Show Cl 4— The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday April 11 2003 Officers talk© to the air Birds ST GEORGE Utah (AP) — Officers patrolling wild lands along the border can drive all day and not see a soul But the violators are out there: taking Jeeps rs onto untracked fragile soilst and spotlighting deer or scavenging artifacts The vast tract of land known as the Arizona Strip 32 million acres of it has pushed officers from a handful of agencies into the air On a four-hoflight an aerial patrol can cover 700 miles The air patrols work in conjunction with ground patrols and involve the Bureau of Land Management National Park Service US For-e- st Service Utah Department of Wildlife Resources and the Mohave County Arizona Utah-Arizo- and vegetation and harasses wildlife” Many of the flights are conducted at night around the hunting season to look for people illegally spotlighting and shooting deer na the people are obeying the rules It’s just the minority that’s not” ur Ron Wadsworth supervisory law enforce- - V ment ranger for the BLM Arizona Strip Held ' Office said the aerial patrols cover larger areas in a shorter amount of time One of his main targets is drivers who stray from established tracks “People can ride the roads mid there are thousands of miles of jeep trails so there is really no excuse to ride off road And the majority of the people are obeying the roles It's just the minority that is not" Wadsworth said “Riding off road causes damage to soils least 50 people robbed elbows inside walk the main arch while a 30-yaaround the corner revealed near-totsolitude It also brought us to the end of the trail as Jaden informed us: “This is our limit” in an Traveling with a RV we found limits you to the main road? and thus the main attractions Nothing wrong with that of course it just requires a mental adjustment hikes to from hikes from reading about Powell and Abbey to reading about Cat in the Hal and Curious George More than once I gazed longingly at passing motorists with a mountain bike on one side of their roof rack and a kayak on the other but I like to think they were a little jealous of the mattress and shower in the back of my ' ride Soon we were off to Canyonlands intent on securing a campsite within the park’s Needles district Alas we were thwarted when theSUV ahead of us pulled into the last available site On a ranger’s tip We found an incredible spot on nearby Bureau of Land Management property and spent the rest of the day exploring caves and studying animal tracks in the sand of Lockhart Basin Knowing we had a long drive rd al 20-min- 20-mi- le Hon Wadsworth law enforcement ranger black-crown- ed sheriffs department Cl ed tree-line- -- BLM - ' The river a fairly wide stretch of water snaked back and forth as we alternated from paddling past d banks to open form- land In die distance die snowy Wellsvilles kept returning as our backdrop the danora always gravitating in dint southwest direction We came around a brad and a night heron (to my untrained eye it appeared as a tern) flew overhead And a hawk on a branch let us watch him yank on his catch for a while occasionally flashing us a wild yellow eye There woe several d cormorants in the river and a downy woodpecker bombed past us landing nearby gravy-color- “The majority of -- Continued from Condoned from Cl- --U four-wheele- RV “ Utah Divirion of Wildlife Resources district conservation officer Gary McKell recently flew with Arizona Game and Fish and die BLM In addition tooff-roa- d violators he lodtS for people illegally gathering animals’ red-tail- ed mid-me- al antlers In Utah people can pick up naturally shed antlers that they find in die backcountry But antlers that are still attached to an animal’s skull are illegal He says some poachers will shoot a deer in the winter leave die carcass to rot then return for the trophy antlers in spring double-creste- ahead of us we were up early the next day pausing briefly in Monti-cell- o to dump our tanks and load up on fresh water Then as we crossed a cattle guard just after the Mexican Hat turnoff bam one of die back tires blew used to say Southern Utah was “a hell of a place to lose a cow” to which we would add “and a hell of a place to break dark Predictably every site at this most remote of Utah’s national parks was spoken for by the time we arrived After another brief chat with a ranger we drove out of the park onto BLM land (or maybe some rancher’s driveway it was hard tobe sure) and spent the night on a rotted turnout Hellbent on spending at least one down” night in one of the parks we were back at Capitol Reef first thing in the Fortunately the RV had dual rear tires so we were able to crawl to the morning to claim a spot as the previous occupants pulled away from the nearest pay phone which happened e to be at the Natural Bridges National campground Monument visitor center Down For once we had a central location there the nearest mechanic is sure to and although by then we all had the sniffles from the chilly nights we be miles away but just as surely fantastic scenery is only minutes away stone enjoyed the so we made the best of our wait for contrasts of the Hickman Bridge Robert the tire mechanic tb drive out trad and the plethora of mule deer from Blanding (the contract we’d that lived in the Fremont River fruit orchards signed demanded that only a designated mechanic could change the Next up was the high winding tires presumably to protect us stretch of Utah Hwy 12 a Scenic Byway that may be the state’s beauty against our own incompetence) His make a tire and advice: carry queen Dixie National Forest is rich gauge with expansive stands of spruce and sure that each of the dual tires has isn’t so that one equal pressure aspen and the abundant wildlife forced to cany the load Good to turned the drive into a safari with know! antelope coyotes a bobcat and a In the meantime Jaden had qualigolden eagle all sharing our route fied as a Junior Ranger — a national At Bryce National Park we found ' site (two in a parks program that teaches children yet another about nature and responsible stewbut were row!) quickly by an Alaskan dentist who ardship — by identifying birds and trees in the area and proudly disargued that since we had gone for a drive without leaving any physical played his badge as we reembarked for Capitol Reef driving into the jiroof of proprietorship at site 4 Old-time- rs first-com- first-serv- ed black-and-go- ld in-pa- rk claim-jump- ed C-- ‘fi One of die binding highlights was a trio of sandhill cranes that erupted from the banks in front of us beating away on impossibly long wings and making a throaty squawk that sounded like plastic being stretched There was plenty else to 'see including geese gulls and ducks We even saw a huge golden eagle occupying thebetterpartof a small tree (OK so maybe we saw that whfle driving to the I was astonished at die diversity of laid life in this sliver of habitat — and we only covered a small portion of the river Eventually we reached Cutler Reservoir and paddled into a breeze soon arriving at the Benson Marina where we'd left our cars Start to finish die paddle covered about seven and a half miles all of it on flat water taking about two and half hours The Bridgeriand Audubon Society offers many such : all r (except of course for die stub from ou r payment envelope) the site was up for grabs Too weary to fight and somewhat mollified by his peace offering of park posters we satisfied ourselves with donl need Astroturf and an awning to feel at home In your rented recreation vehicle but a few other Kama wil come in handy Some companies rent becking towels kitchenware and other necessities but Ift cheaper to bring your own gear A tire gauge wi alow you to monitor air pressure which Is par- tkxiarty important in the dual tires so that a single tire doesn’t have to bear aH toe weight Smal boards can be placed under the tires to help level the RV at campstes Kama won’t function V the W la too extremb) ends car pentor’s level wl tel you which tires need an extra board- Glove are a welcome addfjion when draining the waste tanks And since most companies charge an extra fee is the vehicle Isnl returned hi a dean condWon a Dfoom ana omer cleaning suppaoe come in handy at the end of the - :' ? v tfto'V yfsM ' ' y: Bryce with fresh snow atop its d spires was inspiring as was Zion National Park the next day but by then we had reached the saturation point probably because we weren't accustomed to putting in so much mileage To do it justice the loop really should be done over at least two weeks RV travel proved to have definite advantages over camping like the ability to cook sheltered from the wind and flying grit and it eliminates the constant unpacking and repackjpg of hotel travel Brat of all kids flat-olove RVs in a salmion-colore- v - (gat-power- ed tree-hou- se sticker shock at the pump — it cost $45 to top off a tank at Escalante So if you decide tp rent a recreational vehicle be prepared for a unique vacation And watch out fra ' dentists from Alaska Mark R Johnson is a Logan- based freelance writer Ybu c-- 5: ut ut Things to bring hand-paint- ed kind of way On the other hand everything inside does have to be secured before departure or you’re sure to hear crashing from the back on the first sharp turn Also I had expected tobe able to park to camp just about any- where but it turned out that not many places allow that And expect fiekhnps another canoe outing is planned for April 29 (location TBA) Tb become a localAudubon member to see a schedule of tripsor to learn more about Bear River and? Cutler Mreh paddling opportunities visit wwwbtidgerian- daudubrtuMg' V j? J(vj lb boat tins stretch of water you can reach die Upper Bear River Recreation Area put-i-n by taking 2500 North to 2900 WestHere head tightand the Upper jBear River Recreation Area is on die right just before r the bridge For the take-ocontinue on across the bridge bearing left at 3800 West and right at 3000 North The Benson Marina will be on yopr right Note: The paddling route is straightforward until close to die rad Look for a channel that cuts perpendicular south from die river and follow that to the Benson Marina -- 'I il 4 k half-emp-ty jnupwwwgocaiiiping&fn0ricsjpofi) Campgrpundi parks ttubt and RV dealers: httpwwwc of Utah hHpwwwj ‘ VwarvrentaJsutahJtfhiftf' asi fad p COLLECTORS This Page I OMBItttft LnmmMICniM BeanieBabies Raanie Buddies 1 0ft'1 20 leads OFF 25 VI TyCtassics Bobbers Teenle Beanie Pluffles Beanie Bopped Punkiee TV Gear jl j(foFFit m Foam 30 OFF 35 OFF r li'l 20OFFj am “Sale' p Inc Lower foods j ' ss 1pm Car Wash a Sinclair Gasoline Bring Ad 10 Infor oW with I Simply SG-200- 0 i Unbeatable Carlsen’s your purchase “Gas For Less” UonN MainLogan I a JL A ri Outlet Store TV H§Jjwrnal Ad To Place An At Call Jnri 752-21- 21 ws f "Haircut speo Every Monday1 woman GoH Putting 1 Funl '18' GraMll “Wit National Association of RV - Parke and Cairgigrounde'® if I 4 NlMVlB9aaCtty' BnanKtioneqMV' vgriHMgK |