FIRST…SOME BATES WILSON STORIES… I came to Moab and became a seasonal ranger at Arches just a couple of years after Bates Wilson retired from the National Park Service, so I never had the chance to work for him. But…
In The Zephyr’s first year of publication, Canyonlands National Park celebrated its 25th anniversary. I interviewed then-Superintendent Harvey Wickware, who gave his assessment of Canyonlands National Park’s first quarter century, and offered his vision of the Park at 50…Last month…
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Sheldon Hefner’s Turkey Stuffing This is a recipe given to me a long time ago by former Moab resident and funeral director, Sheldon Hefner. He suggests that the stuffing be cooked in a covered dish rather than being used as…
From the WPA Guide to Colorado, published in 1941: “Passing numerous mine shafts and ore dumps, State 279 ascends a high ridge known as QUARTZ HILL and descends to CENTRAL CITY, 8.1 m. (8,560 alt., 572 pop.), seat of Gilpin…
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This painting, featuring a turkey vulture skull above crossed monkey wrenches is respectfully dedicated to the life and writings of Edward Abbey. It’s one of a new series of paintings that presents natural and human-made objects in trompe l’oeil…
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT…Jim Stiles BOOK CLIFFS HIGHWAY UPDATE & SOME THOUGHTS ON “PRODUCTION v CONSUMPTION SOWING CLOVER…Tonya Stiles HILLARY CLINTON in the MASTER’S HOUSE The Zephyr Chronicles…pt 3 The “Fork in the Wilderness Road’ & ‘Time to…
Four months ago, the Grand County Council presented a proposal to build an “energy transportation corridor” via Sego Canyon, through the Book Cliffs, to possible oil development sites in the northern tip of Grand County. The plan included the creation…
I am so sick of 2016. It’s two years away yet, but the Cable News talking heads and internet political forecasters just will not keep their Presidential predictions at bay. Regardless of the midterm elections this Fall, the crumbling Domestic…
I always loved wild, open country, from the time I was a kid. I spent much of my youth on a canoe or lost in some forest. It’s why I came West. In 1982, I heard about a new grassroots…
Note: The original version of this story appeared in the June 1991 Zephyr. For decades, since the Wilderness Act was passed by Congress in 1964, citizens of this nation have waged war with each other over the need for wilderness…
On May 5, 2003, Erica Walz conducted a lengthy interview with Tori Woodard and Patrick Diehl at their home in Escalante, Utah. Both Woodard and Diehl are actively involved in Utah public lands issues and have been vocal opponents of…
Paul Vlachos is a New Yorker who understands The West. And he is a New Yorker who understands New York. Wherever Paul goes, he finds signs of life… 1. Indio, California – 1998 Indio keeps getting bigger and bigger. At…
“As far as technological culture is concerned, we lag miles behind America. But all that is frightfully costly and already carries the germ of the end in itself.” – Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung, 1909 On Valentine’s Day, 1884, when he…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Be advised that there is language in this story which may be offensive to some readers. However, for accuracy, we have transcribed quotes as they appeared originally, in this case, on Andy Lewis’ publicly accessible facebook page. ‘As…
The Sinai Peninsula is one of the most spectacular places on the face of the earth. Armies of the ages have used the rolling sand dunes of northern Sinai as a highway to battle. Ancient Pharaohs, Mesopotamian monarchs, Alexander the…
Existential Roads The right-of-way for the construction of highways across public lands not otherwise reserved for public purposes is hereby granted — Revised Statute 2477, 1866 Mining Act. When you construct a road does it have to go anywhere? Is…
It’s late July and the Rufous Hummers are back. Feisty little devils, they are. Ready to pick a fight, just to have something to do. I sit on my porch swing in the early evening and watch the aerobatics, the…
EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS FROM BEYOND? For decades, I was convinced I’d found an alien landing site. More 20 years ago, I wrote this: ‘Alien visitations? The proof is here, on an isolated ridge in the northern part of Grand County.…
Note: This article first appeared in the June/July 2010 Zephyr. It’s almost looking like Spring at Pack Creek Ranch. The lawns are greening up. The horses are looking like they’re feeling their oats after a long hard winter. Splashes of…