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Show Outdoor Editorial Sometimes lately I get the Blacktop Blues the distortion of those heat waves it makes on a summer day, says an- other. "Oh yeah says the first "What's really fine is the smell of tar it exudes when it warms up in the sun. We Utahns are generally concerned about preserving our environment. Such programs as the "Don't Waste Utah" campaign stress keeping the environment clean. While it's a near unforgivable sin to throw a pop can in the barren sandy sagebrush of southern Utah, nobody even blinks when acres of the state's best fertile farmland along the Wasatch front get covered with asphalt. When you look at the older parts of the cities in Davis County, there are lots of trees around the houses and businesses. But now, the rage is acres and acres of uninterrupted asphalt If there are any trees at all, they are tiny ones planted on the very outer edges of the blackness. I guess all this "progress" is inevitable. But do we have to build on and blacktop every single field? Will we leave not one speck for the geese and other critters? And when we do build a mega-acre parking lot, couldn't we be just a little bit creative? I mean like (heaven forbid) maybe plant a tree in the middle of it? Some trees would help cool down the big black beast in the summer and break up cold winds in the winter. Not to mention that a bunch of trees would just make it look better. So, while we are all parking our cars, forgive me while I mourn the loss of what was. As the asphalt spreads even farther I can't help feeling these blacktop blues. By JOHN CANNON Outdoor Editor - I just can't hold back any longer, I've just got to vent my blacktop blues. It's just a feeling I get as I watch the lifeless asphalt monster spread itself over the face of the earth. It used to be when somebody built a store or a road, the blacktop involved in-volved was rather modest. The local store might have a dozen or so parking spaces and the highway was barely two cars wide. But now we have these massive multi-lane highways, and the stores have become mega-supermarkets surrounded by an endless sea of asphalt. It seems to be the latest fad to see who can have the biggest parking lot. The winner is he who can surround himself with the most acreage of uninterrupted blacktop. Not that big parking lots are all bad, on occasion some find it most enjoyable en-joyable after a snow storm. An empty mega parking lot covered with slippery slip-pery white snow is an open invitation for some high speed fishtails and doughnuts. What else can you do with a parking lot? I mean besides parking your car? Where once were trees, grass, birds and critters now there is asphalt with bright yellow lines and an occasional light post. Often we hear descriptions of beautiful valleys, meadows, mountains and fields. People write poems, books and sing songs about such places. They take pictures of them and hang them on their walls. Have you ever heard anyone raving about a beautiful parking lot? "That's the most gorgeous asphalt I've ever seen!" says one, "Just look at n fa fir r 1 These Canadian Geese were photographed last week in the fields of Farmington where the new K-Mart will soon be built. Blacktop will cover most of this area. (Clipper photo by John W. Cannon) Looking for a place to land, these Canadian Geese are flying in to join other geese already feeding in the fields of Farmington. (Clipper photo by John W. Cannon) |