December 29, 20214 yr Yesterday I got Jan-Feb issue of AAA Explorer. The lead article is titled 'Desert Crush' and is about how hoards of tourists are going to destroy Arches and Canyonlands National Parks if some sort of arrangement to limit visitors is not put in place. Zion National Park no longer allows automobiles in the park. You park at the entrance and then shuttle busses take you in and out. They have stops along the way so you can get out and hike the trails or just look around. Betty and I have been to every national park and monument in Utah and Arizona. But Canyonlands and Arches has always been a favorite. We've been to Moab many times and visited both parks. They are just across the highway from each other. And just a half day's drive south is Monument Valley on the Navajo reservation where John Ford directed so many John Wayne westerns. I became a desert rat when I was a Marine stationed at Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert of California. Just outside the base was Joshua Tree National Monument. It was here I learned to love the desert. Death Valley is another favorite place we have stayed at and hiked around. Two outstanding books by a favorite author are Desert Solitaire and The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey. He wrote many books about the desertland of Utah. When he died he was taken by a couple of his friends and buried in his sleeping bag in an undisclosed location in the Cabeza Prieta Natinoal Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. So much environmental change is taking place that some steps are going to have to be taken if we are to preserve the natural beauty of our parks; not only from the crush of tourism but also from the oil and mining interests who have an eye on these places as well as the cattle barons who would like some of it opened up to grazing. Nothing can foul a delicate desert spring and water course like a herd of cows. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
December 29, 20214 yr In 2008, we did a grand tour from Toronto to San Diego and back and we visited some of these national parks. We stayed in Moab and Kanab because I was fascinated by the names. We saw Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Zion National Park, Saguaro National Park East and much more. Zion N.P. already had remote parking but it was still very convenient. They were all spectacular but, because it was August and temperatures were 100 degrees plus, we didn't do anything too strenuous. It was still one of the best vacations we ever had. Dugald Walker
December 29, 20214 yr Author 31 minutes ago, dmwalker said: it was August and temperatures were 100 degrees plus, we didn't do anything too strenuous. We've hiked in Death Valley when the temperature was 120+. We hiked in the canyons where there were shady places. At every one we stopped to rest and drink water. Bring lots of water. 2 quarts per person for a 4 mile hike (2 miles up and 2 miles back). Wear loose clothing and a wide brimmed hat. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
December 29, 20214 yr Moderator Heartbreak Ridge Hill, right? 😁 Fr. Bill AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556 Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator
December 29, 20214 yr Author Are you thinking of Nellie's Tit Paul? It was right behind our barracks and the Top had good view of it. His standard punishment for a troop that didn't warrant an Article 15 was to carry a 50 pound rock to the top of Nellie's Tit. He had one painted white and one painted red. You carried the white one to the top and carried the red one back down the hill or vice versa depending on which one was in his office at the time. I never had to carry the rocks but I know some who did and when they got back they were really dragging butt. I was PFC then but I learned a lot from that First Sergeant and when I became one I used a lot of his methods. I was the duty runner one day and had to sit in his office in case I had to get someone or run and errand. It was a Friday and one of the PFCs knocked on the door, entered, and asked the Top of he could have a weekend pass because his folks were driving down to visit him. The Top said, "Aw...is Mommy and Daddy coming here to visit their baby? I don't give weekend passes for that. Now you go back outside, knock on the door, come back in and tell me you need a weekend pass to get drunk and laid and give you one." So that's what the poor guy did and the Top gave him his pass. My nickname in the Weather Flight was 'Judge'. Whenever a troop screwed up and had to see the commander he would always say, "I think I'll let the 'hanging judge' take care of this." That Top at Pendleton taught me well. Sometimes you guys bring back vivid memories. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
December 29, 20214 yr The mountain i'm talking about cannot be mentioned in this site LOL!!!!! Mount you know the rest. I like padres' response to it also. LOL😁 Edited December 29, 20214 yr by Paul Deluca
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