“Alan”:http://www.schussman.com, a former student and co-author of mine (and recent graduate, congrats Alan), goes hiking in “Black Canyon National Park”:http://www.nps.gov/blca/ and reminds me how spectacular the American West is. Sheer canyon walls with “crazy rock climbers”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/belay/544579199/in/set-72157600350091740/, fly-fishing for “rainbow trout”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/belay/550006617/in/set-72157600350091740/ and “terrific views”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/belay/548660116/in/set-72157600350091740/ along the way.
{ 15 comments }
Joel Turnipseed 06.15.07 at 6:37 pm
Nice photos–great experience. The West is truly spectacular, and it’s always been a marvel to me how much of its beauty is accessible on very short trips from major cities: I used to go to Muir Woods once a year as an adjunct to one SF visit or another & climbing around Red Rock Canyon still stands as a favorite visit of mine to LV.
Even something as grueling and mostly-stupid as playing flight-deck mechanic during war games at Twenty Nine Palms was rewarded by get-away hikes to Joshua Tree (just across the highway) and night runs through the high desert.
MQ 06.15.07 at 6:56 pm
Along with the Alps, the Himalayas, and certain parts of the Andes, the North American West (North America to include Canada) is on the short list of the earth’s most splendid and beautiful places. We should preserve it as a sacred trust.
As Joel says, the North American west may have the best balance of civilized urban living and access to wilderness anywhere…in the Alps, cities are even closer to the mountains, but the Alps are no longer even close to wilderness.
Patrick S. O'Donnell 06.15.07 at 11:03 pm
Indeed, the West is truly spectacular. The few times we do vacation, is it always north of us, along the California coastline: from Cambria to the Oregon border is so utterly enchanting. And nothing quite compares to the redwoods rubbing up against the coastline (e.g., Patrick’s Point State Park in Humboldt County). Big Sur, for example, remains magical and in part explains why, when it comes to traveling, I remain rather provincial. Be it in Santa Cruz (Big Basin) or Big Sur, you can hike from the mountains to the ocean (or vice versa) and have time left in the day.
Patrick S. O'Donnell 06.15.07 at 11:04 pm
oops: “it is”
kim 06.15.07 at 11:42 pm
Southern Utah is truly spectacular as well. Of course, not many liberal academic types want to live within a couple hours’ drive of southern Utah.
Gene O'Grady 06.15.07 at 11:48 pm
I love Southern Utah — why not to live there, except perhaps to avoid the Southern California diaspora?
And, Patrick S O’Donnell, what goes wrong with the Coast after you pass the Oregon border? Maybe too many new golf courses around Bandon, but other than that it’s a charming place. Although my kids may strangle me if I drag them to see another Darlingtonia (or whatever the singular would be).
MQ 06.15.07 at 11:51 pm
One of the luxuries of the West is that it’s ALL AWESOME. There’s room for differences in taste — rain forests vs. vast red-rock deserts — but you can’t lose. No point debating which part is better.
Patrick S. O'Donnell 06.16.07 at 12:43 am
Gene,
Well, for one, I noticed too much logging in parts not far from the road: often there’s a strand of trees for “aesthetic purposes,” immediately behind which is a denuded piece of land. Also, the air smells a bit different (have yet to figure out why: the humidity?) and the weather along the coastline can be more extreme. However, I do like much of the coast of Oregon as well, but probably am biased due to a “mere exposure effect” and something akin to an availability heuristic. I’m sure my tastes here are idiosyncratic and I doubt I could rationally justify them. Perhaps the virtues of the Oregon coast are just a bit different and I prefer those peculiar to California (of course the geo-political border is not quite definitive here).
Kieran Healy 06.16.07 at 12:51 am
Of course, not many liberal academic types want to live within a couple hours’ drive of southern Utah.
Here I am biking around southern Utah a few years ago, near Brian Head. About nine hours driving rather than two, though.
Gene O'Grady 06.16.07 at 1:13 am
The last time I was near Brian Head, which was later in the summer than this, the snow was about ten feet deep. That was actually quite unusual, the only time in my four five excursions to that part of the world that it was like that. If I’d paid better attention I could look at the trees around Professor Healy and tell him the elevation.
And for Mr. O’Donnell — I’m all too familiar with the esthetic strand. But I don’t think that’s actually along the coast proper. I do recommend the little towns and the rivers as being rather more interesting than their equivalents in CA — much as I love Eureka. My Ramones bakery tee-shirts have always been good conversation starters.
Lester Hunt 06.16.07 at 3:56 am
“Of course, not many liberal academic types want to live within a couple hours’ drive of southern Utah.”
I think it might be more common among classical liberal academic types, but that might just be a case of projection on my part.
anon 06.16.07 at 6:20 am
“I love Southern Utah—why not to live there, except perhaps to avoid the Southern California diaspora?”
Southern Utah is *extremely* socially and politically conservative (SLC is a liberal hotbed, by Southern Utah standards). Most academics aren’t.
Matt 06.16.07 at 1:39 pm
I love many things about Souther Utah. My grandparents lived there until a few years ago so for many year I visited quite regularly. The area around St. George is beautiful- some of the most striking parts of the country- and you can get to great places w/in minutes. But, it is _very, very conservative. It’s also not exactly full of culture (though it is much better than it was 10-15 years ago.) And, because of the combination of Utah’s crazy liqure laws and the relative lack of non-Mormons it’s quite hard to get a drink there. On top of that by about this time it’s close to 120 degrees in the day, cooling down to about 90 at night. While it’s dry that’s still not fun to play in. It’s a great place to visit in the spring and fall but not a great place to live, especially for non-mormons.
alan 06.17.07 at 6:59 am
I’ve been wondering why those photos had so many views… Now I know.
Born and raised as I was in Utah, I’ll weigh in a little: The whole state has come a long way, and Salt Lake City by now has just about anything most people could want. The liquor laws, while a bit odd, are certainly far less restrictive than they are in dry counties elsewhere in the country. Most of the time they amount to paying a few extra bucks’ cover charge to be a “member” of a “private club” for the night. Restaurants can have full beer/wine/booze service, just like … everwhere else. No hinky complications or cover charges. The wine buyers for the state liquor stores tend to be really good, and there are loads of very good microbreweries.
(I don’t know why any explanation of “Utah’s okay, really” always has to begin with the liquor law thing.)
Southeastern/central Utah is very different from southwestern Utah — the side closer to Vegas is much as Matt describes, though as soon as you move either north, toward Delta and the west desert, or east, you approach the kind of high desert that can plummet in temperature during the night — even in summer.
As for the desirability of living within a couple of hours of southern Utah: Don’t tell anybody, but [redacted] and [oops] are pretty close. The state is working like crazy to capitalize on tourism post-2002, which means that most conceptions of the Mormon closed society are pretty outdated. You’re far more likely to encounter the conservatism that comes with ranching and mining — which you’ll find nearly everywhere in the small and mid-sized towns of the western US — than anything overtly religious.
And it really is a spectacular part of the country.
Russell L. Carter 06.18.07 at 5:33 am
Umm, distances in the west are large… Brian Head is way over on the other side of Utah from the side that is nearest to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison… It generally takes me a day to meander my way from the first to the second. Or vice versa. There is no direct method. This is a virtue.
And there are cultural differences. I have had excellent service with car troubles in both Durango and St. George but I felt a lot more comfortable in Durango.
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