound in May, 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Other
than my regular afternoon trip to Minietta Road for a phone call home, I
decided to stay at the resort, compile my photos and write this
communiqué. When I went into the general store to pay $5.00 for a late
checkout on Monday, the counter man looked at me with a funny
expression. He handed the money back to me, indicating that paying for a
late checkout from an empty campground was not necessary. Since I had
my five dollars back, I decided to search the store for something to
buy. Wearing my worn-out N-95 mask, I prowled the empty store. Candy
cost $2.50 each, which was ten times the quarter dollar I would have
paid in my youth.<br />
<br />
After a few minutes, I found three one-pound bags of <a href="https://www.goldmedalflour.com/our-flour/all-purpose-flour/" target="_blank">Gold Medal</a>
all-purpose flour. At $2.29 each, I could afford two bags and still
have some change left over as a tip for the counter man. Speaking
through my mask, I told him that markets “in the city” had no flour. He
remarked that he had tried to buy flour </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Fire_Ring_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A natural stone fire ring prepared for a campfire at Panamint Springs Resort, near Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Fire_Ring_sm.jpg" title="A natural stone fire ring prepared for a campfire at Panamint Springs Resort, near Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>in
nearby Ridgecrest the previous week, but struck out completely.
“Strange”, I said. “I had to come to the desert to buy flour”.<br />
<br />
On Sunday morning, some tent campers departed, leaving almost a full
bundle of firewood behind. Searching the abandoned fire rings in the
campground, I scrounged up a few more pieces of partly burned wood.
After dark, I filled my stone fire ring with the plunder and lit my few
remaining pieces of paper. The moral to that story is, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">if you plan to enjoy a campfire, </span>bring
old newspapers or fire-starter. Upon lighting my last scraps of paper,
some flakes of the wood started to burn. Soon I had a roaring blaze,
which lasted almost two hours.<br />
<br />
As the wood burned down to embers, I drew myself closer to the fire. The
waxing moon was now almost overhead. When the last flame flickered
out, I doused the fire and went inside for the night. Thinking back, I
realized it had been fifteen years since I had last made a campfire.
From now on, I will bring a bundle of wood and some kindling on every
trip. Even though I was </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Camp_Fire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A roaring campfire on my last night isolating at Panamint Springs, near Death Valley National Park in May 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Camp_Fire_sm.jpg" title="A roaring campfire on my last night isolating at Panamint Springs, near Death Valley National Park in May 2020 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span>alone and far away from family and friends, my campfire had made for a </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">peaceful, warm and inspiring moment in the cool desert air.<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Monday, May 4, 2020<br />
<br />
On Monday, I broke camp and returned to isolation in the civilized
world. If I learned anything in Panamint Springs, it was that you could
isolate and keep up social distancing while enjoying some of the most
spectacular scenery in the world. My adventures included finding
enigmatic wrecked cars and communing with the spirits of those who may
have died in them. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">When you visit the desert, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">be sure to plan for unforeseen circumstances. If not, you might end up joining </span>Henry
and Mabel in the lost dimensions of this universe. Next time I visit, I
plan to have detailed maps and an off-road GPS in my kit.<br />
<br />
This concludes Part Two of a Two-Part Article. To read Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=375">HERE</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=376" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com040440 CA-190, Darwin, CA 93522, USA36.3396611 -117.46860568.0294272638211552 -152.6248556 64.649894936178839 -82.3123556tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-31041633721443144842021-12-18T17:34:00.000-08:002021-12-18T17:34:00.717-08:00Camping at Panamint Springs, Death Valley National Park, During a Pandemic - 2020<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200429_Death_Valley_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In the summer, Death Valley often hits 130 f. degrees in the shade - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200429_Death_Valley_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="In the summer, Death Valley often hits 130 f. degrees in the shade - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Camping at Panamint Springs, Death Valley National Park, During a Pandemic<br />
</h1>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Friday May 1, 2020<br />
<br />
My journey felt different this time, from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=322">Simi Valley</a> to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=355">Death Valley</a>.
I had taken that road so many times before. With the National Park
itself closed to all but through-traffic, the palpable fear of death
hung in the air at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=356">Death Valley</a>. To my surprise, the privately owned enclave called <a href="https://www.panamintsprings.com/" target="_blank">Panamint Springs Resort</a> was open.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Panamint_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Ice is available in one of the hottest places on Earth - Panamint Springs, Death Valley - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Panamint_Sign_sm.jpg" title="Ice is available in one of the hottest places on Earth - Panamint Springs, Death Valley - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Panamint
Springs is not a resort in the classic sense of the word… no pool, spa
or golf course. Up a nearby canyon, the perpetual <a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/panamintspringsarea.htm" target="_blank">Darwin Falls</a>
feeds a year around supply of fresh water to the small settlement.
Included in the resort are a hardscrabble campground, tent cabins, and a
few “luxury cabins”. Rounding out the services are an unpaved RV Park,
a gas station, restaurant, motel, general store, and a rough airstrip.
The place gets its name from the Paiute or Koso word Panümünt, which
breaks down to Pa (water) and nïwïnsti (person).<br />
<br />
Out here in the vast and unforgiving <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=352">Mojave Desert</a>,
almost any settlement qualifies as a resort. Since I wanted to isolate
myself from the cares and worries of a raging pandemic, this seemed
like the perfect hideaway for several days and nights. After confirming
my reservation, I hooked up my fifth wheel and sallied forth from Simi
Valley, California.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200501_Desert_Burros_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Two wild burros walk into the desert, near the Panamint Valley Road, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200501_Desert_Burros_sm.jpg" title="Two wild burros walk into the desert, near the Panamint Valley Road, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
portion of my trip from Mojave to the Panamint Valley was mostly
uneventful. Knowing that Panamint Springs had no mobile telephone
coverage, I stopped to call home from the intersection of <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/MHn7bb9MXBu5ELUt8" target="_blank">Panamint Valley Road and Minietta Road</a>.
Having received past text messages there, I knew that there was
AT&T 4G-LTE mobile telephone coverage at that location. The
location of the cell phone tower that feeds data to that one small spot
is a complete mystery.<br />
<br />
While making my call, I noticed a small, hand-lettered sign. With two
screws holding it to a stake, it read, “Yard Sale Next Sat. 7AM – 3PM”.
Minietta is a gravel road, which heads off from the highway toward the
southwest. Not far along, it disappears over a low hill. From my
location, I saw no buildings, people or other vehicles. Still, the
mysterious sign caught my interest. I planned to return on Saturday and
check out the yard sale.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200501_Minietta_Rd_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A small sign advertised a possible yard sale in the middle of the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200501_Minietta_Rd_sm.jpg" title="A small sign advertised a possible yard sale in the middle of the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Upon
arrival at Panamint Springs Resort, I went inside the general store to
check in. Inside, the unmasked counter man told me that Friday was
barbecued ribs night at the restaurant. After completing my check-in,
he invited me to come and enjoy the food and drink. As the blood
drained from my face, I smiled from behind my mask and thanked the man.
“No way”, I whispered silently, while ducking out the front door.<br />
<br />
Looking uphill from the store, I noticed a huge tent pavilion, which
served as the outdoor dining area for the restaurant. At that time, all
was quiet, with just a few people sipping their drinks and enjoying
the expansive view of <a href="https://friendsoftheinyo.org/panamint-valley-lithium-mine-update/" target="_blank">Panamint Valley</a>.
Until well past midnight, I could hear raucous sounds, including
hoots and hollers echoing across the otherwise quiet landscape. That
night, from the comfort and safety of my camp chair, I heard some
serious, alcohol-fueled mingling under the big tent. Apparently,
management later <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200501_Panamint_Camp_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Evidence of ancient vulcanism abounds at the Panamint Springs Resort - Click for larger image (htttp://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200501_Panamint_Camp_sm.jpg" title="Evidence of ancient vulcanism abounds at the Panamint Springs Resort - Click for larger image (htttp://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>changed
the dining policies at the resort. As of late September 2020, their
website included the following information. “Our restaurant is open for
take out everyday for lunch (11:30 am - 2:30 pm) and dinner (5:30 pm -
8:30 pm). We have plenty of available shaded picnic options adjacent
to the restaurant for your eating pleasure”.<br />
<br />
The rustic campground and RV Park is located just across the highway
from the Panamint Springs General Store. There, I found eight or ten RV
sites with full hookups. Other than my rig, all of the other sites
were empty. Elsewhere in the campground, there were only a handful of
tent sites and tent cabins occupied. Over the next few days, a few
campers arrived and a few departed. Still, no one spoiled my
unobstructed view of the ancient seabed that is now the parched and dry
Panamint Valley.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200502_Death_Valley_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In May 2020, the entirety of Death Valley National Park was closed to visitors - Click for larger image (hhtp://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200502_Death_Valley_sm.jpg" title="In May 2020, the entirety of Death Valley National Park was closed to visitors - Click for larger image (hhtp://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Saturday May 2, 2020.<br />
<br />
At the national park entrance, a Public Advisory sign declared, “Death
Valley National Park CLOSED Until Further Notice”. Through-traffic
could transit the park on the main highway, but there were no services
open to the public. The counter man at the store had warned me not to
go sightseeing in the national park. “Even in the parking lots at
Stovepipe Wells and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=373">Furnace Creek</a>,
they are handing out $1,000 tickets to anyone who lingers”, he said.
Within the geographic confines of the national park, only Panamint
Springs, a privately owned oasis, was open for business. Without access
to the national park, it appeared that I would be a virtual prisoner
in a place of my own choosing.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200502_Minietta_Rd_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="I called home from the intersection of Panamint Valley Road and Minietta Road, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200502_Minietta_Rd_sm.jpg" title="I called home from the intersection of Panamint Valley Road and Minietta Road, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Undaunted,
I knew that the phantom yard sale, which I saw advertised on Minietta
Road lay outside of the national park boundaries. That afternoon, I
navigated The Panamint Valley Road back toward Trona and the Searles
Valley. Ten miles east of Panamint Springs I located the turn-off to
Minietta Road. There, I sat inside the air-conditioned confines of my
truck and called home once again.<br />
<br />
After my call, I headed up the dirt and gravel surface of Minietta Road.
After surmounting the first set of hills, I paused to survey the lower
reaches of <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/9DVfXXnbgvUFhHFM9" target="_blank">Thompson Canyon</a>. Could there be a <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/d6Qjc8hFX3JmFSKEA" target="_blank">home with a yard</a>
at the end of this dusty track? Alternatively, did the little sign
represent some kind of code or a prank? After four-wheeling over dry
hills and washes, I spied an ersatz settlement tucked up near the base
of the barren mountains.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Minietta_Rd_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Unpaved Minietta Road disappears over a knoll and into the depths of the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Minietta_Rd_sm.jpg" title="Unpaved Minietta Road disappears over a knoll and into the depths of the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Upon
closer inspection, it appeared to be a wildcat mining operation
consisting of about ten vehicles and various small buildings. I could
not see a gate, garage or any sign of welcome. Near there, in 1969,
Charlie Manson and his murderous “family” faced arrest at Death
Valley’s <a href="https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/california/barker-ranch" target="_blank">Barker Ranch</a>. With that in mind, I decided against rolling up unannounced at this foreboding enclave.<br />
<br />
From my location in a broad arroyo, various unmarked roads and trails
split off in all directions. Not having an atlas or topographical map
to consult, I was wary of driving deeper into the unmarked desert.
Getting stuck or breaking down out here could be deadly. When the main
road turned into a trail, I stopped. There, about twenty yards away
were the remains of an automobile. I knew it was an automobile because I
could see one wheel and tire still attached. When I approached on
foot, I discovered the flipped-over and rusting hulk of what once was a
small sports car.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Wreck_Untouched_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The remains of a small sports car, wrecked many years ago in the lower reaches of Thompson Canyon, near Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Wreck_Untouched_sm.jpg" title="The remains of a small sports car, wrecked many years ago in the lower reaches of Thompson Canyon, near Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Looking around the area, I located two other tires and wheels. One of the whitewall tires featured the embossed words, “<a href="https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19780831.2.113.2&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1" target="_blank">JCPenney Aramid Belted Radial</a>”. In later research, I found of an old <a href="https://www.desertsun.com/in-depth/money/business/2020/09/19/gannetts-palm-springs-newspaper-says-goodbye-local-printing-operations/5799939002/" target="_blank"> Desert Sun</a>
newspaper advertisement that dated the tire back to circa 1978. There
was still some chrome on one of the wheels, but what remained of
another tire looked like it had spun apart at very high speed.<br />
<br />
What was the story here? Did the wreck happen here on this dusty track?
More likely, someone had gotten that car up to high speed on the
Panamint Valley Road. If that tire had blown at high speed, the car
could have rolled over on its roof. Resting upside down, flat as a
pancake, there was no room between the car body and the desert floor
for a human to survive. Rather than transport the wreck to the nearest
junkyard in Trona, someone may have simply moved it several miles and
dumped it in its current location.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200503_Wreck_Rebuilt_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="After I remounted two of the wheels on the wrecked sports car, it began to look like an automobile again - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200503_Wreck_Rebuilt_sm.jpg" title="After I remounted two of the wheels on the wrecked sports car, it began to look like an automobile again - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>After
I located two of the detached wheels nearby, I rolled them back to the
rusting hulk. Although the fourth wheel was not anywhere in sight, I
soon had three wheels resting back on their original wheel hubs.
Satisfied that I had turned back the hands of time, I took a few
pictures and left the rusting remains for the next visitor to find. I
pictured an elderly couple, in a 1937 Chevrolet coming across this
wreck in the desert. “Mabel, how do you think those wheels got back on
that car?” asked Henry. “Divine providence, I suppose”, Mabel replied.<br />
<br />
Returning to the highway, I paused to enjoy the view out my front
windshield. Directly across the Panamint Valley was the impressive <a href="https://peakvisor.com/range/panamint-range.html" target="_blank">Panamint Range</a>. Tallest of all was <a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/telescope-peak.htm" target="_blank">Telescope Peak</a>,
elevation 11,043 feet, 11,049 feet or 11,053 feet, depending on which
source you consult. Is it possible that the mountain had grown or
shrunk by a total of ten feet? The 7.5 magnitude Owens Valley (or Lone
Pine)<a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70033689" target="_blank"> Earthquake of 1872</a> occurred only fifty miles west of my <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200501_Telescope_Peak_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Snow-capped Telescope Peak, as viewed from the Panamint Valley, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200501_Telescope_Peak_sm.jpg" title="Snow-capped Telescope Peak, as viewed from the Panamint Valley, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>location.
That event generated a fault scarp more than two meters high.
Therefore, it is possible that the Telescope Peak did grow or sink by
ten feet between official surveys.<br />
<br />
Since the base of the mountain is at 1,800 feet elevation, Telescope
Peak makes for an imposing sight. Snowstorms in early April had
blanketed the upper reaches of the Panamint Range. The angle of repose
is so steep there; avalanche-chutes were clearly visible on the upper
reaches of the range. The west-facing flank of Telescope Peak featured
three avalanche chutes, all of which converged at a single point. It
was an awesome and fearful site. No human could survive a climb up that
face. If the steep terrain and baking sun did not kill you, the
avalanches would.<br />
<br />
After ruminating on the effects of geologic time, I drove back toward my campsite, ten miles away.<br />
<br />
This concludes Part One of a Two-Part Article. To read Part Two, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=376">HERE</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 05:07 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Mojave%20Desert" title="Mojave Desert">Mojave Desert</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=375&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=375" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com040440 CA-190, Darwin, CA 93522, USA36.3396611 -117.46860568.0294272638211552 -152.6248556 64.649894936178839 -82.3123556tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-90843047742047795092021-12-18T17:21:00.002-08:002021-12-18T17:21:35.950-08:002020 Closure of All Mojave National Preserve Campgrounds and Facilities<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(5)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A clear sky and white, puffy clouds above the Hole in the Wall Campground at the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(5)_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="A clear sky and white, puffy clouds above the Hole in the Wall Campground at the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">2020 Closure of All Mojave National Preserve Campgrounds and Facilities<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">By March 2020, the current health crisis had burst out like a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=364">California brush fire</a>. On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “<a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/" target="_blank">stay-at-home</a>”
order for the entire state. Only essential services were to remain
open. Under that order, residents were to stay at home and venture out
only for essential purposes, such as food, medical care or if one’s
work was deemed essential. Mobile dog grooming did not appear on the
“essentials” list, yet mobile dog groomers plied many streets.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(9)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Hole In The Wall Campground closed in March 2020, due to the ongoing pandemic - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(9)_sm.jpg" title="The Hole In The Wall Campground closed in March 2020, due to the ongoing pandemic - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Having already planned a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=114"> winter camping</a> trip to the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=17">Mojave National Preserve</a>,
I contemplated cancelling that annual tradition. In those early days
of the pandemic, different jurisdictions were struggling to determine
their best course of action. When I visited the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/moja/index.htm" target="_blank">Mojave Preserve website</a>, they had closed all visitor centers, but their developed campgrounds remained open.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
With my self-contained RV, I could carry everything I needed for three
nights of dry camping in the desert. My favorite winter camping spot is
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=81">Hole-in-the-Wall Campground</a>, 267-miles from our home in Simi Valley. With luck, my only contact with others would be at fuel stops in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=311">Barstow</a>
and again at Ludlow, just off Interstate I-40. With two five-gallon
fuel containers stowed in the back of my pickup truck, I would have
plenty of fuel for day trips and exploring remote desert sites. For the
entire trip, I planned not to visit restrooms, convenience stores or
any other indoor venue. While pumping fuel, I planned to wear gloves
and my bandana as a mask.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(13)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="My portable generator is great for recharging the house batteries on my RV after a full day of use - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(13)_sm.jpg" title="My portable generator is great for recharging the house batteries on my RV after a full day of use - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On
March 22, I hit the road. Including two fuel stops, the whole journey
took less than seven hours. Upon my arrival, I found a perfect
campsite, along the edge and away from other campers. I had my portable
generator, solar panels and storage batteries for power. I had enough
propane to run the furnace and refrigerator. My fresh water tank was
full.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Although it was already spring, a cold storm had recently swept the area. As the sun set early behind <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=17">The Universal Reflector</a>,
the air temperature cooled rapidly. Before sunrise, the outdoor
temperature would dip to near freezing. I was comfortable and secure in
my self-contained isolation pod. On my first full day, I planned to
remain in camp, except to take a couple of short hikes.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(8)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The 200-watt solar panel attached to the roof of my RV produces adequate electrical power for off-grid camping - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(8)_sm.jpg" title="The 200-watt solar panel attached to the roof of my RV produces adequate electrical power for off-grid camping - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>At mid afternoon, I changed plans and drove north from the campground and up the muddy dirt track called <a href="https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/black-canyon-road.htm" target="_blank">Black Canyon Road</a>.
About five miles north, I turned westat Wild Horse Canyon Road. After I
passed the turn-off to Mid Hills Campground, the road narrowed. A
prominent sign read, “Four Wheel Drive Only”. Realizing that the sun
was sinking toward the horizon, I hurried to complete the loop back to
my campsite before sundown. During my entire trip of about fifteen
miles, I did not see another human or vehicle.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
On the second half of the loop, the road crosses a ravine and later runs
down the middle of an arroyo. Where the road crosses the ravine, I
encountered a bovine traffic jam. Three yearling calves, and two horned
cows were crossing the road. Leading the herd, the mother cows had
surmounting the adjoining <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(20)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Hardy brown calves are well adapted to the harsh environment of the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(20)_sm.jpg" title="Hardy brown calves are well adapted to the harsh environment of the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>hillside.
Not wanting to scare the calves, I stopped my truck and waited. One
cow stood watching the scene from summit of the hill. As if they had
never encountered a motor vehicle, the calves stood in the road. They
appeared to be in awe of my big, growly diesel truck. I sat patiently,
but with the engine running. This far from my camp, the last thing I
wanted was a stalled vehicle.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Soon, the sturdy calves made their way, one at a time, to the top of the
hill. I was in the high desert, with an elevation of up to 5,600 feet
at Mid Hills Campground. From November to April, most nights are at or
below freezing. In the summer, temperatures often rise above 100 f
degrees. There was no shelter for miles around. I marveled that these
animals appeared to be so well adapted to their harsh environment.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(10)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="This Cal Fire pickup truck served double duty as a ranger vehicle at the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(10)_sm.jpg" title="This Cal Fire pickup truck served double duty as a ranger vehicle at the Mojave National Preserve - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On
the following morning, I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee in camp. As I
contemplated where to hike or explore that day, there was a rap on my
door. When I answered, I encountered a female ranger, standing about
fifteen feet away. “We are closing the campground”, she said. “Everyone
needs to leave before 2 PM”. “Why are you shutting down?” I asked.
“Everyone else is shutting down, so we are too” was her answer.
“Everyone has to leave as soon as possible”, she said with authority.
“You can camp on open land, at an existing campsite, but not here in the
campground”.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Having planned to stay another night, I was determined to find a
suitable place. I scouted several campsites that were near the road,
but none of them looked inviting to me. At one point, I made the
mistake of driving my rig to the end of a dirt track, only to find it
occupied by another camper. Ingloriously, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(1)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="My final day in the campground at the Mojave National Preserve before all facilities were closed in March 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(1)_sm.jpg" title="My final day in the campground at the Mojave National Preserve before all facilities were closed in March 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>I
had to back my rig up several hundred yards. When I reached the end of
that strenuous task, I turned too sharply, impinging the fifth-wheel
hitch on the bed of my truck.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The damage was slight, but my judgment had been faulty. Never take a rig
down a road that you are unsure of, I reminded myself. After that, I
made my way toward a level area near the end of my previous day’s
loop-road journey. My rig is tall and top-heavy, but I was beyond my
better judgment. I determined that I could surmount the rise in the
rough road and have an idyllic spot to camp for my final night. Going
in was not difficult. Although there was one campsite occupied nearby,
my own campsite had a 360-degree view and the peace and solitude I
desired.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(24)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="My remote campsite at the Mojave National Preserve, in March 2020, after the campgrounds closed for the pandemic - Click for a larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(24)_sm.jpg" title="My remote campsite at the Mojave National Preserve, in March 2020, after the campgrounds closed for the pandemic - Click for a larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
next morning, I prepared my rig and headed back up the dirt track to
Black Canyon Road. I shifted my truck into four-wheel drive and crawled
along in low-range. The previous afternoon, on my way into camp, I had
seen some car campers setting up in a big dry wash. I had looked at
them as if they were crazy. Any experienced camper knows not to camp in
a dry wash. Flash floods are all too common in the desert. At the
time, those campers had looked at me as if I was crazy for driving such
a huge rig over the rough road to my destination.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
On my way back out to the paved road, my right-front wheel lifted off
the ground, meaning that my rig was tilting badly to the left, behind
me. I pressed on. My front wheel returned to the ground and the rig
leveled out. As I passed the arroyo, I looked at the campers again as
if they were crazy to have spent the night there. They looked at me,
astonished that I was able to get my rig back to the highway.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(25)_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Another view of my remote campsite at the Mojave National Preserve in March 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/200323_Hole_in_Wall%20(25)_sm.jpg" title="Another view of my remote campsite at the Mojave National Preserve in March 2020 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In
the end, it all worked out OK for everyone. At that time, I had wanted
to stay another to stay another night in the peace and quiet of the
Mojave Desert. If presented with the same circumstances today, I would
opt for cutting short my visit to the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=352">Mojave National Preserve</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<br />
As of early September 2020, due to National Park Service orders, all
visitor centers, campgrounds, pit toilets, the Lava Tube and the Zzyzx
area are closed. Please plan accordingly and travel safely. Emergency
response times may be much longer than usual. As of January 2021, only the campgrounds and the Hole In the Wall Visitor Center are open.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span> </span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 05:12 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Mojave%20Desert" title="Mojave Desert">Mojave Desert</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=374&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=374" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Hole-in-the-Wall Campground, Hole-in-the-Wall Campground, Essex, CA 92332, USA35.0484128 -115.39416396.7381789638211558 -150.5504139 63.358646636178847 -80.2379139tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-27307092835095273832021-12-18T17:15:00.001-08:002021-12-18T17:15:05.599-08:00Winter Camping in Death Valley National Park - 2019<div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191212_Death_Valley_NP_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In 2019, Death Valley National Park celebrated its 25th Anniversary - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191212_Death_Valley_NP_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="In 2019, Death Valley National Park celebrated its 25th Anniversary - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>
<h3 align="center"><span style="font-size: large;">Winter Camping in Death Valley National Park</span><br />
</h3>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Each year, I visit the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=17">Mojave Desert</a> in late fall or early winter. My two favorite spots are the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=81">Hole in the Wall Campground</a> in the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=352"> Mojave National Preserve</a> and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=362">Death Valley National Park</a>,
farther to the north. I go to experience the unrivaled ecosystems and
terrain of those wild places. The winter season is a great time to visit
the desert. Crowds are small and attractions are often empty or nearly
so.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In December 2019, before most of us had ever contemplated the need to
stay at home or shelter in place, I headed alone to Death Valley. For
four nights, I planned to camp and explore some sites I had not yet
seen. This is how it transpired.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 – The distance from Simi Valley, California to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=356">Furnace Creek Campground</a>, Death Valley, California is 280 miles.<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Sylmar_Cascades_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Sylmar Cascades are near the end of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, in the San Fernando Valley. - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Sylmar_Cascades_sm.jpg" title="The Sylmar Cascades are near the end of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, in the San Fernando Valley. - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a> Departing the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=23">San Fernando Valley</a>,
I headed up Interstate I-5 North through the Newhall Pass. From there,
I could see the historic Sylmar Cascades, which represent the terminus
of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. That system of gravity-fed trenches and
pipes transports water to Los Angeles from as far away as Mono Lake, in
the eastern <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=357">Sierra Nevada</a>.
On its final leg, powerful pumps raise the water, thus allowing it to
take a final plunge down a concrete aeration channel and into the Van
Norman Reservoir. From the high country near Mono Lake to Los Angeles,
most of Eastern California consists of a parched and thirsty desert.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
It took just over five hours for me to reach my destination. In that
280-mile stretch, I crossed the San Andreas, Garlock, Searles Valley
and Panamint Valley Fault Zones. In July 2019 alone, the Searles Valley
and nearby Ridgecrest, California experienced more than <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/2019-ridgecrest-earthquake-sequence-july-4-2019-july-16-2019-0" target="_blank"> 80,000 earthquakes</a>,
including a 6.4 magnitude quake on July 6 of that year. On December
16, 2019, just a few days after my return, Ridgecrest registered a 3.5
magnitude aftershock.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Solar_Farm_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Solar Farms, many owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power cover thousands of acres in the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Solar_Farm_sm.jpg" title="Solar Farms, many owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power cover thousands of acres in the Mojave Desert - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Along
my way, I passed through the high desert community of Mojave. Over the
past sixty years, I have traveled this route many times. On this trip, I
reminisced about how the vast territory from Mojave, to Ridgecrest was
once an almost uninterrupted stretch of desert. In the past decade,
much of that formerly untrammeled desert has given way to thousands of
acres of passive solar panels. The Los Angeles Department of Water
& Power (DWP) owns many of these "<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=302">solar farms</a>".<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In the early 20th century, Los Angeles notoriously bought up the water
rights in and around the Owens Valley, north of Ridgecrest. More
recently, Los Angeles has given up much of its water rights, but has
quietly <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=311">industrialized</a>
huge swaths of the Mojave Desert. These so-called “green energy”
projects have disturbed more desert tortoise habitat and denuded more
desert greenery than the L.A. Aqueduct ever did.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Panamint_Valley_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The vast emptiness of the Panamint Valley, with Telescope Peak above is hard to describe in words - Click for a larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Panamint_Valley_sm.jpg" title="The vast emptiness of the Panamint Valley, with Telescope Peak above is hard to describe in words - Click for a larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>With
Death Valley as my destination, I had a choice of routes. On one hand, I
could continue on California Highway 14 (“The Aerospace Highway”).
Farther north, that highway becomes U.S. Highway 395. At Olancha
(population 39), I could then turn east toward Death Valley. Instead, I
elected to travel the more scenic route through Garlock, Searles
Valley and the Panamint Valley.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The word “scenic” is wholly inadequate to describe that area. “Surreal”
better describes the vistas and terrain. Traveling so quickly from the
crowded confines of the San Fernando Valley to the vast emptiness of
the Panamint Valley feels like going back a billion years in time. Near
<a href="https://www.panamintsprings.com/" target="_blank">Panamint Springs</a>, I turned east on California Route 190 and soon surmounted <a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/towne-pass-curve-correction.htm" target="_blank"> Towne Pass</a>.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Towne_Pass_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="An afternoon view of the Panamint Range, from Towne Pass shows at least five distinct geologic layers - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Towne_Pass_sm.jpg" title="An afternoon view of the Panamint Range, from Towne Pass shows at least five distinct geologic layers - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>While
descending the long grade into Stovepipe Wells, a McLaren, a Bentley,
two Ferraris and a Lamborghini passed me at speed. The designers at the
great automotive houses of Europe never anticipated the whoopdeedoos
on Highway 190. After dipping into each swale, the exotic sports cars
bottomed-out, with sparks flying. Watching them fly off each successive
alluvial hump was dramatic, to say the least.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Once I arrived at the Furnace Creek Campground, it felt like I was at
home. In the past three years, I have camped there four or five times,
so it has the feel of a local neighborhood. Two nights of dry camping on
an asphalt pad, then two nights in a full RV hookup (water, power, and
sewer) would make for a unique experience. For my first two days and
nights, I had to live by my wits, my solar panels and my portable
inverter/generator. Nights were cold and my house batteries ran low. I
turned off the furnace (at Furnace Creek) and stayed warm in bed by
wearing high tech base-layer garments and sheltering under three
blankets.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Furnace_Creek_Sunset_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="An early sunset at Furnace Creek Campground, in December 2019 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Furnace_Creek_Sunset_sm.jpg" title="An early sunset at Furnace Creek Campground, in December 2019 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Wednesday,
December 11, 2019 – At Furnace Creek, the mobile phone and data
coverage is surprisingly good. A mile away, there might be no signal at
all. After staying up late watching YouTube, the quiet of Death Valley
(and some earplugs) allowed me to sleep uninterrupted for hours. When I
awoke, was it nine o’clock or ten o’clock? I do not know. Coffee and a
banana helped ease my transition back into terrestrial life.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As noon approached, the sun warmed my coach and the solar panels
recharged my house batteries. Soon, I was charging up my phone,
earbuds, Bluetooth speaker and camera, all with the batteries and
inverter circuit in my coach. As the sun rose further, I had a steady
flow of “solar-power in” and an abundance of “electricity-out”.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In California, December daylight hours are short. From Furnace Creek,
the sun appears to set behind the towering Panamint Range by 4:15 PM.
Following that, is a long twilight, as the sun still shines up into the
limitless sky, but not down on Death Valley. One way to avoid such an
early sunset is to visit <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=355">Zabriskie Point</a>,
which is on the east rim of Death Valley. From there, you can watch
the sun set behind Telescope Peak. If you do, you will experience a
phenomenon like no other. As the sun sets, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity" target="_blank"> Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity</a> comes into play.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<img align="right" alt="Zabriskie Point at sundown creates a long-duration bending of sunlight - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Zabriskie_Point.gif" title="Zabriskie Point at sundown creates a long-duration bending of sunlight - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" />As
with Einstein’s faraway planet, which bends the light from a solar
eclipse, the clouds above the Panamint Range bend the light down to
each of us who are waiting in the plaza that sits atop Zabriskie Point.
There is a redemptive quality to the experience. When the sun hits the
perceived horizon, it does not set, but instead creates a parabolic
bend of light. The delay of sunset creates a pause in time, which lasts
for several minutes. Most days, it is impossible to tell exactly when
the sun passes behind the ridge at Telescope Peak.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
That concluded “day two” of my visit. At the time, I was still living
off frozen food, well packed and enjoyed. It was a few degrees warmer
that night, so adjusting blankets and then, turning off the furnace (at
Furnace Creek) now made sense. Can you imagine the first Anglo
emigrants, spending almost two years, marooned at Furnace Creek? That
was 1849, ninety-nine years before my birth.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191212_Vintage_Trailer_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Death Valley `49ers had no idea that their hardscrabble camp would one day be replaced by modern travel trailers - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191212_Vintage_Trailer_sm.jpg" title="The Death Valley `49ers had no idea that their hardscrabble camp would one day be replaced by modern travel trailers - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Their
forced stay was the ultimate in unexpected self-isolation. It was
freezing cold on winter nights and baking hot on summer days. In
addition, the ragtag group enjoyed no contact at all with the outside
world. As time passed, their situation became more desperate. A full
winter and a full summer in the hottest and one of the driest places on
Earth took its emotional toll.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Realizing their plight, the scraggly emigrants sent two riders all the way to San Fernando Mission, near <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=319">Los Angeles</a>.
Local ranchers took pity on the riders, giving them three horses and a
one-eyed mule to transport supplies back to those who remained at
Furnace Creek. Retracing their steps along dry washes and old Indian
trails, the rescue party rode one horse to death and abandoned the two
others. Upon arrival back in Death Valley, they found only two
families, with children had awaited their return. All the other
emigrants had departed, trying to find their own way back to
civilization. It is unknown how many survived and how many succumbed to
the elements in Death Valley and beyond.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191210_Trona_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Death Valley `49ers would have passed through the Panamint Valley and the future site of Trona, in the Searles Valley - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191210_Trona_sm.jpg" title="The Death Valley `49ers would have passed through the Panamint Valley and the future site of Trona, in the Searles Valley - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>After
scraping together what remained of their belongings, the hapless but
grateful families boarded their remaining wagons. From there, they faced
an arduous 23-day trip across the Mojave Desert. Upon completion of
their 250-mile trip to the Santa Clarita Valley, there were no parades
or celebrations; only the relief of having survived. Just two years
earlier, during the winter of 1846-47, the ill-fated Donner Party,
trapped by heavy snow in the nearby Sierra Nevada resorted to
cannibalism to survive. Of the Death Valley ‘49ers, only one man is
known to have lost his life during their ordeal.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Thursday, December 12, 2019 – On the morning of “day three”, I moved my
coach to a “full hookup” site at the campground. The Death Valley
‘49ers, 170 years earlier knew nothing of running water, electrical
power, wireless data or propane gas. Using those technologies, I
resumed access to all the comforts of contemporary life.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191211_Ubehebe_Crater_PM_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="At an estimated age of approximately 2,000 years, Ubehebe Crater, in Death Valley National Park is one of the youngest volcanic explosion sites in the Western United States - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191211_Ubehebe_Crater_PM_sm.jpg" title="At an estimated age of approximately 2,000 years, Ubehebe Crater, in Death Valley National Park is one of the youngest volcanic explosion sites in the Western United States - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /> Ubehebe Crater</a>.
Actually, there are two craters at the site, but the smaller one gets
no credit. Visiting that place is enough to give you the Ubehebes.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
It is the second youngest documented site of a major volcanic explosion
in California. Although Ubehebe Crater erupted prior to European or
American exploration of the area, only the massive eruption of Lassen
Peak in the early 20th century was more recent. Ubehebe is
approximately 2,000 years old, or so they say. It is a strange site to
see, in that its volcanic ash exploded up through ancient seabed
sediments. Although it issued forth around the time of Yeshua, it still
looks fresh today. If you like your volcanic explosion sites low-risk,
this one is relatively safe. If it only explodes every several thousand
years, what were the odds that it would explode on the day of my
visit?<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191211_Desert_Alluvium_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Near the entrance road to Scotty's Castle, in Death Valley National Park, recent extreme erosion of a large alluvial fan is evident in this photo - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191211_Desert_Alluvium_sm.jpg" title="Near the entrance road to Scotty's Castle, in Death Valley National Park, recent extreme erosion of a large alluvial fan is evident in this photo - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On the way to the crater complex, I passed the turnoff to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm" target="_blank"> Scotty’s Castle</a>,
a remote desert mansion built in the Spanish Revival and Mediterranean
Revival style. Completed in the early 1930s, the property was the
ultimate self-isolation hideaway. Despite its name, Chicago
industrialist Albert Mussey Johnson had it built as a getaway for him
and his wife. During Mussey’s long absences, front man Walter Scott,
known as “Death Valley Scotty” maintained and presided over the castle.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In 2015, the buildings and grounds at Scotty’s Castle experienced severe
damage from thunderstorms and flash flooding. Since then, there has
been a massive effort by the National Park Service to create new flood
control channels and repair damage to the buildings. The road and
buildings that comprise Scotty’s Castle will not reopen until at least
the fall of 2021.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191211_Fuel_Prices_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Compared to fuel stations outside of Death Valley National Park, gasoline and diesel fuel fetch a premium price - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191211_Fuel_Prices_sm.jpg" title="Compared to fuel stations outside of Death Valley National Park, gasoline and diesel fuel fetch a premium price - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>As
I mentioned before, mobile telephone coverage in Death Valley National
Park is limited mainly to the Furnace Creek complex. Yet, for reasons
unknown, as I passed the entrance road to Scotty’s Castle, I received a
call on my mobile telephone. It was a jarring phone message telling me
that the IRS was after me for non-payments. Even though I knew that
the IRS does not call you to request anything, it induced a brief
feeling of panic in me. Then I hung up the phone and ignored what
seemed to be a <a href="https://moablive.com/sewerpac/" target="_blank">fraud call</a>.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Upon my return, I visited the new “Ranch at Furnace Creek”. After
purchasing some expensive diesel fuel for my truck, I headed out for
nearby Salt Creek, which features habitat for the rare Desert Pupfish.
That afternoon, there were no visible pupfish and no crowds. In fact, I
was the only person at the trailhead.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Solitude is the major theme there in December. Unless a U.S. Navy <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191212_Salt_Creek_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Salt Creek in Death Valley is home to the rare Desert Pupfish - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191212_Salt_Creek_sm.jpg" title="Salt Creek in Death Valley is home to the rare Desert Pupfish - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>jet
is thundering across the Panamint Valley or a Harley Davidson is on a
nearby highway, the loudest sound you will hear is the ringing in your
ears. If you do not think your ears ring, come here to Death Valley.
You may experience silence for the first time in your life. There are
no lawn mowers or leaf blowers here. If you are lucky, you may hear the
rustle of a desert breeze.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Friday, December 13, 2019 – It was another day in Paradise, as we like to say in Death Valley. The local motto is, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Death Valley - See it BEFORE you die</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">”.</span></span> <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
There was not much on my agenda for my fourth day. I could zoom down the
road to Badwater (elevation 280 feet below sea level) and see all the
sites, or I could enjoy midday in the comfort of my coach. Before 2 PM,
I headed out to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191213_Borax_Works_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley operated for only a few years in the late 1880s - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191213_Borax_Works_sm.jpg" title="The Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley operated for only a few years in the late 1880s - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/harmony.htm" target="_blank"> Harmony Borax Works</a>,
only a few miles away. Most 19th Century mines or chemical production
facilities in the West lasted only a few years. Towns like nearby
Rhyolite emerged, produced ore and faced abandonment, all within a
decade.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">After the discovery of borax ore closer to the railroad at Mojave, t</span>he
Harmony works closed down in 1888. For its brief productive era, a
team of twenty mules pulled the semi-refined ore across the desert to
Mojave. In the 1960s, none other than future U.S. President <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=212">Ronald Reagan</a>
hosted a quasi-documentary television show titled Death Valley Days.
The prime advertiser on that show was "20 Mule Team Borax". The main
attractions at the old Harmony Borax Works are two original Borax wagons
and </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">a matching water-tender. With the arid desert to preserve it, this </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191213_Twenty_Mule_Team_Wagons_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Two ore wagons and a water tender made up the heavy load pulled by the famed twenty-mule teams of the Harmony Borax Works - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191213_Twenty_Mule_Team_Wagons_sm.jpg" title="Two ore wagons and a water tender made up the heavy load pulled by the famed twenty-mule teams of the Harmony Borax Works - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>original rig looked ready for twenty mules to hook up and pull the wagons across the desert.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Leaving the defined pathway at the Borax Works, I ascended a draw and
hiked among hillocks of soft sediment. The sandy soil had a crust of
clinkers and small rocks, distributed randomly. Likely, they had rained
down from various prehistoric volcanic blasts. From the crest of a
final hill, I could see the heart of Death Valley. Within my field of
vision, there were no roads, buildings or other human made objects.
Other than my sandals scraping along the rocks, there were no sounds. I
felt like Yeshua, mounting a hill and beholding the Sea of Galilee.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Saturday, December 14, 2019 – Before noon, I departed Death Valley,
heading for home, 280 miles away. In four short days, what did I learn
there? I learned <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/191211_Zabriskie_Sundown_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Author, Jim McGillis at sundown, at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/191211_Zabriskie_Sundown_sm.jpg" title="Author, Jim McGillis, at sundown, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>that
if you feel compressed (or depressed) by the conditions of your human
life… the ticking clock, unwanted crowds or the snarl of traffic, then
come to Death Valley in December. You might find peace and quiet here.
My visit offered me a time and place to rest, rejuvenates and prepare
for the unknown events of the coming New Year, 2020.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=373&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=373" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Furnace Creek Campground, DEATH VALLEY, CA 92328, USA36.4631837 -116.86887868.1529498638211564 -152.02512860000002 64.77341753617884 -81.7126286tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-40996317009187841032021-12-15T17:57:00.000-08:002021-12-15T17:57:39.321-08:00<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Abbeys_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The 'Abbey's' outpost on Old-66 is long gone - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Abbeys_Sign_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="The 'Abbey's' outpost on Old-66 is long gone - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1956-1957) Ch. 5<br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Long live literature and reading!” – Jimbo Forrest<br />
“I’m not afraid to die” – Ralph Newcomb<br />
“Sure a lot of noise here!” – Edward Abbey<br />
<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest –<br />
<span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;">“I returned to Edward Abbey’s journals, edited into the book, “<a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/edward-abbey/confessions-of-a-barbarian/" target="_blank">Confessions of a Barbarian</a>”,
and decided to look in the index for Ralph Newcomb. A whole bunch of
things popped up, including the name of Ralph Newcomb’s wife, which was
Scotty (her maiden name was Eileen Scott). There are many references to
Ralph in this new book, so evidently he was a much better, longer
lasting friend of Ed than I had known or imagined. This “<a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/books/ea/confessions.html" target="_blank">Barbarian</a>” book of Ed’s brings back so many memories.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Edward_Abbey_Rita_Deanin_Joshua_Abbey_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Edward Abbey, wife Rita Deanin Abbey and son Joshua at Edward Abbey's trailer, Arches National Monument ca.1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Edward_Abbey_Rita_Deanin_Joshua_Abbey_sm.jpg" title="Edward Abbey, wife Rita Deanin Abbey and son Joshua at Edward Abbey's trailer, Arches National Monument ca. 1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>A week later, I have now finished Edward Abbey’s “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Confessions_of_a_Barbarian.html?id=VRueIqU-kSIC" target="_blank">Confessions of a Barbarian</a>”.
There were dates listed for each of his entries. Of course, we also
knew, but he didn’t, the actual date of his death (March 14, 1989).
Whenever you have the time (ha, ha) I recommend you read this series of
diary entries. His literary works are one thing, and many have had
admiring reviews.<br />
<br />
This actual diary of Ed’s reveals, to me, something different. He speaks
of his love for his wife (one after the other), and his children (one
after the other), and I don’t doubt his sincerity. However, what stands
out the most, to me, is extreme selfishness, which I believe, is a
(necessary?) aspect of fame, whether one is an actor or a writer. If
you give most of your energy to your family, you have little left for
self-aggrandizement.<br />
<br />
If you read this book, you’ll see he spent an enormous amount of time in
his life being alone. In the desert, in the mountains. Almost until he
died. Not always alone; sometimes with <a href="https://www.ksfr.org/post/interview-new-mexico-treasure-historian-author-producer-honorary-doctor-jack-loeffler" target="_blank"> Jack Loeffler</a> and a limited few other <a href="https://www.dougpeacock.net/the-best-of-ed-abbey-foreward" target="_blank"> close friends</a>. However, he was seldom with any of his five wives or five children.<br />
</span><br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/files/Dead_Horses_Sakred_Kows.pdf" target="_blank">Dead Horses & Sakred Kows</a>)<br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Dead_Horses_and_Sakred_Kows_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The author's #2 of 25 published 'Dead Horses & Sakred Kows', a 25th Anniversary limited edition facsimile typescript, which reproduces the original draft of a speech Ed Abbey delivered to the University of Montana in 1985 - Click for larger image(http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Dead_Horses_and_Sakred_Kows_sm.jpg" title="The author's #2 of 25 published 'Dead Horses & Sakred Kows', a 25th Anniversary limited edition facsimile typescript, which reproduces the original draft of a speech Ed Abbey delivered to the University of Montana in 1985 - Click for larger image(http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #993300;">To produce the many essays and novels that he </span></span></span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;">did, Ed had to spend time alone, in the wilderness, without obligation to </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">family.
He became a famous writer. He had an inner compulsion to observe,
think, and record his observations and thoughts via typewriter and then
to his books. The numerous families get short shrift.<br />
<br />
I’m not criticizing or passing moral judgments, only passing on my
thoughts after reading this particular diary of his thoughts and
activities. What I see is extreme self-centeredness. He had much to
say, and took the time (from others) to say it. He was successful,
extremely so and, of course, is celebrated for it.<br />
<br />
Thinking back, I remember one night when we went up to the Sandias
(Sandia Mountains) after my KOB Radio shift ended at midnight. It was
then, I believe, that Ralph Newcomb and Ed hoofed it up the mountain in
their cowboy boots. It was a dark (not stormy) night, but later with
moonlight. I almost had a fistfight with another radio announcer, Don
Brooks, and groups on both sides held us back. (That was another story
of that night. It had to do with my enthusiasm driving up the mountain,
honking my horn. Evidently, it woke Don’s baby.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Jim_Ed_Spring_1955_Alb_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Left to right, Ralph Newcomb, Jim (Jimbo Forrest), Edward Abbey, with Malcolm Brown above, ca. 1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Jim_Ed_Spring_1955_Alb_sm.jpg" title="Left to right, Ralph Newcomb, Jim (Jimbo Forrest), Edward Abbey, with Malcolm Brown above, ca. 1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>People
drank, sat around a bonfire, paired off, etc. The night was clear. I
was on an upper ledge with a woman named Carol. Down below, we heard
the sounds of couples making love in the open air. Dawn came, but I
will not divulge my activities with Carol that night. Still, there was a
lovely view from up on that ledge, looking down at the valley. I don’t
remember if I had to be at work that morning, or not.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was during that particular beer party in the Sandias that
someone used my camera to snap the attached photo. Front Row, left to
right: Ralph Newcomb, Jim Forrest, Edward Abbey. Back Row: Could this
be Malcolm Brown? I met Malcolm once, at one of many desert beer parties
(1954-55), and I don’t think ever again. <span style="color: black;">(<a href="https://www.taosnews.com/stories/kinlock-brown-builds-beautiful-in-taos,40373" target="_blank">Kinlock Brown</a>, the son of artist, sculptor, architect <a href="https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Malcolm-McCleod-Brown/BEFED7CECEDA8C4C" target="_blank"> Malcolm Brown</a> [1925-2003] verified that his father appears in that photo).</span>”</span></span><br />
<br />
Author’s Note – <br />
Edward Abbey knew classic literature, and developed wide knowledge from
what he read. His personal life and strange career inclined him to
lonerism and bigotry. On the other hand, Ed intuitively knew that the
world could not support an ever-rising population. Most of his adult
life, Abbey spoke and wrote eloquently about and against the ruination
of wilderness and open space.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1965_Author_Landscape_Arch_Trail_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In 1965, the author walks alone up the trail to Landscape Arch in old Arches National Monument, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1965_Author_Landscape_Arch_Trail_sm.jpg" title="In 1965, the author walks alone up the trail to Landscape Arch in old Arches National Monument, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In Desert Solitaire Abbey wrote, </span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2">“</span></span>Wilderness. The word itself is music.<br />
<br />
Wilderness, wilderness.... We scarcely know what we mean by the term,
though the sound of it draws all whose nerves and emotions have not yet
been irreparably stunned, deadened, numbed by the caterwauling of
commerce, the sweating scramble for profit and domination.</span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;">”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"></span></span> <br />
Edward Abbey grew up during The Great Depression, on a near-subsistence farm in <a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/marker.html" target="_blank">Home, Pennsylvania</a>.
From personal experience, he knew the value of water, firewood and a
substantial garden. He often talked or wrote about his desire to go
back to the land and live a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/files/Edward_Abbey_Romantic.pdf" target="_blank">romantic, subsistence lifestyle</a>. (For Ed, subsistence living also included using his old pickup truck for regular “beer runs” into town).<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest (Postscript) –<br />
<span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Jimbo_Recreation_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In 2019, the spirit of Ralph Newcomb (left) sits with Jim (Jimbo) Forrest as they discuss their earlier lives in 1950's New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Jimbo_Recreation_sm.jpg" title="In 2019, the spirit of Ralph Newcomb (left) sits with Jim (Jimbo) Forrest as they discuss their earlier lives in 1950's New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="155" /></a><span style="color: #993300;">“We
did definitely identify Malcolm Brown in that one picture taken “100
years ago”. I believe that was the only time I saw Malcolm. Circuitous
email route: Me to you, you to me, me to Jack Loeffler, Jack to you,
you online to Malcolm’s son, the son to you, and then you to me. It is
wonderful what we can do with on-line computers and the internet.<br />
<br />
We have discovered a lot, beginning with an online ad from Amazon to me.
I saw a picture of Jack Loeffler’s book, “adventures with ED.” I
ordered it. Read it. I wrote to the publisher, trying to contact Jack.
They forwarded my letter to Jack; Jack answered. I did something, can’t
remember what… there was a big flash and then I was in contact with
your blog and you.<br />
<br />
How did that happen?<br />
<br />
The rest is recent history, including an obituary for the original
“Brave Cowboy”, Ralph Newcomb. My head is still spinning, trying to
integrate <a href="https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/unm_yearbooks/64/" target="_blank">1954</a> with now, and all the experiences between then and now. <br />
<br />
As we say in Spanish, <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hijole" target="_blank">Híjole</a>!”</span></span><br />
<br />
End of Part Five and our Story - To read Part Four, Click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=371">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368">HERE</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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at 03:59 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Personal%20Articles" title="Personal Articles">Personal Articles</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=372&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=372" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA35.0843187 -106.61978126.7740848638211517 -141.7760312 63.394552536178843 -71.4635312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-9086614760115346622021-12-15T17:51:00.005-08:002021-12-15T17:51:51.125-08:00Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1956-1957) Ch. 4<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1954_UNM_One_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="From left to right, Jim (Jimbo) Forrest, Prof. Alfredo Roggiano, Edward Abbey at the UNM Campus, January 1955 - Photo Credit Julian Palley - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="230" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1954_UNM_One_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="From left to right, Jim (Jimbo) Forrest, Prof. Alfredo Roggiano, Edward Abbey at the UNM Campus, January 1955 - Photo Credit Julian Palley - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>
<h3> </h3>
<h1 align="center">Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1956-1957) Ch. 4<br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Long live literature and reading!” – Jimbo Forrest<br />
“I’m not afraid to die” – Ralph Newcomb<br />
“Sure a lot of noise here!” – Edward Abbey<br />
<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest – <br />
<span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">“When I knew Ed Abbey, talked
with him, walked with him, and drank with him, he didn’t talk very
much. He was always listening, I was sure, and thinking, but I cannot
remember really having a conversation with him. Reading Jack Loeffler’s
book “</span><span class="style2"><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Adventures_with_Ed.html?id=woIQqklgU58C" target="_blank">adventures with Ed (a portrait of Abbey)</a>”,
I can see that Ed was a serious introvert, and a very shy, deep
thinker. (By contrast, I have been a talker, teacher, radio announcer,
TV newscaster, narrator, master of ceremonies, interpreter
[Spanish-English], etc.) Ed was tall. I short. As the only two graduate
students of philosophy at University of New Mexico in 1954-1956, there
was so much contrast between us.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/New_Mexico_Abbey_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Like a billboard on Old-66, Edward Abbey seems to appear everywhere in Four Corners regional history - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/New_Mexico_Abbey_Sign_sm.jpg" title="Like a billboard on Old-66, Edward Abbey seems to appear everywhere in Four Corners regional history - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>After skimming through parts of Ed’s journals, titled “</span></span><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/books/ea/confessions.html" target="_blank">Confessions of a Barbarian</a>”,
I am now reading the book, slowly, in proper order, underlining
countless passages. One sentence after the other informs me now that Ed
really was a deep thinker. He put his thoughts into his journals, and
later into his many published works. I first met Ed in September 1954.
Exactly fifty-five years later, in September 2019, I’m beginning to
understand who he was.”</span><br />
<br />
</span>Author’s Note –<br />
According to his friend and biographer, Jack Loeffler, Ed was hard of
hearing, which progressed with age. People who cannot hear well often
pretend that they can and just listen. No one wants to act the fool
(Ed’s book, “<span class="style2"><a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/books/ea/fools_progress.html" target="_blank">Fool's Progress</a></span>”?).
Showing some simple attention to another human can make one look more
intelligent. As we know, Ed was an avid reader. He preferred solitude,
which did not require listening or speaking, except to “himself”.<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest –<br />
<span class="style2"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1955_Sears_Catalog_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A 1955 Sears Christmas Catalog, filled with Bullet holes, as Jimbo Forrest oncedid - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="237" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1955_Sears_Catalog_sm.jpg" title="A 1955 Sears Christmas Catalog, filled with Bullet holes, as Jimbo Forrest once did - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span></span><span style="color: #993300;">“I
was at the University of New Mexico philosophy department with Ed for
only two years, from 1954-55. After that, we went separate ways to
different places, but we did run into each other by chance a couple of
times after that.<br />
<br />
In the school year 1957-58, I taught English at Española High School, in
Espanola, New Mexico, 25 miles or so north of Santa Fe. Being
extremely frustrated with the principal of the school while there, I
took up shooting a .22 rifle almost every day after school. I put an
old Sears catalogue next to the house (we were in a rural area), and
filled it full of .22 bullets.<br />
<br />
Hunting season came, and I heard my students talking about getting
“their” deer. One kid told me he had a 30-30. Well, I went to the
general store and bought one, on credit. That made a louder bang, and
tore up the catalogs faster. <br />
<br />
I went to a hunting area with an old friend, and we trudged along.
Before too long, a deer ran across a ravine below me. After all of the
practice shooting catalogs, I made a kill. (I still feel guilty about
that, and would never do it again.) Ralph Newcomb had told me before
that if I killed a deer, he would </span></span></span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Female_Mule_Deer_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Female Mule Deer, standing alert in a meadow - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Female_Mule_Deer_sm_.JPG" title="Female Mule Deer, standing alert in a meadow - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>help me cut it up, if he could have part of it. Deal made. Both of our families had venison for some time.<br />
<br />
Jump ahead a year or two (I have no idea when it was), I was at the UNM
campus (can’t remember why) and Ed Abbey walked by me. I hadn’t seen
him for some time. We chatted awhile, and I asked him if he was
interested in a deer hunt. He said he could probably borrow a deer
rifle from a friend, and we could meet the next day.<br />
<br />
We met, and drove to a hunting area. He went one way, I another, and we
agreed to meet back at the same spot in an hour or two. My hunt showed
no tracks, no scat, and no deer. I returned to our meeting spot. Ed had
not yet returned. We had bought a 6-pack of beer, and left it there
before we went on our hunt.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Abbey_Deer_Hunting_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="This photo of Edward Abbey, by Mike Essig is a classic, displaying Ed's feelings about electronic technology and TV, in particular - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Abbey_Deer_Hunting_sm.jpg" title="This photo of Edward Abbey, by Mike Essig is a classic, displaying Ed's feelings about electronic technology and TV, in particular - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="159" /></a></span></span><span style="color: #993300;">Waiting
for Ed, I had a beer. (Maybe two?) What to do with the can(s)? Throw
them as far ahead as possible. What to do next? Shoot at the cans, of
course. A few minutes later Ed dragged in, bereft of any venison. His
first comment was, “Sure a lot of noise!” reminded me of actor James
Stewart, who would also speak in a laconic manner.<br />
<br />
We sat awhile, finished off the beer, said nothing important, and
parted. I believe I saw Ed two more times: once by chance, once by
design.<br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">Jimbo Forrest – Regarding Ralph Newcomb</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;">“</span></span></span>Now
back to my memories of Ralph Newcomb. When my first wife was pregnant
with our first child, drunken Ralph came to our house in North
Albuquerque. For reference, our child was born August 2, 1957.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">Ralph
saw LIFE magazines on our coffee table. He grew angry, resentful, loud,
claiming that was ‘NOT LIFE’, or some such thing, and swiped them off
the table strongly with his arm. I knew then he was trouble, with a
“capital T”. I motioned my wife into the bedroom right next to the
living room, told her to keep the door closed and not to say anything.
Maybe that is when I grabbed my camera and took the photo of Ralph in
the chair, pointing his finger of accusation at me. He announced
something about his polio crippling him, and that he was going to
overcome it, or he would kill himself… something like that.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_Pointing_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Ralph Newcomb raises his finger in accusation to photographer Jim (Jimbo) Forrest at Jimbo's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico ca. 1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Newcomb_Pointing_sm.jpg" title="Ralph Newcomb raises his finger in accusation to photographer Jim (Jimbo) Forrest at Jimbo's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico ca. 1956 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
Shortly after that, he stood up, removed his jacket and rolled up his
left sleeve. He then took out his buck knife, opened it, and declared
that he was not afraid to die (or some such thing). With a large swing,
he sliced open his forearm. A large spurt of blood shot out, up, and
down onto the (used) light gray carpet I had recently installed.<br />
<br />
Later, he went outside, backed up against the wall, and shot his head
back against the window. The second time it worked, breaking one of the
panes. The windows were behind the curtains you see behind Ralph when
he was seated. Ralph had brought a friend with him (seen partially in
the image) whom I had never seen before, and seemed incapable of doing
anything. In that photo of Ralph and friend, there are two liquor
bottles. He said that they had been drinking all day, either tequila or
mescal, as I remember. Eventually the two departed.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/2006_Family%20Rafting_Colorado_River_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Much like Edward Abbey and Ralph Newcomb did in 1959, this family enjoys rafting the spring flood of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah in 2006 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/2006_Family%20Rafting_Colorado_River_sm.JPG" title="Much like Edward Abbey and Ralph Newcomb did in 1959, this family enjoys rafting the spring flood of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah in 2006 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Somehow,
I had a phone number (not clear to me now), and called the person who
had been with Ralph. He said that they had called the Bernalillo County
Sheriff. I asked if maybe someone could knock Ralph out before he
killed himself, or someone else. (This person was fairly big and
strong.) He said he had tried, but nothing fazed Ralph.<br />
<br />
I remember this vividly, including the season of the year, but not what
happened subsequent, and whether I ever saw Ralph again. The idea of
Ralph & Ed floating down the Colorado in 1959, as stated earlier
makes me shake my head in wonderment. Of course, I didn’t keep up with
Ed or Ralph very much after I got married in August 1956 and had three
children between 1957 and 1965.”</span></span><br />
<br />
End Part Four - To read Part Five, Click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=372">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368">HERE</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<p class="posted">By
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at 12:23 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Personal%20Articles" title="Personal Articles">Personal Articles</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=371&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=371" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA35.0843187 -106.61978126.7740848638211517 -141.7760312 63.394552536178843 -71.4635312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-80756040782985493402021-12-15T17:49:00.002-08:002021-12-15T17:49:15.825-08:00Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1955-1956) Ch. 3<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Edward_Abbey_Truck_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="By the time Edward Abbey was through with his F-100 Ford truck, it had little more than sentimental value - Photo credit Jack Dykinga - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Edward_Abbey_Truck_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="By the time Edward Abbey was through with his F-100 Ford truck, it had little more than sentimental value - Photo credit Jack Dykinga - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1955-1956) Ch. 3<br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Long live literature and reading!” – Jimbo Forrest<br />
“I’m not afraid to die!” – Ralph Newcomb<br />
“Sure a lot of noise here!” – Edward Abbey<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest -<br />
<span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">“In this chapter, I will
reveal the story of Ralph Newcomb, and guitar playing. I remember a
party up in the Sandia Mountains, starting at midnight, and lasting
past dawn on a Saturday. With both guitar and vocal sounds transmitting
easily through the cool mountain air, there was audible lovemaking
going on. I remember Ralph Newcomb running up the side of a mountain in
his cowboy boots, whooping and hollering. He contracted polio the
following year.”</span></span><br />
<br />
Author’s Note (Regarding Jack Loeffler) - <br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Loeffler_Black_Mesa_1971_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Aural historian and author Jack Loeffler in 1971, protesting and educating on the endangerment of Black Mesa and Navajo aquifers - Photo credit Terrence Moore - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Loeffler_Black_Mesa_1971_sm.jpg" title="Aural historian and author Jack Loeffler in 1971, protesting and educating on the endangerment of Black Mesa and Navajo aquifers - Photo credit Terrence Moore - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>Jack
Loeffler is a self-proclaimed aural historian, having spent the last
fifty-plus years traveling around the American West and Mexico recording
folk music, and conducting recorded interviews for several radio
series, which he produced for <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/jack-loeffler-voices-of-counterculture-in-the-southwest-eorwlb/" target="_blank">Community Public Radio</a>.
He recorded Edward Abbey three times, the most extensive of which he
made on January 1, 1983. That was after Jack and Ed left their campsite
in the Superstition Mountains and headed back to just west of Tucson.
The interview took place in Ed's writing cabin, a hundred yards
downhill from his home. A few months earlier, Ed received the diagnosis
of “<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/esophageal-varices/symptoms-causes/syc-20351538" target="_blank">esophageal varices</a>”. Both men knew that Ed’s days were numbered. Later made public, they covered a fair amount of territory in <a href="http://www.backofbeyondbooks.com/product.cfm?id=1333987563528" target="_blank">that interview</a>.<br />
<br />
When the two men went camping (which was as frequently and for long as
they could), they had myriad conversations about absolutely everything.
Jack is a lifelong journal-keeper and noted many of their
conversations in his journals. He also had posthumous access to Ed's
journals while writing his 2002 book, “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Adventures_with_Ed.html?id=woIQqklgU58C" target="_blank">adventures with ED (a portrait of Abbey)</a>”.
Even though Jack did not record any of those campfire conversations,
he was able to to present them as they actually occurred.<br />
<br />
Jack Loeffler –<br />
<span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jack_Loeffler_Jim_McGillis_2008_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Aural Historian and author Jack Loeffler (left) and Jim McGillis at the Moab Confluence Conference in 2008 - Click for larger image (htttp://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="161" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Jack_Loeffler_Jim_McGillis_2008_sm.jpg" title="Aural Historian and author Jack Loeffler (left) and Jim McGillis at the Moab Confluence Conference in 2008 - Click for larger image (htttp://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a><span style="color: #993300;">“It
helps that I have a fair memory. I've discovered that the act of
writing actually helps with memory retention. It was because of Ed that
I started writing books. I had a grant to produce a 13-part radio
series in 1984. My wife, daughter and I had opted to spend that winter
in Tucson to help Ed with his illness. He acted as my “listening
editor” for that series. He listened to the whole series twice, and
then informed me that it should indeed become a book. He introduced me
to a publisher in Tucson, and thus my first book actually came out in
1989 shortly after Ed had died.<br />
<br />
I highly recommend Ed's book, “</span></span><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=265">Desert Solitaire</a>” and his best known novel, “</span><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=267">The Monkey Wrench Gang</a>”,
which helped invigorate the radical environmental movement. It's not
his greatest novel, but it's certainly his best known. Shortly before
he died, he asked me to ‘grade’ his books, which was a terrible thing to
ask. I answered as honestly as I could, and indeed, Ed agreed with my
assessment. I think that “</span><span class="style2"><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fcgpAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brave+Cowboy+edward+abbey&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf5_mg-N3kAhUBt54KHdXoB6AQ6AEwAHoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=Brave%20Cowboy%20edward%20abbey&f=false" target="_blank">The Brave Cowboy</a>” is my favorite of Ed's novels.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Abbey_Moab_Home_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The modest home in Moab, featuring a sandstone hearth, which Edward Abbey shared with his fourth wife, Renee' Abbey from 1974-1978, sold in 2010 for less than $300,000 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Abbey_Moab_Home_sm.jpg" title="The modest home in Moab, featuring a sandstone hearth, which Edward Abbey shared with his fourth wife, Renee' Abbey from 1974-1978, sold in 2010 for less than $300,000 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
character ‘Jack Burns’ (the spirit of Ralph Newcomb?) also appeared in
“The Monkey Wrench Gang” as the ‘Lone Ranger’, as well in “Good News”
(pub. 1980), and finally “Hayduke Lives” (pub. posthumously, 1990)
where it is revealed that ‘Jack Burns’ is the father of ‘George
Washington Hayduke’, and thus the godfather of the radical
environmental movement.<br />
<br />
Ed's been gone for thirty years as of March 14, 2019. I'll visit with his widow, </span> <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2009/10/25/20348460/about-utah-for-sale-abbey-s-old-home-in-moab" target="_blank"> <span class="style2">Clarke Abbey</span></a><span class="style2"> in Moab, Utah in October 2019, where I have a book signing scheduled for my new book, “<a href="https://unmpress.com/books/headed-wind/9780826361004" target="_blank">Headed Into the Wind: A Memoir</a>”. Ed remains a hero in Moab.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest (to Jack Loeffler) –<br />
<span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">“Interesting! I remember
Ralph Newcomb well. Actually, I saw him more often, and for a longer
period, even though Ed and I were the only two graduate students in the
philosophy department. Ralph was really a bit of a wild man, very
bitter and frustrated after he, as an adult, contracted polio, around
the same time that Jonas Salk introduced his vaccine!”</span></span><br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest – <br />
<span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150813_Navajo_Gen_Lake_Powell_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The lower reaches of Lake Powell (foreground) and the infamous, coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in the background, belching nitrogen oxide in 2015 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150813_Navajo_Gen_Lake_Powell_sm.jpg" title="The lower reaches of Lake Powell (foreground) and the infamous, coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in the background, belching nitrogen oxide in 2015 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a><span style="color: #993300;">“I
am reading a chapter of Loeffler's book each night. A stint as an Army
MP (1945-1947) seems to have sealed Ed's fate as an anarchist and
antiestablishmentarian. All too easily, violence can become a way of
life. Imagine if they had actually blown up </span></span><span style="color: #993300;"> <span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=266">Glen Canyon Dam</a> or that </span> <span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291">coal train</a>. Revenging supposed “wrongs” can result in worse wrongs.<br />
<br />
It is interesting that I knew none of this while at UNM. Maybe that is
why Ed was so quiet. In my experience, he was quiet with everyone,
every time I saw him with others. He would speak, but after giving the
matter some reflection, with virtually a monosyllabic response. To me,
he looked like he was thinking all the time (which he probably was),
deciding what he was going to say. <br />
<br />
That makes me think about speech-inhibited people, or someone trying to
speak in a non-native language, looking for the way to say something.
Ed and I had very different personalities. Perhaps this would explain
Ed’s thousands of different words in his books, and my years as a disk
jockey, radio announcer and English teacher. However, the dialogues Ed
engaged in with Loeffler fascinated and confused me. The back and forth
conversations were not what I had experienced, the few times I was
alone with Ed.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/BM&LP_RR_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad, made famous in Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' ceased operations in the summer of 2019. Score one for Edward Abbey - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/BM&LP_RR_sm.jpg" title="The Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad, made famous in Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' ceased operations in the summer of 2019. Score one for Edward Abbey - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>I’ve
been thinking more about Jack Loeffler, Ed and Jack’s book “adventures
with ED (a portrait of Abbey)” and happened to look though the index
again. I noticed two references to Ralph Newcomb, which I had not
reflected on when I first read the book. The second reference speaks of
Ed and Ralph taking a rafting trip on the Colorado River in June 1959
(later featured in “Desert Solitaire”).<br />
<br />
When I went to UNM in September 1954 to enroll in the philosophy
department as a graduate student, I met Ed, and shortly thereafter,
Ralph. Eventually, I spent more time with Ralph and his family, and had
a closer relationship over a longer period than I did with Ed. I have
many memories of Ralph, and always wondered what happened to him. With
regard to Ed, I found out a LOT more about him in the press, but
particularly in recently reading Loeffler’s book. In many ways, Ralph
remains a mystery to me.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Black_Mesa_Mine_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Peabody Western Coal Company 'Black Mesa Complex' removed their roadside sign in shame years before the coal mine ceased providing coal to the Navajo Generating Plant in Paige, Arizona - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Black_Mesa_Mine_sm.jpg" title="The Peabody Western Coal Company 'Black Mesa Complex' removed their roadside sign in shame years before the coal mine ceased providing coal to the Navajo Generating Plant in Paige, Arizona - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>By
August of 1955, I felt compelled to go to Mexico City, and on to
Acapulco. My Spanish was adequate for getting around, but it didn’t
register in my mind that “</span><span class="style2"><a href="https://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/agua+no+potable.html" target="_blank">AGUA NO POTABLE</a>”
meant that I shouldn’t drink it. Well, it was hot and humid in
Acapulco, I was thirsty, and there was water. At age twenty-two, I was
invulnerable, or so I thought. (I did meet a young woman in Acapulco,
however, and a year later, we were married, subsequently producing
three daughters.)<br />
<br />
Returning to Albuquerque for the new school year in September 1955 I
started having symptoms, which sent me to a local doctor. She commented
on my yellow eyeballs, and dark urine, and informed me that my liver
was the culprit. Later, my young brain made the relationship between my
liver and “AGUA NO POTABLE”. Not being able to take care of myself, I
flew back to Illinois to be with my parents. A week in the hospital, a
month in bed reading Russian authors (they wrote thick books), I was
up, got a job, and then went back to Albuquerque in June 1956. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_Family_Sedan_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Fitted with a custom roof rack and front grill, Plush Kokopelli wondered if this was the large sedan that Ralph Newcomb and family once drove to Mexico - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Newcomb_Family_Sedan_smy.JPG" title="Fitted with a custom roof rack and front grill, Plush Kokopelli wondered if this was the large sedan that Ralph Newcomb and family once drove to Mexico - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>At
that time, my friends informed me that Ralph Newcomb had contracted
polio, ironically just before the release of the first vaccine. I
visited him, found him on crutches and heard him speak about being
determined to return to his previous health, which had allowed him to
climb up the Sandia Mountains while wearing cowboy boots, at a fast
pace. If not, he considered suicide.<br />
<br />
Later, Ralph decided to buy a large, old car, and take his family to
southern Mexico; Salina Cruz pops into my head right now. He spoke of
living off the land, watching young Mexican women with bare breasts
walking around in the tropics, etc.<br />
<br />
I became involved in academics at UNM, had my first child, worked at
radio station KOB, and heard aught of Ralph. Did he arrive in Salina
Cruz? Was he able to climb mountains again at a fast pace? Did he
commit suicide? On the other hand, did I hear something about Ralph
Newcomb later moving to Oregon?”</span></span><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Author’s Note – <br />
Ralph Newcomb is a mystery no more. On the website, TheWorldLink.com </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">is an obituary for one Ralph W. Newcomb (1925-2011). Although not </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1965_Arches_National_Monument_Afternoon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Looking north from old Arches National Monument, toward the Book Cliffs and Thompson Springs in 1965 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1965_Arches_National_Monument_Afternoon_sm.jpg" title="Looking north from old Arches National Monument, toward the Book Cliffs and Thompson Springs in 1965 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span>corroborated
by other sources, the details of this particular Ralph Newcomb’s life
coincide almost perfectly with what we know of “our Ralph” from Edward
Abbey, Jack Loeffler and Jimbo Forrest. <br />
<br />
The <a href="https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/ralph-w-newcomb/article_cf6be07e-b4ec-11e0-984a-001cc4c03286.html" target="_blank"> Obituary for Ralph W. Newcomb</a> reads as follows:</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"> <span style="color: #993300;">“Ralph's
journey on earth ended July 15, 2011, in Coos Bay and another journey
begins for him. Ralph, 86, of Allegany, Oregon was born June 23, 1925,
in Newport, Rhode Island, the oldest in a family of four children.<br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"></span></span></span></span>Ralph's
early years were spent in Newport, followed by a couple of years in the
military during World War II. He left the military and moved to
Wyoming and </span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;">then Montana, where he became a cowboy and bronco rider in rodeos for a </span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;">few years. While living in Montana, he married Eileen Scott. They spent the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Desert_Solitaire_Trade_Paper_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="First published in 1968, Edward Abbey's 'Desert Solitaire' has appeared in many covers, including this trade paperback edition published in 1990, one year after the author's death - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Desert_Solitaire_Trade_Paper_sm.jpg" title="First published in 1968, Edward Abbey's 'Desert Solitaire' has appeared in many covers, including this trade paperback edition published in 1990, one year after the author's death - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="160" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>first
part of their marriage on a horseback trip, crossing the Rocky
Mountain Divide, riding through the Red Desert of Wyoming and then into
the Superstition Mountains of Arizona.<br />
<br />
Eventually three children were born to Ralph and Eileen, Ralph Teton, Katchina and Scott Ross.<br />
<br />
Ralph was an artist, creating beautiful sculptures from soapstone. His
subject was wildlife. Deer modeled for him in his back yard. His
carvings have been on display up and down the coast. Another talent he
had was playing the guitar and singing folk songs. He also studied art,
music and anthropology at the University of New Mexico. He received a
degree in anthropology from UNM.<br />
<br />
Ralph is survived by, Eileen of Allegany; son, Scott Ross; and a brother
and sister. He was preceded in death by a sister; son, Ralph; and
daughter, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/files/Katchina_Eileen_Newcomb_2003.pdf" target="_blank">Katchina</a>”.</span></span><br />
<br />
End Part Three - To read Part Four, Click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=371">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368">HERE</a>.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=370" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA35.0843187 -106.61978126.7740848638211517 -141.7760312 63.394552536178843 -71.4635312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-25804079331659765132021-12-15T17:42:00.004-08:002021-12-15T17:42:39.136-08:00Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1955-1956) Ch. 2<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jim_Forrest_Ed_Abbey_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Jim (Jimbo) Forrest with Edward Abbey in Ed's apartment at the University of New Mexico 1954 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Jim_Forrest_Ed_Abbey_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Jim (Jimbo) Forrest with Edward Abbey in Ed's apartment at the University of New Mexico 1954 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1955-1956) Ch. 2<br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Long live literature and reading!” – Jimbo Forrest<br />
“I’m not afraid to die!” – Ralph Newcomb<br />
“Sure a lot of noise here!” – Edward Abbey<br />
<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest – <br />
<span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">“It has been many years since
I last saw and spoke briefly with Ed Abbey. That was around 1957-8. It
really is another world now. I’m glad I’ve been able to hang-on this
long, maybe because I never drank as much beer as Jack Loeffler
describes in his book, “</span><span class="style2"><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Adventures_with_Ed.html?id=woIQqklgU58C" target="_blank">adventures with ED, (a portrait of Abbey)</a>”.
I’d been a bit of a rebel since my teens, but nowhere to Ed’s extent.
Reading now about Ed and Jack Loeffler is an adventure; what they did,
and how they discussed things… and how Ed virtually abandoned one wife
after another (and his children).<br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1954_UNM_Three_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Jerry (Julian) Palley, Dr. Alfredo Roggiano, Edward Abbey at the UNM Campus, January 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="230" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1954_UNM_Three_sm.jpg" title="Jerry (Julian) Palley, Dr. Alfredo Roggiano, Edward Abbey at the UNM Campus, January 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span></span></span>In that photo I took on the campus at UNM, you’ll see the late <a href="https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=julian-palley&pid=174125361" target="_blank">Julian (Jerry) Palley</a>.
When I was twenty-two, Jerry taught me a lot about Mexican music, food,
drink, women, customs, etc. A few years later, Jerry told me that he
had given up on Ed, after reading Ed’s words: </span><span style="color: black;"><span class="style3">‘<em>… and then the Mexicans came</em></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="color: black;">’</span>.
At that time, I didn’t really comprehend what Jerry was saying, nor
why. Now, however, reading Loeffler’s accounts about their camping,
exploring, horsing around, discussions, etc. I can sympathize with
Jerry’s outrage. <br />
<br />
With his multitude of published works, Ed influenced many people. I
suppose an artist can't be criticized for forgetting about human
relationships, since he or she is doing what we peons can only imagine,
while providing us with a touch of something supra human, the ineffable.
Writing about saving the masses from civilization’s crushing of the
spirit, while ignoring intimate, dependent relationships mitigates the
value of the so-called art.<br />
<br />
Sorry for the above, I just was caught up in the ambiance of Ed’s adventures, anarchism and “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=267">monkey wrench esoterica</a>”.<br />
<br />
Abbey was studying with </span> <span class="style2"> <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8X9-CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=dr.+Archie+Bahm+new+mexico&source=bl&ots=W1o2W_X5No&sig=ACfU3U0U-04G86ajJse9Y8GTIw0RqYDOkQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiK_ZSTtNvkAhVRop4KHRnYAk04ChDoATASegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=dr.%20Archie%20Bahm%20new%20mexico&f=false" target="_blank">Dr. Archie Bahm</a>
(1907-1996) of the University of New Mexico philosophy department. It
was Ed’s intention to write a master’s thesis titled “An Inquiry into
the General Theory of Anarchism”. He got along with his professor very
well, at least at the outset, and regarded him as an intelligent thinker
and a master of dialectic. The following words are from pages 53-54 in
Loeffler’s book, “adventures with ED (a portrait of Abbey)”. <span style="color: black;">‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="style3"><em>When I went to UNM in September 1954, I went to the philosophy department and introduced myself to Dr. Bahm</em></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="color: black;">’</span>. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Vultures_Chaco_Canyon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Edward Abbey was a good sketch artist, often portraying himself as a turkey vulture - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Vultures_Chaco_Canyon_sm.jpg" title="Edward Abbey was a good sketch artist, often portraying himself as a turkey vulture - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Of Dr. Baum, Ed wrote,<span style="color: black;"> ‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="style3"><em>As
a man he’s quite appealing: generous, liberal, helpful, friendly to
all. Kind, gentle, considerate in every way, optimistic, tolerant,
truly interested in others, quite unselfish...</em></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="color: black;">’</span>
As to my first impression of the professor (and even now, almost 65
years later), I would use the same adjectives as Ed’s words, above. I
can see Dr. Bahm in my mind at this moment, in the room where we first
met.<br />
<br />
In 1954, I was an enthusiastic student of philosophy, having been intellectually stimulated by </span> <span class="style2"> <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/files/Arturo_Fallico.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. Arturo Fallico</a>
at San Jose State College. From Italy, Fallico was a romantic,
sculptor, orator, and supreme commander of the English language. With
Fallico, I felt excited about discussing ideas regarding where we came
from, what we are doing now, and what we will be able to do in the
future. We discussed politics, art, social relationships, and improving
communication between all of humanity. <br />
<br />
At the age of twenty-two, one can still dream outside the limits of
practicality. I then decided what I wanted to do with my future life. I
was looking forward to getting a master’s degree in philosophy from UNM,
then going elsewhere for a Ph.D., after which I’d spend my future life
teaching philosophy in some community college or state university. It
was not to be. Dr. Bahm, for all his good qualities and sincerity, did
not speak the same language with me that Dr. Fallico had used to
inspire me to study, talk about, and teach philosophy. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Interstate_40_East_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="New Mexico is known as 'The Land of Enchantment', as seen its clear air and beautiful sky - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Interstate_40_East_sm.jpg" title="New Mexico is known as 'The Land of Enchantment', as seen its clear air and beautiful sky - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Now,
let me go back to my first meeting with Dr. Archie Bahm. We were in his
office, and he introduced me to Ed Abbey, of whom I had no previous
knowledge. I started talking to Dr. Bahm about existentialism and other
philosophical matters. Ed, as was often the case, stood by quietly,
listening, and showing interest, but not speaking. I see in his bio that
Ed wrote twenty-one books. He was definitely an introvert.<br />
<br />
Dr. Bahm was listening, but appeared nervous. Suddenly, he excused
himself, sat down at his typewriter, and furiously pounded away. He
almost ripped the paper out from the manual typewriter, handed it to me,
and stated that he could think better on paper. I should have known at
that first meeting that I was no longer in the presence of Dr. Arturo
Fallico. <br />
<br />
Later, Ed said to me, <span style="color: black;">‘</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="style3"><em>You sure know a lot of philosophy!</em></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="color: black;">’</span> <br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_drum_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Ralph Newcomb, who was the inspiration for the character 'Jack Burns" in Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Brave Cowboy' - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Newcomb_drum_sm.jpg" title="Ralph Newcomb, who was the inspiration for the character 'Jack Burns" in Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Brave Cowboy' - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_drum_lg.jpg" target="_blank"></a>Ed
got his M.A. in philosophy; I did not. However, I did get an M.A.,
almost seventeen years later, from the California Institute of Arts, in
classical guitar performance. What? Ed’s (crazy) friend, Ralph
Newcomb, inadvertently opened that musical door. I also became fluent in
Spanish, but that involved two other graduate students at UNM, Jerry
Palley and Karl Reinhardt.<br />
<br />
Here, in my mind, is Ralph Newcomb, Ed’s friend, whom he met in an Albuquerque jail, and who was the stimulus for Ed to write “</span><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_drum_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="style2"></span></a><a href="https://brooklynrail.org/2007/09/books/fiction-the-lone-ranger-and-don-quixote-" target="_blank">The Brave Cowboy</a>”,
all based on Ralph’s personality and behavior. At that time, I had NO
idea how the jigsaw puzzle involving Ed, Ralph, and me would eventually
fit together. Really, only now am I putting all the pieces together.”</span><br />
<br />
(Jim Forrest’s Memories of Ralph Newcomb) – <br />
<span class="style2"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/The_Brave%20Cowboy_Cover_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Dust jacket of the original hardcover edition of Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Brave Cowboy' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/The_Brave_Cowboy_Cover_sm.jpg" title="Dust jacket of the original hardcover edition of Edward Abbey's novel, 'The Brave Cowboy' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="172" /></a></span><span style="color: #993300;">“Jail
with Ed Abbey, classical guitar playing at a nocturnal desert party,
him living on the Albuquerque Zoo property (!), midnight party (+
clandestine sex in the Sandia Mountains), contracting polio, slashing
his forearm with buck knife, breaking a window with back of his head…<br />
<br />
I have several photos of Ralph Newcomb. As you know, Ralph became the
inspiration for Ed’s novel, “The Brave Cowboy”. Jack Loeffler’s book is
the first book that I have read by or about Ed since I read “The Brave
Cowboy”, prior to its becoming the 1962 movie, “<a href="https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2016/08/20/lonely-are-brave-strangers-when-we-meet" target="_blank">Lonely Are The Brave</a>”.”</span></span><br />
<br />
Author’s Note – <br />
The 1956 Edward Abbey novel, “The Brave Cowboy” and the resulting
screenplay for the 1962 movie, “Lonely Are The Brave” have an
interesting and intertwined history. Beginning in 1947, Hollywood
screenwriter <a href="https://www.biography.com/writer/dalton-trumbo" target="_blank">Dalton Trumbo</a>
(1905-1976) had languished in prison for nearly one year. That was his
punishment for not answering “correctly” about communism before the
House Un-American Activities Committee. During his incarceration, there
was a complete capitulation of the movie industry to the post World War
II “Red Scare”. <br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Dalton_Trumbo_Edward_Lewis_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and Producer Edward Lewis celebrate the breaking of the 'Hollywood Ten' blacklist and Trumbo's return to writing under his own name - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="214" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Dalton_Trumbo_Edward_Lewis_sm.jpg" title="Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and Producer Edward Lewis celebrate the breaking of the 'Hollywood Ten' blacklist and Trumbo's return to writing under his own name - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span>From
1947 until 1960, the Hollywood movie “industry” blacklisted Dalton
Trumbo and nine others. For thirteen years, Trumbo wrote screenplays
under the pseudonym “Sam Jackson”. According to Trumbo’s daughter, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/16/dalton-trumbo-hollywood-blacklist-mitzi-trumbo-bryan-cranston" target="_blank">Mitzi Trumbo</a>, during one eighteen month period, Dalton Trumbo wrote ten Hollywood movie scripts, with an average fee of only $1,750. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/edward-lewis-dead-producer-spartacus-missing-grand-prix-was-99-1231008" target="_blank">Edward Lewis</a> (1919-2019) produced the movie “<a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spartacus-1991" target="_blank">Spartacus</a>”
(1960). Lewis had attempted to write the screenplay for Spartacus
himself, but soon hired Dalton Trumbo to complete the task. In the late
1950s, with overt fear of communism on the wane, Lewis gave Trumbo sole
credit for the script. By publicly acknowledging Trumbo on
“Spartacus”, Lewis (and Kirk Douglas) broke the blacklist of the
Hollywood Ten.<br />
<br />
For the 1962 movie, “Lonely Are The Brave”, Lewis and Douglas again
tapped Trumbo. This time, he wrote the dialog for “Jack Burns”, AKA
“The Brave Cowboy”. After a long and illustrious career, Edward Lewis
died in July 2019, at the age of 99. Soon after his death, the Los
Angeles Times published an <a href="https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2019-08-15/edward-lewis-producer-spartacus-dead" target="_blank">obituary for Lewis</a>. Included in that obituary is an old newspaper photo of Lewis and Trumbo together. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/lonely_are_the_brave_poster_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The original movie poster from the 1962 move, 'Lonely Are The Brave', staring Kirk Douglas as 'Jack Burns' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lonely_are_the_brave_poster_sm.jpg" title="The original movie poster from the 1962 move, 'Lonely Are The Brave', staring Kirk Douglas as 'Jack Burns' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="160" /></a>In
2018, a little known YouTube channel published a video titled “Lonely
Are The Brave A Tribute”. In less than twenty minutes, Kirk Douglas
narrates selected action and his sentiments regarding the David Miller
(1909-1992) directed movie. The movie has the distinction of being the
last major studio western filmed in black & white. During filming
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, author “Edward Albey” (as Kirk Douglas
erroneously identifies Abbey) consulted, standing silently by, off
camera. No one knows whether Dalton Trumbo ever visited the movie set
or met “Edward Albey”. <br />
<br />
In the above-mentioned “Tribute”, Kirk Douglas identifies “Jack Burns”
as his favorite movie role. Also interviewed, director Steven Spielberg
found “Lonely Are The Brave” to be “one of his favorites”. Michael
Kane (1922-2007) played Paul Bondi "AKA Ralph Newcomb” in the
Albuquerque jail scene. Costar Gena Rowlands and son Michael Douglas
joined in the video homage to a great, if unsung character and movie.
Walter Matthau (1920-2000) costarred as the laconic sheriff, who was
tracking down “Jack Burns”. Carroll O’Connor (1924-2001) and George
Kennedy (1925-2016) had featured roles. At 102 years of age, Kirk
Douglas is alive and well.<br />
<br />
Jimbo Forrest– <br />
<span class="style2"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ed_Hiding_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Dr. John P. Anton (1920-2014), a visiting professor of philosophy at UNM, with Edward Abbey in 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ed_Hiding_sm.jpg" title="Dr. John P. Anton (1920-2014), a visiting professor of philosophy at UNM, with Edward Abbey in 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span></span><span style="color: #993300;">“Ed
& I were the only two graduate school philosophy majors that year
at UNM. He wrote a lot, I talked a lot. He finished his M.A. in
Philosophy. I did not. I passed all the course work and more, but I
could not even get started writing a thesis. After graduate school, I
spent twelve years as a radio announcer in New Mexico and Arizona.<br />
<br />
</span></span><span style="color: #993300;"> <span class="style2"> Dr. John P.
Anton (1920-2014), a visiting professor of philosophy at UNM invited Ed
and me to come speak to an adult evening class in philosophy. We did.
Then, following the class, one student invited us and other members of
the class to his house to continue discussing philosophy. We all sat in
a big circle. I don't remember if we ever discussed philosophy or not.
I just remembered; one of the adult students there was Evelyn. She and
I became friends, even though I was twenty-two and she was a VERY OLD
thirty-one.<br />
<br />
Continuing the story of that evening, I just happened to have with me a
GALLON jug of Italian red wine. Someone brought some glasses in which to
pour the vino, but soon after, Ed and I dispensed with the glasses,
and passed the jug around. I remember Ed holding it on one shoulder with
his index finger </span></span></span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Rita_Deanin_Abbey_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Rita Deanin Abbey, artist, sculptor and second wife of Edward Abbey, at the University of New Mexico ca. 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Rita_Deanin_Abbey_sm.jpg" title="Rita Deanin Abbey, artist, sculptor and second wife of Edward Abbey, at the University of New Mexico ca. 1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="160" /></a></span>in
the circular glass handle. I don't remember if we let the students have
any, or not. I'm sure they admired the high level of academic
philosophy we were capable of sharing. Poor Dr. Anton; he had hoped to
highlight Ed and me!<br />
<br />
When we departed, Ed asked if he could stay at my place. I said sure, but asked why. He said his wife; </span><a href="https://www.greece.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=981&Itemid=994" target="_blank"> <span class="style2"> </span></a>Rita
Deanin Abbey would kill him if he came home drunk again. (He never told
me what she did or said when he did not come home until the next day.)
Ed slept on one side of my pullout sofa, and I slept on the other. We
both had a class in American Philosophy the next morning. When I awoke, I
tried to focus, asking Ed if he was ready to go. He wasn't. I asked him
to close the door whenever he left. I rode my bike up the hill to the
campus, and went to the class.<br />
<br />
I can now say that I slept with Ed Abbey; probably the only male among
scores of females. In addition, I remained a virgin! Here is a picture
of the sofa that pulled out to be sort of a double bed. In the picture,
the man with the guitar is Ralph Newcomb. His wife, Scotty is next to
him. On the left side, with the cigarette, is <span class="style2"> <a href="https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=karl-j-reinhardt&pid=188119642&fhid=18013" target="_blank">Karl Reinhardt</a> (1931-2018). He was a graduate student </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Karl_Scotty_Ralph_EdAbbey_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="From left, Karl Reinhardt, Eileen 'Scotty' Newcomb, Ralph Newcomb, Edward Abbey, ca.1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Karl_Scotty_Ralph_EdAbbey_sm.jpg" title="From left, Karl Reinhardt, Eileen 'Scotty' Newcomb, Ralph Newcomb, Edward Abbey, ca.1955 - Photo Credit Jimbo Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>of Spanish, and helped me learn the Spanish language. On the right, is Edward Abbey.<br />
<br />
In the winter of 1957, my first wife, Lucy and I had lived in a basement
apartment in Albuquerque for a few months. We then found a nice house
for rent for $40/month. Our former property owner had pulled up a light
gray shag (remember shag?) carpet to leave for trash. I took it, cut
it, and carefully laid it in the living room and bedroom, quite proud
of my young-husband-father-to-be-twenty-four-and-a-half-year-old
young-self. Then, this guy (Ralph Newcomb) chooses to visit us, cut his
forearm, and bleed on our first house, first carpet!”</span></span><br />
<br />
End Part Two - To read Part Three, Click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=370">HERE</a>. To return to Part One, click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368">HERE</a>.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 09:52 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Personal%20Articles" title="Personal Articles">Personal Articles</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=369&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=369" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA35.0843187 -106.61978126.7740848638211517 -141.7760312 63.394552536178843 -71.4635312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-47572662910885897122021-12-15T17:34:00.001-08:002021-12-15T17:34:13.085-08:00Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1954-1955) Ch. 1<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Edward_Abbey_n_Friends_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt=""Edward Abbey & Friends" topper sign from Back of Beyond Bookstore, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="135" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Edward_Abbey_n_Friends_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title=""Edward Abbey & Friends" topper sign from Back of Beyond Bookstore, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Edward Abbey & Friends, University of New Mexico (1954-1955) Ch. 1<br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"> </p>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Long live literature and reading!” – Jimbo Forrest<br />
“I’m not afraid to die!” – Ralph Newcomb<br />
“Sure a lot of noise here!” – Edward Abbey<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Author’s Note – <br />
In October 2008, I attended Confluence, a Celebration of Reading and Writing in Moab, Utah. As mentors and teachers, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/081019_amy_irvine_lg.jpg" target="_blank"> Amy Irvine</a>, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/404_Craig_Childs_lg.jpg" target="_blank"> Craig Childs</a> and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jack_Loeffler_Moab_Confluence_2008_lg.jpg" target="_blank"> Jack Loeffler</a> represented a triumvirate of writing expertise unparalleled in the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=103">Four Corners Region</a>.
Jack makes New Mexico his home. Amy hails from Utah. Craig has
Arizona, and Colorado well covered. For three days, the famous authors
shepherded a group of twenty-five budding or wannabe authors through
classroom and field studies.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Plush_Kokopelli_Back_of_Beyond_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Plush Kokopelli hides out in the back of the Back of Beyond Bookstore with Seldom Seen Smith - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Plush%20Kokopelli_Back_of_Beyond_sm.jpg" title="Plush Kokopelli hides out in the back of the Back of Beyond Bookstore with Seldom Seen Smith - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=135">Bard of Moab</a>,
twentieth century author Edward Abbey (1927-1989) was not the supposed
focus of the conference. Still, the mystique of “Cactus Ed” hung
heavily in Moab’s radioactive air. Craig Child’s 2008 book, “<a href="http://www.houseofrain.com/" target="_blank">House of Rain</a>” has received favorable contrast to Abbey’s 1968 classic, “Desert Solitaire”. Amy Irvine’s 2008 debut book, “<a href="https://www.amyirvine.com/essays" target="_blank">Trespass</a>” was then fresh on the shelves at Moab’s <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=251">Back of Beyond Book Store</a>. In her 2018 long-form essay titled “<a href="https://www.torreyhouse.org/desert-cabal" target="_blank">Desert Cabal</a>” (Torrey House 2018), Irvine took on and wrestled with the “privileged white man” legacy of one Edward Abbey.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
For his part, Jack Loeffler had been the longtime best friend and
chronicler of Edward Abbey’s life. In 2003, fourteen years after
Abbey’s death, Loeffler published “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Adventures_with_Ed.html?id=woIQqklgU58C" target="_blank">adventures with ED, (a portrait of Abbey)</a>”
(UNM 2003). Like ghost stories around a desert campfire, Jack
Loeffler’s Confluence stories seemed to rouse the restless spirit of
Edward Abbey himself. For the next three days, someone or something
kept bringing the subject of Edward Abbey and his writing to the fore.
Looking back, Edward Abbey figures in seventeen of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=80">my own blog articles</a>, beginning prior to the 2008 Confluence Conference.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/2008_Jack_Loeffler_Moab_Confluence_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Aural historian and author, Jack Loeffler enters the Moab Confluence Conference in 2008 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/2008_Jack_Loeffler_Moab_Confluence_sm.jpg" title="Aural historian and author, Jack Loeffler enters the Moab Confluence Conference in 2008 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In
October 2019, eleven years after the original Confluence Conference, I
will make my annual trek to Moab, mainly to attend “Book Week”, as I
now call it. On October 18, both Amy Irvine and Craig Childs will
participate in a panel discussion at <a href="https://www.grandcountyutah.net/182/Star-Hall" target="_blank">Star Hall</a>. On October 22, Jack Loeffler will be signing his new book, “<a href="https://www.bkwrks.com/loeffler" target="_blank">Headed Into the Wind: A Memoir</a>”
at the famed Back of Beyond Bookstore in Moab. In the spirit of their
generous teaching and encouragement to write, I hope to put a copy of
this brief saga in each of their hands.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Like most novice readers, I loved the “naturalist” passages in Abbey’s “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=265">Desert Solitaire</a>” (1968). The classic book tells of Abbey’s two seasons spent in the mid-1950s as a ranger at then little-known <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/arch-quick-facts.htm" target="_blank"> Arches National Monument</a>. In 2018, over 1.5 million people swarmed over the now <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=205">Arches National Park</a>.
Despite his cranky, bigoted, anachronistic and anarchistic tendencies,
Edward Abbey did get at least one thing right. He decried the nascent
destruction of wilderness and the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=307"> creeping industrialization</a> of the Desert Southwest. Now, more than thirty years after his death, rapacious development, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=271">mineral extraction</a> and illicit <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=280">off-road vehicle</a>
use have more than made their mark. They have changed, and in many
cases, destroyed much of the natural landscape Abbey vainly tried to
protect.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Amy_Irvine_2008_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Amy Irvine, author of 'Trespass' and 'Desert Cabal' at the 2008 Confluence Conference in Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Amy_Irvine_2008_sm.jpg" title="Amy Irvine, author of 'Trespass' and 'Desert Cabal' at the 2008 Confluence Conference in Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="171" /></a>Later
in life, Abbey denied that he was ever was, acted, thought or wrote
like a “naturalist”. In fact, he decried the characterization. He did
not deny being a naturist and an anarchist. In 2010, I read Abbey’s
most famous novel, “<a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/books/ea/monkey_wrench.html" target="_blank">The Monkey Wrench Gang</a>”, for the first time. That was thirty-five years after its original publication. At that time, I accepted its “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=267">radical eco-manifesto vibe</a>” as a reflection of the writer and the 20th century, in which he lived. According to my beliefs, <a href="https://moablive.com/3dtsr/" target="_blank">consciousness is everlasting</a>,
but orneriness in all of its human manifestations is not. The Edward
Abbey we knew in life or from his many books is not the beneficent
spirit of <a href="https://moablive.com/moababbey/" target="_blank">Moab Abbey</a> we might encounter today. <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Over the years, I have read many, but not all of Edward Abbey’s novels
and essays. Reflective of his times, his characters often bear an
overtly strong resemblance to the man, himself or to his few <a href="https://wrenched-themovie.com/characters" target="_blank">stalwart friends</a>.
By his own admission, Abbey rather “missed it” on the fictional part.
This was especially true of the few female characters that he included.
Ed may have incorporated them as homage or an apology for his real life
interactions with the opposite sex. <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In his later books, much of Abbey’s rhetoric stemmed from the fraught
environmental politics of the 1970s. Repeatedly, Abbey assailed <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291">corporate greed</a> and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=124">complicit government</a> in their assault on the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=194"> natural environment</a>. As he predicted, that unholy alliance has only accelerated the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=305"> destruction of public lands</a> since his death. Often, Abbey’s polemics were thinly disguised appeals for active “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=358">monkey wrenching</a>” of any machinery, infrastructure or development he disagreed with.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Craig_Childs_2012_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Author and environmentalist Craig Childs signing books in 2012 at Star Hall, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Craig_Childs_2012_sm.jpg" title="Author and environmentalist Craig Childs signing books in 2012 at Star Hall, Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Edward
Abbey hated reviewers, but always read his own reviews. If he is
reading this review, it is from the “Far Side”, I hope he will forgive
me my peccadilloes, as I forgive him for using almost every word in his
vast vocabulary somewhere in his writing. To read Abbey thoroughly,
one needs a dictionary and a thesaurus nearby. <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
OK. That is it for criticism. Now for the story…<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Our Cast of Characters:<br />
• Edward Abbey (1927-89), author, essayist, radical environmentalist.<br />
• Jim “Jimbo” Forrest (1932-present), teacher, radio/TV announcer, photographer.<br />
• Ralph W. Newcomb (1925-2011) cowboy, bronco rider, artist, sculptor.<br />
• Malcolm Brown (1925-2003) artist, sculptor, architect, landscape artist.<br />
• Amy Irvine (1953-present) author, feminist, iconoclast, environmentalist.<br />
• Craig Childs (1967-present) author, naturalist, environmentalist.<br />
• John “Jack” Loeffler Jr. (1936-present), aural historian, jazz musician, biographer.<br />
• Kirk Douglas (1916-present) actor, filmmaker, author.<br />
• Edward Lewis (1919-2019) film producer (Lonely are the Brave 1962).<br />
• Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976), blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter (Lonely are the Brave 1962).<br />
• <a href="https://jimmcgillis.com/" target="_blank">Jim McGillis</a> (1948-present) teacher, writer, photographer (“Author” of this chronicle).<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Author’s Note – <br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jim_Cheri_Martie_29_Ford_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Jim (Jimbo) Forrest with his two sisters, Cheri and Martie and his 1929 Model-A Ford pictured in 1948 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="173" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Jim_Cheri_Martie_29_Ford_sm.jpg" title="Jim (Jimbo) Forrest with his two sisters, Cheri and Martie and his 1929 Model-A Ford pictured in 1948 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Jim
Forrest (now Jimbo to me), first met Edward Abbey in 1954, when Jimbo
was twenty-two and Ed was a war (and peace) weary World War II veteran,
twenty-seven years old. By fate alone, both men had enrolled as
graduate students in philosophy at the University of New Mexico (UNM),
in Albuquerque. In fact, they were the only two graduate students of
philosophy attending UNM that year.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Edward Abbey has been gone from this Earth since March 1989. Jimbo
Forrest is alive and well, now living in Southern California. Jimbo
recently reconnected with Edward Abbey, the author. Via an internet
search, he also discovered my internet ramblings about Edward Abbey,
and thus connected with me. From here on out, this will be Jimbo and
Ed’s story, with occasional help from their “crazy friend”, Ralph
Newcomb. I am just the auto-didactic who types the words.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Jimbo Forrest -<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Old_66_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In 1954, Jimbo Forrest traveled Old Route 66 from California to the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Old_66_Sign_sm.jpg" title="In 1954, Jimbo Forrest traveled Old Route 66 from California to the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a><span style="color: #993300;">“I
am Jim Forrest. When I was sixteen, in 1948, I worked in a “malt shop”
in LA, and got 50c/hour. I managed to get in 40-hours, by working on
Saturdays. After working five weeks, I had $100, and bought a 1929
Model-A Ford. They told me that the car was older than I was. (So were
my parents.) It was a good car. Let me pause here and see if I can find
that photo.<br />
<br />
I graduated from San Jose State College in June 1954. I spent the summer
working at the American Can Company at night, taking a couple more
courses, and then working at a used car lot during the day. In
September of 1954, I drove my 1947 Plymouth (which I bought from the
car lot where I worked) to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I found a cheap,
old, small apartment on Edith Street, at the bottom of the hill leading
up to the University of New Mexico. It was good exercise pedaling up
the hill every morning on my bike, sometimes through the snow.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/adventures_with_ED_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Dust jacket photo of the Jack Loeffler book, 'adventures with ED, A Portrait of Abbey' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/adventures_with_ED_sm.jpg" title="Dust jacket photo of the Jack Loeffler book, 'adventures with ED, A Portrait of Abbey' - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="167" /></a></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/adventures_with_ED_lg.jpg" target="_blank"></a><span class="style2">Why
am I writing this now? I met Ed Abbey in 1954. After 1956, I never read
even one of his books until 2019. Recently, for reasons unknown, I
ordered Jack Loeffler’s book, “</span>adventures with ED, (a portrait
of Abbey)”. Many things in those first pages reminded me of Ed. There
were the classes we took, the people we knew, and the adventures we
shared, I started wondering who the author, Jack Loeffler really was.<br />
<br />
He describes so many things about Ed, including our mutual friends and
the places we went. I do not remember ever hearing about Jack Loeffler,
much less meeting him. Jack must have had a photographic memory, or
maybe he took copious notes each time the two met. I doubt this, as
Jack writes about the enormous amount of beer they both would consume
during their many adventures.<br />
<br />
In Loeffler’s book, there are several pages of photos of Ed, his family
and his friends. There is a copy of a theater poster for the movie, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056195/" target="_blank">Lonely are the Brave</a>”. When I first met Ed, he was beginning to write his 1956 novel, “<a href="http://www.abbeyweb.net/books/ea/brave_cowboy.html" target="_blank">The Brave Cowboy</a>”,
which later became that movie. When Ed and I first met in 1954, he had
a manuscript with him, made up of the yellow 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of
paper that we all used in our typewriters for its cheapness. I remember
Ed, clutching that sheaf of paper telling me all about Ralph Newcomb
and the Albuquerque Jail Episode”.</span></span><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Ralph_Newcomb_Guitar_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The inimitable and ineffable Ralph Newcomb, playing guitar at a UNM beer party in Albuquerque, New Mexico 1954 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Ralph_Newcomb_Guitar_sm.jpg" title="The inimitable and ineffable Ralph Newcomb, playing guitar at a UNM beer party in Albuquerque, New Mexico 1954 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a><br />
Author’s Note –<br />
According to legend, Edward Abbey, after being arrested in Albuquerque
for an unknown offense, landed in the Bernalillo County Jail. There he
met a somewhat frequent resident of the jail, Ralph Newcomb. Although
neither man broke out of jail that night, Ralph became the inspiration
for Jack Burns, the protagonist of Abbey’s 1956 novel, “The Brave
Cowboy”. In the novel, protagonist Jack Burns commits a crime and lands
in jail, with intentions of helping a friend already incarcerated
there. Upon discovering that he faces a long prison sentence, Jack
breaks out jail. From there, he saddles his trusty horse and goes on the
lam, heading for potential freedom in Mexico.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Jimbo Forrest – <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span class="style2">“Visions
are going through my head (but not of sugar plum fairies or the like)
of experiences in New Mexico from 1954 to 1963. I’m wondering where to
start. In Jack Loeffler’s 2002 book, adventures with ED (a portrait of
Abbey), there is a photo section. On the second page of pictures, there
is a photo of three men standing under a leafless tree (Albuquerque
can get very cold in the winter, as I discovered). From left to right,
wearing jackets: <a href="https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=julian-palley&pid=174125361" target="_blank">Julian (Jerry) Palley</a>, Prof. Alfredo Roggiano, and Ed Abbey. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1954_UNM_Two_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="From left to right, Julian Palley, Prof. Alfredo Roggiano and Edward Abbey in January 1955 at the University of New Mexico, taken by Jim Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="230" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1954_UNM_Two_sm.jpg" title="From left to right, Julian Palley, Prof. Alfredo Roggiano and Edward Abbey in January 1955 at the University of New Mexico, taken by Jim Forrest - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>In
January 1955, I took that photograph. Then, I handed my camera to
Jerry, and he took a similar photo, but with me on the left. Each of
these three men helped me learn more about life than I was to learn in
the philosophy classes I was taking. Jerry Palley was a graduate
student and instructor in the language department. He later became a
professor at the newly formed University of California at Irvine. Dr.
Alfredo Roggiano, from Argentina, came to Albuquerque as a visiting
professor of Spanish literature. On the right is Ed, later known
worldwide as the author of many essays and novels.<br />
<br />
I have no idea where Jack Loeffler got that picture. Maybe I gave Ed a
copy after I had the film developed. As mentioned earlier, I handed my
camera to Jerry, and he took the second picture. In the second photo,
I’m the one on the left. Juxtaposing those photos brings back memories
of the experiences, thoughts, and adventures I had concerning Ed during
my years in The Land of Enchantment.<br />
<br />
The above is an explanation of how I came to Albuquerque. I’d like to
continue with a mention of our mutual philosophy instructor, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_J._Bahm" target="_blank">Archie Bahm</a>, and our relation to him, and to each other. After that, I will tell when, where and why Ed and I slept together.”</span></span><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
End Part One - To read Part Two, Click <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=369">HERE</a>.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 02:46 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Personal%20Articles" title="Personal Articles">Personal Articles</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=368" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA35.0843187 -106.61978126.7740848638211517 -141.7760312 63.394552536178843 -71.4635312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-51320761239446717012021-12-15T17:06:00.004-08:002021-12-15T17:06:33.507-08:00Utah, the BLM and Uintah County Plan to Desecrate Sego or East Canyon, Utah - 2019<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181021_Sego_Canyon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Spirit of the Ancients Rise up in opposition to the Hydrocarbon Highway planned for their ancient rock art sanctuary - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181021_Sego_Canyon_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="The Spirit of the Ancients Rise up in opposition to the Hydrocarbon Highway planned for their ancient rock art sanctuary - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Utah, the BLM and Uintah County Plan to Desecrate Sego or East Canyon, Utah <br />
</h1>
<p class="style1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The ancient site known as Sego Canyon is an easy day trip from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=75">Moab, Utah</a>. The name "Sego Canyon Petroglyphs" is a bit confusing because the main panels of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/petr/learn/historyculture/what.htm" target="_blank"> petroglyphs</a> and <a href="https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-symbols/" target="_blank"> pictographs</a> are actually located in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=310">Thompson Canyon</a>. From <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=365">Thompson Springs</a>,
Utah, take Utah Highway 94 North, which becomes BLM 159 (Thompson
Canyon Road). Accessible with any automobile, the gravel road will lead
you to the unpaved parking area adjacent to the “Sego Canyon Rock Art”
site, as Google Maps identifies it. You may access the main panels
from the parking area at 39°01'05.3"N 109°42'37.2"W.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_141010_Book_Cliffs_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Thompson Springs, Utah lies at the base of the Book Cliffs and is the portal to the Sego Canyon Rock Art Site - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="135" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_141010_Book_Cliffs_sm.jpg" title="Thompson Springs, Utah lies at the base of the Book Cliffs and is the portal to the Sego Canyon Rock Art Site - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Sego Canyon itself begins north of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=366">Thompson Springs</a>
as a fork of Thompson Canyon. Unless you prepare ahead for off-road
recovery and dry camping in the wilderness, do not drive any farther up
Sego Canyon. In many places, it either crosses the streambed or
utilizes the streambed as its roadway. There are no fresh water sources
and the road is subject to flash flooding. <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/A24Wm6aNmzmMZmj86" target="_blank">The trail dead-ends</a> at a defunct mining site, along the southern border of the <a href="https://indian.utah.gov/ute-indian-tribe-of-the-uintah-ouray-reservation/" target="_blank"> Uintah and Ouray</a> Indian Reservation.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In the year 2014, the sanctity and solitude of Sego Canyon faced
imminent demise. For eleven thousand years or more, most early human
visitors either painted or carved their visions into the walls of Sego
Canyon. The result was a series of interesting and illustrative panels
unsurpassed in all of the American West. Undaunted by its sacred and
serene beauty, the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=310">Grand County Council</a> planned to put a stop to all of that.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/070421_Sego_Canyon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Although called the Sego Canyon Petroglyphs, the ancient and sacred site is actually in Thompson Canyon - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/070421_Sego_Canyon_sm.JPG" title="Although called the Sego Canyon Petroglyphs, the ancient and sacred site is actually in Thompson Canyon - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>At that time, all three options in the long-term usage plan for <a href="https://www.grandcountyutah.net/149/Community-Economic-Development" target="_blank"> Grand County Public Lands</a> called for a fifteen mile long, one or two mile wide transportation corridor straight up Sego Canyon. Commonly called the “<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/03/how-vernal-utah-learned-love-big-oil/" target="_blank">Hydrocarbon Highway</a>”,
this newly paved and widened road would serve a Mecca of tar sands
mines planned on property controlled by State of Utah School and
Institutional Lands Commission (SITLA). Unless SITLA and Grand County
agreed upon this blatant industrialization of the desert, they would
have no access to the tar sand deposits that lay beyond the rim of the
Book Cliffs.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Public outcry, both in this blog and throughout the country shamed the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=309">Grand County Council</a>
into abandoning their reckless plan. Even so, less than five years
later, the Grand County Council has revived its draconian plan. After
the embarrassment engendered by their callous and uncaring plan finally
receded in local memory, several agencies charged with protecting our
ancient heritage sites again wish to desecrate them. As the price of
crude oil continues to rise, tar sands will become ever more competitive
in the marketplace. As prices now rise in 2019, even the local Native
American tribe hopes to make the Hydrocarbon Highway plan a reality. <br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_141011_Book_Cliffs_Drilling_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In 2014, natural gas exploration wells were drilled within site of the Book Cliffs, near Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_141011_Book_Cliffs_Drilling_sm.JPG" title="In 2014, natural gas exploration wells were drilled within site of the Book Cliffs, near Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Under the current administration, former Secretary of the Interior <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/08/07/ryan-zinke-interior-secretary-scandals/" target="_blank">Ryan Zinke</a> laid waste to nearby <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=307">Bears Ears National Monument</a>.
At its inception in 2016, Bears Ears consisted of 1.35 million acres.
After Zinke had his way with it, only 201,876 acres remained under full
federal protection. After disgraceful manipulation of both federal
lands, and the budget of his agency, in January 2019, “Slinky Zinke”
slithered away into a hoped for obscurity.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Yet, like The Terminator, of movie fame, Zinke reemerged from his lair
in April 2019. This time, he was a newly minted executive and board
member of <a href="https://www.usgoldcorp.gold/" target="_blank">Nevada based U.S. Gold Corp</a>.
Their tag line is, “World-Class Projects in Mining Friendly, U.S.
Jurisdictions”. Zinke's compensation package included salary and stock
valued at more than $100,000 and “expenses” of $120,000 per year. After
draining his federal budget to support a lavish and questionable
jet-setting lifestyle, Zinke can now spend at a similar rate in the
private sector. Although forbidden from lobbying his former agency,
U.S. Gold Corp. CEO Edward Karr cited Zinke’s “excellent relationship”
and “in-depth knowledge of the governmental regulatory and permitting
process for mining and exploration companies”. These relationships and
knowledge with the Bureau of Land Management (<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=315">BLM</a>) and the Interior Department were included as justifications for his hiring.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_141012_Tar_Sands_Mine_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In 2014, wildcat tar sands mines were spotted near the Book Cliffs and Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_141012_Tar_Sands_Mine_sm.JPG" title="In 2014, wildcat tar sands mines were spotted near the Book Cliffs and Moab, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Succeeding Zinke in April of 2019, <a href="https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2019/03/22/trump-interior-bernhardt-colorado-energy/" target="_blank">David Bernhardt</a>
joined the current administration as its new Secretary of the
Interior. After working within the Department of Interior for many
years, Bernhardt had more recently served as a lobbyist for the
extraction industries. During his tenure as a lobbyist, Bernhardt's
clients included <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=305">Halliburton</a>, Cobalt International Energy, Samson Resources, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America. <br />
In other words, Bernhardt is fully in the pocket of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=218">Old Energy</a>, as represented by oil, gas and most of all, the “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=291">Clean Coal</a>”
industry. Get ready for Mr. Bernhardt to push for full-scale
development of tar sands in the State of Utah. Although Zinke cannot
lobby his former federal agency, there are no restrictions on his
lobbying the State of Utah School and Institutional Lands Commission (<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=124">SITLA</a>).<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181020_Sego_Canyon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A young couple visiting the Sego Canyon Petroglyph Site mimics the pose of the ancient couple to the left, in this image - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181020_Sego_Canyon_sm.JPG" title="A young couple visiting the Sego Canyon Petroglyph Site mimics the pose of the ancient couple to the left, in this image - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>SITLA
owns thousands of acres of potential tar sand mining claims just north
of Sego Canyon. If Bernhardt and the likes of Zinke find a way to
collaborate tacitly on the extraction of “black gold” from the Sego
Canyon tar sands, you can bet that they will. The residents of Grand
County, Uintah County and the public at large must remain vigilant. If
not, the priceless artifacts and ancient artwork within the Sego Canyon
Rock Art site could be defiled.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The <a href="https://moablive.com/moabrockart/" target="_blank">rock art images</a>
that look down from the walls of Thompson Canyon predate the
construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which recently burned in
Paris. With scientists’ inability to date the earliest pictographs at
Sego Canyon, those drawings may predate all human history, including
the pyramids of Egypt. No one knows for sure. Anyone who has stood and
marveled at the unique beauty of Sego Canyon knows that a paved tar
sands haul road would forever alter and destroy this ancient and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=121">sacred site</a>.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<img align="left" alt="A high speed haul road similar to the one pictured could be built adjacent to Sego Canyon, the oldest and most sacred of rock art sites in the Southwest (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/hydrocarbon_highway.gif" title="A high speed haul road similar to the one pictured could be built adjacent to Sego Canyon, the oldest and most sacred of rock art sites in the Southwest (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" />Who are the people or spirits represented in Sego Canyon? Over the millennia, several types of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=94">rock art appeared</a>
on the canyon walls, each representing a successive human culture.
Some experts claim evidence of human habitation in Sego Canyon dating
back to the Archaic Period (6,000 – 2,000 BC). Elsewhere, at the <a href="https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20190427/blm-closes-early-man-site" target="_blank">Calico Early Man Site</a>,
near Yermo, California, human made material extracted from beneath
100,000-year-old alluvial deposits include a "rock ring". The ring
dates back to 135,000 years by thermoluminescence (TL), about 200,000
years by uranium-series analysis, and about 197,000 years by surface
beryllium-10 dating. Since there are no adequate ways to use carbon or
other dating methods on the earliest Sego Canyon pictographs, their age
is indeterminate. For human safety and protection from vandalism, the
BLM recently closed Calico Early Man Site to the public. Until adequate
funding magically appears, the site will remain off limits to all.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Beginning in an undetermined and ancient age, what we call <a href="http://www.bcsproject.org/barrierstyle.html" target="_blank">Barrier Canyon Style</a>
rock art panels appeared in Sego Canyon. The Barrier Canyon Style
included both pictographs (painted) and petroglyphs (pecked) into the
rock surface. Some appear faded and darkened with age, while others
have a fresher look and appear similar to red ochre paintings of more
recent vintage. The dark, faded and therefore most ancient pictographs
often have subtle facial expressions and the appearance of clothing or
robes.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181022_Sego_Canyon_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Perhaps one of the oldest rock art pictographs in the world, The Black Knight may represent an Anunnaki God giving birth to a robed human figure, who walks out from his dark cloaks - Click for larger image (htts://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181022_Sego_Canyon_sm.JPG" title="Perhaps one of the oldest rock art pictographs in the world, The Black Knight may represent an Anunnaki God giving birth to a robed human figure, who walks out from his dark cloaks - Click for larger image (htts://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In one image, on the far left side of a larger panel is a dark figure, emerging from a grass field. Much like an ancient <a href="http://www.annunaki.org/sumerian-aliens/" target="_blank">Sumerian Anunnaki</a>
(436,000 BC – 3,700 BC), he wears a dark robe and a spiked or pointed
helmet. Obscured by age and weathering, his shoulders and countenance
depict him moving forward and to his right. Although small in scale, he
represents an apparently giant figure. Scanning down to where his
arms might be, he appears to have his hands resting on the shoulders of
a much smaller and more humanlike figure.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The smaller figure, superimposed on the lower half of this “<a href="https://www.crystalinks.com/Anunnaki.html" target="_blank">Anunnaki Warrior</a>”
appears to be walking straight out and into the foreground. He has
dark, curly hair and wears a biblical-style flowing robe. Some writings
reference the “<a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/ancient-near-east1/sumerian/a/the-sumerians-and-mesopotamia" target="_blank">black headed ones</a>” whom the Anunnaki once ruled. Legend has it that the Anunnaki ruled <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=144">Gaia</a>,
our Mother Earth throughout prehistory. Tired of laboring for the scant
amount of gold available on Earth, the Anunnaki developed a slave
class, later known as humankind. As gods on Earth, they may have
experimented with <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=108">genetic engineering</a>, including the recombination of their own DNA with that of “Early Man”.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181213_Protectors_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In this enhanced photo, Mother Nature and Yahweh hold each other in reverence and shelter the ancient petroglyphs of Sego Canyon, below - Click for larger, unenhanced image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181213_Protectors_sm.jpg" title="In this enhanced photo, Mother Nature and Yahweh hold each other in reverence and shelter the ancient petroglyphs of Sego Canyon, below - Click for larger, unenhanced image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="228" /></a>So here, on the walls of Sego Canyon, we have a pictographic suggestion of an Anunnaki god “birthing” Adam into the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=42">Garden of Eden</a>.
Above the very panel depicting this immaculate birth, are two huge
portraits, carved in the stone of the canyon wall. On the left, in
profile, is <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=113">Mother Nature</a>, as represented by a Nubian woman. To her right, intertwined and looking into her face is the classical, white bearded <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=60">Yahweh</a>,
or the “Face of God”. Here, the contrast of a dark and a white face
mimics the Anunnaki “Black Knight” and his progeny Adam, a white man
with black hair.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As depicted, Yahweh and Mother Nature are in love both with each other and with <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=58">All that Is</a>.
The Anunnaki god, depicted beneath the divine couple, appears to
release Adam into what we now know as our own world. After genetic
manipulation and creation of humans as a slave class, the Anunnaki lost
their final battle in the Pleiadian or the <a href="https://medium.com/a-history-of-the-multiverse/chapter-3-part-1-the-lyran-expansion-and-the-orion-wars-fb103b8b6e99" target="_blank"> Orion Wars</a>,
around 2,000 BC. Upon banishment from Earth, the Anunnaki absconded
with Earth’s available gold and returned to their place of origin at
Niburu, a brown dwarf planet (or star system) with a highly elliptical
orbit around our Sun.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181020_Sego_Canyon_26_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Where some might see a Native American Tipi, others might see a rocket ship. complete with metal armor blasting off from the surface of the Earth - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181020_Sego_Canyon_26_sm.JPG" title="Where some might see a Native American Tipi, others might see a rocket ship. complete with metal armor blasting off from the surface of the Earth - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Niburu,
also known as “Planet X”, “Planet Nine” or “Nemesis” continues to
threaten Earth, as we know it. Niburu has a periodicity that is still in
question. Depending on your preferred information source, Niburu
returns for a near-Earth dash every 3,600 or 11,000 years. As pictured
by scientists and mystics alike, Niburu exists as a huge dark ball of
superheated tar. Periodically, as it passes close to the Earth, Niburu
is prone to ejecting great swaths of semi-molten petroleum. Old
Testament Biblical accounts of fire and brimstone raining from the sky
attest to this phenomenon.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As children, we learned a myth about the origins of terrestrial
petroleum deposits. Although that myth is widely believed, the
petroleum deposits in our Earth did not come from dinosaurs grazing in
ancient swampland. Eleven thousand years ago, or at some multiple of
that time span, Niburu spewed untold amounts of boiling tar on to the
upper reaches of Sego Canyon. As happened in the Bible Lands, so too
did the Sego Canyon "Lake of Fire" cool and mix with the desert sands,
solidifying and becoming the tar sands, oil and natural gas <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Sitchen_Book_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Author Zecheria Sitchin first decoded and wrote about the Anunnaki and their place in the creation of humankind - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Sitchen_Book_sm.jpg" title="Author Zecheria Sitchin first decoded and wrote about the Anunnaki and their place in the creation of humankind - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="160" /></a>deposits that we know today. The original "<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Moabite" target="_blank">Moabites</a>"
were a West-Semitic culture, which flourished in the Ninth Century
BCE, or about 11,000 years ago. That time span would coincide with
three 3,600 year circuits of Niburu or one major circuit at around
10,800 years.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Remember, the Anunnaki sought to enslave humankind and extract gold for
their wealth and pleasure. Old Energy mavens such as Ryan Zinke, David
Bernhardt, Edward Karr and the <a href="http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_b116dcc0-6259-11e7-ae18-2773375d9068.html" target="_blank">Uintah County Council</a> have their sights set on places like Sego Canyon or East Canyon. Our current day “<a href="https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/74330-was-jesus-an-annunaki/" target="_blank">Anunnaki Wannabes</a>”
seek the black gold locked in the tar sands of Sego Canyon. If their
self-serving ways prevail, they will build their “Hydrocarbon Highway”
straight through Sego Canyon. If so, the ancient depictions of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=46">Mother Nature</a>, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=113">Yahweh</a> and the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=211">Spirit of the Ancients</a> found there and nowhere else shall vanish from the Earth.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span> </p>
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<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 04:28 PM |
| <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=367&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=367" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Sego Cyn Rd, Utah 84540, USA39.0578004 -109.703299610.747566563821152 -144.85954959999998 67.368034236178843 -74.5470496tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-71659570378815730352021-12-15T16:44:00.000-08:002021-12-15T16:44:12.309-08:00Bob Robertson's Boyhood Memories of Thompson Springs, Utah - 2019<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140520_Thompson_Home_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Now abandoned, this wood frame house in Thompson Springs, Utah had a rail car addition tacked on at one time - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140520_Thompson_Home_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Now abandoned, this wood frame house in Thompson Springs, Utah had a rail car addition tacked on at one time - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Bob Robertson's Boyhood Memories of Thompson Springs, Utah<br />
</h1>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Some say, “History repeats itself”. In <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=365">Thompson Springs, Utah</a>, it simply vanishes.<br />
<br />
Exiting <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=238">Interstate I-70</a> at “Thompson”, as the locals call it, is like entering a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=359">time warp</a>.
Approaching the town on a desolate two-lane road, it feels like you
are entering Thompson in the 1890's. In those days “Old Man Thompson”
still ran the lumber mill. These days, there are no more trees to fell.
There are no </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181020_Thompson_Downtown_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="All the storefronts in Downtown Thompson Springs, Utah now stand abandoned to the weather - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181020_Thompson_Downtown_sm.JPG" title="All the storefronts in Downtown Thompson Springs, Utah now stand abandoned to the weather - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>more </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“</span>Thompson's</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">”</span>
listed in the phone book. No more steam trains linger at the railroad
depot, taking on passengers, coal or water. The nearest passenger
station is now miles away, at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=154">Green River</a>.<br />
<br />
In the past ten years, I have written nine blog articles that mention
Thompson or Thompson Springs. I physically revisit the place every year
or two. For some reason, Thompson, as a place resonates with me. In
2018, I heard from Mr. Bob Robertson, who was once a resident of
Thompson. Since then, Bob has shared with me many details about the
history of “Thompson”, as many call the place. Therefore, the rest of
this article is in the words of Bob Robertson and his mother, Dorothy
(known as Tods).<br />
<br />
<span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Bob_n_Maurine_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Bob Robertson (left) and his older sister Maurine pose near their home in Thompson Springs, Utah, circa 1940 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="219" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Bob_n_Maurine_sm.jpg" title="Bob Robertson (left) and his older sister Maurine pose near their home in Thompson Springs, Utah, circa 1940 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>“Your
blog prompted many memories and thoughts about the area I’d like to
share, so bear with me as an old man reflects (while he is still able)!<br />
<br />
Thompson Springs began its life in 1883 as a station stop on the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=317">D&RGW Railroad</a>.
A post office was established in 1890, under the name “Thompson’s,"
named after E.W. Thompson, who lived near the springs and operated a
saw mill, to the north, near the Book Cliffs. The town became a
community center for the small number of farmers and ranchers who lived
in the inhospitable region, and it was a prominent shipping point for
cattle that ran in the Book Cliffs area.<br />
<br />
The town gained importance with the development of coal mines in <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=310">Sego Canyon</a>,
a few miles north of town. Entrepreneurs built a railroad there in
1911 to connect the mines with the Denver & Rio Grande Western
railroad at Thompson. The spur line operated until about 1950.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140520_Thompson_Stone_House_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="This abandoned miner's rock home used a railroad track for its doorway header - Click for larger image (https://jaqmesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140520_Thompson_Stone_House_sm.JPG" title="This abandoned miner's rock home used a railroad track for its doorway header - Click for larger image (https://jaqmesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>One
added aspect of interest is the actual community of Sego, where the
mines were functioning through the 1940s. I remember as a kid in school
in Moab, there was a carload of kids driven from Sego to Moab daily to
go to school. Education was <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=309">Grand County</a>'s
responsibility, until the mines closed around 1948 or 1949. The
internet tells of how the community included specific ethnic groups,
housed in separate locations in the canyon, which was typical of the
times. There was a Japanese section, different European sections, etc.
There is very little indication of old home sites now, but there is a
cemetery.<br />
<br />
It was much like <a href="http://mining.com/bingham-47835/" target="_blank">Bingham Canyon Mine</a> in northern Utah, where my wife was born in 1940. Her dad and his brother worked in the mine there during the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_140520_Thompson_Depot_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Thompson Springs passenger railroad depot was abandoned in 1997 and torn down in 2016 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_140520_Thompson_Depot_sm.JPG" title="The Thompson Springs passenger railroad depot was abandoned in 1997 and torn down in 2016 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Second
World War, but the uncle was an accountant and her dad drove heavy
machinery. Therefore, they had to live in different locations within
the canyon.<br />
<br />
Construction of Interstate I-70, two miles south of Thompson, drew
traffic away from the town, since the former Old Cisco Highway (US-6
& US-50) was no longer maintained. In 1997, the passenger train
station closed and moved to Green River, twenty-five miles to the west.
The loss of railroad passenger service led to further economic
hardship for Thompson Springs.<br />
<br />
My Dad (Maury Robertson) ran a gas station in Thompson Springs,
beginning in 1935. He lived in a tent with Mom and sister Maurine until
they moved the abandoned small one-room <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=354">Valley City</a> schoolhouse to Thompson, which became their bedroom on their house next to the service station.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/1935_Thompson_UTCO_Robertson_Service_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="A 1935 image of the Robertson Service Station in Thompson Springs featured UTOCO Oil Products beer for sale, inside - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="157" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/1935_Thompson_UTCO_Robertson_Service_sm.jpg" title="A 1935 image of the Robertson Service Station in Thompson Springs featured UTOCO Oil Products beer for sale, inside - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>I was born in 1937. Later, my Mom made the following comments for my own son about my arrival:</span> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span class="style3">“Dear
Dan, Your Dad was born when we lived in Thompson. We hadn’t planned to
have more children, for Maury was afraid there would be problems of
health because of Maurine (Bob’s sister). In addition, we were very
poor and living conditions were bad in Thompson. During pregnancy, I
got big & miserable with hay fever & also the gnats landed &
mixed with my hay fever drink. At that time, Maury had the hired man
drive me to Moab two weeks early. The nights in Moab were so hot I
about melted – the nights on the desert in Thompson were cool.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Tods_n_Maury_1942_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Dorothy and Maury Robertson (parents of Maurine and Bob Robertson) sit for a portrait in 1942 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="211" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Tods_n_Maury_1942_sm.jpg" title="Dorothy and Maury Robertson (parents of Maurine and Bob Robertson) sit for a portrait in 1942 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>When
Bob was born, my Dad (Cap Maxwell) drove out to Thompson to tell Maury
& he was so tickled with a boy that he told the truth. Maury
thought it was a girl all the way to Moab, for he did not think Dad
would tell the truth. Cap was a great tease. We argued about what to
name the boy. I wanted Vincent Clark & Maury wanted Jim after his
father. We already had one Jim in the family. Maurine came to the
hospital & said let us name him Bobby & so that was it.<br />
<br />
He had a rough upbringing with the hired men that we had at the station in Thompson. <a href="http://moabsunnews.com/news/article_3def56fc-de72-11e6-bb93-e33b94edc18e.html" target="_blank">Collin Loveridge</a>
used to throw him in the air so high I’d nearly flip & Albert
Brown, who was a big “roughy” used to get him up in the morning &
feed him & let me sleep in. When Bob would not eat his toast for me
Albert said, “Oh, I put sugar & Jelly on it, he likes it.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="style2"><span style="color: #993300;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140520_Thompson_Groceries_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="This abandoned storefront once served as a grocery store in Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140520_Thompson_Groceries_sm.jpg" title="This abandoned storefront once served as a grocery store in Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>My
Uncle Curt (Dad's brother and business partner in Moab tacked that old
schoolhouse onto a storefront that old Doc Williams bought. It became
living quarters for my folks, moving Mom & Dad and sister Maurine
out of the tent. That was where I got my start. The two-pump service
station has the name labeled on the front "Robertson Service," It’s
kind of hard to make out in the picture. The brand was Utoco (<a href="https://aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/first-utah-oil-well/" target="_blank">Utah Oil Co.</a>). Dad also drove the gas truck servicing the towns in the area, Cisco, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=316">Moab</a>, Monticello, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=134">Blanding</a>, and Bluff).”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #993300;">Since I-70 became the main <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=238">east/west route</a>
across Utah, lost are locations and memories of road trips from Moab
to Grand Junction, Colorado or Price, Utah. Crescent Junction became the
first stop after the interstate opened. Then as kids, going west,
there was the thrill of the cold-water geyser at Woodside. Traveling
east, after Thompson came Cisco, Harley Dome, and then Fruita.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=155"></a><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/180822_Roadside_Geyser_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="This vintage bumper tag once advertised the now defunct cold-water Roadside Geyser in Woodside, Utah - Click for larger image (htp://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="47" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/180822_Roadside_Geyser_sm.jpg" title="This vintage bumper tag once advertised the now defunct cold-water Roadside Geyser in Woodside, Utah - Click for larger image (htp://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Valley
City was home to enough people at some point to warrant a small
schoolhouse (that became our home in Thompson Springs, as mentioned
earlier). This is where we would drive from Moab in the winter to ice
skate on the Valley City reservoir. It was not much of a spot for
skating, but to us kids, it was great.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Maurine_Robertson_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="At age 21, Maurine Robertson (1930-1953) was named Grand County, Utah Queen of the Rodeo - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Maurine_Robertson_sm.jpg" title="At age 21, Maurine Robertson (1930-1953) was named Grand County, Utah Queen of the Rodeo - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="483" /></a>Sis (<a href="https://archives.com/1940-census/maurine-robertson-ut-9515811" target="_blank">Maurine Robertson</a>),
who was born with a congenital heart defect, died in 1953, during my
sophomore year in high school. She had lived twenty-three good years
and had brought much joy and happiness to all who knew her. Two years
earlier, she had been crowned Rodeo Queen and received much deserved
recognition for the beautiful person she was.”</span></span><br />
<br />
In 1955, <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Utah/Bob-Robertson_3tb9ls" target="_blank">Bob Robertson</a>
went on to graduate from Grand County High School in Moab. In 1961,
after earning a BS Electrical Engineering at the University Of Utah, he
joined the “U.S. Space Program” before it even had a name. After </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">active military time at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico and Redstone </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Arsenal, Alabama, Bob launched a distinguished career in electronics and </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Robertson_family_1952_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Author Bob Robertson and his sister, Maurine in 1952 - Click for full Robertson family portrait (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Robertson_family_1952_sm.jpg" title="Author Bob Robertson and his sister, Maurine in 1952 - Click for full Robertson family portrait (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a></span></span></span>engineering.<br />
<br />
While working for such premier corporations as Intel, Fairchild, AC
Spark Plug, Astrodata, Standard Microsystems, Mini-circuits and
Motorola, Bob and his family lived in Singapore, Indonesia and Russia.
After a later stint teaching at Great Basin College, in Elko, Nevada,
Bob moved to Boise, Idaho, where he retired working for Micron
Technology. He and his wife (grandparents of twenty-two) now live
comfortably in northern Idaho. <br />
<br />
Although he has not visited Thompson recently, Bob Robertson's
recollections of bygone locations and events in the old ranching and
railroad town are as sharp as ever. Thank you, Bob Robertson for sharing
your personal history with us all.<br />
<br />
This is Part 2 of the Thompson Springs Story. To read Part 1, “Thompson
Springs, Utah - From Boom Town to Ghost Town”, please click “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=365">Here</a>”. To read Part 3, "Sego Canyon - Land of the Ancients", please click "<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=367">Here</a>".</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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at 03:23 PM |
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(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=366" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Thompson Springs, UT 84540, USA38.9710823 -109.71373510.660848463821154 -144.86998499999999 67.281316136178845 -74.557485tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-15101193750089357412021-12-14T17:42:00.002-08:002021-12-14T17:42:22.554-08:00Thompson Springs, Utah - From Boom Town to Ghost Town - 2018<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_140520_Thompson_Home_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Along old Highway 6 & 50, an abandoned home stands in Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_140520_Thompson_Home_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Along old Highway 6 & 50, an abandoned home stands in Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Thompson Springs, Utah - From Boom Town to Ghost Town<br />
</h1>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In May 2008, when I made my first visit to</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=135">Thompson Springs, Utah</a>,
I had no idea what to expect. Before that, I had never heard of the
place. While in Moab that year, someone had suggested that I visit the
old Indian Rock Art panels in nearby <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=310"> Sego Canyon</a>.
After wending my way from Moab, north on U.S. Highway 191, I referred
to my Utah Atlas & Gazetteer. By following a few simple turns, I
soon connected to an unpaved strip of dirt named Valley City Road.
According to my map, that road ran on a diagonal, straight to Thompson
Springs.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Old_6n50_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Old U.S. Highway 6 & 50 is no longer maintained through Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Old_6n50_sm.JPG" title="Old U.S. Highway 6 & 50 is no longer maintained through Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>On
that dusty track, I thought about the name, originally called
“Thompson”. Someone later added the word “Springs” to the official
place name. The 1961 book, “Five Hundred Utah Place Names”, has no
mention of either Thompson or Thompson Springs. Although almost every
source now labels it as Thompson Springs, the locals in Grand County
have shortened the moniker to “Thompson”. For the sake of brevity, I
shall henceforth call the place Thompson.<br />
<br />
Indeed, Thompson had once been a thriving town, located on old <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=154">Highway U.S. 6 & 50</a>.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the town featured a hotel,
a motel, a diner, a grocery store, several filling stations and a
passenger railroad depot. Up past the ancient rock art in Sego Canyon
ran a standard gauge railroad, which serviced a low-grade coalmine at
its terminus. In the days of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=299">steam locomotives</a>, the fresh water springs at Thompson created a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_140520_Thompson_Depot_UPRR_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="In the early 20th century, Thompson Springs was a mandatory water stop for the steam locomotives of the time - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_140520_Thompson_Depot_UPRR_sm.JPG" title="In the early 20th century, Thompson Springs was a mandatory water stop for the steam locomotives of the time - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>mandatory stopping place for all trains traveling along the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=244"> Denver & Rio Grande Railroad</a> mainline. By the 1970s, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=337">diesel-electric locomotives</a> had replaced steam power, making a water-stop in Thompson irrelevant.<br />
<br />
Simultaneously, the newly completed <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=238">Interstate I-70</a>
bypassed Thompson entirely. The old Highway 6 & 50, while skirting
the southern edge of the Book Cliffs, had bisected Thompson. On its
stretch between <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=154">Green River</a>
and Cisco, the new route for I-70 lay several miles to the south. The
widowed owner of the Crescent Junction service station had lobbied hard
to have the new highway to <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/rao3rq22DkB2" target="_blank">pass adjacent to her business</a>.
In deference to her desires, the chief highway engineer at the time
changed the final I-70 route to suit her needs. That Crescent Junction
gas station still stands today, now known as <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=354">Papa Joe’s Stop & Go</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_140520_Thompson_Book_Cliffs_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="For the first half of the 20th century a railroad was used to transfer coal from Sego Canyon, in the Book Cliffs to Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_140520_Thompson_Book_Cliffs_sm.JPG" title="For the first half of the 20th century a railroad was used to transfer coal from Sego Canyon, in the Book Cliffs to Thompson Springs, Utah - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The realigning of I-70 that far north necessitated a <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/JY1npaUJ6Ew" target="_blank">major road-cut</a> just west of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=155">Crescent Junction</a>.
Eastbound from Crescent Junction, highway engineers saw no way to
include Thompson in their plans. As was the story with many towns built
along earlier highways and rail lines, running the interstate through
Thompson would have destroyed the place. Instead, they skirted
Thompson, thus creating an eastbound route with an <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/7stFeKC1QFM2" target="_blank">unexpected descending curve</a>.
The softhearted chief engineer had foregone a more logical and less
difficult route in deference to the owner of one small business in
Crescent Junction.<br />
<br />
After the complete bypass of Thompson, only a single new <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/WgALPEtmb1y" target="_blank">service station was visible</a> from the interstate highway. Although a highway interchange allowed <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/VPLnQhnvomr" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_140520_Thompson_Silver_Grill_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="By 2018, the closed Silver Grill at Thompson Springs displayed broken windows and other signs of vandalism - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_140520_Thompson_Silver_Grill_sm.JPG" title="By 2018, the closed Silver Grill at Thompson Springs displayed broken windows and other signs of vandalism - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>access
to Thompson from both eastbound and westbound I-70, few travelers
visited the town. For almost forty years, from around 1970 until the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=359">Moab tourism boom</a> beginning in 2010, Thompson continued to wither and die.<br />
<br />
In recent years, the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/B8QFKHV99Cy" target="_blank"> Desert Moon Hotel</a> and RV Park and the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/AieuzYRgxs62" target="_blank">Ballard RV Park</a>
and Cabins have sprung back to life. The Ballard RV Park stands on a
site that housed hundreds of trailer homes during the construction of
the interstate highway. Recently refurbished, the Ballard now houses
many seasonal workers recently “priced out” of Moab, thirty-eight miles
away. As the new working class suburb for Moab, the Ballard rarely has a
seasonal vacancy for overnight travelers.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181020_Thompson_Crossroads_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The road north from Thompson Springs to Sego Canyon first crosses Old Highway 6 & 50, and then the Union Pacific Railroad before entering the canyon - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181020_Thompson_Crossroads_sm.JPG" title="The road north from Thompson Springs to Sego Canyon first crosses Old Highway 6 & 50, and then the Union Pacific Railroad before entering the canyon - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Despite
the success of the Desert Moon and the Ballard, by 2015 no other
publically identified businesses functioned in Thompson. The <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/7ZsSvFh7njP2" target="_blank">Thompson Motel</a>, The old brick-front <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/F7VAMNaMw2z" target="_blank"> Silver Grill</a> and the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/L137Yaf8PgC2" target="_blank">railroad depot</a> had all shut down for good. One of the few functioning landmarks was the namesake Thompson Springs <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/qeTkn4JASQn" target="_blank">waterworks</a>.
There, local residents and trucks from the nearby Utah Department of
Transportation yard could fill their water tanks. Other than the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/eoFk83UPdQ32" target="_blank">gas station and minimart</a> located near I-70, there were few signs of economic vitality.<br />
<br />
By 2018, after extensive damage by vandals, the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=165">Union Pacific Railroad</a>
had torn down its defunct passenger rail depot. One after another, as
abandoned homes or businesses became a danger to the public, they
disappeared, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/_181020_Thompson_Lake_Boat_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="An old Lake Powell pontoon boat serves as a dwelling in Thompson Springs, Utah. Note the stovepipe and water slide - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/_181020_Thompson_Lake_Boat_sm.JPG" title="An old Lake Powell pontoon boat serves as a dwelling in Thompson Springs, Utah. Note the stovepipe and water slide - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>seemingly
without a trace. Within the town, the last census indicates that
thirty-nine hardy souls dwell in the alternating heat and cold of the
desert. Other sources claim up to ninety-three people reside in
Thompson.<br />
<br />
Recently, a landlocked pontoon boat somehow made its way from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=336">Lake Powell</a>
to Thompson, where it sits up on blocks. With its waterslide still
intact and a stovepipe running up the side of the cabin, I wondered if
it was a remote retreat or someone’s permanent home. Could this be the
beginning of a new housing boom in Thompson?<br />
<br />
Despite sporadic signs of life, Thompson appears to be transitioning to <a href="http://placesthatwere.com/2016/06/dead-and-dying-sego-ghost-town-and.html" target="_blank"> ghost town status</a>.
In the past decade, many former landmarks have disappeared. Each time I
visit Thompson, I try to take pictures of the remaining structures. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/081010_Valley_City_Road_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="When local residents spot a visitor in Thompson Springs, Utah, they come running - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/081010_Valley_City_Road_sm.JPG" title="When local residents spot a visitor in Thompson Springs, Utah, they come running - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>Upon my next visit, there will surely be fewer of them still standing.<br />
<br />
</span>
<div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> This is Part 1 of the Thompson Springs Story. In <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=366">Part Two</a>, Bob Robertson, a native of the area born in 1937 reminisces about his childhood in Thompson and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=203">Grand County</a>, Utah.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div><br />
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 02:47 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=365&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=365" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Thompson Springs, UT 84540, USA38.9710823 -109.71373510.660848463821154 -144.86998499999999 67.281316136178845 -74.557485tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-8612289537551235942021-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:002021-12-14T17:35:00.504-08:00Sixty Years After a Nuclear Core Meltdown, Half a Million Residents Are Still At Risk - 2018<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140410_Mulhollad_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140410_Mulhollad_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="From its fire station on Decker Canyon Road, this Los Angeles County engine company helped defend from the Woolsey Fire, in November 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Sixty Years After a Nuclear Core Meltdown, Half a Million Residents Are Still At Risk <br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">In California, the hills are alive, but not with the
sound of music. On Thursday, November 8, 2018, a small fire started
near the top of <a href="http://latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-fires-woolsey-hill-camp-edison-reported-a-disturbance-with-a-1542048520-htmlstory.html" target="_blank"> Woolsey Canyon Road</a>,
in the Simi Hills. The location was on the grounds of the Santa Susana
Field Laboratory (SSFL). Both famous and infamous, the facility once
owned by the Rocketdyne Corporation, was used for development and
testing of liquid fueled rocket motors from 1949 to 2006.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181109_Pyrocumulus_Cloud_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="This pyrocumulus cloud arose from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, California on November 9, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181109_Pyrocumulus_Cloud_sm.JPG" title="This pyrocumulus cloud arose from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, California on November 9, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
Atomics International division of North American Aviation once used a
separate and dedicated portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to
build and operate the first commercial nuclear power plant in the
United States. The Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) was an experimental
nuclear reactor that operated at the site from 1957 to 1964. It was the
first commercial power plant in the world to experience a <a href="http://rocketdynecleanupcoalition.org/radiation-found-at-hundreds-of-locations-at-ssfl/" target="_blank"> core meltdown</a>.
The reactors located on the grounds of SSFL had no containment
structures. During a series of events, thousands of pounds of
radioactive nucleotides dispersed into the ground and air.<br />
<br />
In 1996, The Boeing Company became the primary owner and operator of the
Santa Susana Field Laboratory, which it later closed. Today, more than
150,000 people live within 5 miles (8 km) of the facility, and at
least half a million people live within 10 miles (16 km). As of 2018,
the Boeing remains as <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181112_Simi_118_Fire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Smoke rises over the closed Highway 118 in Simi Valley as fire nears the Santa Susana Field Laboratory during the Peak Fire, November 11, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181112_Simi_118_Fire_sm.jpg" title="Smoke rises over the closed Highway 118 in Simi Valley as fire nears the Santa Susana Field Laboratory during the Peak Fire, November 11, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>the
site owner, with NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) liable for
several parcels within the larger facility. On August 2, 2005, Pratt
& Whitney purchased Boeing's Rocketdyne division, but declined to
acquire SSFL as part of the sale.<br />
<br />
In 2005, wildfires swept through northern Los Angeles County and parts
of Ventura County. The fires consumed most of the dry brush throughout
the Simi Hills where the SSFL is located. Since that fire, allegations
have emerged that vast quantities of on-site nuclear and chemical
contamination vaporized into the air. More recently, Los Angeles County
firefighters assigned to SSFL during that fire received medical
testing to see if they ingested or inhaled any harmful doses while
protecting the facility.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181109_Chochan_Street_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="As seen from the corner of Cochran Street and 1st Street in Simi Valley the Simi Hills were ablaze on November 9, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181109_Chochan_Street_sm.JPG" title="As seen from the corner of Cochran Street and 1st Street in Simi Valley the Simi Hills were ablaze on November 9, 2018 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The small fire that broke out at the SSFL in the afternoon of November 8, 2018 was sadly reminiscent of the <a href="https://www.theacorn.com/articles/a-last-remaining-survivor-recalls-field-labs-nuclear-meltdown/" target="_blank"> 1959 meltdown</a>
and the 2005 wildfire. Ground crews from Los Angeles City and County
raced up the long and winding Woolsey Canyon. Upon arrival, they found a
scorched and inoperable <a href="https://www.pe.com/2018/11/13/cause-of-woolsey-fire-remains-under-investigation/" target="_blank"> Southern California Edison</a>
(SCE) electrical transformer near the point of origin. The resulting
brushfire had raced off the property to the south and west. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Alpha, Bravo and possibly the Coca <a href="https://www.simivalleyacorn.com/articles/woolsey-fire-sparks-new-controversy/" target="_blank"> rocket test stands received substantial damage</a> during the recent Woolsey Fire.</span> <br />
<br />
On the first afternoon of the fire, the ridges of the Simi Hills,
including areas near the former nuclear reactor sites were fully
involved in flames. The Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatched
its two “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLZKMwvhqGE" target="_blank">Super Scooper</a>”
firefighting airplanes. After dropping their 1,600 gallons of water,
the pair of “flying boat amphibious aircraft” headed for Castaic Lake,
near Santa Clarita. There, at airspeeds approaching 100 mph, each plane
took only twelve seconds to scoop up a new load of water and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181108_Super_Scooper_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Canadian "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft can drop 1,650 gallons of water on a wildfire - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181108_Super_Scooper_sm.JPG" title="The Canadian "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft can drop 1,650 gallons of water on a wildfire - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>return
to the fire scene. At least six times, before darkness curtailed their
activities, the two airplanes attempted to douse the spreading
wildfire. With Santa Ana Winds gusting to 70 mph, it was a valiant, yet
futile endeavor.<br />
<br />
By Friday, November 10, 2018, the flames had swept through portions of
Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Bell Canyon. most
of that territory was downwind of the SSFL. By nightfall on that second
night, the flames had reached Malibou Lake and the City of Malibu.
Only the Pacific Ocean stopped the further spread of flames.<br />
<br />
Over the next few days, the unexplained small fire at SSFL had grown to
almost 100,000 acres and burned almost 500 homes. At 98,000 acres and
still climbing, the Woolsey Fire had consumed well over eighty percent
of the <a href="https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/santa-monica-mountains-national-recreation-area" target="_blank"> Santa Monica National Recreation Area</a>. On two separate parcels of private property near Agoura Hills, three lives were lost during the fire. From our vantage <img align="left" alt="Vast areas within the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, California burned for up to three days in November 2018 (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Simi_Fire.gif" title="Vast areas within the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, California burned for up to three days in November 2018 (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" />point,
on the north side of Simi Valley, we observed two nights of active
flames. On the third day, we could still see wispy smoke emanating from
near the fire’s point of origin. With Santa Ana winds still gusting to
60 mph, the smoke plume traveled south and east, away from our home.<br />
<br />
On Sunday, November 11, 2018, we watched on local television as a <a href="https://www.10tanker.com/" target="_blank">DC-10 air tanker</a>
and numerous helicopters dropped water and fire retardant on the
slopes above Malibu Canyon. Since spot fires can occur up to half a
mile from active flames, we had stationed our travel trailer at our
home in Simi Valley. Although there had been no active fire near our
storage yard in Simi Valley, if one coach were to catch fire at that
yard, hundreds of recreational vehicles could have burned.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181112_Simi_Hill_Fire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A Los Angeles County Firehawk helicopter descends for a water pickup in Simi Valley, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181112_Simi_Hill_Fire_sm.JPG" title="A Los Angeles County Firehawk helicopter descends for a water pickup in Simi Valley, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>As
of that afternoon, hundreds of thousands of residents downwind of the
SSFL remained evacuated or had returned to scenes of destruction and
despair. Other than some mental stress watching fires spread live on
TV, we remained safe at home. Our hearts go out to those who lost
friends, pets, homes and property. Although not every home that burned
was a mansion or a faux Tuscan villa and vineyard, a mobile home in a
canyon setting can be just as dear. Many of the lower priced dwellings
had no fire insurance.<br />
<br />
To an eyewitness, it is disconcerting to see how quickly everything you
own could go up in flames. As humans, we are at the mercy of wind,
weather and nature. Some politicians and some who lost homes blamed
land managers or first responders for the scope of destruction. Others
recognized that there is risk associated with living adjacent to
wildlands. With high winds and embers aloft, there was no way to
protect every home. First responders had to change priorities, electing
to save as many lives as possible.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181108_DC-10_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="This DC-10 tanker aircraft can deliver 12,000 gallons of fire retardant on each pass over the flames - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181108_DC-10_sm.jpg" title="This DC-10 tanker aircraft can deliver 12,000 gallons of fire retardant on each pass over the flames - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In Butte County, near Chico, California, almost the entire <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/L2ky6bjxzVt" target="_blank">town of Paradise</a>
recently disappeared from the map. Prior to outbreak of the “Camp
Fire”, around 27,000 people lived in that area. Almost nothing of the
built environment in Paradise or nearby Concow withstood the flames.
Over 10,000 structures burned, including homes, schools and the entire
downtown district. Scores of people died in their homes, or while
trying to escape on foot or in vehicles. As of this writing, nearly one
thousand people remain missing.<br />
<br />
The scope of these tragedies is hard to comprehend. Where will 27,000
homeless people go? Over twenty-five percent of those displaced were
senior citizens, living on fixed or minimal incomes. With cold and
rainy weather expected soon, a tent encampment in a Chico, California
Walmart parking lot will not provide sufficient shelter. Here in
Ventura County, less than one year ago, we lost almost 1000 homes to
the Thomas Fire. In late 2017, an <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Leo_Carrillo_State_Beach_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The only portion of Leo Carrillo State Beach that was left untouched by fire was the beach itself - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Leo_Carrillo_State_Beach_sm.jpg" title="The only portion of Leo Carrillo State Beach that was left untouched by fire was the beach itself - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>additional
2,900 homes burned in Santa Rosa, California. As a result, tens of
thousands of California residents are now actively seeking shelter.<br />
<br />
Over the past ten years, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=225">Carrie McCoy</a>
and I have visited Malibu many times. One of our favorite restaurants
overlooks Zuma Beach and Point Dume. During the Woolsey Fire, many homes
near that seaside restaurant burned to the ground. While returning
from our various trips to Malibu, we would often traverse Decker
Canyon, Encinal Canyon, Mulholland Highway and Kanan Road. Those
interconnected roadways snake through myriad canyons and rise over
windswept ridgetops. Amidst the huge swaths of chaparral, are homes
both lowly and grand. Many of those dwellings now consist of little
more than a roadside gate or a mailbox. Our next visit to Malibu will
likely include views of destruction not seen for decades, if ever
before.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/181112_Ventura_County_Fire_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="During the Peak Fire in Simi Valley on November 12, 2018, it looked like "business as usual" as firefighters rushed to the wildfire - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/181112_Ventura_County_Fire_sm.JPG" title="During the Peak Fire in Simi Valley on November 12, 2018, it looked like "business as usual" as firefighters rushed to the wildfire - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In 1980, I lived in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/da3LjUhpf5C2" target="_blank"> Agoura Hills</a>,
near the intersection of Kanan Road and U.S. Highway 101. One
afternoon, from my hilltop home, I saw a fire ignite on the south side
of the freeway. Within minutes, it swept westward along Kanan Road. By
nightfall, it reached the same stretches of Malibu that burned again in
the Woolsey Fire. That day, almost forty years ago, I learned
firsthand that it is not safe to live anywhere in the windswept canyons
of the Santa Monica Mountains.<br />
<br />
By the early 1990s, the Kanan/Malibu fire had faded into distant memory.
The allure of living large, with nature all around was too great. What
followed was a population boom in the canyons of the Santa Monica
Mountain. When the Woolsey Fire struck, most of those residents had
never seen active fire in their area. Living in the Santa Monica
Mountains is a speculative investment. If one can afford to take the
risk to both property and personal safety, then building </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="right" alt="The Erickson Skycrane dumped thousands of gallons of water on the Peak Fire, near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Valley, California in November 2018 (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Sikorsky.gif" title="The Erickson Skycrane dumped thousands of gallons of water on the Peak Fire, near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Valley, California in November 2018 (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" /></span>or
buying there should be a personal choice. Since no property in that
area is immune to destructive wildfires, self-insurance and private
fire protection should be the rule, not the exception.<br />
<br />
Returning to the origins of this most recent and destructive wildfire,
the SSFL is now an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/region9/superfund/santasusana/index.html" target="_blank"> superfund site</a>. To this day, <a href="http://thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/17/boeing-confident-in-737-max-safety-despite-aircraft-flaw.html" target="_blank"> Boeing Company</a>, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/demonstration-proves-nuclear-fission-system-can-provide-space-exploration-power" target="_blank"> NASA</a> and the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/em/cleanup-sites" target="_blank">DOE</a>
administrate various parts of the property. Although there has been
some minor cleanup, there has never been a complete remediation of the
nuclear and chemical contamination caused during the second half of the
twentieth century. With "scorching" of the remaining rocket test
stands in the Woolsey Fire, it remains to be seen if any of that
infrastructure is salvageable.<br />
<br />
The public never heard a definitive answer regarding the firefighters'
exposed to possible contamination during the 2005 wildfire at SSFL.
After the Woolsey Fire, the <a href="https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/" target="_blank">California Department of Toxic Substance Control</a> (DTSC) claimed, “There was no discernible radiation in the tested area.” As one of the 500,000 </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Santa_Monica_Mts_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Pretty as a picture, eighty-five percent of the Santa Monica National Recreation Area was burned in November 2018 - Click for large image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Santa_Monica_Mts_sm.JPG" title="Pretty as a picture, eighty-five percent of the Santa Monica National Recreation Area was burned in November 2018 - Click for large image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span>people who reside within ten miles of the radiological and chemical nightmare </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">known
as the SSFL, I believe that everyone in the area has the right to know
exactly what our environmental exposure was and continues to be.<br />
<br />
After the Woolsey Fire, Los Angeles County banned the removal of any
fire rubble until completion of toxicity surveys of each affected
property. Neither Ventura County nor Los Angeles County has plans to
test beyond the SSFL for possible radioactive contamination. It is time
for the public and our elected officials to demand nothing less than
full testing, <a href="https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SiteCleanup/Santa_Susana_Field_Lab/" target="_blank"> cleanup and remediation</a> of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.</span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 03:07 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Environment" title="Environment">Environment</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=364&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=364" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Bravo Rd, Brandeis, CA 93064, USA34.2320349 -118.69602685.9218010638211567 -153.8522768 62.542268736178848 -83.5397768tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-81269189100682929542021-12-14T17:02:00.002-08:002021-12-14T17:02:17.210-08:00Bob Lovejoy (1948-2018), Burbank High School Class of 1966<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Bob_Lovejoy_Opening_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Bob Lovejoy (1948-2018), Burbank High School Class of 1966 - Click for larger image of Bob and his son Clay (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Bob_Lovejoy_Opening_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Bob Lovejoy (1948-2018), Burbank High School Class of 1966 - Click for larger image of Bob and his son Clay (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Bob Lovejoy (1948-2018), Burbank High School Class of 1966<br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4">There is an </span> <a href="https://www.independent.com/news/2010/jul/07/remembering-santa-barbaras-chinatown/" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">inscribed plaque</span></a><span class="style4">
on the wall of a building in Old Chinatown, Santa Barbara, California.
Placed by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, (</span><a href="https://www.sbthp.org/a-history-of-chinatown" target="_blank"><span class="style4">SBTHP</span></a><span class="style4">), </span> <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Old_China_Town_plaque_lg.jpg" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">the plaque</span></a><span class="style4"> reads: </span></span><span style="color: #993300; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span class="style1">In
the late 1800’s, ten percent of Santa Barbara’s population was
Chinese, who formed a community along the first two blocks of Cañon
Perdido Street and parts of Anacapa and Santa Barbara Streets.
Flourishing within China Town were grocery stores, import-export
businesses, a laundry, Chinese Junk maker, Joss House, herbalists,
restaurants and private social clubs with adult entertainment.
Chinatown also housed the Nationalist Chinese Party, Koumintang, the
Hop Sing Tong, the Chee Kung Tong and the Bing Kong Tong.</span></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #993300; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span class="style4"><br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jimmys_Garden_Painting_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A painting of Jimmy's Oriental Gardens, Santa Barbara, California - Click for larger image of a painting by BHS '66 classmate John Klippinger (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="130" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Jimmys_Garden_Painting_sm.jpg" title="A painting of Jimmy's Oriental Gardens, Santa Barbara, California - Click for larger image of a painting by BHS '66 classmate John Klippinger (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Around 1895 the Chung family arrived here, and in 1947 descendant, Jimmy Yee Chung opened "</span><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@34.4222276,-119.6987655,3a,51.8y,107.04h,90.41t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNfj0zpMCdzUfiYHfko_0Cg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192" target="_blank"><span class="style4">Jimmy's Oriental Gardens</span></a></span><span class="style4"><span style="color: #993300; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">" on this site. The Chung family is the last to remain in Old Chinatown. Dedicated this 15th day of March 1997.</span><br />
<br />
Few were as excited to find that garden, as was local resident </span> <a href="http://burbankhighblog.blogspot.com/2018/07/bob-lovejoy-bhs-66-1948-2018.html" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">Bob Lovejoy</span></a><span class="style4">,
who first stumbled upon Jimmy's in 1976 while working nearby. Stepping
out of Jimmy’s thirty years later for some fresh air, Lovejoy noticed a
"For Lease" sign on the building next door - today home to Handlebar
Coffee - and decided that was where he and his son Clay, would realize
their long-standing dream of opening a deli. <br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/BHS_1966_Classmates_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Classmates Bob Lovejoy, Carrie McCoy, James McGillis, Sharlean Magid and Phil Gieselman await the opening of The Pickle Room in September 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/BHS_1966_Classmates_sm.JPG" title="Classmates Bob Lovejoy, Carrie McCoy, James McGillis, Sharlean Magid and Phil Gieselman await the opening of The Pickle Room in September 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span>In spring of 2006, they christened it </span> <a href="https://www.independent.com/news/2009/nov/04/where-theres-dill-theres-way/" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">Three Pickles</span></a><span class="style4">.
At that time, Bob and Clay were thrilled that Jimmy's Oriental Gardens
was literally steps away. "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven,"
said Bob. Jimmy's Oriental Gardens was a longtime favorite for locals
and tourists alike, before closing its doors in 2006, with the
retirement of operator Tommy Chung.<br />
<br />
As the driving force, Bob Lovejoy vowed to see Jimmy's open once more,
serving food and drinks to both the neighborhood and the populous at
large. After seven years of diligent efforts, Longtime Jimmy's regular
Bob Lovejoy and his son Clay succeeded in remaking the historic bar
into </span> <a href="https://www.independent.com/news/2013/oct/02/reincarnating-santa-barbaras-favorite-bar/" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">The Pickle Room</span></a><span class="style4">. In September 2013, several of Bob's Burbank High School </span> <a href="http://moablive.com/burbankhigh1966/index.asp" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">Class of 1966</span></a><span class="style4"> classmates attended the reopening </span></span></span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;">of the historic establishment. It was a fun and nostalgic afternoon for all. But </span></span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Pickle_Room_Opening_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Regulars, friends and former classmates of Bob Lovejoy attend the opening of Lovejoy's The Pickle Room in September 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Pickle_Room_Opening_sm.JPG" title="Regulars, friends and former classmates of Bob Lovejoy attend the opening of Lovejoy's The Pickle Room in September 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span>first, Bob hosted an excellent deli lunch at The Three Pickles, next door.<br />
<br />
As 4:30 PM approached, classmates and old-timers waited patiently outside for Jimmy's Oriental Gardens to reopen as </span> <span class="style4">The Pickle Room</span><span class="style4">. When the big red doors swung open, the stylishly redecorated room filled immediately with happy patrons. At sunset, </span> <a href="https://www.independent.com/news/2018/jul/10/bob-lovejoy-dies/" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">Bob Lovejoy</span></a><span class="style4">,
his wife Dawn and son Clay presided over the revelries. "This building
deserves it," said Bob, but he also believes in the people making it
happen, namely bartender </span> <a href="https://www.independent.com/news/2016/sep/22/willy-gilbert-bartenders-bartender/" target="_blank"> <span class="style4">Willy Gilbert</span></a></span><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;">. "Willy is the key to this whole place," Bob told the Santa Barbara Independent.<br />
<br />
</span></span></span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style4"><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Rolls_Royce_SB_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The chauffeur's hat in a Rolls Royce symbolizes Bob Lovejoy's longstanding service to his Santa Barbara, California community - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Rolls_Royce_SB_sm.jpg" title="The chauffeur's hat in a Rolls Royce symbolizes Bob Lovejoy's longstanding service to his Santa Barbara, California community - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Less
than five years after achieving his dream of resurrecting his favorite
place in Santa Barbara, Bob Lovejoy passed away on July 7, 2018. He
had a massive stroke on Friday, July 6. Lynn (Lovejoy) Volgraff (BHS
1965) was with Bob and </span></span></span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;">his
family when they took him off life support and he passed away quickly.
No pain. "We are all in shock and now the real work will begin since
he had two delis, the Three Pickles and the Pickle Room in Santa
Barbara". He leaves wife Dawn, son Clay and daughter Athena, along with
three grandchildren.<br />
<br />
Bob Lovejoy will be missed by all who knew him and thousands more who
enjoyed the hospitality and ambiance of both Three Pickles and The
Pickle Room. At the newly revived Jimmy's Oriental Gardens in Old
Chinatown, Santa Barbara, California, everybody knew Bob's name.</span></span></span><span class="style2"><span class="style4"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 04:42 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Current%20Events" title="Current Events">Current Events</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=363&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=363" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Santa Barbara, CA, USA34.4208305 -119.69819016.1105966638211555 -154.8544401 62.731064336178846 -84.5419401tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-62694230774565541322021-12-14T16:56:00.000-08:002021-12-14T16:56:02.472-08:00In the Depths of Titus Canyon, Cosmic Rays Reveal Themselves - 2018<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><div align="center">
<h1><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/a171209_Titus_Canyon_Map_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Titanothere and Titus Canyons combine to make the toughest driving experience in Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/a171209_Titus_Canyon_Map_sm.jpg" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Titanothere and Titus Canyons combine to make the toughest driving experience in Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In the Depths of Titus Canyon, Cosmic Rays Reveal Themselves</h1>
</div>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">In November 2016, I made my first trip to <a href="http://moablive.com/dvjim/index.asp" target="_blank">Death Valley National Park</a>. While there, I visited many of the most famous sites in the park. After visiting <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=355"> Zabriskie Point</a>
at sundown, I camped at the Furnace Creek Campground for several
nights. At the Furnace Creek Visitors Center, I purchased a large format
book, titled “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Valley-Hottest-Place-Earth/dp/1933855878" target="_blank">Death Valley – Hottest Place on Earth</a>”, by author Roger Naylor.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
After returning home, I read that book from cover to cover, looking for
new places to visit on subsequent trips. Although there are too many
fascinating places to chronicle here, one place in particular struck my
fancy. Touted as the only legitimate four-wheel drive road in Death
Valley National Park, that place is <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/desert-california/titus-canyon.html" target="_blank"> Titus Canyon</a>.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/a171209_Titus_Canyon_Titan_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="My Nissan Titan XD, on Daylight Pass, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/a171209_Titus_Canyon_Titan_sm.JPG" title="My Nissan Titan XD, on Daylight Pass, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>In
May 2017, I bought the perfect vehicle to take on the dirt, gravel and
bare rock surfaces that comprise the twenty-eight mile Titus Canyon
Road. That vehicle is a <a href="https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/trucks/titan-xd.html" target="_blank"> Nissan Titan XD</a>, lifted six-inches and powered by a <a href="https://cumminsengines.com/nissan-titan" target="_blank">Cummins Turbo-Diesel</a> engine. In December 2017, I camped again at Furnace Creek Campground and made a day trip to Titus Canyon.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
To reach the start of the one-way Titus Canyon Road, I first drove eleven miles north on California 190. At the Aptly named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatty_Junction,_California" target="_blank"> Beatty Junction</a>, I turned right on Beatty Road, which is a shortcut to Daylight Pass and to <a href="http://www.beattynv.info/" target="_blank"> Beatty, Nevada</a>,
beyond. After enjoying the multivarious geography of Daylight Pass, I
crossed the Nevada State Line, where the highway designation is Nevada
374. That section, from Beatty Junction to the turn-off at Titus Canyon
Road was about twenty-three miles.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/b171209_Titus_Canyon_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="From Nevada 374, this is the sign for the turnoff to Titus Canyon Road - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/b171209_Titus_Canyon_Sign_sm.JPG" title="From Nevada 374, this is the sign for the turnoff to Titus Canyon Road - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>By
the time I achieved the summit at Daylight Pass, daylight itself
appeared to be in short supply. I elected to skip the extra four-mile
trip to Beatty, and the nearby ghost town of Rhyolite. About four miles
shy of Beatty; I almost overshot the signed turnoff for Titus Canyon.
After turning around, I headed west on the one-way Titus Canyon Road.
At first, the landscape of the surrounding <a href="http://amargosavalleynv.com/" target="_blank">Amargosa Valley</a>
consisted mostly of sagebrush. If you go this way, the initial stretch
of gravel road will rattle your bones like one monotonous washboard.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
After the mind-numbing washboard section, a sweeping turn to the south
marks the beginning of your ascent. There, at one of the few wide spots
in the road, I stopped to talk with three adventure motorcyclists that
had recently passed me on the washboard section. With the suspension
systems on their bikes pressed to the limit by the terrain, they were
already feeling the stress of Titus Canyon Road. After an amiable
conversation, the three riders traveled on ahead of me.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/c171209_Titus_Canyon_Trail_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="At the end of the washboard section, Titus Canyon Road begins the climb toward Red Pass - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/c171209_Titus_Canyon_Trail_sm.JPG" title="At the end of the washboard section, Titus Canyon Road begins the climb toward Red Pass - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>During
that stop, I discovered that I had dropped my mobile telephone
somewhere along the way. Unable to find it, I began to fear that it had
flipped out of my truck near the beginning of the road. Since I have a
Bluetooth hookup for the phone in my truck, I decided to call home,
using the voice-activated system. To my amazement, there was cell phone
coverage in that remote location. I spoke with <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=225">Carrie McCoy</a>, telling her that at least I knew the phone was in the truck.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As we spoke, I noticed the sun continuing its winter slink toward the
horizon. In deep ravines, such as Titus Canyon, the visible sun can set
quite early. Not wanting to complete my trip in the dark, I abandoned
my phone-search and traveled on. Without access to the camera on my
phone, I had only my Sony </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/d171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikes_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Three adventure motorcycle riders pause on the ascent in Titanothere Canyon, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/d171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikes_sm.JPG" title="Three adventure motorcycle riders pause on the ascent in Titanothere Canyon, Death Valley National Park - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>A6000
camera, with its telephoto lens attached. The road was too dusty to
change lenses, so I eschewed any close-ups of nearby rock formations,
opting instead for a longer, narrower perspective.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
If you venture on, you will encounter an ill-defined area called <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f255/1e3438c2f959c2413fde76afac65c993279e.pdf" target="_blank"> Titanothere Canyon</a>.
The name Titanothere Canyon derives from the 1933 discovery there of a
massive fossil skull. It was of a long extinct hooved animal, dating
back to the <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/oligocene.php" target="_blank"> Oligocene Period</a>, over 32 million years ago. If the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1076835/" target="_blank"> ancient Titanothere</a>
had hooves, did it share any other characteristics with early
mammalian species? Perusing online images of its skull, you will see
aspects that evoke a lizard, a wild boar or a camel, and even a dash of
rhinoceros.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/d171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikes2_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="A motorcyclist begins the difficult ascent through Titanothere Canyon, heading for Red Pass - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/d171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikes2_sm.JPG" title="A motorcyclist begins the difficult ascent through Titanothere Canyon, heading for Red Pass - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>Regardless
of its genetic heritage, the top of a rocky pass, eroded into
impossibly steep slopes seemed an unusual place to find a hooved animal.
Although camels are the kings of sandy desert travel, they could not
have negotiated the <a href="https://armyhistory.org/the-u-s-armys-camel-corps-experiment/" target="_blank"> unforgiving terrain</a>
of what is now Titanothere Canyon. Something big must have changes
since those namesake beasts had roamed here. In the area, igneous,
metamorphic and sedimentary rocks are jumbled and tumbled all around. A
series of epic geological uplifts had transformed this place in less
than 35 million years. In geologic terms, just a blink of the eye
separates us in time from the last Titanothere.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Back on the road, the switchbacks are numerous, the terrain is steep and
corners are tight. In some places, you cannot see where your wheels
will land, so most drivers hug the inside radius of the turns. As a
result, there are deep </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img align="left" alt="A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon easily surmounts Redd Pass on the Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley National Park (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="213" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/rubicon.gif" title="A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon easily surmounts Redd Pass on the Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley National Park (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" /></span>ruts
cut along the inner track of some corners. If your vehicle’s suspension
survives the first unexpected hit, it is prudent to slow to a crawl on
the many gouged-out turns to follow.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
According to most publications and the Death Valley Visitor’s Center,
any “high-clearance vehicle” should be able to negotiate the Titus
Canyon Road. What they do not tell you is that this can be a grueling
trip for a novice driver or if you are in a marginal vehicle.
Authorities should designate this as a “Rough Road”, with a strong
suggestion toward four-wheel drive capability. Because of both
weathering and its popularity, the Titanothere Canyon section of the
road is rapidly deteriorating. If your vehicle is questionable, I
suggest <a href="http://farabeejeeps.com/death-valley-rentals/" target="_blank">renting a Jeep</a> Wrangler four-wheel drive vehicle in Death Valley. This road begs for a “locked and loaded” Jeep Wrangler, and nothing less.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/L171209_Titus_Canyon_Leadville_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Deep In Titus Canyon is the ghost town of Leadfield, California - Click for larger image (htp://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/L171209_Titus_Canyon_Leadville_sm.JPG" title="Deep In Titus Canyon is the ghost town of Leadfield, California - Click for larger image (htp://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>About
thirteen miles into the drive, within Titanothere Canyon, sweeping
views and steep drop-offs will vie for the driver’s attention. If a
drop-off wins, you and your passengers will die, so keep your hands on
the wheel, your eyes upon the road and slow down. If you survive the
switchbacks of Titanothere Canyon, your reward will be in the cresting
the summit at <a href="https://www.topozone.com/california/inyo-ca/gap/red-pass-3/" target="_blank"> Red Pass</a>.
The first-time visitor is encouraged to stop and look back at the
perilous climb just completed. You might ask yourself, “If that was the
first half of the road, what more could it possibly have to offer</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">”</span>?<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Then, if you turn and look toward where your wheels are about to take
you, you will encounter an astounding view. On my visit, I stood agape
as the afternoon sun illuminated a landscape that fell away toward a
darkening canyon. Looking down, I could see something flickering on the
dirt road, far below. After a few moments, I realized that the tiny
objects attracting my attention were the three motorcycle riders I had
met earlier, near the beginning of the road. The Robert Frost inside
me, blurted out, “I have <a href="https://literarydevices.net/miles-to-go-before-i-sleep/" target="_blank"> miles to go before I sleep</a>”.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/m171209_Titus_Canyon_Leadfield_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="If not for the mining-scam of Leadfield, the Titus Canyon Road might never have been built - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/m171209_Titus_Canyon_Leadfield_Sign_sm.JPG" title="If not for the mining-scam of Leadfield, the Titus Canyon Road might never have been built - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>The
more famous Titus Canyon (to follow) has an equally ominous history.
The name honors Morris Titus, who, in 1906, left nearby Rhyolite with a
prospecting party. When water ran short, Titus struck out on his own
to find more, but never returned to the party. It is an historical tale
repeated anew several times each year in Death Valley National Park.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
The usual scenario includes a solo hiker taking off for a jaunt in the
desert. Water soon runs out and the hiker tries to make it back to
civilization before succumbing to heat and dehydration. Sometimes the
hiker lives to tell the tale, but many others rapidly succumb, to be
found as <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/man-found-dead-along-dirt-road-in-death-valley-identified/" target="_blank"> buzzard bait</a>
by a later search party. The lesson is to never hike alone, avoid the
midday sun and take more water than you could ever need. Consider
wearing a hydration pack, since a small bottle of water is insufficient.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Creek_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="On Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley National Park, the only surface water is at Klare Springs - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Creek_sm.JPG" title="On Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley National Park, the only surface water is at Klare Springs - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>While humming the lyrics to the <a href="http://www.accessbackstage.com/america/song/song005.htm" target="_blank"> rock group America</a>’s,
“I went through the desert on a horse with no name”, I drank from my
ample water supply. Then, I headed down into the darkening recesses of
the <a href="https://www.nevadawilderness.org/grapevine_mountains_wilderness_study_area" target="_blank"> Grapevine Mountains</a> and Titus Canyon. Soon, I came to the <a href="http://digital-desert.com/leadfield-ghost-town/" target="_blank">ruins of Leadfield</a>.
It is a former mining town built on the concept that there are
hundreds, if not thousands of people willing to bet their lives and
fortunes on an unproven mining claim. During the years 1925 and 1926,
many fortune seekers succumbed to false advertising and moved to
Leadfield. The only lead in Leadfield was used to salt the fake mine
tunneled by the town's developer. By February 1927, the post office
closed and the town shut down. Only an ersatz tailings pile and the
remnants of a few buildings remain.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As the afternoon wore on, high canyon walls often shaded my truck. Since
the road often faced west, I did experience more sunlight than I
expected. As it descended, the road followed the dry streambed within
Titus Canyon. Other than while dodging various rock outcroppings, the
road seemed permanent enough to travel a bit faster. Then, without
warning, I hit a patch of road with standing water and hidden potholes.
Some were so deep, they could bend the suspension on any vehicle. That
surfacing stream, near Klare Spring, was the only sign of water that I
saw on the entire transit.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Hikers_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The female hiker shown here in Lower Titus Canyon had her dog ensconced in a backpack - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Hikers_sm.JPG" title="The female hiker shown here in Lower Titus Canyon had her dog ensconced in a backpack - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>As
I splashed over the watery moonscape of a road, I came across a young
woman, hiking in the opposite direction, up Red Pass. She wore a light
parka and a small daypack. Her ruddy face was the color of someone who
had spent many days outdoors. I had only enough time to hit the brakes
and apologize for splashing water toward her. Then, she was gone.
Immediately, I wondered where she was going and how she would survive
in the cold night to come. Did she make it out alive, from the canyon
where Morris Titus met his demise?<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
In places, the road cuts through a canyon so steep and narrow, it
measures less than twenty feet, from wall to wall. Elsewhere, the canyon
broadens out, lining the edges of the road with the rock and boulder
remnants of past floods. A <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/LN3JxhLSKim" target="_blank"> satellite view</a>
of the area reveals that it has seen eons of erosion, cutting deeply
into ancient volcanic flows. Such a bird’s eye view also reveals that
miles of roadway could easily disappear in a single large flood.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Sunflare_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Some may call it lens-flare, but I believe that cosmic rays can be visible, if photographed in under the right conditions - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/s171209_Titus_Canyon_Sunflare_sm.JPG" title="Some may call it lens-flare, but I believe that cosmic rays can be visible, if photographed in under the right conditions - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>At
one point, the sun disappeared behind a small peak, as viewed from the
road. Not knowing if I was going to see the sun again before the end of
the road, I stopped, backed up and observed the sun as it set again
behind the same peak. As it did, I snapped a picture of the sunlight,
attenuated by its headlong dip behind the peak. The resulting photo
accompanies this article.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
When people take pictures of a bright light source, and especially the
sun, the orbs and crescents of light, which the camera captures, we
calls “lens flares”. That tag is an easy way to explain an otherwise
inexplicable phenomenon. How can a camera divide sunlight into discreet
elements of different colors, each with its own apparent mass and
velocity? My theory is that the camera is capturing in one frame,
several different aspects of a <a href="https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/november-2014/auger-reveals-subtlety-in-cosmic-rays" target="_blank"> fragmenting cosmic ray</a>. As a single ray approaches ground level, its <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=122">plasma flow</a> may change from a translucent green orb to a green crescent and finally into a red-orange disk, oblate in shape.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/t171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikers_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Tired from the long, rough ride through Titus Canyon, the adventure motorcyclists recline and rest against the canyon wall - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/t171209_Titus_Canyon_Bikers_sm.JPG" title="Tired from the long, rough ride through Titus Canyon, the adventure motorcyclists recline and rest against the canyon wall - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>There are two sources of cosmic rays on Earth. Some, like the one I photographed, emanate directly from the Sun. Other, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/46664-photos-telescope-array-images.html" target="_blank"> higher energy cosmic rays</a>, come to Earth from deep space. As we currently approach the <a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/18/approaching-grand-solar-minimum-could-cause-global-cooling/" target="_blank"> Grand Solar Minimum</a>,
the sun still emits cosmic rays toward Earth. As the Earth’s
magnetosphere simultaneously erodes toward its lowest level in one
thousand years, ground-penetrating cosmic rays are free to hit the Earth
with greater frequency and force. Since a single, fragmenting cosmic
ray can penetrate the Earth and possibly exit our planet on the
opposite side, they are a force of energy for all life to respect.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
As the cosmic rays increase in both frequency and strength, they heat up <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/transform-fault" target="_blank">fracture zones, transform-faults and volcanic fissures</a> all over our Earth. The result, as we have recently seen in the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/large-crack-in-east-african-rift-is-evidence-of-continent-splitting-in-two" target="_blank"> Great Rift Valley</a>
of Africa and many other areas on the globe, is expansion and
uplifting of the Earth’s crust. Similar forces may have turned the
benign plateaus and plains roamed by the ancient Titanothere into this,
one of the most dramatic geological regions on Earth.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/t171209_Titus_Canyon_End_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In late afternoon, I found the end of Titus Canyon, where it dumps out into Death Valley National Park, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/t171209_Titus_Canyon_End_sm.JPG" title="In late afternoon, I found the end of Titus Canyon, where it dumps out into Death Valley National Park, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Near
the end of Red Pass, in Titus Canyon, I again encountered the three
motorcyclists I had previously seen along the road. They had parked
their motorcycles at the edge of the road and now lay reclined against a
canyon wall, enjoying the shade of late afternoon. The road had been a
test of my own stamina and concentration, so I could only image how
tired they were after running all of Titus Canyon Road.<br />
</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
At the <a href="http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/death_valley/titus-canyon-mouth_l.html" target="_blank"> lower end of Titus Canyon</a>,
the watercourse dumps out its alluvium into the upper reaches of Death
Valley. From there, as the sun headed toward the horizon, I safely
made my way back to civilization and to my campsite at Furnace Creek,
in Death Valley National Park.</span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 05:01 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Travel" title="Travel">Travel</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=362&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=362" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Titus Canyon Rd, United States36.8262697 -117.0229578.516035863821152 -152.17920700000002 65.13650353617885 -81.866707tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-76093350411604473302021-12-14T16:31:00.003-08:002021-12-14T16:31:32.759-08:00Once Upon A Time, We Had A Future To Believe In - 2018<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><h1 align="center"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/deja_vu_album_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="1970 Deja Vu Album by Crosby, Stills, Nash &#38; Young - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/deja_vu_album_sm.jpg" title="1970 Deja Vu Album by Crosby, Stills, Nash &#38; Young - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></h1>
<h1 align="center">Once Upon A Time, We Had A Future To Believe In </h1>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;">I found myself humming the 1970 song by <a href="https://davidcrosby.com/" target="_blank">David Crosby</a>, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPovmMwef8" target="_blank">Almost Cut My Hair</a>”. The first half of the song goes like this:<br />
<br />
“Almost cut my hair<br />
Happened just the other day<br />
It’s getting’ kind of long<br />
I could’ve said it was in my way<br />
But I didn’t and I wonder why<br />
I feel like letting my freak flag fly<br />
And I feel like I owe it, to someone, yeah<br />
Must be because I had the flu this Christmas<br />
And I’m not feeling up to par<br />
And increases my paranoia<br />
Like looking in my mirror and seeing a police car…”<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150406_Las_Vegas_Beatles_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="" border="5" for="" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150406_Las_Vegas_Beatles_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Image of The Beatles seen on a 'Building Wrap' at the Mirage Resort Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com) alt=" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Before
the conclusion, Crosby elects to go south and enjoy some “sunny
southern weather”. Birth, death, birth, death. In a succession of
previous lives, we have all experienced that endless cycle. We raped,
murdered, made war... and occasionally, made love. How many times did
we burn at the stake? If you are forced to decide, always take drowning
over death by fire. Neither is quick, but the human body takes to
cooling more easily than burning.<br />
<br />
Times have changed. If we choose, we are now more <a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/452055" target="_blank">conscious of life</a>
and our place within it. Even in this lifetime, we have seen so much
and come so far. Do you remember when personal computers displayed
words, but no pictures? I remember first reading in the glossy pages of
Time Magazine about the world-wide-web, now known as the internet. It
was largely a free offering until July 5, 1994, when Jeff Bezos founded
the now ubiquitous <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/05/teflon-amazon-bezos-gets-rich-bad-news-never-sticks/" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a>.
Many complained that Bezos had ruined the free nature of the internet
by charging money for books. In the early days of Amazon, Bezos picked,
packed and shipped physical books from his home garage. I say
“physical books” because in recent years, half of all adult books sold
arrived in digital format. In 2017, according to Time.com, Jeff Bezos
became the wealthiest person in the world. If you are into making money,
Bezos accomplished that feat in only twenty-three years.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Mosiac_Browser_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Mosaic Browser 1.0, was later to become the Netscape Navigator of early internet fame - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Mosiac_Browser_sm.jpg" title="Mosaic Browser 1.0, was later to become the Netscape Navigator of early internet fame - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="365" /></a>Also
in 1994, the Mosaic Netscape Navigator 1.0 appeared in a beta version,
free to all non-commercial users. Before that, some school systems,
universities and other non-profit entities had created their own
text-only internet browsers. In those early days of internet access,
most websites were textual documents created with raw Hypertext Markup
Language (<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp" target="_blank">HTML</a>).
With the advent of the Netscape Navigator browser, web masters quickly
created both text and graphical versions of their websites.<br />
<br />
Displaying graphics on the personal computers of the day was
problematic. For most users, “broadband” was a fantasy. Computer
displays were mostly converted TV monitors. The most common method of
connection was via a dial-up telephone modulate/demodulate (<a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/getting-connected-a-history-of-modems-657479" target="_blank">modem</a>)
device. Older users will remember a series of squeaks and squawks that
coincided with an internet connection attempt on a telephone modem.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/AOL_1991_Logo_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="America Online logo, later to become AOL, and still later to slip into internet obscurity - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="159" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/AOL_1991_Logo_sm.jpg" title="America Online logo, later to become AOL, and still later to slip into internet obscurity - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Also around that time, <a href="http://time.com/3857628/aol-1985-history/" target="_blank">America Online</a>
(later AOL) offered dial-up services to anyone with a modem. For
$19.99 each month, you could use a proprietary browser to access
exclusive content provided by that company. For years, America Online
attempted to be a complete alternative to the internet, providing news
and information across a broad spectrum of interests. Soon, however,
other internet providers, such as EarthLink undercut America Online,
while bundling the Netscape Navigator for equal or less money.<br />
<br />
By the late 1990s, a few of us who lived within a mile or two of a
telephone switching office began to access the web via a “digital
subscriber line”, or <a href="http://whatis.techtarget.com/reference/Fast-Guide-to-DSL-Digital-Subscriber-Line" target="_blank">DSL</a>.
Unlike dial-up, DSL utilized a carrier frequency on a standard phone
line. In addition, its newer style modem allowed simultaneous use of
both voice and data on the same telephone line. As such, it was “always
on” and ready for connection via Netscape. Years later, cable TV
companies figured out how to carry both a television signal and data on
the same line. Again, a specialized modem was required.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Internet_Ex_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="After Bill Gates of Microsoft failed to collude with Netscape to divide up the internet between them, he released Internet Explorer, which later failed - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="48" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Internet_Ex_sm.jpg" title="After Bill Gates of Microsoft failed to collude with Netscape to divide up the internet between them, he released Internet Explorer, which later failed - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="128" /></a>With
the burgeoning success of Netscape, Bill Gates of Microsoft realized
that personal computers might access more than his Microsoft Office
software applications. After failing to collude with Netscape to divide
up the internet browser business, Gates initiated one of the boldest
and most underhanded takeover attempts in history. At Gates' direction,
Microsoft cobbled together their own Internet Explorer (<a href="https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2013/08/visual-history-internet-explorer" target="_blank">IE</a>)
browser. By 1995, Microsoft began including IE as a free addition to
its Windows operating system. Simultaneously, Microsoft initiated a
viral “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/atr/public/press_releases/1998/1764.htm" target="_blank">whisper campaign</a>”,
claiming that anyone who had signed up for Netscape Navigator would
soon be charged a fee by Netscape for the use of its browser. As IE
ascended, Netscape tanked, becoming a marginal player, and later
failing altogether.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/google_logo_old_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="An early version of the Google logo, before it began its inevitable slip into internet obscurity - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="135" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/google_logo_old_sm.JPG" title="An early version of the Google logo, before it began its inevitable slip into internet obscurity - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="180" /></a>Ironically, when Google released its now ubiquitous <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=223">Chrome browser</a>
in 2008, its software core derived from Firefox, which in turn
derived from the 1998 public release of the Netscape Navigator source
code. Today, Chrome is a complete operating system rivaling Microsoft
Windows. Ironically, Internet Explorer is now a discontinued product, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-sorry-legacy-of-microsoft-internet-explorer/" target="_blank">surviving like a zombie</a>
in older Microsoft Windows computers. Google has since degenerated to
the point where in 2015 it strayed into autonomously driving vehicles,
including the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=338">Google Pop Car</a>, a prototype railroad safety vehicle. Google is now seen largely as a service name, owned by <a href="https://abc.xyz/" target="_blank">Alphabet</a>. This brings me around to my thesis, which is “<a href="http://time.com/4309573/most-influential-gadgets/" target="_blank">Nothing is permanent</a>. Like electronic devices and computer applications, we all are born and die, often within a brief time period”.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Mac_G4_Cube_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="From the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, Inc. in 1997, through the Mac G4 Cube era and on to the last of its breed, a small form-factor slice one-tenth the size of the original in 2013 (background), the whole world appeared to get smaller - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Mac_G4_Cube_sm.JPG" title="From the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, Inc. in 1997, through the Mac G4 Cube era and on to the last of its breed, a small form-factor slice one-tenth the size of the original in 2013 (background), the whole world appeared to get smaller - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>At last count, I own almost 200 internet <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=58">Universal Resource</a> Locator (URLs). After ten years of collecting, curating and publishing blog articles and <a href="http://moablive.com/" target="_blank">websites</a>,
I ask myself if there will be enough time to write and publish them
all. If I died tomorrow, or if the person who operates my internet
servers died tomorrow, the deprecation of my online data would begin.
Within a year or two, all the contracts would end and most all of my
internet presence would disappear. All of my internet personas,
including <a href="http://moabjim.com/" target="_blank">Moab Jim</a>, <a href="https://moablive.com/durangojim/" target="_blank">Durango Jim</a>, Taos Jim, Yuma Jim, Reno Jim, <a href="http://moablive.com/marinajim/" target="_blank">Marina Jim</a>, <a href="http://kauaijim.com/" target="_blank">Kauai Jim</a> and <a href="http://fijijim.com/" target="_blank">Fiji Jim</a> would reenter the public domain, destined for recycling.<br />
<br />
As hard as it might be for a current day teenager to believe, until 2007 there was no <a href="https://www.t3.com/features/a-brief-history-of-the-iphone" target="_blank">iPhone</a>
or any other “smart phone”. Even in 2009, the iPhone 3G internet
browser was slower than a dial-up modem circa 1994. Now, you can buy the
“all new” Amazon <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/13/alexa_now_with_dox_feature/" target="_blank">Alexa personal home spy</a>
for $79.99. If you do, Alexa will sit quietly in your domicile and
listen to your questions, comments and mad rants all day long. Already,
you can buy supplies (ex. toilet paper) based on how often you have
ordered in the past. “Oh”, I remarked recently, “The toilet paper
arrived just before I had to utilize my corn cob collection”. How nice. I
then imagined saying, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Big_Wave_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="As with the Christmas Tsunami of 2005 and the Fukushima Tsunami of 2011, will a new wave sweep clean the use of personal spying devices like Amazon's Alexa? - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Big_Wave_sm.JPG" title="As with the Christmas Tsunami of 2005 and the Fukushima Tsunami of 2011, will a new wave sweep clean the use of personal spying devices like Amazon's Alexa? - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>“Oh,
it arrived two weeks after I died and every month thereafter, until my
PayPal account was drained”. How many of your dearly departed friends
or family remain as friends on Facebook or LinkedIn?<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clash_of_the_titans/" target="_blank">clash of the titans</a> in our world is not on a cinematic screen in a theater near you. The real clash is between <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=340">Old Energy power mongers</a> and us, the lovers of freedom. Over twenty years after the advent of the popular internet, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=306">Old Energy federal agencies</a>
continue to remove scientific data from every federal government
website. In a blow to "net neutrality", the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) recently voted to allow corporate internet providers
to throttle-down competitors’ websites. Old Energy politicians use
computer analytics to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/06/republicans-and-democrats-both-try-to-gerrymander-but-only-one-of-them-is-any-good-at-it/?utm_term=.ab68d1a3e710" target="_blank">gerrymander</a> congressional seats for a permanent “conservative” majority. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Jeff_Bezos_1999_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Amazon's Jeff Bezos, pictured here in 1999, portrays Amazon as a New Energy company, when in fact it is an Old Energy juggernaut running roughshod over consumers, competitors and employees alike - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="120" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Jeff_Bezos_1999_sm.jpg" title="Amazon's Jeff Bezos, pictured here in 1999, portrays Amazon as a New Energy company, when in fact it is an Old Energy juggernaut running roughshod over consumers, competitors and employees alike - Click for larger image (https//jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="239" /></a>In
short, Old Energy uses computer power to find every loophole and rig
every system they can. At any time, the United States federal
government could declare a state of emergency and censor or cut public
access to internet data, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/03/575252552/in-response-to-protests-iran-cuts-off-internet-access-blocks-apps" target="_blank">Iran recently did</a>.
When the pressure on the current regime became too great, all internet
access in Iran disappeared for approximately thirty minutes. Who is to
say a similar outage could not happen anywhere?<br />
<br />
For <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42353545" target="_blank">$52 billion</a>, the Walt Disney Company will soon buy the majority of 21st Century Fox assets. I remember when they were “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/list/ls055509544/" target="_blank">20th Century Fox</a>”.
As usual, press releases from both companies tell us that the
transaction is "good for consumers". Prior to the 2016 presidential
campaign, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/11/trump-threatens-to-challenge-nbcs-license-comcast-shares-dip-slightly.html" target="_blank">Comcast NBCUniversal</a>
promoted a New York Real Estate developer as a celebrity television
star. In keeping with their “Universal” moniker, that failed land
developer soon attained almost “universal” name recognition. <br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="Another in a long line of now-forgotten shows premiered on the Fox TV network in September 1998 - (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="240" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Fox_Show.gif" title="Another in a long line of now-forgotten shows premiered on the Fox TV network in September 1998 - (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="320" />The NBC television network broadcast that developer’s first twenty-five presidential campaign rallies <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/09/12/550400541/reporter-katy-tur-shares-her-front-row-view-of-the-trump-campaign" target="_blank">live, uncut and uninterrupted</a>
by commercials. After helping to elect him as president, the same
corporation realized that the man was attacking NBC and other mainstream
media outlets as purveyors of “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=360">fake news</a>”.
Realizing that their own corporate power could erode or disappear,
they quickly dedicated their MSNBC cable network and their NBC Saturday
Night Live (SNL) television broadcast to un-electing the same man in
2020. In the name of Old Energy and profits, "<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=319">Hollywood</a>" had turned against the very man who they had shamelessly promoted during the campaign. <br />
<br />
The changes in media and entertainment over the past two decades are too
myriad to chronicle here. A few of the highlights not previously
mention include the rise and fall of Google, the introduction of “fair
and balanced news” on Fox Television and the rise of Netflix and
Amazon as media and entertainment giants. As late as 2007, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=26">MySpace.com</a> had eight-times as many users as Facebook. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=230">Does anyone remember Yahoo</a>,
which positioned itself as the “web portal” of choice for young
people, entrepreneurs and sports fans? Now for some good news. In
separate press releases, Netflix and Amazon announced plans to create
over <a href="http://variety.com/2017/biz/features/amazon-studios-distribution-1202573790/" target="_blank">100 feature-length movies each year</a>, much of it streaming exclusively on their respective “web platforms”.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/MySpaceDotcom_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="In 2007, MySpace had eight times as many users as the fledgling Facebook - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="43" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/MySpaceDotcom.gif" title="In 2007, MySpace had eight times as many users as the fledgling Facebook - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="205" /></a>While
at home today, I checked the screen on my Samsung Galaxy 8 "smart"
phone. When I touched the YouTube icon, it immediately connected to my
65", curved-screen Samsung “smart” TV. Somewhat enamored of seeing
YouTube on the large screen, I watched a video of an old <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e-jRpFik3c" target="_blank">locomotive crash</a>,
staged for the movies around 1930. I went on to watch the 2011 tsunami
hitting beach houses in Japan. To me, the scene looked similar to
Malibu, or perhaps Montecito, California. When the waves hit, they
splashed three or four times the height of the two-story houses. Then
the video cut off, just before the houses disappeared into the rubble. “<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=113">Is that real?</a>” I asked.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/Bus_Wrap_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Bus-wrap advertisements like this one of 'Nurse Jackie' soon gave way to full building wrap-ads, as envisioned by Ridley Scott for the original Blade Runner movie of 1982 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/Bus_Wrap_sm.JPG" title="Bus-wrap advertisements like this one of 'Nurse Jackie' soon gave way to full building wrap-ads, as envisioned by Ridley Scott for the original Blade Runner movie of 1982 - Click for larger image (https://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>For the original Blade Runner movie in 1982, Ridley Scott (of <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=128">Thelma & Louise</a>
fame) created print advertisements that supposedly covered entire
buildings. His building wrap-ads were part of a future that no one
expected to materialize. By 1993, Pepsi Co. deployed the first transit
bus wrap. Soon thereafter, someone developed the full building wrap-ad.<br />
<br />
Even today, we can discern the fakery from <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=140">reality</a>... most of the time. If we so choose, we are both conscious and free. As Pete Townsend wrote for the Who in their song, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxoO5yrabfc" target="_blank">Going Mobile</a>”:<br />
<br />
“I don’t care about pollution<br />
I’m an air-conditioned gypsy<br />
That’s my solution<br />
Watch the police and the taxman miss me!<br />
I’m mobile!”</span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 03:42 PM |
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?category=Personal%20Articles" title="Personal Articles">Personal Articles</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=361&comments=show" title="Comments">Comments
(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=361" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA34.101594000000013 -118.32665425.7913601638211674 -153.4829042 62.411827836178858 -83.1704042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315701334341733514.post-76356006845657600302021-12-14T14:46:00.007-08:002021-12-14T14:46:57.400-08:00Return of the Incredible Shrinking Moab Burro Crane - 2013<p> </p><div class="post">
<br clear="all" /><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/131020_Arches_Closed_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Moab Jim and Plush Kokopelli at the closed entry to Arches National Park in October 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/131020_Arches_Closed_sm.JPG" style="margin-right: 10px;" title="Moab Jim and Plush Kokopelli at the closed entry to Arches National Park in October 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>
<h1 align="center">Return of the Incredible Shrinking Moab Burro Crane <br />
</h1>
<p><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">In the spring of 2013, I made one of my many visits to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=359">Moab, Utah</a>. The shutdown of the federal government and national parks was still five months away. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=76">Arches National Park</a>
was open and visitation was climbing. As I approached the main entrance
at Arches, hundreds of vehicles waited for entry. Bypassing the
turnoff, I drove north on <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=314">U.S. Highway 191</a>, toward the airport and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=354">Crescent Junction</a>, beyond.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/150126_Arches_Sign_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="With no respect for Moab history, highway crews destroyed this traditional signage near Moab in 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/150126_Arches-Sign_sm.JPG" title="With no respect for Moab history, highway crews destroyed this traditional signage near Moab in 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>As I approached the turnoff to Dead Horse Point and <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=305">Canyonlands National Park</a>, I noticed an interesting piece of equipment, parked on a railroad siding. The siding was part of the <a href="https://moablive.com/moabrail/" target="_blank">Potash Branch</a>, which is the rail line from Brendel to Potash. That rail line also carries radioactive, contaminated soil from the infamous <a href="http://moabpile.com/" target="_blank">Moab Pile</a> to a disposal site at <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=244">Brendel</a>, near Crescent Junction, Utah. After turning on to <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=94">State Highway 313</a>, I stopped at a barren, windblown area adjacent to the Seven Mile siding.<br />
<br />
Resting on the siding, along with its tender car, was a Union Pacific Railroad <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=303">Model 40 Burro Crane</a> (#BC-47). The <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=304">Burro Crane</a> is a “maintenance of way” (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftDUUkI_q48" target="_blank">MOW</a>) vehicle that is self-propelled, and able to lift and move railroad </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">track </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">and
materials. With sufficient supplies on its tender car, a small “road
gang” can actually build a rail line as the Burro Crane extends the
tracks <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/130520_Seven-Mile-Burro_Crane-BC-47_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="The Union Pacific Railroad BC-47 Moab Burro Crane, as it appeared at Seven Mile in 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/130520_Seven-Mile-Burro_Crane-BC-47_sm.JPG" title="The Union Pacific Railroad BC-47 Moab Burro Crane, as it appeared at Seven Mile in 2013 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>ahead of itself.<br />
<br />
With its steel doors and security panels closed, the Burro Crane looked
lonely and deserted. That is the thing about Burro Cranes, with their
quaint name and anthropomorphic looks. One almost immediately ascribes a
personality and other life forces to this mechanical contraption.
Although the area was deserted and desolate, I could picture the Moab
Burro, as I named it, waiting for nightfall and then scooting up and
down the Potash Branch as it pleased.<br />
<br />
After taking a few pictures of the Moab Burro, the Seven Mile sign and
the La Sal Range to the east, I climbed back in my truck and drove
toward Moab. <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/130520_Seven_Mile_Burro_Original_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="The Moab Burro Crane disappeared from the rail siding at Seven Mile before 2015 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/130520_Seven_Mile_Burro_Original_sm.JPG" title="The Moab Burro Crane disappeared from the rail siding at Seven Mile before 2015 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Upon
returning home, I began researching the rich history of the Burro
Crane. Built in Chicago by the Cullen Friestadt Company, there were
many twentieth century iterations of the Burro Crane. Like a <a href="http://moablive.com/moabtruck/" target="_blank">1950's Chevy</a>,
the Model 40 Burro Crane was the classic of all Burro Cranes. It was
compact, featured a diesel engine, was easy to maneuver and had
tremendous lifting capacity.<br />
<br />
Later, I was fortunate to meet <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/frank_j_cullen_lg.jpg" target="_blank">Frank J. Cullen</a>, the last family member to run the Cullen Friestadt Company as a private business. I like to call Frank J. Cullen “<a href="http://jimmcgillis.com/images/book/Burro2.gif" target="_blank">The Father of the Burro Crane</a>”. After researching the Burro Crane online, I compiled all of that history and published it at <a href="http://burrocrane.com/" target="_blank">www.BurroCrane.com</a>. In addition to the official history of the Burro Crane, I also enlisted <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=328">Plush Kokopelli</a> and Coney the Traffic Cone to help tell the Moab Burro story.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/171012_Seven_Mile_Kokopelli_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="in 2017, Plush Kokopelli hovers near the Seven Mile sign, searching for the Moab Burro Crane - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="160" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/171012_Seven_Mile_Kokopelli_sm.JPG" title="in 2017, Plush Kokopelli hovers near the Seven Mile sign, searching for the Moab Burro Crane - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>After
standing alone on the rail siding at Seven Mile for several years, the
Moab Burro had become a fixture of the landscape and a landmark to
those who knew it. It even appeared on <a href="http://moablive.com/moabburro/images/gallery1.jpg" target="_blank">Google Maps satellite photos</a>
of that era. Although the Moab Burro still appeared on Google Maps as
of late 2017, the Burro Crane itself went missing by 2015, never to
return. Since Plush Kokopelli and Coney the Traffic Cone love a good
mystery, I asked them to help find the missing Moab Burro.<br />
<br />
Some say that the dynamic duo found the Moab Burro, but that radioactivity from the passing <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=204">Train of Pain</a> had caused a <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=122">dimensional shift</a> around it. In October 2017, <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/171012_seven_mile_kokopelli_with_other_lg.jpg" target="_blank">The Other</a>
(a shadowy figure) drove with Plush Kokopelli back to Seven Mile.
There, they searched for the Moab Burro and Coney the Traffic Cone, who
had both gone missing. Did both the Moab <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/140520_Seven_Mile_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Plush Kokopelli and Coney the Traffic Cone waiting for the Moab Burro Crane Crane in October 2017 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/140520_Seven_Mile_sm.JPG" title="Plush Kokopelli and Coney the Traffic Cone waiting for the Moab Burro Crane Crane in October 2017 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a>Burro and Coney shrink so small that they became invisible? That was what Plush Kokopelli and The Other hoped to discover.<br />
<br />
Upon arrival at Seven Mile, The Other carried Plush Kokopelli to the
railroad tracks. Neither Coney nor the Moab Burro was visible. Soon,
Plush Kokopelli floated up like a drone, overlooking the scene. As he
landed on the tracks, the Moab Burro reappeared, right next to him.
Soon, Coney the Traffic Cone reappeared, as well. Neither of them
seemed to notice that the Moab Burro had transmogrified from a large
piece of railroad equipment to the size of a toy.<br />
<br />
To Coney the Traffic Cone and Plush Kokopelli, the Moab Burro looked as
big and powerful as ever. Now, let us see if we can get the <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=303">Union Pacific Railroad</a> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/lg/171012_Seven_Mile_Burro_Kokopelli_lg.jpg" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Plush Kokopelli is reunited with the now diminutive Moab Burro Crane in October 2017 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" border="5" height="180" hspace="5" src="https://jamesmcgillis.com/upload/171012_Seven_Mile_Burro_Kokopelli_sm.JPG" title="Plush Kokopelli is reunited with the now diminutive Moab Burro Crane in October 2017 - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)" vspace="5" width="240" /></a></span>to
reconstitute the Moab Burro back to its original size. If the
full-sized Moab Burro were to reappear at Seven Mile, that would be
magic.</span><span class="style2"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span> </span> </span></span> </p>
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<p class="posted">By
<a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?author=1" title="James McGillis">James McGillis</a>
at 04:57 PM |
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(0)</a> | <a href="https://jamesmcgillis.com/default.asp?id=360" title="Link">Link</a></p>Jim McGillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09044873690261387347noreply@blogger.com0UT-313, Utah, USA38.545065699999988 -109.764707310.234831863821142 -144.9209573 66.855299536178833 -74.6084573