Entering the Gates of Lodore

Rachel St. John & Louis Warren*

June, 1 2019 

We are joining the expedition at the Gates of Lodore. In his report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, John Wesley Powell conjured this romantic recollection of his first night in the Canyon of Lodore on June 8, 1869, almost exactly 150 years ago:

At night, we camp on the right bank, on a little shelving rock, between the river and the foot of the cliff; and with night comes gloom into these great depths.

After supper, we sit by our camp fire, made of drift wood caught by the rocks, and tell stories of wild life; for the men have seen such in the mountains, or on the plains, and on the battle fields of the South. It is late before we spread our blankets on the beach.

Lying down, we look up through the canon, and see that only a little of the blue heaven appears overhead a crescent of blue sky, with two or three constellations peering down upon us.

I do not sleep for some time, as the excitement of the day has not worn off. Soon I see a bright star, that appears to rest on the very verge of the cliff overhead to the east. Slowly it seems to float from its resting place on the rock over the canon. At first, it appeared like a jewel set on the brink of the cliff; but, as it moves out from the rock, I almost wonder that it does not fall. In fact, it does seem to descend in a gentle curve, as though the bright sky in which the stars are set was spread across the canon, resting on either wall, and swayed down by its own weight. The stars appear to be in the canon. I soon discover that it is the bright star Vega, so it occurs to me to designate this part of the wall as the “Cliff of the Harp.”[1]

This scene captivated us with its description of the romance and beauty of camping under the stars after an exciting day on the river—an experience that we anticipate soon enjoying ourselves. But it also caught our attention because this is the first time in his report that Powell mentioned camping gear—specifically a blanket.

  In the weeks before the trip, we had returned to Powell’s report to see what he had had to say about the clothes and gear he and his men carried on their 1869 expedition. Amidst the rich descriptions of geology and landscape and the harrowing accounts of running rapids and struggling to survive, our interest in gear might seem somewhat trivial and surprising. But it was a topic that seemed increasingly relevant as we began the final preparations for our departure. Although the real work of planning has been (thankfully!) in the hands of the expedition leaders and the crew, even those of us who have been recruited to contribute historical insight have been thinking about and planning for the expedition for almost two years now. Our early work focused on research and writing—visiting archives at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and the Huntington Library in San Marino and re-reading Powell’s writings and some of the many histories written about him. But with the expedition drawing close, we had had to focus on the practical side of things, accumulating sleeping bags and pads, warm wool socks and beanies, lightweight rain gear, and waterproof dry-bags in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and bright colors until our living room floor resembled the parking lot at an annual REI sale.

Surveying our gear and double-checking our to-bring list, we couldn’t help reflecting on how differently—and more efficiently—equipped we are than Powell and his men. The last one hundred and fifty year have witnessed a revolution in camping gear and outdoor-wear and we are without a doubt its beneficiaries. The key has been, to quote that famous line from “The Graduate,” “plastics.” Over the course of the twentieth century, scientists and manufacturers have developed a wide array of petroleum-based synthetic materials that we now rely on to make outdoor gear that is waterproof, breathable, and light. We’re each packing two sets of breathable, fast-drying long underwear made from Capilene®—Patagonia’s trademarked polyester blend.[2] We have waterproof rain jackets made from Gore-Tex®—a fabric made from stretched polytetrafluoroethylene invented by Wilbert L. and Robert W. Gore in 1969—and hats that look like straw but are made of OmniShade® material that have UPF 50 ultraviolet light protection to protect us from the sun.[3] The leak-proof dry bags that will ensure that our clothes, bedding, and books are dry after a day in the rapids are made of TobaTex.[4] We will sleep snugly in light-weight sleeping bags insulated with SpiraFil™ LT polyester fibers.[5]

By contrast, Powell and the other 1869 expedition members largely relied on wool to keep themselves warm, leather to protect their bodies, and heavy rubber or canvas, perhaps oiled or waxed, to shed water from the river and rain. Although neither Powell nor his men, who provided their own clothes and camping gear, left a complete list of the clothes and camping gear that they packed, scattered references in the expedition’s records reveal that they set out with blankets and rubber ponchos along with the pants, shirts, underclothes, shoes, and hats which would have been standard at the time.[6] We can also get a sense of what they might have carried from the 1877 book How to Camp Out written by John M. Gould. A Civil War veteran (like Powell and some other members of the expedition), Gould’s ideas about camp life were shaped by his wartime experience. Gould insisted that campers “must take a rubber blanket or a light rubber coat,—something that will surely shed water, and keep out the dampness of the earth when slept on.” [7] He also recommended “a woollen blanket,—a good stout one, rather than the light or flimsy one that you may think of taking,” noting that by sewing a light lining on it that a camper could create something like what we know as a sleeping bag or insulate the blanket by laying “what spare clothing you have, and your day-clothes, between the lining and blanket, when the night is very cold.”[8]  

Although we don’t know if any of Powell’s men sewed themselves lined blankets, we do know that they had blankets. As noted above, Powell first mentioned blankets when recounting his first night camping in the Canyon of Lodore. One hopes that Powell slept well, for the next day, on June 9, 1869, the expedition entered what they would later name Upper Disaster Falls. In one of the most harrowing incidents of the expedition, the “No Name,” along with three men and valuable provisions, was swept over the rapids and broken in two against a rock. Although they were able to rescue the Howland brothers and Frank Goodman, the “No Name” and most of its provisions were a loss.[9]

A month later blankets appeared again. On July 11, the expedition encountered another rapid in which another boat was swamped, throwing Powell “some distance into the water.”[10] While the men and the boat made it through unscathed, Powell reported that:

Our rolls of blankets, two guns, and a barometer were in the open compartment of the boat, and, when it went over, these were thrown out. The guns and barometer are lost, but I succeeded in catching one of the rolls of blankets, as it drifted by, when we were swimming to shore; the other two are lost, and sometimes hereafter we may sleep cold.[11]

By August 17, the situation had become dire. “The little canvas we have is rotten and useless;” Powell recorded, “the rubber ponchos, with which we started from Green River City, have all been lost; more than half the party is without hats, and not one of us has an entire suit of clothes, and we have not a blanket apiece.”[12]

As we embark on our own leg of the journey, we certainly anticipate that our gear will stand up better and be less liable to loss under the conditions of our 21st-century expedition. Moreover, we’ll be able to enjoy many more comforts along the way. Light-weight camp cots and inflatable sleeping pads and pillows will make for a comfortable night’s sleep after our days on the river. We’re also bringing collapsible wine glasses and an insulated wine bag that the abstemious Powell might have frowned upon. Of course, that didn’t stop his men either. Although Powell had prohibited alcohol his men smuggled a keg of whiskey onto the “No Name.”[13] It was one of the few things that they were able to recover from the wreck in the Canyon of Lodore. And, after that disaster, even Powell was forced to admit that although they had “taken it aboard, unknown to me,” “now I am glad they did, for they think it will do them good, as they are drenched every day by the melting snow, which runs down from the summits of the Rocky Mountains.”[14] We’ll be sure to raise a glass to Powell and the other members of the expedition as we gaze up to see the stars appear in that crescent of blue sky beyond the canyon’s walls, snugly swaddled in Capilene® and SpiraFil™.

*    The authors want to thank Rachel S. Gross, Phoebe S.K. Young, and Annie Gilbert Coleman who are in the process of writing books about the history of outdoor clothing and gear, camping, and outdoor guides respectively and who provided helpful suggestions for this blog post.

[1] John W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 23. Available online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039238/report.pdf

[2] https://www.patagonia.com/capilene-polyester-baselayer.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore-Tex; https://www.rei.com/product/878990/columbia-global-adventure-packable-hat

[4] https://www.nrs.com/product/55010.02/nrs-110l-bills-bag-dry-bag

[5] https://www.rei.com/product/107472/marmot-trestles-0-sleeping-bag

[6] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 89.

[7] John M. Gould, How to Camp Out (1877), 16. Available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17575/17575-h/17575-h.htm

[8] Gould, How to Camp Out, 19

[9] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 24-26.

[10] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 48.

[11] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 49.

[12] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 89.

[13] Powell reported that it was a “three gallon keg,” but Sumner estimated it at 10 gallons. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 26. Donald Worster, A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 167; Wallace Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1964), 65.

[14] Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, 26.

Preparations – Melissa Lombard

Hi all, I’m Melissa Lombard from the New Hampshire office of the New England Water Science Center at the USGS.  As I write this, it is about two weeks out from when I will be joining the SCREE group at Flaming Gorge Dam.  I have been doing all sorts of things to get ready for this trip and I really can’t wait to be out there and on the river!  As I’m gathering the gear that I’ll be bringing, I can’t help but think about how John Wesley Powell and his crew might have prepared for their trip into the “Great Unknown”.  They had boats made in Chicago which were transported via train to Green River, Wyoming.  They also assembled tons (literally tons) of food, which primarily consisted of flour, beans, and bacon.  Apparently, their bacon was not in the best condition, but they still ate it and quickly tired of it.  Maybe after several months of eating bacon, I would tire of it as well but I’m hoping we have some bacon on our trip.  Powell and his men could not refuel their provisions along the way so had to bring everything with them from the start.  This is one contrast to our trip 150 years later, where there are plenty of opportunities for the crew to acquire more provisions along the way including change outs of the crew.

The things that I am most looking forward to on my trip are having the opportunity to spend so much time in the outdoors and meeting my fellow crew members.It’s been a very gray and rainy spring here in New Hampshire so I’m really hoping for plenty of blue skies while I’m on the river.I’m sure it’s been a gargantuan task to plan this whole expedition, so a big THANK YOU to everyone who has made this possible!

Thoughts on My Job Description SCREE Lead Artist -- Patrick Kikut

Steamboat Rock, Dinosaur National Monument

One chilly afternoon in the Spring of 2016 Tom Minckley asked if he could stop by on his way home from campus.  I said sure and soon he was at the door.  I offered him a beer and we sat down in front of a fire.  Tom quickly got to the point of the visit and asked me serve as the lead artist for SCREE.  I asked if he had his permits lined up (he didn’t).  He said he did, and I agreed to sign on.  At that point, I had read Wallace Stenger’s’ Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, and was interested in Powell, but had no river experience.  Tom wasn’t concerned about that.  He knew I can handle rough water and can swim.  I asked Tom why he wanted me on board.  He thought I would be a good fit as we share a similar critical approach to landscape and an interest in Art History.  Also, he appreciated my paintings as I often take a geographical approach to my subjects.  He saw that often I am depicting overlooked landscapes.  Landscapes that seem to in a tidal zone (or eddy) between our encroaching culture and nature- between place and space.

 This opportunity with SCREE is both exciting and daunting.  To help me prepare for the trip I feel I need to give myself a kind of job description.  For the last 3 years the promise of this river trip has fueled my research into the art and history surrounding the Colorado River Basin, Powell, and Manifest Destiny.  I have spent countless hours tracking down the delicate and confident field drawings of Thomas Moran to try to gain some understanding of his approach.  Moran and Powell had a lasting impact on how we think of the West.  Moran’s oil paintings and engravings of the Canyon country were critical in flipping Powell’s “great unknown” from an uncharted space into a familiar place.

 Working on the shoulders of Powell and Moran gives me an understanding of how we got to 2019 and help me think about the future of the West.  My challenge is to find content in a landscape that is, for the most part, unspoiled, raw and in a natural state.  Of course, the numerous dams control the seasonal flows so there is little wash out happening in the canyons. The “leave no trace” policy leaves us a landscape that feels to me like it is in a bubble or frozen in time.  Most of the land along the river is the kind of protected land that I have spent my 30 years avoiding in my depictions of the West.  My belief being, Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Fredrick Church, and many others did an excellent job of depicting the pre-Manifest Destiny landscape (and natural resources) of North America.  That job has been done and it was done really well.  With that in mind, I have committed my efforts toward the less protected lands.  The interaction between our encroaching culture and the realities of nature is fascinating to me.  I often set up and sketch on the outskirts of town, behind a truck stop, and on the side of the highway while travelers blow by on their way to embrace our pristine National Parks.  The canyons will offer me the chance to face the land in a way that is not all that different than what Powell and Moran experienced.  The reservoirs will offer a chance to see what we have made of the sacrificed land under the water.   

 Thinking about the future is a difficult thing to do.  Painting it is even harder.  At this point, I can humbly hope that my work can serve future artists.  I hope that the inspiration that I have gleaned from Moran’s sketches can be carried through to the next generation of artists.  SCREE will have drones, Go Pros on helmets, digital cameras, video, and sound recording devices.  Which leaves me wondering, will there even be a future artist that will choose to use graphite and watercolors?  But, I expect there will be.  After all, I’m using materials that are not that different from the famed Barrier Canyon Style artists whose paintings are 10,000 years old and can be seen today on the canyon walls.  I suppose future river trips will carry sketchbooks, journals, pencils, watercolors, harmonicas and acoustic guitars.  These materials will continue to be attractive to artists that are committed to making direct marks of expression.  I hope to play some defense for drawing and painting in a world that is becoming increasingly saturated with landscape images that are digitally manipulated into idyllic screen saver perfection.

Motivation for Science - Janis LeMaster

Today, on the day of the 150th anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s Colorado River Exploring Expedition, I think back on his main motives for such an incredible and daring pursuit. Powell was determined to further our knowledge and understanding of the then uncharted Green and Colorado rivers. He had limited funding from the government, formed a group completely untrained in navigating river rapids, and had only one arm. The odds were stacked against him, but he held a strong passion and belief in the importance of science and did his best to collect valuable information and data, no matter what challenges the rivers threw at him. Later in life, he brought these same ideals to the U.S. Geological Survey, as the second director.

I have a lot of admiration for Powell. I grew up with the sound of rushing water in my ears and the feeling of grass between my toes. I have always wanted to understand more about the world around me, and as I got older, that desire translated into a strong love and appreciation for science. I knew that I wanted those feelings to be reflected in my career, and I have been able to do that with the USGS. My work as a hydrologic technician often involves collecting data in a variety of different situations, whether it is the day-to-day routine of monitoring water conditions or having to collect information about the powerful effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes. No matter the circumstances, I am often faced with challenges and unforeseen problems that I must do my best to work through to get the best data that I can. After all, the information that I and other scientists collect can potentially go a long way toward helping inform the decisions that shape our future. The stakes that Powell faced were much higher than my own, especially since he did not have the benefits of modern technology and safety. But Powell was dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and determined to conduct the best work possible, no matter the trial. It is something that is reflected in the high standards that I, and the people I work with, hold ourselves to.  It is a quality that is a core part of the USGS, and will no doubt remain so in the years to come.

Janis LeMaster over the Green River near Expedition Island, May 23, 2019

A most complicated man -Dan McCool

Try this:  Put your right hand in your pocket and leave it there all day. Most of us wouldn’t even make it through lunch.   In that condition, would you embark on one of the most hazardous adventures ever conceived?  What kind of man volunteers to fight in America’s bloodiest war, gets horribly maimed, and then decides to spend his life engaged in active, perilous exploration?  And yet, that’s not the most interesting aspect of John Wesley Powell.  What truly intrigues me is the unfathomable complexity of the man.  He had more job titles than anyone in American history:  soldier, scientist, professor, geologist, geographer, anthropologist, sociologist, director, explorer, and my personal favorite; river runner.

It would be easy to idolize the man, and many writers have produced unabashed hagiographies.  But Powell is much too complex for that.  In some ways he truly was a great American. There is no question that he was physically courageous; that’s how he lost his arm and how he ended up dangling off a cliff high above the Colorado River.   He was way ahead of his time in how to conceptualize our relationship to both water and land.  And he was more liberal than his inhumane contemporaries when it came to the relationship between the dominant culture and Native Americans.  He was, in many ways, a visionary.

But he was never able to escape the brutal racist assumptions of his day, and anthropology has unceremoniously dumped all of his writing and ideas.  He was vainglorious, exceedingly ambitious, and never missed an opportunity to toot his own horn. He exaggerated his achievements, sometimes took credit for other people’s work, and could be vindictive and dictatorial.   I’m not sure I’d actually like to go on a river trip with him, based on the journals of the other men on his two trips down the Grand Canyon.  It is probably safe to say that he was a brilliant, iconoclastic, think-outside-the-box SOB.  In other words, a very fascinating guy.

The opportunity to follow his wake down the Green and “Grand” (i.e. Colorado) Rivers will allow us to ponder all these complex facets of Powell and his times in situ.  Thanks to “America’s greatest idea” (the national parks), the landscape of the Grand Canyon is largely the same today as it was when he first gazed up from the river and marveled at that sublime chasm.  And thanks to the Bureau of Reclamation and some of Powell’s other ideas, the river itself is nothing like it was in Powell’s day.  In other words, the history of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River reflect the complexity of Powell; you have to take the good, the bad, and the ugly as one unit.

As we go down the river, I’m going to pretend that Major Powell is sitting on my raft in a chair strapped to the cooler, and we’re going to have a long conversation.  The entire party will join us in this conversation, and we can all ask Powell how we should solve the myriad problems facing the Colorado River Basin.  I think he’ll have some ideas.

30 Days to Launch - Tom Minckley

Sometime in early 2016 Jonathan Bowler and I started talking about John Wesley Powell and the future of the Colorado Basin. Quickly, we saw the opportunity for a project, the 150th Anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s first journey, the Colorado River Exploring Expedition, down the now-named Green and Colorado Rivers. So excited, we drafted a letter to the Secretary of the Interior dated April 25, 2016:

 “May 24, 2019 will be the 150th anniversary of Major John Wesley Powell’s journey into “The Great Unknown,” an event that ultimately led to the formation of the Department of the Interior. Powell’s journey down the Green and Colorado Rivers filled in the Unexplored Territory on our nation’s maps. The expedition lives on in the stories of river users throughout the country, but the greater impact is one that is less discussed. Powell’s inquiry into the limits of development in the arid lands of the West formalized U.S. Science and led to the formation of the United States Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bureau of Ethnology (later becoming part of the Smithsonian Institution). Important to this anniversary, the lands mapped by Powell remain in the stewardship of the Department of the Interior 150 years later.”

 “We are hoping to use the anniversary of the first Powell expedition as an avenue to analyze and refocus attention on the potential of western lands as a national trust and the role of the Department of the Interior and other Federal Agencies in Western development, public land planning, and the value of natural sciences.”

 And so the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition (SCREE) began.

 I sit in my office 30 days before we launch, taking a moment to think of how much we have done and changed in the time since that first letter. From the kernel of an idea, we now have to appreciate all of the support we have for this project. To the private donors, the companies who have donated time and equipment for our expedition: including Aire, Down River Equipment, Ceiba Adventures, Yeti, Cataract Oars, Goal Zero, Big Agnes, Chaco and Chums; and most importantly individuals who helped with permitting and logistics, we give thanks. Additional big thanks to our private, academic, state and federal supporters: University of Wyoming Geography Department, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Geographic Alliance, University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences, and USGS. This project would not be at the cusp of launch without you. 

 We also want to acknowledge the USGS-Youth & Education in Science (YES) Program for their partnership; specifically helping us build a platform for showing how science can be exciting while still providing important information for the management of our national resources.” It is important for future scientist to see how their work is relevant to society’s needs and challenges. We hope SCREE contributes to that narrative.  I do not want to speak for Powell, but I think the Second Director would see the importance of using this point in time in the Arid West to think about the future of the region.

 See you on the river.

Notes from the Grand Canyon Summer 2018 - Patrick Kikut

This Grand Canyon run was a practice run for our 2019 1000-mile journey.  We scheduled this launch to be on the same exact day we will be entering the canyon in 2019.  After many days of travel, rigging and orientations we pushed off in the rain from Lees Ferry on July 15th.  The water under our orange 16-foot raft was cold, green, and crystal clear… for about a half mile when the silty Paria River slides in alongside the Colorado and in another half mile tumbles over rocks and mixes the clear water to the color of coffee with cream.  Our raft was one in a fleet of 5.  The other boats were 18 footers and carried our crew of 14-16 people.  Later that morning, passing under Navajo bridge it occurred to me that the bridge was a gateway, a last marker and a last motorized access point for the general public.  The Grand Canyon is still a remote location but in no way is the “Great Unknown.”  We were well prepared with river maps providing us exact mileage, numbered ratings (and advise) for running rapids, and designated camp sites.  I felt about as prepared as I could be.  After all this was my 4thriver trip in about 3 years, my bedside table back in Laramie was overflowing with Colorado River books and I had my brother Shane with me for the first 7 days.  I was confident in our oarsman Tom and had my art supplies safely rigged for the trip.  Plenty of food, beer was iced and cold in our new age coolers.  As Arizona folks know, Arizona is no place for anything but the best coolers.    

As we entered Marble Canyon, I was curious (and cautious) in my approach to the famous Grand Canyon rapids.  I was thrilled in anticipation of exploring side canyons, visiting rock art sites, tuning into the everchanging night sky and doing my job of producing field drawings for forthcoming SCREE exhibits.  Shortly into Marble Canyon my intention to keep a written journal intention fell by the wayside.  A major problem for me was attempting to spell out many of the locations.  In that kind of heat, attempting to spell Vishnu Schist and Matkatamiba turned out to be a deal breaker for this writer. 

There were many factors that made it difficult for me to find the time and place to focus, draw, and write even the simplest travel log.  Occasional “half days” were scheduled so Bailey Russel, photographer, and I could be on shore and attempt to compose and produce.  What made working in the Grand Canyon so tough for me was predictable.  Not surprising, it was the combination of the overwhelming scale and intense heat that made it such challenge for me to concentrate let along approach mark making and rendering in in an engaged way.  After hiking to a place to set up to draw, sweat would continue to drip off my brow into my burning eyes, onto my sweat stained glasses and then quickly evaporate after hitting my sketchbook paper.  Working with watercolors in the Canyon was different.  A challenge was actually mixing wet pigments in 110-degree heat with 30 mph wind gusts coming river from the Mojave. Watercolor would actually dry out on my brush before I could apply the paint.  So, I mostly focused on graphite line drawings and limited my use of watercolors.  I made color notes and finished the work in Santa Fe.

Also, a difficulty was the majestic Grand Canyon itself.  I have spent many years avoiding working in unspoiled landscapes.  My preference has been working from the side of the road and in the parking lots behind truck stops and motels… places where I can observe our encroaching culture sprawling out onto the surrounding deserts and prairies.  Along the river, the banks, beaches, and canyon walls are clean and mostly free of visual cultural clutter.  The river and Canyon look much like it has for millions of years thanks to the “leave no trace” policy and the diligence of the Park Service and river runners.  For the past 30 years I have sidestepped these pristine landscapes as I feel like artists like Thomas Moran, and, Albert Bierstadt have successfully depicted these scenes as they romanticized the West and played their part in manifest destiny.  That job has been done (although I am well aware that there are many artists still working with these attractive subjects).  With this in mind, I approached this assignment like a student.  I was simply intending to improve my ability to quickly compose, render the scale, and capture the patinas on the canyon walls along the way.  I found it difficult to find spots that were both comfortable in the heat and provided an interesting composition.  There were a few drawings that turned out well and I would like to translate into oil paintings, but I feel like they don’t capture the intensity of emotions that I felt in the canyon. 

My experience in the Grand Canyon was overwhelming, mixed up and paradoxical.  There were many contrasting elements: dry heat and hypothermal cold water, claustrophobia and expansive spaces, highly interactive social arrangements and loneliness, patience and restlessness, the physical work that goes into the set up and break down camps and being absolutely still with nothing to do but look for hours as we float.  These are hard things to capture in photographs, drawings and paintings.  I came away from that trip realizing a few important things that will help me as I prepare for 2019.  I will not be bringing oil paints and surfaces on the river and will stick to graphite and water media.  I must continue my river research and plan on taking tours of both Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams this January.  Also, I need to better prepare myself to handle the physical and psychological rigors of a 1000-mile river trip.  This semester, I am practicing in a sunrise yoga class and reading about Buddha.  I plan to continue my practice and continue to educate myself in ways to best mentally prepare for our forthcoming trip.   

To Love the River of Sorrows - Saving the Dolores requires humble perseverance from us all

The saga of the Dolores River in Southwest Colorado is one that emulates the greater problems within the greater Colorado River Basin. Overallocation, aridification, federal and rural community dynamics, and ecological needs are all apparent in the subbasin. Read SCREE member Rica Fulton’s analysis of the Dolores River here.

Geologists of Jackson Hole SCREE Talk

Dr. Tom Minckley of the University of Wyoming is giving a talk this evening titled, John Wesley Powell and the Reimagination of the Arid West. If your are in Jackson Hole and want to learn more about the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition, swing by the Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole this evening.  The talk begins at 6 PM. We hope to see you there!  More information below.

http://geologistsofjacksonhole.org/