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Show managed and didn’t become a voracious monster in its own right. Ultimately,-the greatest threat to wildlife in America today is loss of habitat to urban growth. Maybe I’m just not dealing with Reality very well: It may be that the Rural West’s future has already been scripted and we're just Waiting for all the players to arrive-the teeming millions of urban Americans who want to escape the cites and be a part of the Western landscape. When they all arrive, however, it won't be the landscape they thought they were coming to, because they will have all arrived at once. And there may be a day, when all those latter day pilgrims will look back fondly and tearfully on the early and (relatively) quiet times of the early 21st Century and recall them as The Good Old Days... - They'll never know what they really missed. IS IT TIME FOR MAHBU? But I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. I still think there's a fighting chance to hold on to at least a part of the Rural West. But as we've made clear in these two issues, it’s going to require some honest conversation with a lot of different people. Very different people. Several months ago, I found myself engaged in a terific conversation with two of my best buddies, legendary river runner/troublemaker Ken Sleight, and the always entertaining, the 21st Century’s fast-speed version of the Energizer Bunny, Dr. Richard Ingebretsen, president of the Glen Canyon Institute. In some ways, we are an unlikely trio. At 71, Ken THE ZEPHYR Volume 13 Number2 June/July 2001 | | Ave THE NUTSHELL With Steve Russell Public funding for The Zephyr? Taj Mahal declared a wilderness lodge. Tram to nowhere redux. MORE! 6...POINTBLANK: By Howard Trenholme Why Moab Needs A Four-Year College 9... THE NUTSHELL: Photographic Evidence Dogs of the Month... TWO Raccoons or THREE? Publisher's second job...Another Kid R.O.T.M. 13..DAN O'CONNOR'S TWISTED TABLOID New evidence that non-motorized recreationists are wreaking havoc on the Canyon Country is the senior member of this group. He grew up Mormon and poor on an Idaho ranch during the Depression. He was fighting dams on the Colorado River before Rich and I even knew it was there to defend. Ken grew up to be a jack mormon, but still stays close to his pioneer roots. Dr. Rich is a devout member of the Latter Day Saints and watches me curiously when | drink coffee at the Moab Diner. "Gee," he says earnestly, "I’ve always wondered what that tastes like...it sure smells good." "Want a swig?” I'll ask. : And Ingebretsen chuckles and orders up a chocolate malt with extra whipped cream. | try to tell him that all that sugar and fat would go easier on his arterial walls if he washed it down with some red wine and he grins some more. : Sleight drinks coffee and has been known to add a "little something" to his java and he'll tell you he does it for his health. It seems to be working so far. As for me, well, I’m the lost cause from the Get-Go in this club, I suppose. I bank heavily on a few kind words from Ingebretsen and my Texas preacher pal, Pastor Don Falke -to get me through the Pearly Gates--I sure won't make it on my own. I mean, what if Heaven is guarded by charter members of the Chamber of Commerce? : So there we sat, the Unholy Trio, discussing the uncertain future of our Colorado Plateau. Now I would like to propose that we | organize, in as loose an interpretation of the word as can be found, and combine forces to create a new "group." Not an environmental group, not an anti-environmental group, but just a group. I want to call us: Mormons & Heathens for a Better Utah (M.A.H.B.U). Rich is the Mormon. I’m the Heathen. Ken is the Mormon/Heathen. Our one goal? Let's talk. : MAHBU would have NO membership rolls, dues, meetings, minutes, bylaws, corollaries to bylaws, exceptions to corollaries to bylaws, uniform codes, or fines for improper conduct. We exist to talk, over coffee or not over coffee. With a little something extra in it or not. The only requirement is that when we talk, we ALL have to tell the truth. Pretty scary, eh? So that’s it. | mentioned this to Sleight arid I think he agreed but he’d been taking tourists on trail rides all day and was worn out and I think he had something extra in his coffee. As for Ingebretsen, he apparently is moving faster than the speed of light again and my phone calls haven't caught up with his pager. So I can’t hold him to this idea. At least not yet. But I have high hopes for MAHBU--it just may be an idea whose time has come. MISSING ON PAGE 6... Because of space limitations, "New West Blues" is missing from this issue. It will be back in August with the Return of Ren Man! NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS If your mailing label indicates a: 6/01 OR 7/01 your subscription is ABOUT TO EXPIRE! You should have received or you should soon receive a renewal notice. In order to avoid an interruption in your subscription we must receive your renewal before By Ken Sleight The ‘Discovered Navajo.’...on the road to the Winter Olympics 16..FAREWELL TO TELLURIDE OF THE HEART By Chinle Miller : A quarter of @ century has changed the face of Telluride, Color ad0..nf orever. ne as Ss on W. Columbia situated on two and oneye bedrooms with 35 bath. Large family ool table and fireplace. Large garage and ouse in rear South facing, $2,275,000. 18.... TWO ESSAYS ON THE ‘WAY IT WAS’ In Defense of Nostalgia By Martin Muric Perfecto Martinez Revisited By Evan Cantor 20..... (But of By ‘ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS?" only if it’s for ratings points...the sad state the local news.) Alexandra L. Woodruff 22...SUNK WITHOUTA SOUND An excerpt from BRAD DIMOCK'S new book on the mysterious Grand Canyon disappearance of Bessie and Glen Hyde. 24...STREAMOFCONSCIOUSNESS "The Advantages of a Small Town"By Anne Wilson 26...CEDAR CITY to L.A. to THE GRAND CANYON The Severance Family's 1921 Trip continues... 30..NO WORRIES... The delayed second installment of an Australian Cross Country Trip...By Jim Stiles the last issue of The Zephyr. SUBSCRIBE TO THE ZEPHYR SIX ISSUES (ONE YEAR): $15... TWELVE ISSUES (TWO YEARS): $28 EIGHTEEN ISSUES (THREE YEARS): $40 NAME ADDRESS. CITY STATE 6 9-DIGIT ZIP JULY 15, 2001 PLEASE READ THIS! We cannot include back issues with a bulk mailing. The Post Office will NOT forward 3rd Class mail. If you do not send us a change of address, we cannot be responsible for issues you did not receive. Subscriptions must begin with the next issue. Back issues are available at ridiculous prices. Call for a price list. Those readers who choose to take advantage of the multi-year discounts do so at their own risk. There is no guarantee that the world will be here in three years, let alone this publication. EMAIL THE ZEPHYR: ZEPHYR@MOCI.NET AND THE WEB SITE WWW. CANYONCOUNTRYZEPHYR.COM CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS ONLY TO: SSS SS SS P.O. BOX 327, MOAB, UT 84532 SS SS |