National Parks Archives ~ Page 14 of 14 ~ Rambling ranger

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018

Help Save Our National Monuments!

What do our National Monuments mean to you? Do you think of them as places to play, to recreate and enjoy the beauty of our public lands? Do you think of them as places that protect the past, conserving prehistoric fossils and Ancestral Puebloan ruins? Do you think of them as “mini-National Parks”? Do you think of them as a way to offer important American landmarks a level of protection?

Mt. San Jacinto — Santa Rosa & San Jacinto National Monument

There’s a bill before the House right now you should know about. It’s HR 3990, The “National Monument Creation & Protection Act”.

Don’t let the title fool you. It’s not about national monument creation. It’s about national monument destruction and the evisceration of the Antiquities Act.

Valley of the Gods, Utah — Bear’s Ears National Monument

A Few Provisions of this Bill:

It would change the language, striking “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” and inserting “object or objects of antiquity”.
Limit the size of any new national monuments, in some cases to no more than 640 acres.
Limit a national monument’s proximity to other national monuments.
The President could remove up to 85,000 acres from existing national monuments, even more with agreement from a state’s governor and legislature.
Prohibits national monuments that protect oceans.

Gold Butte, Nevada — Gold Butte National Monument

A Little Historic Background

There are a few misconceptions out there about what the Antiquities Act is all about. Even in the very earliest days of the Antiquities Act, the “scientific interest” clause was important. Of the 18 national monuments created by Theodore Roosevelt, one third were created to preserve places of scientific interest. Proponents of this bill state that the Antiquities Act was only created to preserve objects of antiquity.

Proponents of this act state that the original act was meant to preserve only small areas. Is the Grand Canyon a small area? Fully half of our national parks started out as national monuments, most in excess of 85,000 acres at their creation as national monuments.

Sunset at Grand Canyon — Grand Canyon National Park

Think of Zion, Canyonlands, Death Valley, Olympic, Katmai, Wrangell-St. Elias, just to name a few. If the Antiquities Act meant what proponents of H.R. 3990 believe it does, none of these crown jewels would have ever received protection. Just think of the loss to our national heritage if these lands had not been protected!

The most troubling clause of this bill is the ability of the president to drastically reduce the size of existing national monuments. This means that any of our national monuments can be arbitrarily reduced by up to 85,000 acres at any time and for any reason. Essentially it means a national monument designation is no protection at all.

T Rex Skull, Dinosaur Ntnl. Monument — Dinosaur National Monument

It’s Not All Bad News

There is a ray of hope. New Mexico’s Senator Tom Udall has sponsored another bill, S. 2354, the Antiquities Act of 2018. This bill reaffirms and strengthens the original Antiquities Act and will demonstrate the public’s support for our national monuments. This bill currently needs more sponsors.

Sand Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients, Colorado — Canyon of the Ancients National Monument

What You Can Do

Educate yourself about just how important the Antiquities Act and our National Monuments are. Here’s a link to get started.
Write your congressman. Let them know that you support the Antiquities Act and do not support HR 3990.
Write your senators. Let them know you support the Antiquities Act and Senate bill S. 2354 and ask them to help sponsor this bill.
Donate to organizations that are fighting the repeal of the Antiquities Act.
The BLM is preparing management plans for the reduced Bear’s Ears and Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monuments proposed by Trump, even though the court cases challenging the legality of this action have not yet been heard. There is a comment period open until April 11. Protest this action. Comments must be sent individually for each National Monument.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Make comments for Bear’s Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante here.
Spread the word! Tell your friends and neighbors about this unprecedented threat to some of our most sacred places.
Be an activist! Organize or join a rally or demonstration in support of the Antiquities Act.

Our national monuments have never been so endangered. It’s up to us to speak up and let our voices be heard. Time is short. Let our government know now how much you care about our public lands.

February 13, 2018

California Desert Wildflower Forecast

So what’s gonna happen with the desert wildflowers this year? People have been asking, so I took a quick little survey of my favorite spots so I could make an educated guess. Take it with a grain of salt. Things could always change. I remember one year at Death Valley when all the experts said it was grim, too dry, don’t expect any wildflowers this spring! Then we had the rainiest February on record. It was a lovely wildflower season.

There ARE a few teeny tiny seedlings coming up in Death Valley.

Sorry to say, unless something unexpected like that happens, it will be a rather poor wildflower season due to the La Nina weather conditions we have been experiencing.

La Nina weather patterns generally mean the southwest will be hotter and dryer than normal. The northwest will be wetter and colder. This winter we have definitely seen those conditions, as anyone bogged down in the rain in Washington or praying for precipitation in southern Colorado will verify.

The California desert is a tough place to live even in a good year. This year is downright brutal.

Anza Borrego State Park — Ocotillo in Anza Borrego

Take Anza Borrego, for instance. Sorry, all the flowers bloomed last year and none are left for this year. Just kidding. There are other reasons why nothing is blooming, like heat and especially lack of rain. The state park has only received 1.1 inches of precipitation since July. There was a big storm in September in the mountains, but it didn’t even reach the valley floor. They did get one good rain in January, but it was not enough for the annuals to germinate. It’s already really hot, just under 90 degrees at the end of January. Those big fields filled with lilies, verbena and primrose last year are bone dry and dirt brown, with no little green things coming up. There ARE a few plants getting started in the far eastern reaches of the park. Word is some of the upper elevations are getting a few blossoms. Try Plum Canyon. The occasional ocotillo, brittlebush, or chuparosa (all perennials) are currently putting out a few blossoms, and they’re just getting started. You can depend on the perennials, even if the annuals take a year off.

If you are planning a wildflower trip here, make it early March and you may find more happening at the higher elevations. The valley is looking pretty dismal.

Joshua Tree is suffering under the same conditions. Brittlebush, which I’ve seen blooming randomly everywhere else in the California desert, is looking dead here, worse than just dormant. Even the leaves are all shriveled up and brown. Ray of hope – I did see a bladderpod bush and an ocotillo with blooms. Don’t expect much from the flowers here this year, though.

Surprisingly, Mojave National Preserve is actually looking better than it did last year. I saw brittlebush and bladderpod blooming here. Little green things are creating a fuzz on the sides of the road. Last year I saw nothing.

Death Valley is doing a little better. Little green seedlings are trying to get a foothold in many places. There were two storms in January here. You might call them scattered showers. Some parts of the park got a lot of rain, some none at all. The usual hotspots near Ashford Mill and the west side of Jubilee Pass are looking very sad. All dried out, no green coming up at all. The west side of Jubilee Pass through Salisbury Pass, all the way to the Greenwater Road, had a fine green fuzz on the sides of the road. Desert Gold was blooming from about MM21 through 26 on the Badwater Road, with a lot of little plants getting started. I did not see any Brown-Eyed Evening Primrose plants anywhere. This is usually one of the early bloomers. The seedlings are usually getting started by the end of January. Not a good sign.

Sand to Snow National Monument — Globemallow in Big Morongo Canyon

The wind was relentless the entire time I was there, which will dry those tender little seedlings off in a hurry. Another rain could be the maker/breaker of the wildflower season here. Expect an average year, no massive fields of flowers as far as the eye can see, but there will be flowers. This is a year to contemplate the perfection of each individual bloom. Marvel over how tough these plants must be, to bloom and share with us their beauty in spite of only an inch or so of water for the entire year!

My bet for the best place to catch desert wildflowers this year is the Coachella Valley. Although this area is also suffering a lack of rain, I saw a few different plants blooming here – brittlebush, ocotillo, sacred datura, globemallow, even a patch of sand verbena. They were the early birds, few and far between.

I would wait a couple of weeks until late February or early March. I would recommend the trails in Sand to Snow National Monument. The monument hosts quite a lot of diversity in habitats, so you may find something blooming somewhere!

February 1, 2018

Revisiting the Past at Hovenweep

I’ve been revisiting the past a lot on my winter travels this year. Another place I revisited recently was Hovenweep National Monument.

Hovenweep is more than just a place for me to revisit MY past, it is a place to contemplate deep time and think about our human past. From about 900 to 1300 A.D., there was a settlement in this canyon. By the time it was abandoned, it was a regular town. It is estimated that about 2500 people lived here then.

And what creative people they were! Hovenweep has some of the most interesting Ancestral Puebloan architecture to be found anywhere. There are square towers, round towers, and towers shaped like a D. Buildings were built on top of boulders, and under boulders.

The craftsmanship was superb, even more detailed than the bigger ruins at nearby Mesa Verde.

I found Hovenweep a good place to meditate on change, and on the fact that however much things change, many things remain the same.

Then as now, the surrounding country was rich farmland. Farmers terraced the hillsides and built check dams to retain both water and topsoil. Even the crops haven’t changed much. They grew corn, beans and squash. Nowadays, the area near Hovenweep is known as the pinto bean capital of the U.S.

There was a big drought here, thought by many to be the reason the area was abandoned. As I was passing through, southwest Colorado was experiencing a smaller drought. Some archaeologists believe salinization of the soil may have been one of the problems confronting the Ancestral Puebloans. Salinity of the soil and the water is a challenge encountered by local farmers today, too.

There have been a lot of changes in the 20-odd years since I was here last. The first time I came to Hovenweep it was pretty much the back of beyond. The only way in was a rough dirt road. We weren’t sure if our little two-wheel drive Toyota was up to the journey. It was remote, and there was no Park Service presence at all. I kind of recall a rugged trail leading from one ruin to the next, but it was more a use trail than an official NPS pathway. We were the only people there. It was so quiet, a land abandoned, left to its ghosts.

Now there’s no problem with reaching Hovenweep. The road is paved. There’s a campground and a fancy new Visitor Center. There is a paved walkway to a viewpoint, and a well-maintained trail connects many of the ruins.

Hovenweep National Monument Visitor Center

But I visited in winter, and I still found the solitude I remembered so clearly from the past. I came through on a Tuesday, and found the Visitor Center closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the off season. No one else visited while I was there. I was struck by the silence and the solitude,so similar to the way it was so many years ago. I walked alone with the ghosts, and the memories of other times.

Raven at Tower Point Hovenweep National Monument — Spirit of the Canyon

January 29, 2018

Marvelous Moab

I used to hang out around Moab a lot, BMB (before mountain biking). From the mid-eighties through the nineties, I would spend a month every spring hiking on the Colorado Plateau.

It was just a cow town then, a place to get gas and groceries. We would camp for free along the river, on the River Road, Kane Creek and the Potash Road. In Arches, we’d get up before dawn to get a jump on the masses and have the most popular trails to ourselves. If we felt like sleeping in, we’d find more obscure routes to follow. After all, it’s not wilderness if you can’t find solitude. Once, we spent three weeks straight trippin’ in the Needles District of Canyonlands, seeing ice cream flavors in the colors of the slickrock – fudge swirl and neapolitan.

Arches National Park — Alpenglow on Skyline Arch

It was a free life, both in cost and the freedom to do what you wanted whenever and wherever you wanted.

Things changed. Moab was discovered. It got crowded. We still came to the Colorado Plateau every spring, but we passed through Moab and didn’t linger on our way to points further south. Just gas and groceries.

It’s the first time I’ve been back in quite a while. The old cow town now smacks of the overkill typical of National Park gateways, reminiscent of Estes Park, Glitter Gulch outside of Denali, West Yellowstone.

New construction is happening everywhere. The Rock Shop used to be WAY on the outskirts of town, but now it’s motel after motel all the way past the river on Hwy. 191. There’s even a tram and a zip line.

It’s been years since you could camp free on the river. Designated fee campgrounds are the way to go now. You can no longer spend three weeks lost in the backcountry of Canyonlands. There’s a two week maximum limit, a $30 fee, permits to be acquired, designated backcountry campsites. And Arches? Ed Abbey would roll over in his grave. Talk about being loved to death.

I understand. We need to manage the impact on this fragile environment. Rightly so, there’s a lot of impact. Still, I cherish the time I had here when it WAS free, a little known secret paradise.

Of course, it’s mountain bike Mecca now. I don’t mountain bike, so if you want to know more about the Moab biking trails, check out this article on GoNomad. It’s also a hotspot for four-wheeling, with all the old uranium mining roads, rafting, and rock climbing. The hiking is still great. In addition to the national parks, there are the Behind the Rocks, Mill Creek and Negro Bill WSAs among others. The dining options and the nightlife are a lot better than they used to be, I’ll give it that!

Potash Road — Check out the petroglyphs and rock climbing on Highway 279

I have no desire to be here in the peak season of spring anymore, when the crowds are insane, but it’s winter now. Off season, no crowds. I can love this place once again, and I’ve found some deals.

Due to Park Service budget cuts, the visitor center, and the entrance booth, at Island in the Sky in Canyonlands are closed in January and February. There’s nowhere to pay your fee, so the park is free for a little while. Quite a change from the proposed $70 per vehicle fee (up from $30) that may be charged beginning in June.

Kit fox at Island in the Sky, Canyonlands — kit fox napping

Although there are always a lot of visitors in Arches, even in winter, you won’t find any problems with getting a parking space, even at the most popular viewpoints and trailheads. And then there’s still the Potash Road. I may have to do an entire blog on that one. I fell in love with it all over again.

One of the best wintertime deals, though, is lodging at the Lazy Lizard Hostel. It’s cold outside. I don’t really want to camp in the cold. I need a place to stay.

Lazy Lizard Hostel, Moab, UT — Lazy Lizard Hostel

The Lazy Lizard is a great deal year-round, with $12 bunks in the dorms. However, I find in my old age that I’m no longer comfortable sharing my sleeping space with half a dozen other people. The real deal at the Lazy Lizard in winter is private rooms and cabins. You can get a private room or cabin during December, January and February for only $22 a night!

That’s cheaper than rent in Denver. You get privacy, Wi-Fi, kitchen privileges, heat …and good company. There’s a great mellow vibe to this place. I find myself continually coming back. It’s allowed me to fall in love with Moab all over again. So if you’re passing through Moab in the winter, give the Lazy Lizard a try. It may become one of your new favorite places!

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December 20, 2017

Coming Soon To A Park Near You

When you think of our national parks, what pictures come to your mind? Maybe it’s big walls and waterfalls in Yosemite, or a sunset on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Yosemite Falls & El Capitan — Yosemite National Park

Maybe you picture geysers in Yellowstone or Denali, North America’s highest mountain. Maybe you remember the awe and wonder of seeing just how big a giant sequoia really is, or the crazy natural sculptures found in Arches or Bryce Canyon. Maybe it’s elk bugling in Rocky Mountain or wildflowers in Mt. Rainier. You might picture tidal pools in Olympic or fall colors in Shenandoah. I hope it’s not just pictures, but that you also hold memories of some of these special places. Don’t you think all Americans should have the opportunity to experience our natural wonders? That soon may not be the case.

Starting next year, entrance fees to the 17 most popular national parks in the country will be raised from $25 – $30 per vehicle to $70 per vehicle during the 5 months of peak season for each park. Here’s a list of the parks receiving these rate hikes.

Arches
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Denali
Glacier
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Olympic
Sequoia/King’s Canyon
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion
Acadia
Rainier
Grand Canyon National Park

Rocky Mountain
Shenandoah
Joshua Tree

I realize that the parks need to find a way to bring in more money to pay for themselves. After all, it’s far more important to finance a military that could take out practically every other country in the world at the same time than it is to protect the special places in our own country.

(Check out this graphic on U.S. Defense spending compared to other countries)

Peter G. Peterson Foundation – Discretionary Spending Breakdown – 2017-06-05 Peter G. Peterson Foundation – U.S. Defense Spending Compared to Other Countries – 2017-06-05

It’s not that I’m totally against a price hike. It’s the size of the price hike. I could support doubling the fee to these parks, raising the entry fee to $50. But this price hike almost TRIPLES the fee to most of these parks.

It will only take care of 2% of the maintenance backlog, if that. What it WILL do is price lower income Americans out of their parks, effectively making our most popular parks exclusive playgrounds only open to wealthier Americans. It may be a capitalist solution, but it’s not a democratic solution. Isn’t this country a democracy? Don’t our public lands belong to all of us?

Another challenge facing these parks, and supposedly partly addressed by this price hike, is that they are so popular they are being “loved to death.” Raising the entrance fee so high may act as a filter, screening out lower income visitors.

I don’t think this is fair. Our parks should not be exclusive playgrounds for the wealthy. If there is a need to control visitor numbers during peak season, a better solution would be a lottery system or advance registration giving all visitors an equal chance. This is a solution that has been used successfully for backcountry visitation in many of these parks for decades. It’s not perfect, but it works. It seems to me a fairer solution than pricing people out of their parks.

We’re almost out of time to make our opinions heard. The comment period ends December 22. Go here now to let the park service know how you feel about the rate hike. Let’s work on keeping our crown jewels accessible to ALL Americans.

Moose rut in Tetons — Grand Tetons National Park

February 14, 2017March 2, 2019

Stone Trees

Do you like rocks? I do. That’s why I like Petrified Forest National Park so much. Petrified Forest has some of the coolest rocks you’ll see anywhere.

Step back in time to the Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Picture a tropical rain forest – say, something like the Amazon. But with a bigger river, even bigger than the Amazon. As trees in the forest fall from wind or water, they’re carried down the river until they sink and are buried in the mud. It’s a weird world where these trees grow. There are dinosaurs, even some tiny pterodactyls. The real giants, though, are the crocodiles. They’re even bigger than the dinosaurs! A monster amphibian lives in the river, too. It looks like no amphibian you’ve ever seen. This is one scary animal. A predator, it resembles a dinosaur, is as big as a dinosaur, too, but stocky. The bones of all these creatures have been found in the Petrified Forest.Over time, the trees are buried deeper and deeper. The world goes through changes, and volcanic ash inundates the land that once supported a tropical forest. Water, loaded with dissolved silica and minerals from the volcanic ash, seeps down and replaces the wood with the silica and minerals. The trees are turned to stone. Time and erosion brought this ancient landscape back to light. Logs, rainbow remnants of an ancient age, litter the land. Petrified wood is not the only color found here. These jewels are set against a background of beautiful badlands and banded buttes. The National Park includes part of Arizona’s Painted Desert. As I walk out over the land, or look closer at the petrified wood, it reminds me of the subtle hues of a Navajo weaving. It’s easy to see where their designs originated.

Before the Navajo, this was the home of Ancestral Puebloans. Their traces remain throughout the park. One of the most popular trails leads to Agate House, a ruin built with petrified wood.I know you will covet the beautiful stones, but please restrain yourself. Don’t steal from your grandchildren. Leave these lovely rocks for them to enjoy! If you just have to bring a piece home, I understand the feeling. But there are better options. You can buy petrified wood found on private land just outside the park. If you want to find your own, there are places outside the park you can go. If you want a lot, talk to Patton and Sons at the rock shop just south of the park. They’ll let you collect off their property for just 50 cents a pound. There’s a 25 pound minimum. If you want just a little, look on Silver Creek south of Holbrook. For more ideas, check out Bessie Simpson and James R. Mitchell’s Gem Trails of Arizona.

Come to the Petrified Forest and enjoy the colors!

Please don’t steal from your grandchildren. Leave these rocks in the national park.

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Category: National Parks

Help Save Our National Monuments!

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California Desert Wildflower Forecast

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Revisiting the Past at Hovenweep

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Marvelous Moab

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Coming Soon To A Park Near You

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Stone Trees

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