Nine Mile and Range Creek

I had the great opportunity to go with Jen and Donna (Jen's Mom) on a guided tour of Range Creek and Nine Mile Canyon. Range Creek is an archaeologically rich area outside of Price, UT. It had been owned by the Wilcox family and a couple other people from homesteading days. Waldo Wilcox was aware of many of the Anasazi sites, including granaries, pit houses and rock art panels but did not make this knowledge known until 2001. It is unique because these sites are so new in the process of being explored. They are not as in your face amazing as Grand Gulch but incredible in the density of civilization and their paranoia.
Nine Mile is the most densely covered rock art area in Northern America. It is astounding to see so much communication from a different time. No one knows what these various panels mean (and anyone who claims they do are lying) but you cannot help but make up hypotheses while there. The man who led us through has been studying this area for decades and says he has yet to find all the reported rock art.
Below I have posted a sampling of the pictographs and petrogylphs we saw plus a sampling of pictures from Range Creek.

We went to the Hogle Zoo today with Jessica, Andrew and our two beautiful nieces Marissa and Addison. It was a lot of fun, we are glad they came down from Logan to hang out!

Women Protecting Wilderness

I am passionate about the wild lands of Utah; they are my solace and my spiritual refuge. When I discovered them is when I began to discover myself. Because they have done so much for me I take their protection very seriously. That is why I have been searching for a way to help preserve and protect these places that cannot protect themselves but nothing seemed like a good fit until I went to a meeting of Women Protecting Wilderness at the end of May. Here is a group that is just getting started and so the contributions I make to it matter. I am at the ground level so I am getting to help with the overarching vision of the organization. We want to be a group that all women (and men are invited too) who love to be in the wild can feel comfortable joining. It is only when we get women from all ways and walks of life that we can really start to make long-term differences in the way these lands are cared for.
The first event we are planning will be a press conference that will be turning into a traveling art show that you can be a part of! We are getting favorite pictures of women out in the wild, of their children in the wild and/or just their pictures of the wild along with a short (approx 50 words or less) essay/poem/statement of why they love the wild. We will collect all of these for the next couple of months then in September we will display them all together in an art show. It should be a really powerful demonstration of how different women flock to different wilderness areas for different reasons. If you are interested in being part of this show (and I really think you should be) please let me know. Please let your friends and family know as well; everyone is welcome to contribute. I will be sending out an e-mail of a few examples and some more specifics in a couple weeks but I wanted to give you a heads up!
Here is our Women Protecting Wilderness temporary website. It is under the SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Society) website right now but we will soon be breaking off and creating our own independent voice and website. This is a moderate voice of wilderness protection, I hope you will looking into it, create a piece for our art show and even consider joining us. There is much more to come!

My Girlfriend's Movie

As many of you know, I have a "girl-crush" on Angelina Jolie and I have for many years. It is for that reason that today is a very exciting day for me; her new movie 'Wanted' comes out and I am going to see it! For most movies if Jeff Vice of the D-News does not give it 3 stars or higher, Justin and I will not even go see it but for Angie (she told me I could call her that) I don't even care. We are going to the last matinee today and I can't wait to see her! What should I wear?!!

Our Weekend

I know it is nearly Wednesday but Justin and I have just gotten ourselves pulled together enough to tell you about our fun weekend. We went up to Ogden on Friday night via Frontrunner where we were picked up by my Dad, Cindy and Ben. We went to pizza and a movie (The Happening, DO NOT waste your money, it was AWFUL!!!) and then headed back home.
The next morning we ran the race, that I beat Justin in, as blogged below then went over to the first week of the farmer's market downtown at Homeless Square. It is so fun to go there and buy yummy food and watch interesting people. Later that night we went with Jen and Oscar and their friends from out of town to dinner and a baseball game. We were so excited to find out that Margaret, Cat and Eric had come to the game as well. There were some seats beside us so we all got to sit together too. The best part of the night is between two things; either getting to see Jen's toenail nearly falling off, as a residual from our backpacking trip or getting to see fireworks after the game.
On Sunday we started the day on a really nice bike ride from (roughly) the airport out the Salt Lake Marina. It is a really flat 20+ mile ride that is great for all levels. With the sun out and the blue skies I could fake I was at the beach. After that we went up to visit Justin's Dad, Jim and my Dad, John for Father's Day. We had such a wonderful weekend fill with friends, family and fun (anyone impressed by the alliteration?)!

Fun 5K

First off, yes I am wearing shorts in this picture. We ran a fun little 5K up in Millcreek for Jani Iwomoto's campaign this morning and also to benefit Fill the Ark charity. Oh, and for those keeping track, I won :)! Justin didn't know we were in a competition until I informed him he came in second (this information may or may not have also come with a little dance...).

Wedding time

Our friends, Helen and Jared were married on Saturday. We've known Helen since 2001 where we met on a campaign that we were all working on. Eve and I wish them all the best.

Home Cold Home

During the summer, because I am not taking any classes (and teaching an online class) I am able to spend a day or two a week at home just writing. Today I am home which should be nice and relaxing but it is not because it is freezing in my home. It is June 6th and all I want to do is turn on the heater!!! I had soup for lunch and just decided to make a turkey for dinner so the oven will heat up the home! It might as well be November! I am starting a petition, we are going to demand summer!

Continuation of Backpacking...

Justin and I near Bannister Ruin

Here was our first camping spot just below Junction Ruin. I was in heaven! I opened the tent in the morning and the first thing I saw was the ruin on the cliff in front of me (to the right and up from this pic)

There were lots of really well-preserved handprints at Junction Ruin, this is one of them. Handprints are my favorite form of art from these ancient people. There is something so real, so human about seeing another humans hand, not so different from yours or mine, on the wall. It reminds me that these are not just ruins, they were homes and communities.

On the left is a granary at Turkey Pin ruin, which you often see, but what you don't often see is the granary door, picutred here, that were specially cut to seal up grain to keep it fresh. This was Anasazi Gladware! On the right is Justin checking out the insides of the ruin.

Two-story Ruin

Camp in Sheik's Canyon on second night.

A small portion of a large rock art pannel near camp in Sheik's. On the right are the cool dudes a little closer up.

Jailhouse Ruin

Check out the two white circles above the ruin--in real life those are creepy face-like pictographs that seem to look at you as you enter Bullet Canyon to see this ruin.

Why Jailhouse Ruin is called Jailhouse Ruin

This is mitten (said midden) which is essentially an Anasazi trash dump that was found below each of the ruins. Basically they would throw broken pots and food (like corn cobs and lentils) out to the city dump which was usually 100 yards or less from their house. Coolest trash I've ever seen!

Me geeking out going into a perfectly preserved kiva, aptly named, perfect kiva. They just aren't making 800 year old kivas anymore, it was one of the cooler things I have ever seen.

Justin chillin' in the kiva

Art and life imitating art.

It's springtime in the desert! It was so fantastic to see the softer side of these prickly cacti.

Jen getting doctored in the morning due to her many, many, many blisters (she seriously never complained).

From day one we were filtering our water. These rain pools were heaven sent in the ease we could filter them; best water on the trip!

The crew on the last day. It was a great time gettinng into the wilderness and playing. Stay tuned for our backpacking trip to the Narrows in July and the Uintas in August.

Backpacking the Grand Gulch

Last week Justin and I went with our friends Jen and Oscar on a five day, 60-mile backpacking trip to the archaeologically astounding Grand Gulch region of southeastern Utah. When Chaco Canyon fell in the late 13th century large portions of the Pueblo people moved into this gulch. I will walk you through some pictures and hope in time I will become better at this blogging thing!
This is Collin's Canyon, it is where our journey began and ended because it is here that we parked our shuttle car and here that we climbed out on the last day.


This is Justin, Oscar and Jen as we started our ascent into the Gulch.
I was quickly suprised by how green and lush most areas of the gulch were. When we tell people we went hiking in the four corners area, this is not what they imagine!