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Show THE ZEPHYR PAGE 16 JAN-FE- B 1991 the arch hunters McCarrick, Scolnik, Stevens, and Travers by Jim Stiles Ed McCarrick, retired from Western Electric and (Aaaagh) Hoboken, New Jersey, moved to Moab In the mid 1970s. In 1976, Ed became a seasonal ranger at Arches National Park. Its at this point that I feel obliged to Jump Into the narrative. Ed and I both reported for duty on the same day - April 11, 1976. McCarrick was stationed at the entrance station, I at the Devils Garden Campground. Eds voice, with that distinctive Hoboken drawl, became a familiar radio sound throughout the Park Complex. And always looking out for my wellIf a woman was headed for the campground being, Ed used to notify me via the walkie-talk- ie e). to that Just might be Miss Right (not be confused with Ms. Wright, my beloved He'd say: "236 ...230", (our radio call numbers.) "236". "Hey Jim, theres a real tomato headed your way. 10-- 4, Ed... Thanks a lot 10-- 4, Jim. KOP-70- 0. What makes a man happy? Well, thats hard to say. Once you get past the obvious - a good woman, the choices are endless. Sunday football. Five card stud. A good book. A trout stream. Politics. Cold beer. More cold beer. A good cigar. There are some men who might try to Indulge In all these pleasures at once. Picture It In your mlncL. but thats another story. (And enough male stereotyping.) I know four guys who have found a Joy, an almost blissful peace, In search of the quest for the void. They look for holes. Somehow, some way, Ed nothingness, Reuben McCarrick, Scolnik, Dale Stevens, and Doug Travers, found their way here from the far comers of the continent From Northern Utah to the rocky New England coast from the Jersey shore to the Texas plains, the four pilgrims pursued their dream. They found It right here. We call them Arch Hunters. These men give every Indication thatthey are normal human beings In all aspects of the word. They are all responsible adults with respected careers. They love their families -- 1l AKCH HDNTerc, : ex-wif- KCAwyctC)coLmK)'TRAVER(sTeveJ and friends. They rarely (If ever) wear their socks over their shoes. They drive safely and prudently. They balance their check books. But the truth of It Is, they are all crazy. To use the vernacular, their stairs dont reach the celling, their geese dont fly In a V, they've lost a few shingles In the storm. Turn these men loose In Arches National Park and they will do the Job that the Great Hairy Thunderer sent them here to do.' Find all the holes. The first of the Arch Hunters to find his way to the Land of Arches was electrical engineer Doug Travers of Sari Antonio, Texas. With his two older sons Joe and Roy. The Travers men became fascinated by the strange desert landscape. Their first visit was all too short and they vowed to return again. Thatwas In 1965 and they kept their promise. Since than, the Travers family, later Joined by Doug's younger sons Rod and David, have not missed a year In the Arches. The sons have grown up, most of them have married, and soon a new generation of little arch hunters will be stumbling over the sllckrock. When they do, they will be carrying the ubiquitous football - another tradition -under their arm. Somewhere, back there at the beginning, It was for some reason decided that an arch was not an arch until they could pass a football through the opening. They almost broke their necks In the process a few times, but the tradition never comes easy. The Travers boys' mother, (and wife, counting Doug) tolerates the male Travers arch eccentricity but does not really understand. Far wiser than the men In the family, Mary regards the desert with a wary eye and prefers to view It via the miles of video tape that Doug records each lime he comes here. . mmmm llJ - The more feminist elements of the park staff were not amused. The next year, Ed left the booth (no more tomato notifications) and became an Interpreter. Soon after, he developed that same arch obsession that had Infected Travers. McCarrick was hooked. In 1973, Professor Dale Stevens of Brigham Young University gave a certain credibility to Arch Hunting as a career move. With a group of students from B.Y.U., he conducted a field survey of arches within the park "as part of a larger study of the geomorphlc Importance of arches and bridges In Southern Utah. He located 124 natural rock openings, 90 of which were Identified as arches. Stevens also provided substantial data on criteria for determining types and measurements. The B.Y.U. study came to be known as The Stevens List. It was hung on the wall outside the Chief Ranger's office where most of us gave It only a cursory Inspection, until one day the fourth Arch Hunter entered our visitor center and shamed us all Into giving It a closer look. His name was Reuben Scolnik. He was a retired aeronautical engineer from NASA, looking for a project to occupy his summer. In 1977, he thought he might spend a few weeks looking for arches In the park and Inquired about a list We produced The Stevens study, but none of us could really contribute much more Information. Most of us had never even attempted to locate many of the backcountry arches on Stevens list Reuben was appalled. Repeatedly he'd approach one of us with a question or a correction and be met with vacant stares. It would go something like this: Reuben: 1 was Just In the Devils Garden this morning and I believe there's a , |