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Show The Tlmes-lndependen- t, Thursday, Jan. 22, 1981 VaX B1 O' ssr Hiking partners, Zane and Adrien High School painters of a half-centur- y see where ropes have worn grooves in the sandstone, supporting Grand Adrien tells me to quit stalling and come on down the slickrock fin. Its a piece of cake, " says she, telling me that I could always sit down and slide on my backside if my shoes fail to grip. ago as they painted the Big G Just minutes from Moab, a whole new world opens up behind and beyond The Big G by Sam Taylor Did you ever take a journey into the past? Did you ever simply climb into a time machine and travel back a third of a to century things hadnt discover really changed a bit? I did last weekend, and it was a great experience. Growing up kids in Moab were divided roughly into two camps: the creek runners and the hill climbers. Since my home at that time was at the foot of the red hills bordering Moab on the north, I fell into the latter and spent of thousands literally the hours prowling category, . gorgeous .country up by Lions Back. Last week I took my two hiking partners (plus Dog) and headed out to find a favorite spot from my youth. The target for the trip was a sandstone , place. Just big enough for a firepit, a spot for camping gear and two or three sleeping bags, it had a natural chimney in its rear which wisked the smoke from the pinyon fire up and out of the cavern. We had partially rocked up the front, so that with a small fire the cave was even fairly comfortable in the middle of winter when the sandstone fins were covered with snow. Following old but well remembered trails, we climbed past the cliff where half a century ago Grand County High School students had painted a huge Block G, which was the custom in those days as the keystone of school spirit. Pausing there to 'figure out how the devil those kids managed to get down the cliff face, we proceeded on into the magical frozen sand dune country to the north of the G. And sure enough, we walked right to my cave. Actually, it wasnt quite as large as I rememberd, but little else had cave in the rough fin country north of The Big G, where the company of those close friends of my early teens, I spent many nights; cooked lots of bacon and eggs; heated beans and blackened changed. Watch this, I potatoes in the embers of said, indicating that the pinyon fire. natural chimney would In my minds eye, the pull out the smoke, cave was a wonderous allowing the fire to warm the cave. Immediately the finally managed to climb cavern filled with dense the thing. Dont get too pinyon smoke. Coughing close to that pothole, just a little, we proceeded Zane, I said. We might to set out our lunch on the never get you out without rocks in front of the cave. a rope, and I dont want But just as I remem- to go clear back to town bered, once the top of the for one. cave warmed a little and I can do it, Dad,, he the natural chimney said, but since I am still began to draw, the cave bigger and can still yell cleared out and warmed louder than him, I in- up. We prevailed. Well have to cluded-a- nd enjoyed our come back next summer sardines, crackers and and go swimming, he tomato soup. said, and I thought that Then my memory would be a great Canyon to the north. We made the hike the hard way, by leaving our vehicle at the bottom. But you dont have to do it that way. Four-wheel-dri- wf roads twist in all directions through the fins, and part of the Slickrock Bike Trail runs across a corner of my boyhood domain, and pretty easy to its get around by bike or Jeep. But its a whole lot more fun to hike. You see more, you hear less and if we brought its a whole lot better for Now who's sliding? Coming down is harder than going ce, a good pair of hiking shoes, and a willingness to lose ring ly began coming back even Not far from here, I said, is the e darndest youve ever seen. It must be 40 feet deep, and even in the driest of years, it has a whole lot of water in it. We began exploring. After climbing several of the sandstone fins, we finally found the right one. Sure enough, there more clearly. pot-hol- was that darned pothole. And it was so deep, that I wondered how I had ever dared climb down into it to fill my canteen in those treasured years of long ago. In fact, I wondered how I had ever dared climb that crazy slickrock in the first place. In the back of my mind I was wondering how we could get back down, having a rope. you. We managed to get off Take a winter like this the rock, minus a little one, when you cant ski, black rubber from our snowmobile or Vibram soles and some and dont waste it. threads from our jeans, Theres a whole lot to see and continued our hike an(j do just a few steps through the magical fin from Moab. Youll country which stretches discover a whole different all the way from Moab world Behind the Big Valley to Negro Bill G! ice-skat- e, Total 1980 visitation to SE Utah state parks was 635,714 Visitation to the State Park areas in Southeastern Utah in 1980 totaled 635,714 visitors, which was a decrease from the 679,009 figure for 1979. However, many of the park areas in the museums visitors. Visitation to the museum is expected to increase over the next few years as information about it is listed in the many Travel good jeans. Teen pregnancies major topic at Commission meet The problem of teenage came under pregnancies discussion at a meeting of the Grand County Commission, Monday, Jan. 19. Wayne Ball, health education specialist for the Southeastern Utah Health District, told the Commissioners that the district had received a $12,000 grant for a teenage pregnancy prevention program. Ball pointed out that the district Guide books. GOBLIN VALLEY: Visitation was down with 20,616 inand visitation region for 1980, compared visitors creases. Visitation highlights for the year of 1980 are as to 23,945 for 1979. Camping showed a decrease with 3970 follows: DEAD HORSE POINT: people camping overnight as Total visitation was down compared to 4482 for 1979. slightly with 115,764 visitors Utah residents represented as compared to 116,851 for the majority of people 1979. Camping, however, visiting the area. GOOSENECKS: Visitation was up substantially with for 1980 was up substantially 9,223 people staying overnight compared to 8,439 for with 46,642 visitors as 1979. compared to 40., 374 for reprerepresented nearly seventy per 1979. cent of the parks visitation. sented nearly ninety per cent Some of the increase in of these visitors. Camping camping is attributable to was also up, with 1,373 several new interpretive people camping, compared programs the park staff to 1,160 during 1979. GREEN RIVER: Visitation initiated to provide more recreational activities for the was down slightly with 139,608 visitors during 1980 visitors to the park. EDGE OF THE CEDARS compared to 140,696 for 1979 MUSEUM: Visitation was with visitors being nearly 22,436 whichi is a fourteen split between residents and Camping was per cent increase over the 19,689 recorded visitors for also down for the year with 21,797 people camping as 1979. represent sixty-fiv- e percent of the compared with 23,386 for ts has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the state. Utah ranks third in the nation in teenage pregnancies, he added. According to a chart prepared by Ball on the number of live births per, 1,000 females, Carbon County aged ranks highest, with 117.4, followed by Grand County with 101.2; Emery County, with 96, and San Juan County, with 66.7. The district average is 93.8 per 1,000. The state average is 64.2. All figures represent totals for 1979. Grand County also ranked first in the district in the number of 15-1- 9, Non-reside- ts. Non-residen-ts 4't: v;-- .' My boyhood cave was just as I remembered. Zane, Sandi and I enjoy our lunch as we pose for our photographer. good balan- the seat out of your 1979. Green River did, however, remain the most heavily visited State Park area in the Southeast Region. NEWSPAPER ROCK: Visitation increased, with 66, 441 visitors for 1980, compared with 51,772 for 1979. Camping, however, decreased with 1,960 people camping, compared to 2,070 for 1979. Non-reside- repre- percent of sented eighty-fiv- e the visitation. ? mSZi Look at that pothole full of water. Even the driest of years, this one still has thousands of gallons of water in it. - - - abortions per 1,000 live births in 1979, with a total of 131.3, compared to a district average of 49.7 and a state average of 84.9. Ball said that Grand Countys total is affected by San Juan County, where, he stated, doctors will not do abortions. San Juan Countys total was less than six. Ball told the Commissioners that he is forming advisory committees in each county in the district. He said that the committees will be used to identify resources and problems and formulate intervention programs, including educational efforts. The committees will be asked to identify specific major problems in teenage pregnancies in their own individual areas. Ball commented that he is asking one Commissioner from each county to serve on the local committees. ComJa- mission Chairman Larry cobs stated that teenage pregnancies are a major problem in Grand County and volunteered to serve on a committee. Commissioners Ron Steele and Ray Tibbetts agreed, adding that they would do all they could to help with the problems. Ball also distributed in- formation listing specific problems associated with teenage pregnancies. Ac- cording to Health Department studies, teenagers who marry late in a pregnancy, and particularly those who marry in the last trimester, have a poor outcome one and a half to two and a half times more often than teens who conceive after marriage. The report stated that the death rate for infants born to teenagers under 18 is nearly twice that for infants born to women in their early 20s. Deaths related to complication with pregnancy are 35 percent higher for 15 to mothers than for women in their early 20 s, the study said. The report went on to state that 70-8-0 percent of teenag-e- d parents under age 17 do not finish high school. Listed under economic problems, the study stated that half of the money allocated for aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) goes to women who had their first child while they were teenagers. Writing winners named in Green River by Shirley Durfey On Monday, Jan. 12, at the Book Cliff Elementary School, trophies were awarded to the winners of the creative writing contest. The contests main objective was the month of December, with the judging taking place during the Christmas holidays. The judges. Pearl Baker, Jim Ramsay, Ron Taylor and Lucille SiUiman, were very impressed with to encourage students to the stories submitted to them write. The ability to write a and said that it was very good story or to be able to difficult to pick a winner express ones self on paper from such a group of well needs to be cultivated more written stories. The winners within our school systems. I were as follows: was one of the goals of this Sixth grade: 1st place, contest to try to revive this Sherry Keele, 2nd place, skill and to demonstrate to Kimberly Jones; Fifth grade: students that writing is not 1st place, Danny Chao, 2nd only an important skill to place, Warren Nelson. Fourdevelop, but that it could be th grade: 1st place, Lory an enjoyable one as well. Quarnberg, 2nd place, Sam Steen. Third grade: 1st Students who participated place, Shannon Keesling, were in grades one through 2nd place, Misti Brock. six, and the stories that they Second grade: 1st place, wrote were judged on origin- Matthew Thebeau, 2nd ality, creative ability, use of place, Patrick Pentico. First descriptive words and phras- grade: 1st place, Jeremy es, ability to hold the interest Hansen, 2nd place, Rainbow of the reader and the story Platt. All the winning stories will development through char-- a development through char- now be compiled into a acters, plot sequence, etc. school magazine. CongratuThe contest ran through lations to the winners! |