![\"abbeysign2\"](\"http:\/\/www.canyoncountryzephyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/abbeysign21-1024x470.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On May 22, 1956, Arches National Monument superintendent Bates Wilson made the following observation in his monthly report to regional headquarters: \u201cThe increasing desire of fools to carve their names in public places has reached the highest level possible in Arches.\u201d
\nJust a few weeks earlier rookie ranger Edward Abbey had \u201cEOD\u2019d\u201d (entered on duty) as a seasonal ranger. He was stationed at a small trailer near Balanced Rock. Abbey\u2019s intolerance of \u201cfools\u201d probably exceeded that of his boss.
\nJump ahead more than 20 years. A rookie ranger myself, I had wandered off the trail near Balanced Rock, probably trying to avoid tourists and fools alike, when I found an old faded wooden sign. It was still attached to a steel pole and the routed letters were legible. It said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIF YOU MUST CARVE YOUR INTIALS, DO IT HERE.\u201d<\/p>\n
I carried the old sign back to the patrol cruiser and later planted it in the soil in front of my home. One day, months later, Abbey came by. I found him staring at my sign.
\n\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d Ed asked. He looked puzzled.
\n\u201cIt was lying out in the black brush behind Balanced Rock,\u201d I explained.
\n\u201cOf course,\u201d Ed chuckled. \u201cI remember now…I made that sign. Didn\u2019t do a damn bit of good\u201d
\nLater, he came back while I was on patrol and left his \u201cmark\u201d on the sign he had made in 1957. Today it is one of my treasures.<\/p>\n
—Jim Stiles<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.canyoncountryzephyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/zephyrcover-dec1114-217x300.png\" "\\"zephyrcover-dec11\\"")
<\/a>And check out our advertisers. The ad links are hot and will take you directly to their web sites.\u00a0 If it weren’t for these supporters, we wouldn’t be here.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"