A Glen Canyon Odyssey

 
 

Camping


Warm nights on sandy beaches–in the summer.  In the winter Anasazi-style cliff caves warmed by a fire: comfortable and spectacular…  Sandy beaches.  The smell of the river and the willow, tamarisk and red bud on the banks.  Usually calm, but sometimes a sudden high wind flares up and blows rafts down the beach.  Which the owners chase…perhaps in the dark, stumbling and cursing.  At dusk and dawn the minuscule tree toads–Bufo punctatus–chant in mighty chorus.  Canyon wrens sing their descending scales and mourning doves intone their flute-like solos.  Occasionally overhead you see a great blue heron flying to work in the morning; flying home in the evening.  Black ibis and snowy egret, and in the evening, bats. 

The bats are very welcome because the mosquitoes and biting flies are often there, too.  The flies seemed to aim for the back of your knees as you walk; then take a bite out of you and run!  Or aim for the person behind you.
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Navigate Glen Canyon

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HOW TO LINK TO YOUR SITE HERE.

        EMAIL US When our group was finally gathered together again, the sun was setting on our strange day.  The law men sat down with us, hoping for coffee and thought it odd we were largely non coffee drinkers.  They settled for tea, and we had a nice chat about a little bit of everything.  Just before they left they pointed out that they are, basically, politicians who face elections and so they would be putting out press releases on the day's activities.  Since the lost people's parents would almost certainly be alarmed to hear what had happened to their college-attending offspring, they should probably use ficticious names when talking to the press.  Would we agree?  Their logic was impeccable, and so we naturally agreed.  The sheriff who had found our hiker sitting by the roadside took me aside and suggested that perhaps some medical attention might be appropriate because he had seemed, and still did seem, a bit confused.  When I said that he didn't really seem any more confused than when we left Berkeley, the sheriff said he understood and wished us all well.