Germar's Monthly Updater

Utah 2002 Day 7 The morning of the seventh day was beautiful, the air was clear (thanks to the high altitude), and the surroundings were impressive. The cliffs in the background are the boundary of the Waterpocket Fold. Mike and me went on a little offroading trip and tested the new bumper of his Jeep (it passed). Mike We were equipped with at least five GPS. Despite all technological gadgets, locating the exact position on a map can be tricky when you are in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes opinions seem to deviate. Janet, Karen, and Guy On the way west, we drove through Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, a large wilderness area that was set aside only recently by former President Bill Clinton. Not everyone was pleased by this step, as there are coal stocks that some companies wanted to exploit. My impression is that the State of Utah is currently trying to pave roads in unprotected area in order to prevent a further extension of National Parks or National Monuments. At least that's the only reason I can think of why we saw streets in the middle of nowhere that are currently being upgraded as if there is a city for 100,000 people around the corner. The influence of the federal government can apparently be reduced by transferring wilderness to developed areas by building streets. The recent street advancement projects come unfortunately too late for the former driver of the truck below. We were looking for some scrap that could be used as spare parts for Jeeps, but did not find anything useful. Another highlight of day seven was a visit to the Wolverine Petrified Wood Area. There was a great abundance of petrified tree trunks. From afar, they looked as if they had toppled only recently. The trees were witnesses of the Dinosaurs, which were roaming this area about 100 million years ago. The cow below has one thing in common with the trees: her better days were in the past. I feel, however, that the poor creature won't have the honor to become petrified for the enlightenment of our successors, which may roam the Earth in 100 million years from now. The ravens are just faster. At the end of the day, we committed ourselves to a six mile hike to Calf Creek Falls. It's one of the few sights in Utah with water. In fact, a waterfall in this arid country is much more unique than an arch, which can be found every two miles. The guys on the right picture are students from a school in Montana who embarked on a three-day trip to Utah with their teachers. I watched the kids for 20 minutes sliding into the ice-cold water, and finally tried to be as brave as they ... Tom ... and went for a swim. Me After one week of camping we stayed for the night in a motel in Escalante.

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