EDITOR’S NOTE: For Part One of: ‘The Calm before the Swarm,” go to: http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/2011/12/01/the-calm-before-the-swarm-by-jim-stiles/ After decades in operation, the Atlas Uranium Mill, once the lifeblood of the community, ground to a halt, closed in 1984 and never re-opened. The domestic…
Overall, America’s insatiable desire to chomp on overseas food has been growing. About 16.8 percent of the food that we eat is imported from other countries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up from 11.3 percent two decades…
Cowboys and Rednecks I was at a roadside café the other day, listening to this fella’ go on about cowboys and rednecks. To his way of thinking, it seems, there was no difference at all between the two and he…
Everyone has a favorite campsite. Whether it dates from a happy childhood, undergraduate hi-jinks or racial memory from prehistoric humanity makes no difference. If you’re lucky, you have a favorite secret campsite, one that will hopefully remain unknown forever. In…
In the late 80s and early 90s, I was taking a lot of pictures of Moab’s ‘survivors.’ the ones who decided to tough out the hard times and make a new life. Here is Part 2 of my collection of…
2/3…TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT….By Jim Stiles THE ‘OCCUPY MOVEMENT’: * Just WHO is Occupying WHOM? (“I’m shocked! I’m shocked!” * The 99% at War with Itself * Occupying Wall Street vs Occupying Wal-Mart—the root of the problem MY WORST…AND…
THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT & HISTORY: A recent survey of Americans under 30 revealed some surprising gaps in their knowledge of America and of the world. Three in ten could not locate the Pacific Ocean on a map. Seven out of…
Gauge: The Champaign Dog from the Land of Lincoln Submitted by Lisa Braddock Gauge was rescued from an animal control facility that would not allow him to be adopted even though he showed no signs of aggression or any…
MY PERSONAL HISTORY: Life & Times in Southeast Utah by Verona Stocks The Farm in Blanding When school was out a family friend took Aunt Pearl, Mary and me to Blanding. The night before we left, a well…
Holidaze It is starting to get cold here. Once again, the trees flame with gold that rains down on the barren fields whenever the wind sweeps down the valley. I can see my breath most mornings, and know that the…
I lean against the railing atop a high rise, just enough to get butterflies, and settle my gaze on the Pacific Ocean. The city of Seattle is waking up. From above, the sputtering trucks look like slow moving flat…
I often don’t know what’s on my mind (facebook) until sometimes when I look at old photos like these. It’s the old house I lived in during 1977 and most of 78 near Cedar Hill, Texas (actually those are…
Bonfire of the Vanities by Doug Meyer Quotations from “Inferno” by Charles Bowden “It is not simply that I do not have clean hands. It is worse: I refuse to wash them…” In case you hadn’t noticed, the…
In the summer of 1987, the economy of Moab and Grand County hit rock bottom. A few years earlier, as uranium prices plummeted, the Atlas Vanadium Processing Mill north of town closed its doors for good. The mill, which had…
Portraits of Moab (1988-1993) In the late 80s and early 90s, I was taking a lot of pictures of Moab’s ‘survivors.’ the ones who decided to tough out the hard times and make a new life. Here is Part…
“The whole society is going someplace else.” – Gary Snyder Five years ago, the November sun baking my face, I hiked into the Chihuahuan Desert eight miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, into all the space and light. Sipping…
I started attempting to capture the night sky on film way back in 1986. I loved being out in the desert at night and how brilliant the night sky can be without the light pollution of nearby cities. I…
From Mudd, Stiles and the Heath Monitor Files… Computerised contact lens will keep you up to date with news and texts Imagine catching up with your texts, social networking and perhaps the news without having to log on…
The View From Above A 1957 aerial photograph of Arches National Monument, including Abbey’s trailer. U95 bridge at Hite in Glen Canyon A new million dollar home, built on SITLA lands near Moab. Tarantula Mesa, just east of the…
The Wilder West: The Art and Wit of Dave Wilder Occupy Christmas Occupy Christmas ‘Twas some months before Christmas when all through the Land People took to the streets with signs in their hands. They…
The Zephyr Gets Married! Though many people thought that pigs would fly before my husband married, Jim and I tied the knot on October 1st, surrounded by our nearest and dearest friends and family. It was a warm and breezy…