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!!