Archive - September 2006

Friday, September 8, 2006

   Labor Day Weekend 2006 - Cara Lynn, Eric and I headed up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, to spend the Labor Day Weekend camping and enjoying the Big Saddle Trail, which leads to the Esplanade level of the canyon.  Although the trail goes many miles, to Muav Saddle, it is only easy to follow to Lower Crazy Jug Spring.  The trail is a prehistoric Indian trail.  Although there are no ruins in the immediate area, the trail does pass by an intriguing pictograph, similar to ones seen further north, in Snake Gulch.  Perhaps a hundred years ago, the trail received a major makeover, as cowboys herded cattle in this basin during the winter.  There is a crumbling cement trough along the upper trail, and barbed wire fencing at three spots above the Coconino sandstone, and two spots below.  In the 1960s, famed Grand Canyon hiker, Harvey Butchart, reported seeing a horse party in this area, returning from a trip to Powell Plateau.  Never having heard of this trail, Butchart decided to follow it on his return, topping out at the rim near the old Big Saddle hunting camp.  Since then, very few people have trekked over this part of the Grand Canyon.

     We arrived at a campsite, along the rim (and, still in the National Forest) late Saturday morning.  In the afternoon, Eric and I hiked down to the top of the Coconino, where a very marginal fault has left one side about two feet higher than the other.  It is just enough to create a narrow, and rather spectacular, passage through this impressive rock layer.  For those of you with copies of the Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon - this fault is not marked on the map!

     On Sunday, all three of us trekked down to the Esplanade, a broad plateau that dominates this region of the Grand Canyon.  We detoured west of the Lower Crazy Jug Spring, in an attempt to better locate the route to another spring, the Lower Big Saddle Spring, which is in the north-running ravine and tumbles over some Supai cliffs alongside an impressive pinnacle of rock.  The trail is rather obscure through here, although there are still occasional caches of fencing along the route.  We got a few sprinkles of rain in the mid-afternoon, and all bundled up in our ponchos. It did not last long, but did cool things down quite nicely.  In the late afternoon, Eric and I stopped off at the Lower Crazy Jug Spring, to top off our water bottles for the hike out.  As we were racing up through the switchbacks in the Coconino, Eric was startled by a sudden noise.  He jumped back in surprise, as he was about two feet away from his first Grand Canyon rattlesnake.  It was not only an impressive specimen, but it was located in a good spot for a photo!  That, in my humble experience, is a rarity.  We backed off a bit, and, perhaps, a bit too far.  By the time we decided on a path to follow, the snake was gone!  We quickly hopped over about 20 feet of rocky trail, hoping that it hadn't decided to move into those rocks.  Well, we didn't hear, nor see, anything else.  Later, Cara Lynn told us that she, too, had seen a rattler, but one much smaller.  Our detour for additional water, which turned out to be unnecessary, caused us to finish up our hike by the light of a three-quarters full moon.  It was a full and rewarding day for all.

Click on any picture to see a larger image.
Dennis and Eric along the trail, in the Supai, overlooking the upper reaches of Crazy Jug Canyon.		Looking over the trickle of Lower Crazy Jug Spring towards Crazy Jug Point.
	The Esplanade and Powell Plateau.
	Dennis & Eric at crumbling trough.

     On Monday, we packed up and headed out.  We had come in over the dirt roads from Jacob Lake, but returned to the highway at the Kaibab Lodge.  The effects from the Warm Fire (see stories here, and here and here) were quite apparent, as you can tell from the photo at the top of this blog (click on it for a larger image).  The photos, below, came from a NASA site and you can see the far-reaching effects of the smoke from this fire, blanketing vast amounts of the Grand Canyon.  [As an aside . . . I wonder how much that contributes to global warming?  And, please, put it into the equivalent of auto miles traveled.  Then, tell me that it is a good idea for the Forest Service to let these kinds of fires burn.]  Well, the locals were quite p.o.-ed with the Forest Service, and we saw (and signed) petitions asking for an inquiry into the policy of letting such a fire burn at the driest time of the year!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

   The Enemy is the State - Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano, has set in motion actions that will hamper economic growth and development in the state.  Well, actually, she does that all the time.  But, in this instance, it is part of the radical left global warming cult that is driving these actions.  Last year, she put together a pork barrel commission to make recommendations about cutting greenhouse gases.  And, guess what?  They did.  And, they're pretty awful.  And, she is promising to follow through with them.  [See the report here.]  The use of the state to encourage, convince, cajole, tax and subsidize us into reducing absolute levels of these greenhouse gases has got to be a bigger infringement on our liberties and freedoms than listening in on foreign telephone calls to known terrorists, but you wouldn't know it from reading the paper or watching the news.

     Among the actions to be taken is one that mandates more severe restrictions on auto manufacturers, if they want to sell cars in the state.  What will this accomplish?  Higher prices.  Less selection.  And, if you really want a brand new Hummer, you'll just have to drive to Utah to get one.  Who will be harmed most from this action?  Those at the lower end of the income spectrum, of course.  They always are.  Government restrictions, controls and mandates always have a disproportionate effect on the less well-to-do.

     There is one hopeful roadblock to this - the governor has to rely on "the power to reduce 'air contaminants' from motor vehicles.  [Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy] Bahr said she would argue that carbon dioxide fits the definition of a contaminant."  [Arizona Daily Sun, 9/9/06, p. A8]  That's pretty heady stuff, considering that CO2 is what we exhale and what plants rely on to survive!  Defining that as a "contaminant" is . . . well, I can't even think of a word that adequately conveys the sheer lunacy of such an outcome.  Take a look at the state's list of air pollutants, and you'll find things like acetone and barium and uranium 238, but you won't find carbon dioxide.

     As if to add insult to injury, the governor is also calling for HOV lanes to be open to hybrid cars, even if there is only one person riding in them.  I feel like Jon Stewart, on the Daily Show, rubbing my eyes and going, "Waaaa?"  The HOV lanes are there to help relieve traffic congestion.  Now, they are going to be used to reward consumers that buy politically-correct automobiles?  I hate to think about what is next.

     One more awful idea - using state funds to promote the consumption of locally grown food (see page 82 in the report cited above).  Ouch!  It is an example of how policymakers are no substitute for the marketplace.  Businesses have every incentive in the world to reduce the total cost of their products, not just a particular cost.  By ignoring this fundamental characteristic, the state is likely to raise total costs.  And, what about communities in northern Arizona?  Shouldn't the state encourage us to consume food produced in nearby states, because they are closer to us than is southern Arizona?  Somehow, I don't think that their moral righteousness extends beyond the state's border.

Monday, September 11, 2006

   9/11 - Remembering David Tengelin - Among the thousands of victims of 9/11 was former College of Business Administration graduate (at Northern Arizona University), David Tengelin.  David was a management major, and graduated in December of 1999.  He traveled to Arizona from his home in Sweden and was captivated by America.  He wanted to work in New York City, so he went job hunting there after his time at the CBA.  He found a job with the global insurance broker, Marsh & McLennan Companies.  MMC had offices on the 93rd through 100th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  On March 10, 2001, he wrote of his new environment . . . 

It's when I walk up to the window in our new offices on the 100th floor of One World Trade Center, that I realise how incredibly lucky I am.

I see Manhattan laid out at my feet almost like a roadmap, and every landmark is distinguishable.

The fifty-floor skyscrapers crouch humbly; at our height we're alone with the jets.

     It was directly into these floors that the first plane hit the WCT (American Airlines Flight 11).  Along with 294 of his co-workers, David perished in this attack.  MMC employees (and consultants) accounted for nearly ten percent of the casualties on that day of terror.  [The memorial photo, to the right, is linked to the MMC tribute page, where you can read more about David and his fellow workers.]

"He enjoyed studying and learning new things.  School was an important part of his life, and he loved his college years and the friends he made." --Petra (David's sister)

     David was the kind of student we want to have - highly motivated, interested in the world around him, and persistent in pursuing his dream.  He did exactly what we want students to do after graduation - go out into the marketplace and contribute to the incredible process that has been raising our standards of living for hundreds of years.

	David Tengelin 1976 - 2001
For more on David, visit this site:  http://digilander.libero.it/september11//table-of-contents.htm

dfoster@kaibabjournal.com