While out on the last trip...

I passed the Hasting's Cutoff.

Bonus points for those of you who tell me of its significance.

Lucin Sun Tunnels, UT/NV Border

These are large concrete tunnels placed so that the sun will rise and set directly through each set on the summer and winter solstice (there are two sets of tunnels).

For more information, see: http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/UT3126/

I went out for the winter solstice (a week early) and camped out with some friends.

Here are a few photos I took...

MIDTERMS ARE NEXT WEEK!!!

Remember, as per school policy-

Work due prior to midterms may not be turned in for credit -after- midterms. Essentially, everything that has been due already (and through midterms) can not be turned in after midterms. If you have work you are missing, midterms are the cutoff!

You are all great students...it is a pleasure to be your teacher.

1st 4 Current Events for 2nd Quarter DUE DECEMBER 1st!!!

Students...your first 4 current events on UTAH news stories are due the 1st of December. They are worth 80 points!!

The Moody Brothers in S. Utah

I'm the one on the right...

My Dad and I in Arches NP Summer 1987:

I still remember this trip, I can recall being really, really hot in my corduroy pants and velcro shoes topped off with a sweatshirt. I recall this being one of the trips I started to really -love- the desert. I was 7 years old...


Thanks for showing me the way, Dad.

Sometimes...we so easily take things for granted. Check this out.

This woman was born deaf and receives an implant to allow her to hear. Her husband video tapes the experience...

A Chance Encounter in Utah's Backcountry...a flintknapped knife

I found this flintknapped  knife out on Cedar Mesa last month. I have traveled to Mexico, Honduras, the Cayman Islands, and other amazing locales during the past year, but this knife was by far the most intriguing experience I have had. I imagined the owner living in this land, making a life for themselves, feeling the desert heat, the cold of the winter, the howling winds, and the faucet like rain washing away the dust built up from the weeks before. I imagine the owner thanking the gods for the rain to quench their thirst, to water their crops, and to bring more life to the plants and animals in the region. I can imagine the owner sitting down to skin a rabbit, cooking their food over an open fire and using the knife to cut pieces off the main carcass. I can imagine the owner sitting down, setting the knife down and walking away...forgetting about it until a bald history teacher a thousand years later finds it peeking out of the sand.

The Dollhouse Ruin Cedar Mesa, Utah (I love UT)

Here are a couple of photos from the Dollhouse Ruin in SE Utah. For those of you who missed the photo essay in class, these are a part of what we viewed.

Enjoy...

One of the best authors of the Southwest...Craig Childs

If you are at all interested in the American Southwest, Anasazi, or even more modern Native American history, artifacts, or other sites you will love Craig Childs writings. This is a lecture Craig gave on his book, House of Rain. Check it out...

Short clip of a variety of Anasazi Ruins in SE Utah

IT IS ALL COMING DUE!! YES! The cutoff for 1st quarter is TOMORROW!!

There will be no exceptions. Zero. Please don't ask.

1963 Desert Magazine Article by Gene Foushee

196304 Desert Magazine 1963 April

Part 2: CFI Field Trip to Cedar Mesa

The group went off-pavement and ventured along the route of the Hole in the Rock Expedition led by Jens Neilsen. Stopping near a prehistoric cave that has been utilized for years for both shelter and proximity to a natural spring, we ate a quick lunch and began hiking into an area marked as wilderness area. Almost immediately, Gene identified a metate on the side of the trail. As we continued on, Gene found a rock scraper or knife that had been flintknapped to produce a sharp edge. All along the way Gene pointed out various plants, types of and layers of rock, lichens, and other points of interest. We ventured on our way to the edge of a canyon to see Ancestral Puebloan ruins.


After the hike, and a quick watering, we went to see a natural spring before working our way along the rough 4wd dirt road, bouncing along like a load of beach balls in the back of a truck. Once we arrived in Bluff, happy to be back on pavement and ready to eat, we all went to eat at the local San Juan Kitchen for some excellent mexican food.

Once we were all back to our rooms for the night, I thought I would read a bit before turning in for the night...I made it through perhaps 3 pages before I was asleep at 8:45pm.

The next morning we went to the upper edge of Comb Ridge to follow the Posey Trail. Posey is the name of the Native American who is attributed with the last of the 'Indian' wars in the United States. The war amounts to a series of skirmishes that ultimately led to the capture of Posey and some of his fellow natives.

The trucks shuttled us up the rough 4wd road, providing us with spectacular views of the Comb Ridge and Comb Wash and their tributaries. We were dropped off and we hiked to the edge of the ridge where we were able to see the Posey Trail. As the trail is extremely steep and rough, we opted to take the longer route down off of the ridge and head into Butler Wash, meeting the vehicles back on the tarmac.
We shuttled our group to the head of Arch Canyon where we reflected on the weekend and the history of the area, all the while sitting under a canopy of golden Cottonwood trees.

We were shuttled up the 4wd road to the rim of the