In This Issue… Take it or Leave it: FUTURE “FIRES”… A LONG HELD PERSONAL VIEW …by Jim Stiles Life on the Prairie …by Tonya Audyn Stiles THE PACK CREEK FIRE: THE UGLY, THE BAD & THE GOOD …by Jim Stiles…
The August/September Issue of the Zephyr!
Take it or Leave it: FUTURE “FIRES”… A LONG HELD PERSONAL VIEW …by Jim Stiles
Acknowledging that we have committed to climate catastrophe is not paralysis. Life is still rich after you accept that it will end. —– Tim De Christopher, April 27, 2018 Whether the recent Pack Creek fire outside Moab was the product…
Life on the Prairie …by Tonya Audyn Stiles
“When I was a schoolboy my map of the United States showed between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains a long and broad white blotch, upon which was printed in small capitals ‘THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT – UNEXPLORED.’” —…
THE PACK CREEK FIRE: THE UGLY, THE BAD & THE GOOD …by Jim Stiles
Late in the afternoon of June 9, 2021, heavy smoke was reported along upper Pack Creek in San Juan County, just upstream from Pack Creek Ranch. As the fire began to move rapidly down the creek bed, the historic ranch and its…
The Slovenly Wilderness: Pioneers Old and New …by Stacy Young
There were a number of well-considered reader responses to the essay I wrote a couple of issues ago about the accelerating effect of Covid on growth in southern Utah. Some of the comments extended the conversation in new and interesting…
THE OPEN ROAD: New York Scenes …Words and Photos by Paul Vlachos
Hot summer days in New York City, humid nights. It’s enough to just walk the dog, scramble around, look for a buck, eat pizza and wonder when the city pools will ever reopen. It seems as though the indoor public…
Canyon Kiddies …by Harvey Leake
If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it…
A LONG TANGENT, Day 70: Blind Casey …by M. John Fayhee
I decided to try to hike at least an hour every day for an entire year. With me almost every step of the way during what turned out to be a successful 367-day quest that covered maybe 1,200 miles was my dog Casey, who was five at the beginning and six at the end. Two months after we started, Casey went instantly, inexplicably and totally blind.
Contented …by Damon Falke
The essay you are hopefully about to read is part of my forthcoming 2022 collection and exhibition with the Montana artist Tabby Ivy. Both the collection and the exhibition will be called Between Artists: Life in Paintings and Prose. The…
(Still) ‘Enough Rope’: My Favorite Plane Crash …By Bill Davis
One of the truisms of life as a reporter, especially in a small town, is one always had to have access to motorized transportation. There was no predicting when or where a news event would take place, and, especially if…
Everett Ruess: He Kept His Dream …by Silvia Pettem
This piece is excerpted from from Cold Case Chronicles: Mysteries, Murders & the Missing by Silvia Pettem (©2021). The book is available on Amazon at this link. For a few months in 2009, twenty-first-century forensics seemed to resolve the mystery…
(POKING THROUGH THE RUINS #1) ETHEL’S CAFE in CISCO… by Jim Stiles
In the mid-70s, Cisco, Utah was already being called a ghost town. It had boomed briefly during the Uranium Craze, but two decades later, it already had a deserted look and feel to it. One marginal exception was Ethel’s Cafe. Its…
A First Hand Look at Drought in the Colorado River Basin …Story & Photos by Will Mahoney
For the past three years, I have taken an active interest in drought in the southwestern US as illustrated by declining water levels in various reservoirs. I have been especially interested in Lake Powell which started filling in 1963 upon…
THE MULE EAR INCIDENT, 1988 …by Gene Stevenson
Disclaimer: The following is a recollection of events that occurred in the early summer of 1988. An avoidable accident resulting in the death of a paying passenger was due to an unfortunate series of errors by ill-prepared staff and owners…
A LA SAL MOUNTAINS GALLERY …Photos by Jim Stiles and Bill Benge
The June 9th Pack Creek Fire was deeply upsetting for those of us who know and love the La Sals. I discuss the fire, and its effects, in two stories this issue: Take it or Leave it: FUTURE “FIRES”… A…
THINGS THAT ANNOY US #1: Reports of The Zephyr’s Death are Still Exaggerated… by Jim Stiles
This is the first installment of a new series on “Things that Annoy us.” The inaugural submission, written by our founding publisher, will be followed in future issues by other rants from members of the Zephyr Writing Staff and hopefully…
ZEPHYR AMERICA: The Salt Flat Cafe…photos by Jim Stiles
Our regular readers know that we began a new project at the Zephyr last year–called “Zephyr America.” We’ve been slowly wading through the massive Zephyr archives of historic photos and digitizing them to share with our readers. To keep up…
Herb Ringer’s American West: The ’65 Ford Falcon Van
Herb Ringer liked Ford vehicles. He traveled the country from the 40s through the 80s, initially with his parents Joseph and Sadie, and then alone. And from the beginning, the family preferred Ford–from their ’45 Super Deluxe to the ’49…
HANK SCHMIDT’S MONTHLY REPORT: Arches National Monument, September 1941
September 23, 1941 Travel this month, 296 Travel for the year, 3786 WEATHER September, ushered in by high, hot winds, was unpredictable from one day to the next. The weather has been cool for this time of the year and…
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The June/July Issue of the Zephyr!
In This Issue… Take it or Leave it: ‘New West Blues’ Revisited, 30 Years Later… by Jim Stiles Yes, Some People are Still Smoking. Could We Just Leave Them Alone? …by Tonya Audyn Stiles July 4, 1961: Murder & the…