Canyon Country Zephyr page 3

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drop-off were just as they'd been in 1963. Later, we found inscriptions from the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, weathered but still readable after all these decades under water.

I'll be damned, I thought. Cactus Ed was right—it IS still here in "liquid storage."

The Park Service would naturally feel the need to control this mass, this mess of "adventurers," and Glen Canyon Recreation Area would eventually become yet another heavily-regulated river—the waiting list for permits would stretch to years.

I thought about the way the spiritual and moral aspects of our last wild places have been pushed aside in favor of their recreational and commercial components. I wondered if the return of those magnificent thousand foot canyons would be seen for their grandeur or their climb-ability. Would these spires inspire? Or just challenge gonzo climbers to 'conquer' them? Would visitors to the Cathedral-in-the-Desert feel reverent? Or would they instead be inspired to exploit its beauty in some commercial way nobody has even fathomed yet?

On my return from Springdale via The Dam and Page, Arizona, I passed the overflowing parking lot for Antelope Canyon Scenic Tours. Twenty years ago, nobody had heard of this stunning slot canyon. Today its promoters are making the big bucks. It's a real "wilderness adventure." When I think about restoring Glen Canyon, I know that this is a harbinger of things to come.

And it occurred to me...maybe we don't deserve the return of Glen Canyon. Not yet. Would its restoration be anything but a cash cow for the "amenities economy?" Would it simply be the latest natural wonder to be exploited by thousands of entrepreneurs and trampled by millions of insensitive, thrill-seeking recreationists?

After decades of longing desperately to see Glen Canyon out of the water, I surprised even myself when I thought: maybe keeping it in "liquid storage" is the better alternative. Maybe it's even safer down there under all that water. Because today, I'm not sure we humans are worthy of something as holy as 'The Place No One Knew.'

"Yeah but..." he protested. But I cut him off.

"The truth is, hardly anybody can AFFORD a new car. That's not the point. What you want is for all of us keep SPENDING, whether we have the money or not."

By now, the car man was growing weary of my logic and good common sense. "Okay," he said. "I can see we're not going to put you in a new car today."

Because we'd come down river in early March, we may have been the first visitors to see the re-emerging Cathedral. The ride back to Bullfrog was bitter cold and most people had the good sense to wait for warmer weather. And when the temperatures rose, the people arrived in droves. By May the narrow side channel was choked with tourists. Motorboats, house boats, canoes and kayaks—it was veritable gridlock down there. Scores of tourists rubbed elbows taking pictures and the silence we'd experienced in early Spring was gone, replaced by reverberating motors and the shouts and hollers of well-meaning admirers. It looked like Delicate Arch on Memorial Day weekend.

But isn't that the problem in a nutshell? Whether we're talking about government debt or consumer debt, spending beyond our means seems to be the only way to keep this shaky house of cards going. If we all want to keep living beyond our means, we all need to keep spending money we don't have. And we NEED to live beyond our means so that everybody else can do the same.

The government keeps interest rates low, hoping they can tempt us to keep borrowing. When they say there is "growing confidence in the economy," all they mean is, it looks like people are borrowing more money than they should again.

Look at the car salesman—he needs us to go into debt and borrow money to buy a car because he needs to have an income sufficient enough to let him borrow money so he can buy that new flat screen. The guy that sells the tv needs the income so that he can buy a bigger house. We're keeping the American Dream alive with smoke and mirrors.

It's no different with government. Everybody wants to cut the government's budget but nobody can decide how to do it or what to cut. And certainly nobody wants to see government spending slashed if it adversely affects benefits to them.

Conservatives dream of slashing discretionary spending to all those welfare bums and inefficient government bureaucrats. But whether they deserve their benefits and salaries, these millions of people take that money and SPEND it. They buy products and services that come from the private sector. Take away all those government paychecks and who really suffers for trimming government fat?

Liberals want to slash defense spending. But the fact is, more than 5 million Americans work in the civilian defense industry. What about their pay checks? Plans to close or curtail military bases always run hard against the reality that nearby communities often depend heavily on their business.

I thought about the way

the spiritual and moral aspects

of our last wild places have been

pushed aside in favor of

their recreational and

commercial components.

I wondered if the return of those

magnificent thousand foot canyons

would be seen for their grandeur

or their climb-ability.

I wondered what Glen Canyon would be like if the reservoir were drained and the canyon restored. A free-flowing Colorado River would stop most of the house boats, but the river in Glen Canyon was serene and almost rapid-free. Motor boats were already making trips up and down the river in the last few years before the Colorado stopped flowing. They would surely return.

But what about the non-motorized traffic? I thought of the hundreds of thousands of 21st century recreationists who would descend upon this "secret place," all of them looking to "re-create" the Glen Canyon that we'd read about. They'd be replacing the jet ski/Evinrude people—it's true, and for some that's an improvement—but it dawned on me: today's noisy waterborne tourists recreate on top of Glen Canyon. Yes, they race about the lake at full-throttle and drink beer and make noise and disturb the general welfare, but the Glen is safe and sound under 500 feet of H2O.

Drain the lake and the New Generation of Glen Canyon Recreationists might make me nostalgic for water skiers. Instead of floating and boating over Hidden Passage, they'd be inside it. The "place no one knew" would become "the place that got screwed." It would be loved to death by the very people who claimed they wanted to restore it. It's an idea so common these days that the notion is a cliche.

BALANCED BUDGET?

HOW ABOUT A BALANCED LIFE?

I was in Cortez, Colorado last week, doing some shopping and had just climbed out of my car in the grocery parking lot when I heard somebody shouting. Across the street was an auto dealership and standing on the curb was a salesman, waving to me for reasons I could easily imagine. I waved back.

"Hey," he hollered, "Aren't you ready to turn in that jalopy for a new set of wheels? We have some great deals."

A "jalopy?" I drive a 1999 Subaru Forester with 140,000 miles on the odometer. She's still got some life in her.

"Thanks," I replied, "But this car has got to last me a while longer. There's no way I can afford a new car these days."

He laughed. "Hey you don't have to pay CASH for it. We've got all kinds of financing for every kind of buyer...ANYBODY can afford a new car."

I shook my head. "There's no way I'm going in debt to buy a car. Isn't that why the country and the government are in such bad shape? Isn't it because everybody keeps spending money they don't have?"

Is there a solution? Yes. Think about the things in Life that really make you happy and learn to live without the rest. If we all need less stuff, we won't need to borrow more money. And we won't have to earn as much to achieve the same result.

Spend less. Be happy. Don't worry....in that order. How's that for proposing something that can be so completely logical and so utterly unattainable, all at the same time?

At least I'm not suggesting a rendez-vous with an asteroid. I've become much kinder and gentler these days.

http://www.sandstoneconcerts.com/

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	drop-off were just as they'd been in 1963. Later, we found inscriptions from the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, weathered but still readable after all these decades under water. I'll be damned, I thought. Cactus Ed was right—it IS still here in "liquid storage." The Park Service would naturally feel the need to control this mass, this mess of "adventurers," and Glen Canyon Recreation Area would eventually become yet another heavily-regulated river—the waiting list for permits would stretch to years. I thought about the way the spiritual and moral aspects of our last wild places have been pushed aside in favor of their recreational and commercial components. I wondered if the return of those magnificent thousand foot canyons would be seen for their grandeur or their climb-ability. Would these spires inspire? Or just challenge gonzo climbers to 'conquer' them? Would visitors to the Cathedral-in-the-Desert feel reverent? Or would they instead be inspired to exploit its beauty in some commercial way nobody has even fathomed yet? On my return from Springdale via The Dam and Page, Arizona, I passed the overflowing parking lot for Antelope Canyon Scenic Tours. Twenty years ago, nobody had heard of this stunning slot canyon. Today its promoters are making the big bucks. It's a real "wilderness adventure." When I think about restoring Glen Canyon, I know that this is a harbinger of things to come. And it occurred to me...maybe we don't deserve the return of Glen Canyon. Not yet. Would its restoration be anything but a cash cow for the "amenities economy?" Would it simply be the latest natural wonder to be exploited by thousands of entrepreneurs and trampled by millions of insensitive, thrill-seeking recreationists? After decades of longing desperately to see Glen Canyon out of the water, I surprised even myself when I thought: maybe keeping it in "liquid storage" is the better alternative. Maybe it's even safer down there under all that water. Because today, I'm not sure we humans are worthy of something as holy as 'The Place No One Knew.' "Yeah but..." he protested. But I cut him off. "The truth is, hardly anybody can AFFORD a new car. That's not the point. What you want is for all of us keep SPENDING, whether we have the money or not." By now, the car man was growing weary of my logic and good common sense. "Okay," he said. "I can see we're not going to put you in a new car today." Because we'd come down river in early March, we may have been the first visitors to see the re-emerging Cathedral. The ride back to Bullfrog was bitter cold and most people had the good sense to wait for warmer weather. And when the temperatures rose, the people arrived in droves. By May the narrow side channel was choked with tourists. Motorboats, house boats, canoes and kayaks—it was veritable gridlock down there. Scores of tourists rubbed elbows taking pictures and the silence we'd experienced in early Spring was gone, replaced by reverberating motors and the shouts and hollers of well-meaning admirers. It looked like Delicate Arch on Memorial Day weekend. But isn't that the problem in a nutshell? Whether we're talking about government debt or consumer debt, spending beyond our means seems to be the only way to keep this shaky house of cards going. If we all want to keep living beyond our means, we all need to keep spending money we don't have. And we NEED to live beyond our means so that everybody else can do the same. The government keeps interest rates low, hoping they can tempt us to keep borrowing. When they say there is "growing confidence in the economy," all they mean is, it looks like people are borrowing more money than they should again. Look at the car salesman—he needs us to go into debt and borrow money to buy a car because he needs to have an income sufficient enough to let him borrow money so he can buy that new flat screen. The guy that sells the tv needs the income so that he can buy a bigger house. We're keeping the American Dream alive with smoke and mirrors. It's no different with government. Everybody wants to cut the government's budget but nobody can decide how to do it or what to cut. And certainly nobody wants to see government spending slashed if it adversely affects benefits to them. Conservatives dream of slashing discretionary spending to all those welfare bums and inefficient government bureaucrats. But whether they deserve their benefits and salaries, these millions of people take that money and SPEND it. They buy products and services that come from the private sector. Take away all those government paychecks and who really suffers for trimming government fat? Liberals want to slash defense spending. But the fact is, more than 5 million Americans work in the civilian defense industry. What about their pay checks? Plans to close or curtail military bases always run hard against the reality that nearby communities often depend heavily on their business. I thought about the way the spiritual and moral aspects of our last wild places have been pushed aside in favor of their recreational and commercial components. I wondered if the return of those magnificent thousand foot canyons would be seen for their grandeur or their climb-ability. I wondered what Glen Canyon would be like if the reservoir were drained and the canyon restored. A free-flowing Colorado River would stop most of the house boats, but the river in Glen Canyon was serene and almost rapid-free. Motor boats were already making trips up and down the river in the last few years before the Colorado stopped flowing. They would surely return. But what about the non-motorized traffic? I thought of the hundreds of thousands of 21st century recreationists who would descend upon this "secret place," all of them looking to "re-create" the Glen Canyon that we'd read about. They'd be replacing the jet ski/Evinrude people—it's true, and for some that's an improvement—but it dawned on me: today's noisy waterborne tourists recreate on top of Glen Canyon. Yes, they race about the lake at full-throttle and drink beer and make noise and disturb the general welfare, but the Glen is safe and sound under 500 feet of H2O. Drain the lake and the New Generation of Glen Canyon Recreationists might make me nostalgic for water skiers. Instead of floating and boating over Hidden Passage, they'd be inside it. The "place no one knew" would become "the place that got screwed." It would be loved to death by the very people who claimed they wanted to restore it. It's an idea so common these days that the notion is a cliche. BALANCED BUDGET? HOW ABOUT A BALANCED LIFE? I was in Cortez, Colorado last week, doing some shopping and had just climbed out of my car in the grocery parking lot when I heard somebody shouting. Across the street was an auto dealership and standing on the curb was a salesman, waving to me for reasons I could easily imagine. I waved back. "Hey," he hollered, "Aren't you ready to turn in that jalopy for a new set of wheels? We have some great deals." A "jalopy?" I drive a 1999 Subaru Forester with 140,000 miles on the odometer. She's still got some life in her. "Thanks," I replied, "But this car has got to last me a while longer. There's no way I can afford a new car these days." He laughed. "Hey you don't have to pay CASH for it. We've got all kinds of financing for every kind of buyer...ANYBODY can afford a new car." I shook my head. "There's no way I'm going in debt to buy a car. Isn't that why the country and the government are in such bad shape? Isn't it because everybody keeps spending money they don't have?" Is there a solution? Yes. Think about the things in Life that really make you happy and learn to live without the rest. If we all need less stuff, we won't need to borrow more money. And we won't have to earn as much to achieve the same result. Spend less. Be happy. Don't worry....in that order. How's that for proposing something that can be so completely logical and so utterly unattainable, all at the same time? At least I'm not suggesting a rendez-vous with an asteroid. I've become much kinder and gentler these days. http://www.sandstoneconcerts.com/

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