Note: This article first appeared in the October/November 2011 Zephyr… Many years ago, during one of my first trips to the canyon country, I made the dusty drive to Grandview Point on the Island in the Sky. The road was…
Recently, while most of the country’s attention was focused on the riots in Washington, DC, NBC News reported another disturbing event, two thousand miles west. As a former law enforcement ranger at Arches National Park, so many moons ago, the story…
January 22, 1942 By Henry G Schmidt, Custodian Moab, Utah Travel this month, 63; Travel year to date, 625 Weather The new year of 1942 brought us zero temperatures and cold winds, lasting for 6 days and an abrupt change…
My dad was a birder. I always thought he looked silly, dressed up in his “bird outfit” and binoculars. And so I resisted the temptation, when I was a boy, to learn more about our feathered friends (Youthful rebellion at…
“I am not a naturalist. I never was and never will be a naturalist. I’m not even sure what a naturalist is except that I am not one…The only birds I can recognize without hesitation are the turkey vulture, the…
June 23rd, 1941Mr Hugh M Miller, SuperintendentSouthwestern National MonumentsCoolidge, Arizona Dear Hugh: It is hot enough today to fry eggs on the “slickrock”, but there are things to be done so I may as well ignore the heat and get…
NOTE: I finished this article several weeks ago, before the current COVID-19 disaster gave new urgency and recognition to the term “essential personnel.” It’s clear to everyone now how great a role is played by grocery workers, truckers, gas station…
A few months ago, Tonya and I were climbing our favorite mountain in one of the (still) most remote parts of southern Utah. It’s not a technical climb by any means but a steep hike that rises about 2000 feet…
NOTE: This edition of Hank Schmidt’s monthly reports is especially difficult to read. The National park Service operated on a shoestring budget in those days and the park managers were encouraged to conserve whenever possible. Here, Hank must have decided…
Every year, seasonal and permanent rangers at national parks across the fruited plain gather for their annual law enforcement training refresher course. The NPS takes itself pretty seriously these days. It’s been decades since the Park Service decided to strip…