May 2011 Visit to Moab
Jim, Wade, Steve and three friends made a six day river trip through Desolation Canyon on the Green River. Alene and I were fortunate to help with shuttle service for the crew. The trip was centered from Moab where the equipment was readied at Jim's second home. On the Saturday before the Desolation trip Jim and Wade spent a day on the Colorado River checking out some modifications they had made to their pontoon boats. On Monday, May 16 we traveled to Green River to meet up with the crew members; then traveled to Sand Wash about 35 miles south of Myton, Utah where the Desolation venture began. Alene and I then returned to Moab to spend the interum days after which we took the trucks and trailers to the location north of Green River where we met the rafters as they finished their soggy week. We were pleasantly surprised when Jodi, Emma and nine months old James Reynolds Nichol showed up on our Moab doorstep to spend a couple of days with us. While in Moab Alene and I made a couple of side trips which we captured a little on camera; but, the week was characterized by a horrendous low pressure area that parked itself over all of the western United States and spit wind and rain and snow over Utah and Colorado. On Sunday a record breaking tornado, spawned by this piece of bad weather, tore through Joplin, Missouri taking out a good portion of the town and killing well over 100 persons. I guess we should all feel lucky and blessed because the end of the world that was forcast for Saturday by a religious nut in California didn't happen! All on the boat trip enjoyed a wet but otherwise fun trip. The photos that follow captured only a scene or two at the beginning and the end of the Desolation voyage. Our side trips are recorded under the various headings.
The photos that follow were taken during this week and the time and locations are noted below:
The photos that follow were taken during this week and the time and locations are noted below:
Near Onion Creek on the Colorado River May 14, 2011
Rocky Rapid on the Colorado River, May 14, 2011
White's Rapid near Red Cliffs Lodge on the Colorado River, May 14, 2011
Side Trip to the Old Mormon Cemetery at Mancos, Colorado - May 20, 2011
On May 20, 2011 Alene and I took a side trip to Mancos, Colorado in hopes of finding the grave of Harriet Amy Young Buchanan who died from complications of childbirth on her 18th birthday in 1890. Hattie was the first child of John R. Young and his third wife, Tamar Black. She married Eugene Deloss Buchanan, son of Archibald Waller Overton Buchanan. Eugene later married Persis Vilate Young, older sister of my grandfather Newel K. Young. Vilate also died of complications of childbirth. This story is filled with intrigue and I have written about it in my "Exodus to Mexico" article. Details can be found at http://robertnreynolds.weebly.com/exodus-to-mexico.html and
http://robertnreynolds.weebly.com/exodus-two.html
Some of my photos on this trip and related to this story follow.
http://robertnreynolds.weebly.com/exodus-two.html
Some of my photos on this trip and related to this story follow.
Some collages I made regarding the family history related to this old Mormon Cemetery
At the old Mancos Cemetery
Side trip to Dead Horse Point - May 21, 2011
Aerial view of Dead Horse Point from Google Earth
The State of Utah has found a unique piece of "terra ferma" upon which to create a State Park -- in this case a real money maker at ten dollars per car just to drive to the end of the road. Make no mistake; it is a special place to view the erosion that has occured during the eons the Colorado River has flowed down hill toward the Pacific sea. The legand that local cowboys used the area to catch a select few wild horses and starve the rest of the herd as they permanently fenced the narrow neck is hard for me to believe. I found the trip worthwhile for the vistas it provides of the Manti LaSal Mountains and the Colorado River drainage, but listening to many tourists rudely and loudly chatter in their foreign tongues was not meaningful in the least,
Following are a few photos from the visitor areas.
Following are a few photos from the visitor areas.
Surprise Visit from Jodi, Emma and James (Jimmy, Hamish, Goliath, Sweet Boy)
Emma at the Loper Monument in Green River, Utah
On Saturday just after we had returned from Dead Horse Point we received a wonderful surprise when Jodi and her two children showed up at Jim's place. Following are photos taken during her visit, including going with us to meet the river crew at Swasey Landing at the mouth of Grey Canyon.