Three Weeks in Southern Utah: 3: Zion to…

The drive from Zion National Park to Capitol Reef National Park is spectacular. Almost every road in southern Utah has been designated a "scenic byway," or for unpaved roads, a "scenic backway." The landscape changes…

Three Weeks in Southern Utah: 2: Zion National…

"Zion": A fortress. An ideal religious community. A sanctuary. A perfect place.  Zion National Park is in that part of Utah known as "Dixie." Brigham Young, looking both to consolidate his earthly empire and to…

Three Weeks in Southern Utah: Post 1: Boulder…

For the third time in four years, we visited southern Utah in November. There are five national parks here and many other beautiful public spaces. I don’t think there is a more spectacular place in…

Balanced Rock

Whither the National Parks?

In light of the interest in the national parks of the United States generated by Ken Burns' new PBS documentary, I thought that readers might be interested in what I wrote about the parks in…

Crozier Mountain Meadow

Rise and Shine and Shout for Glory

On a recent Friday, the morning opened with bright sun and blue sky. Boulder had had its wettest spring in one hundred years, and this had put a crimp in our hiking regimen. Tornadoes had…

Mormon Country

Karen and I love the canyon country of southern Utah. Last November, we spent three weeks hiking in the five national parks that span the state from west to east.  We drove from Tucson north…

Ain't That America . . .

First, an update on wage theft. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay has joined Tom Colicchio as a defendant in a class action lawsuit charging wage theft. This suit was filed on January 16, 2009 by the…