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Show PAGE 28 THE ZEPHYR JULY 89 ThejMsaattLMoak do found popularity? handle our How This ain't the same old range. Everything seems to change. Where are the pals I used to ride with? Gone to a land so strange. -- Bob Nolan and the we new by Jim Stiles As for the logistical problems involved, (where to put all these people), that's something that has to be resolved quickly and soon. And It really does It doesnt require the cooperation of everyone, locals and travelers alike. trashed area take an Einstein to see the irony when a natural by people gets who came here for the beauty. And It doesnt take malicious behavior to ruin the fragile desert. Sheer numbers alone can do that A whole network of new Sons of the Pioneers the early 1950s, Jackson, Wyoming was a remote western town of about eight hundred, located Just south of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. It was a ranching town - a cowboy town. But between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the locals endured an Influx of tourists who stopped for the night before going north to see the mountains, lakes, geysers and other "natural wonders (a Chamber of Commerce term, If I ever heard of one) at the parks. A few Jackson residents grudgingly entertained the passers-throug- h. motels went up and they staged an Old West Shootout, In which Clover SturUn, a one-ey- ed clown, met his fate very summer night On Labor Day, all the tourists disappeared, they called the long stretch between September and Memorial Day the Cocktail Hour In Jackson Hole. That was In 1956. In 1989, the cowboys have left or are leaving. Theyve become living anachronisms In pointy toed boots in their own home town. Clover the Killer Is gone, replaced by some dandy drama student from UCLA. South Park Is gone; condos have replaced alfalfa fields. The older residents have left; many couldn't afford the skyrocketing property taxes. Others couldn't stand to see the flavor of their town disappear In an Invasion of out of state Investors and entrepreneurs. Jackson, to them, was surely "gone to a land so strange." Is this about to happen to Moab? Formerly, the Uranium Capitol of the World, Outside magazine recently proclaimed Moab to be the Mountain Bike It said we were one of the top recreation towns In capitol of the world. North America. This spring, there were so many tourists, J started feeling like an outsider. I was an outcast in denim and sneakers In a sea of spandex and lycra. There were so many overflow campers along the river roads and the Sand Flats road, a genuine health concern arose over the lack of toilet facilities. As Commissioner Merv Lawton said pointedly, "When you eat, you excrete. Obviously, steps need to be taken soon to deal with the problem. But beyond that, is tourism the answer to all our economic woes? Are we depending on It too much as a panacea to our problems? And on the other hand, are some Moabites refusing to see gny advantage to tourism and the stabilizing effect It can have here? When in doubt, make a list What is It about tourism that worries me? What are Its advantages? What we need here Is a pro and con list, as objectively compiled as possible by someone who used to be a park ranger and has answered more dumb tourist questions than may be humanly possible or endurable. So What Is it about tourism that concerns me? Well let's be honesL We all feel like we've been Invaded. Humans are territorial too, and I think a lot of us simply get our hackles up because we feel uncomfortable with these beings who came from elsewhere, with their strange quirks and habits (strange for us at least). But the sometimes humiliating reality Is, we are gH at one or tourists time another. I myself have been skewered, chewed up and spit out by long suffering hosts when I was a goofball tourist In their town. Someday, if I ever recover, Ill tell the story of how I got roasted by a waitress In a cafe at Ragged PL, California when I drove around a "road closed sign on the Big Sur Highway, and asked If the road was really closed. I'm still smarting from that experience. In ex-ro- deo Dave Sakrison, Robin Groff, Dumpster roads now exists along the Sand Flats Road. Every conceivable campsite has been created along the River. When I first saw the hordes of ad campers off-ro- near the Slickrock Trail, I was horrified. I wanted to shut the whole damn area down. And If the BLM took that step, everyone would move a few miles farther up the road, and create more campsites. So, these roads are there. Mountain Bikers, don't make any more roads. Dont park your 4WD trucks on tgg of sandstone fins. Be discreet As for our responsibility, weve got to get some toilet facilities out there, provide some garbage bins and stabilize the campsite roads. Daves Corner Market and Rim Cyclery recently donated a dumpster for use near the Slickrock TralL It was badly needed and greatly appreciated. But the BLM has ggi to take a large role In providing facilities for these recently and heavily Impacted areas. At a meeting a few weeks ago, the BLM claimed It would take months to SUN COUNTRY REALTY 234 N. Main Moab, Utah 84532 True Family Restaurant 2 OPEN 6 a.m.- - 10 p.m. You havent been to Moab (801)259-832- 6 Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back 259-835- unless youve eaten at JRs COME IN FOR THE BEST HOME COOKED MEALS Try Our Bucket of Chicken Colonel Whats-His-FaCould Learn From ce US Authentic Indian Trading Post 969 26.7 acres, rolling land on Wilson Mesa with lots of pinyon pine. 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