Good friends

This was the future. Life would get busier and more varied, populated both by beautiful things and unfortunate circumstances. If their friendship demanded exclusivity or solitude, it couldn’t work. If it required that everything go as planned, it would turn brittle, and ultimately it would break. On the other hand, she knew that if they could be flexible and big, if they could encompass change, then they would make it...“Whatever happens, we will find each other. We always will.”

-Ann Brashares, Girls in Pants

Contagion!

This was a really good movie. But almost too close to real for comfort. Its one of the negative sides of living in a world that's so connected. It is definitely sticking with me though, and that's my definition of a good movie. Anyway, worth watching if you get a chance!

National Fossil Day at Glen Canyon

On Saturday we also celebrated National Fossil Day at Glen Canyon for the second time. We had a good turnout as Katie and I provided materials for dinosaur drawings and rubbings and stamp pictures and dinosaur footprint watercolors and clay dinosaurs...

I don't usually get to spend my days working with kids, and really enjoyed being pumped up by their enthusiasm! Their excitement, and wearing their new Junior Paleontologist badges and knowing the answers to all my questions during my therizinosaur talk.

What a great setting for National Fossil Day the visitor center was this year. Last year's milestone of getting a fossil case in was impressive. But this year to be surrounded by amazing artwork and the mounted therizinosaur skeleton and pictures of the Western Interior Seaway and the moving plesiosaur and the Pteranodon outside--surrounded by stories of Glen Canyon's ancient past!

A little more subdued in all ways from last year, it left us free to focus on the kid's joy and parent's curiosity.

One year ago today...

Glen Canyon lost two great rangers--Laurie Axelsen and Brent McGinn. We still think of them often and wish they could be back with us. We are inspired by what they taught us. In their memory I wrote a poem last year.

Harsh landscape

Sun and shadow

New ant hills on smooth riverbanks

Grateful to be alive

Tears leaking out

Beautiful landscape

Photos of wreckage

Haunting

Bright colors

Survived by parents

Tragedy

I can only imagine

Wind-whipped hair

Firm piloting

A good teacher

Winks and barefeet

The helpless feeling of knowing you can never name enough things after them

Friendly people, the prarie and pencils!

Just got back from a trip to South Dakota with Christin. We had a great time--driving our giant Suburban around, stopping randomly for wildlife, soaking in the prairie. We met up with the ferret folks for the 30th anniversary of black-footed ferret rediscovery in Meeteetse, WY. It was fun watching the playful ferrets released into prairie dog holes for their first meal. The group of scientists and land managers who have spent their careers dedicated to bringing these rare mammals back from the brink of extinction. Also got to meet some people who put conversation to practice on their own land and create their own small sanctuaries for native species. Of course I also did drag Christin along as we saw some of the paleontological and geological highlights of Badlands NP, thanks to Matt!

Back to the title of this post. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Rapid City something was different. People were so kind and friendly and deferential. If I was walking too fast (I have a problem with this) and cut someone off, they were the one apologizing to me. It made quite an impression on me. People in the Midwest really are friendlier!! We also had a couple of random conversations with strangers at viewpoints where we would talk for 10 or 15 minutes and they were so impressed we worked for the park service and we were happy they were enjoying their vacation and it was just lovely.

The prairie...I had forgotten how much I love the prairie. My first experience with it was in Nebraska, on my two week trip around the northern part of the state visiting paleontological sites, helping sift for fossils and scan for fossils and grid out and excavate for fossils. The sandhills was totally my favorite part of the trip. The gently rolling hills and softly moving grasses are such a contrast to my harsh yet still beautiful landscape out here. It was nice to visit somewhere a little less intense. It was a nice time of year to visit, too. We saw some great sunsets, light catching on the grasses.

And finally...pencils. It was odd, but it seemed like everywhere we went, instead of just sticker machines and gum ball machines, there were pencil machines. Maybe this is because South Dakotans are much more studious or more wholesome or something. But at Badlands, at restaurants, everywhere you could get pencils. Go Wall Eagles!! =)

Earthquakes

In regards to the two earthquakes today--one near Trinidad, CO (5.3) and the other near Mineral, VA (5.8). Its worth checking out the USGS seismic hazard maps, as both earthquakes occurred where it was predicted earthquakes were likely. (The star shows where today's earthquake occurred.)

Colorado: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2011/eq_110823_c0005idz/neic_c0005idz_z.html

Virginia: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2011/eq_110823_se082311a/se082311a_z.html

For some more interesting discussion of today's earthquakes, see: http://live.washingtonpost.com/east-coast-earthquake.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost.

Although the east coast is an old plate boundary, it can still have minor earthquake activity. The New Madrid fault zone near St. Louis, MO is a zone with potentially large earthquakes. According to USGS "The geologic record of pre-1811 earthquakes reveals that the New Madrid seismic zone has repeatedly produced sequences of major earthquakes, including several of magnitude 7 to 8, over the past 4,500 years." The 1811-1812 earthquakes included three earthquakes with a magnitude likely more than 7.

It is good to prepare for how to respond to an earthquake (stop, cover and hold on), even if you live on the east coast. Learn more about earthquake "drills" from the Great Shake Out program, see http://www.shakeout.org/.

Finally, a good commercial

Have you seen the latest Payless commercial? Its about paleontologists. =)

Keys, tents and travels, oh my!

My feeble excuse for the lack of posts is my busy summer schedule. In May I went to Grand Canyon to help with their paleo program. I had a great time there. First, there were trees (imagine, not being able to see for miles in every direction while running). Second, there was snow! And hail. And rain. I had a nice place to stay, I went running to see the South Rim every day, and I worked with great people.

Since June, I have been working in Kanab, UT, which is only 1hr 15min from Page, but feels a world away. Utah is a different time zone, and although I try to stay on UT time, I still spend a lot of time adding and subtracting hours and trying to make sure I'm not late for work. Kanab has been around a lot longer than Page, and used to be the site of many western films. It is thrown in with the Salt Lake City/St. George/Cedar City news cycle, rather than the Flagstaff and northern Arizona news. There are some really great restaurants here, and more variety in terms of what is at the grocery stores.

For the first half of my time here I camped and/or drove back and forth. I camped both in town (with a showerhouse and even wireless internet) and on BLM land (beautiful vistas and solitude). Both were good in their own ways. Now I am renting a bedroom in a house, which frees up more time to catch up on things in the evenings.

Travels

Christy suggested I post this map. The colored states are the ones I've visited (not just driven through). Still a few states to go, but not too shabby...

National Park Service

There is created in the Department of the Interior a service to be called the National Park Service, which shall be under the charge of a director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall have substantial experience and demonstrated competence in land management and natural or cultural resource conservation. The Director shall select two Deputy Directors. The first Deputy Director shall have responsibility for National Park Service operations, and the second Deputy Director shall have responsibility for other programs assigned to the National Park Service. There shall also be in said service such subordinate officers, clerks, and employees as may be appropriated for by Congress. The service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations hereinafter specified, except such as are under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army, as provided by law, by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments, and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

New digs

Moving this weekend! I will miss the winter morning drives along the lake, watching the sun rise. And running/biking/walking along the lake. But otherwise, I am ecstatic to be moving into town. We have leased a lovely house, very open with nice big windows and a walled in backyard with lots of bushes and trees. Although my room itself is smaller and I'll eventually be sharing a bathroom, the rest of the house is huge, so space is definitely not a problem. Plus I can walk to church, to the grocery store, library, etc. Or also bike around town more.

Despite the turbulence of ever-changing roommates, my room on Scorpion Way has been a haven for me. Nine months in the same place was a nice treat after so many moves in D.C. I will miss my walk-in closet. And randomly running into people on the street. Scorpion Thanksgiving and Christmas were definitely some of the highlights. But I'm sure there will be many more card nights and dinner parties in town as well.

Farewell, my first home in Page!

This is my home

The Monument Valley-Navajo Mountain region is part of the Colorado Plateau and includes about 1,100 square miles in San Juan County, southeastern Utah, laying between the San Juan and Colorado Rivers on the north and the Utah-Arizona state line on the south. Included in the region are Navajo Mountain, the Rainbow Natural Bridge, and a part of the picturesque Monument Valley. The surface of the region is an upland, consisting of an alternating series of high eastward-facing escarpments and broad westward-sloping plateaus, dissected by the deep canyons of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers and their tributaries. The altitude above sea level of most of the surface is 4,500 to 6,000 feet. This region has unusual scenic beauty, with its varicolored rocks practically unobscured by soil and with its deep canyons, high cliffs, and a variety of fantastic rock forms caved by erosion.

The region is about 175 miles by road from Thompson, Utah, on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, and nearly 200 miles by road from Flagstaff, Ariz., on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. A road from Flagstaff to Thompson crosses Monument Valley. Practically none of the area is tillable and under cultivation. The only inhabitants are about 20 white persons, who live at 4 trading posts, and about 100 Indians. The meager vegetation consists of shrubs and other small plants of desert types and a few trees; cottonwood trees grow sparsely along the stream courses, cedar and pinon grow on the uplands in scattered patches, and pine and spruce grow on the upper slopes of Navajo Mountain.

- Arthur A. Baker, USGS Bulletin 865, 1936

Magically Appearing Roommates

Government housing is always an adventure. In DC I lived in a huge dusty house that I ended up being kicked out of so they could deal with the mice. Then I lived in a house with 6-7 housemates, shared a bedroom, two kitchens on a little piece of parkland along a busy traffic route. Here in Arizona the phenomenon is the magically appearing roommates. Magic because we never know when it is going to be or how many or when they're leaving. Someday, you'll just show up at your house and there is another person there. Just when you've gotten into a routine with this new person and things are back to "normal" another one will show up.

I'm somewhat resistant to change anyway, and always resent these sudden changes in routine. Last week we had another roommate appear 4 days early and she was eventually scared off by my cluttered room. Nevertheless, I am looking at moving to a house in town soon, where my space will really be my space and perhaps there will be a few less magic appearances...

Glitz and glamor

I enjoyed watching the Academy Awards tonight. The movie montages (especially the singing one) were especially funny and Anne Hathaway did a great job. Watching famous people be real and human and full of emotion is neat. Not to mention lots of pretty dresses...

Walking to Utah

Is something I do often, because it's only a few miles away. Walking along the lake as evening light descends over each line of rock outcropping is very peaceful. Especially this time of year, when we don't have many visitors. I wander in and around the trails and streets of Wahweap, soaking in the scenery and letting the things tumbling around in my mind figure themselves out into straight lines.

Love my hardware store

One of the great parts of living in a small town and frequenting local businesses is that there are usually people just waiting around to help you out. The hardware store is one of my favorites, because I walk in with a problem, wander the aisles until someone asks if they can help, they find whatever I need quickly and I walk out with a solution that usually costs $1-2. Can't beat that.

Loss of visibility

Whirling snow, ice and wind descended on northern Arizona and southern Utah this weekend. While driving to St. George (snow in Page but no accumulation, snowing towards Kanab, snow on the ground in Kanab, snowy roads in Apple Valley, rainy day in St. George) my home landscape looked totally foreign. With clouds hovering over the buttes and ridges, I was left with the few feet of scrub brush on either side of me. How I missed the colorful redrock landscape that paints this region. Amazing what you don't think to miss until its gone for a day.

Submitted!

Today is a red letter day, because I finally submitted the professional paper from my Master's thesis that has been worked on, on and off, for eight months. It took the whole day today, with the help of my new shiny printer (with wireless double-sided printing!) and software at work to get it done. After so much going back and forth with co-authors over email, clicking send was quite a relief. Probably a few errors remained, but it is such a huge step forward it still makes me giddy. Hooray!!

Four Wheel Drive!

Thanks to a friend's four wheel drive vehicle, I got to experience some more rugged landscapes today. First on a bumpy road through multiple wash outs to Paria, where they filmed a number of Hollywood westerns. The buildings themselves were burned in a fire and haven't been rebuilt. But the valley itself is quite lovely and full of rainbow-colored mudstone layers. The mighty Paria River (at least on this day) defeated us, as we didn't want cold and muddy feet that early in the morning.

We drove on, through the mostly melted snow near Bryce Canyon and over into unexplored territory. Through valleys, mountains and plains we drove, north of the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Eventually we took the Hole-in-the-Rock road, originally blasted by Mormon pioneers that leads all the way to Lake Powell.

After a hike through Entrada Formation hoo doos and arches, we drove down the rough road to Egypt--finally arriving just before dark to an audience of skittish cows. It was clear why the road ends there, and we turned around and headed back, bouncing slowly over potholes in the dark.

Everything happens today

Why is it that on some days nothing of great consequence happens and on others everything does? Yesterday I was happily learning to bird (in 30 degree weather) as part of the Christmas bird count and enjoying the chance to be outdoors. Today was a rollercoaster. I found out this morning I had a new housemate, who moved in this afternoon. A report I had been waiting on for months finally arrived, I got an important meeting scheduled and oh yeah, I found out that I have a job for another few months anyway. Planning beyond this month again is nice, even if my long term situation is still uncertain. Then finding out that someone passed away too young (not someone I knew personally, although I know the family) threw things in proper perspective. My thoughts are with them tonight. And with the long-eared owl, northern flicker and wood ducks, wherever they may be today as the evening draws to a close.