July 21st, 1941
Travel this month, 494 Travel to date, 2881
Weather
The usual brand of hot summer weather has been our lot, with a few days of high temperatures and occasional rainstorms. Fortunately the evenings are nearly always cool and it is possible to get a good night’s sleep to restore one’s vitality and courage to face the next day’s super-heat. I find that I can absorb just so much of this Utah sunshine and after about the second trip of the day through the Windows section I begin to wish for a cool, shady spot for a siesta.
Roads
The road into the Windows Section is in good condition this summer. The past two days’ rain
caused several bad washouts, but the CCC maintenance crew is again on the job and the
storm’s damage will be repaired in short order.
The Salt Valley road to Devil’s Garden and Delicate Arch is still impassable to all but truck or
pickup traffic. I am optimistic enough to hope the Grand County road patrol will do some
maintenance work on the road within the next month. Hand labor is futile but a week’s work with a road patrol will put it in fairly good condition for a desert road.
Visitors
Travel to the monument has again doubled over the corresponding month of 1940. California,Michigan, Nevada, Utah and Ohio lead the field in visitor count, with all 48 states except Maryland and Rhode Island being represented.
Thirty-six parties, with 186 people, were conducted through the Windows Section and 51
parties, with 164 people, were contacted at Willow Springs Ranger Station and on the entrance
road.
Hours spent in interpretive contact: Custodian Schmidt, 41 hours. Park Service visitors includedC.A. Richey, Jesse Nusbaum, Raymond Higgins, Ernest L. Dugas, CCC Inspector of the
Washington Office, and Glen Boyland, Mesa Verde.
Newsworthy Visitors
Mrs. Portia Mansfield of the Perry-Mansfield Camp, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and a party of 25 camp members, visited the Windows Section for one day. The young ladies composing
the party were from 11 Eastern states, Belgium, France and England. They enjoyed the Arches
very much and one of the Belgium girls expressed her impression in the Register Book as
“Simply too big and too beautiful to describe—I never realized such country existed!”
Mr. and Mrs. Josef Muench of Santa Barbara, California, spent two days here gathering material and photographing the Windows Section for use in magazine articles, etc., on Arches National Monument.
Project Progress for the Month
I attended the Fire Training School at Bryce Canyon from June 26th to 28th, inclusive, and want to express my appreciation for the opportunity to attend another of Jack Barrow’s interesting training schools. A detailed report was sent to Superintendent Miller.
A 2-day fire training school, attended by 54 enrollees and camp personnel, was conducted at CCC Camp NP-7-U, on July 9th and 10th.
Two directional and informational trail signs were constructed at the CCC camp and set in place in the Windows Section.
Patrols were made in all sections of the monument.
Harry Reed assisted me by making ten 5×7 photographs of the Windows Section and the CCC
work projects, to be used in the Annual Report to the Director.
At least half of my time has been spent on patrol of the Windows Section and interpretational
contact work in the same area. The great increase in travel and almost total lack of trails make it imperative that as much assistance as possible to given the visitors.
As much time as was practicable was spent with the CCC maintenance crew working on the
Windows Section road. Constant maintenance is necessary to keep this road in good condition
and the crew is to be complimented on the fine work they are doing.
Two trips were made to Natural Bridges National Monument during the month.
Correspondence and reports were brought up to date.
The 400-ft reel of Kodachrome, featuring the Arizona National Monuments has been shown to
two groups of 126 people. A great deal of interest was shown and I am looking forward to the
time when I can use film of other Southwestern National Monuments in connection with lectures before groups of people in this part of Utah.
Projects for the Ensuing Month
Maintenance of the Windows Section road and interpretive work in the Windows Section will
receive paramount attention during the month. Patrols to all sections of the monument will be
made if practicable.
All reports, routine and special, filing and correspondence will be kept up to date.
Respectfully submitted,
Henry G. Schmidt, Custodian.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS OF HANK SCHMIDT’S MONTHLY REPORTS…
* NOTE: Thanks to former Arches NP superintendent Paul D. Guraedy, who gave me access in 1988 to the old monthly reports…JS
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