Recently, while most of the country’s attention was focused on the riots in Washington, DC, NBC News reported another disturbing event, two thousand miles west. As a former law enforcement ranger at Arches National Park, so many moons ago, the story…
“With all its hopes, dreams, promises and urban renewals, the world continues to deteriorate…give up.” “Deteriorata.” National Lampoon. 1972 So a couple months ago, when I heard that for the first time in recorded history, TWO tropical storms were simultaneously…
NOTE: If you haven’t seen “Lonely Are the Brave,” or read Edward Abbey’s “Brave Cowboy,” you might be better served to find the film or the book, watch and/or read them, and then come back to this article…JS Six years ago,…
Tonya and I live in what is nowadays one of the most remote parts of the country. The High Plains are not known for their scenic splendor (though they are scenic to the discerning eye) and tourist traffic is next…
Everyone was expecting another typical Moab Spring. A year earlier it had looked like this… and then… For weeks, Moab looked like this. A post-apocalyptic ghost town. Moab local Kerry Lange took these two shots from a spot on Main…
Tonya and I have been together for more than a decade now. Being married has brought me more happiness than I deserve but it’s also been revelatory. I was a bachelor for most of my life and apparently, according to my…
Back in June, a friend sent me a link to a new book that he thought might interest me. It was called Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy & the Remaking of the American West. I was able to access a brief introduction…
“I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.” –Michael Palin NOTE: This story is not intended to be prophecy, projection, or prediction; nor is it offered as a warning or a celebration…
When the Nazis fell in Yugoslavia, the regime that took its place was Tito’s Communist government. While it had some separation from the central USSR rule, life in communist Yugoslavia was a struggle. And Nick’s experiences in other countries as a soldier showed him that life could be different. He decided to leave Yugoslavia by any means necessary.
(NOTE: This installment in my “ranger series” starts during my time at Arches, but the story of tamarisk at the park, and the NPS’s efforts to eradicate it go far beyond my tenure…JS) * * * In the last issue…