(no subject)
Note: Read Interlude 3 before reading this...
It's here:
http://myeyesaintblue.livejournal.com/14724.html
The making of
"Ed sees an entirely different kind of light..."
(Well it's probably more like the travelogue behind it.)
Okay.
So you want the truth?
I guess I should start by finally
tellin' y'all where we live.
"They live about twenty-some miles north
of this exact spot right here."
That's actually a picture from the newspaper
of a guy pointing at a wildfire.
But we really do live about twenty-some miles
north of that exact spot right there.
And that exact spot right there just happens to be
in Utah.
Yes, Utah.
Definitely, inarguably, hands down and without a doubt
the craziest
of those states that are, supposedly, united.
A state where "family values" reign supreme.
"cough,cough,cough."
Excuse me.
Some a them "Utah-style family values" kinda stick in my craw.
(It's durn pretty here, though)
Now, as to the story of Ed's first time bein' on the receivin' end a things.
The story is true.
At least that's what Hank told me.
The pictures are merely my interpretation of that momentous event.
I don't know where Ed and Hank's real canyon is.
Hank's not telling.
And Ed doesn't know about this photo montage yet,
but I doubt he'll tell either.
Even if he does ever speak to me again once he sees it.
So I conjured up what I thought it would look like from what Hank told me.
The story started with a mountain.
One that's not in Utah.
But there are some nice mountains here.
It's also not in Wyoming or Colorada or Montana or Idaho or Canada.
Though they have some mighty fine mountains too.
This particular mountain is in Washington,
in the Northern Cascades, somewhere along highway 20, to be exact.
But this is in Utah. In Zion National Park.
And there is a little canyon behind that tree.
Just not the one I made it out to be.
Here's another picture of Zion.
This is the east side of the park, near where that little canyon is.
I
This is looking towards the main canyon at Zion.
Well, one side of it anyway.
The next few pictures from the story
were all from Antelope Canyon,in Page, Arizona.
Yes, this is it.
You can easily step across it in spots
and you can see that
it doesn't look like much
from above.
But it is.
Here's a few other photos of Antelope Canyon.
Seemed like we tooks hundreds.
A few actually turned out.
If you go: Antelope Canyon (also called "Corkscrew Canyon, maybe?) is located on Navajo land just outside of Page. I don't think you have to take a tour to go, like some signs seem to imply. We just showed up and paid and we were left to wander through the short (1/4 mile) but incredibly beautiful little canyon on our own. Of course, it was February, and it wasn't a weekend... It's kind of confusing because there's more than one slot canyon in the area. We haven't been to any others yet. Don't like taking tours and I think with those you need to take a tour. P.S. A depressing aside: Don't go into any narrow canyon if rain is even threatening anywhere in the vicinity. 11 people died here on August 12, 1997, in a flash flood caused by a storm that was 10 miles away.
This picture is from Wire Pass
in Utah, west of Page, near "The Wave".
Here's a couple of other pictures from Wire Pass
The picture on the right was taken inside those rocks on the left,
If you go: There may be few small drop-offs to deal with.
Conditions can change with every flash flood.
BTW, this is also the trailhead for Buckskin Gulch
Hank made me cut Ed out of these pictures.
These pictures are from "The Wave" in Coyote Buttes.
The hike to it starts in Utah, (also at the Wire Pass trailhead),
but most/some of the hike is actually in Arizona.
If you go: The Wave isn't far at all from the trailhead (no drop-offs), only about three kilometers (under two miles) out to it, but you could easily spend the entire day, or an entire lifetime, roaming around the area. (Although the wave itself is fairly small.) Unfortunately, you need to make reservations in advance through the BLM to get a permit to go (North Unit, Coyote Buttes) and the spots book up fast. Although they also have some first come, first serve permits available. It's located between Page and Kanab*. Please stay tuned for a public service announcement regarding Kanab immediately following this post.
More info if your interested:
http://www.blm.gov/az/asfo/paria/coyote_buttes/index.htm
P.S. If anyone ever decides to go, let me know. The directions the BLM gives you aren't very good. Some people go looking for the wave and never find it. I can email you the directions I wrote down after the first time we went. Or, better yet, just reserve me a spot (I'll pay for it, of course) and I'll go with you and lead you right to it. : D
This is The Wave
That small, unbelievably colorful passageway
and that psychedelic rock art next to it
(from the pictures above)
are just to the left of where that jagged, dark shadow is.
You need the right light for it to look like that,
but it looked that way two out of the three times we've been there.
This is some of the other stuff in the same general area
The ferns are from a little no-name (as far as I know) canyon on the east side of Zion.
Not the one with the tree in front of it.
The bigger of the two waterfalls was from
the Emerald Pools trail at Zion in early springtime.
(We've never once seen those pools looking emerald.)
This little waterfall is from a small canyon near Glendale.
Ultimately, not really worth the trip. (Sadly, there is lots of graffiti.)
(BTW, these are the only two pictures I cheated on, using photoshop.)
And now a public service announcement:
*Kanab... Boycott it!
Stay in Page, if possible. Eat in Page, if possible.
We drive through Kanab fairly often.
We used to stop and eat. Now we just stop to pee.
And to spit on the durn sidewalk,
Well, Ed and Hank won't.
They're too nice.
But I do.
Here's why:
The town of Kanab adopted a "natural family resolution" in January of 2006
Here's links to a few articles, etc... about the story:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-kanab24jun24,1,1555844.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
http://travelnewsblog.latimes.com/dailytraveler/2006/03/boycott_of_kana.html
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/us/30kanab.html?n=Top%2FFeatures%2FTravel%2FDestinations%2FUnited%20States%2FUtah
Here is the fulltext of Kanab's "natural family resolution"
(It's pretty short, but downright disturbing.)
http://www.sutherlandinstitute.org/images/kanabresolution.pdf
Now, a moment of silence please,
as I salute Kanab...
and their "Utah-style family values".
Please,
feel free to join me.
The End.
P.S. Locations of previous stuff:
The cattle drive was on I-84 near mile marker 108, north and east of Salt Lake City.
The sheep hunting mostly took place on the north end of the Cottonwood Canyon Rd.,
south of Cannonville, in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Natl Monument.
(The south end of the road is prettier).
And the sheep festival took place in the town where we live.
(Well, at least it ain't Kanab...)
Thanks for reading y'all!
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