Janet from Green River

We have counted 48 out of 51 US license plates (missing Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, DC)  -- many thanks to the man from Wyoming who repositioned his parked car so we could see it moving (yes, he thought we were nuts) – and 5 provinces. We remain ever hopeful for a full count.

We have landed in a state camp ground in Green River, UT about30 miles to the desolate north of Moab. The river is green when it starts in Wyoming but is just brown and wide and fast further downstream where we are. For the past few days we have had intermittent fierce wind storms with winds up to 50 mph. We drove through the Navajo Nation lands between Bryce Canyon and Mesa Verde, stopping at the Four Corners Monument, in a horrific wind and sand storm. The landscape is pretty fierce without the wind and I cannot imagine living in such a climate. I was thinking about this when we were at Mesa Verde which is the site of ancient Pueblo cliff dwellings, the oldest archaeological site in the US. The landscape is harsh and inhospitable and yet  the ancestral Pueblos were able to farm and develop their skills at basketry, pottery and architecture 1,000 years ago. Is it so different today? The landscape of the Southwest (and parts of the Southeast and Texas) is in many ways equally as harsh and inhospitable today and yet productive lives are lived, art and commerce survive, families are raised. Is it harder or easier today? 

By the way, we ended up in Green River thanks again to serendipity. When we were planning our trip, we didn’t realize that this was Memorial Day weekend, so we didn’t bother to make any camping reservations. Oops. When we realized our folly, we got last-minute reservations at Mesa Verde (thank you Mary and Poppy!) and then at a campground/RV resort near Moab which we had read good things about. Mesa Verde was wonderful (see above), but the RV park not so much. We had a “dry” site, which meant we were in a big parking lot with 50mph winds. We said,  “No thanks” and headed north.  Which is how we ended up here.  We have electricity (a nice perk) and showers (I won’t try to tell you how much these are needed) and a fairly pleasant , if crowded, park. A very enthusiastic woman at the visitor’s center recommended driving out of town (which has seen better days) into the canyons and we have just returned from one of those drives. It was astounding. Great to look up at massive formations instead of down. The road ran next to the Green River which was running fast and furious. Primitive camp sites several miles out past huge irrigated fields of hay. The sun was setting, the breeze was brisk but warm, the Green River cold and refreshing, the rocks stunning. None of this we would have seen if we had stayed in Moab. 

A plug now for the National Park Service and the Rangers.  We spent a weekend last fall in Washington, DC and visited several of the Smithsonian Museums. National Treasures all. We were completely captivated by the Air and Space Museum and just generally impressed with how much work and energy and expertise had gone into preserving and exhibiting American history and culture. This is true as well of the National Park Service which has done a tremendous job making so much geography, history and culture available to the public without traumatizing the land. (Think of the shuttle service at Zion). A lot of credit goes to the folks behind the scenes who do the planning, but I also give credit to all the volunteer and career Rangers who are the face of the National Park Service.  The Ranger tours we have done have been insightful and informative and every one of the rangers is fully engaged (special kudos to Joe Zachary at Mesa Verde). As long as this country can maintain this level of service and honor, it gives me hope for our civilization. Janet