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Full at http://blog.cheapmotelsandahotplate.org We drove back to Boulder from Moab on Wednesday, November 25. It already feels like we have been back for a month. Boulder has its good points, but when it is cold and the view outside our window is the same one we have been looking at for a year now, well, we get bored beyond words. People are out shopping for things they don’t much need and dining in second-rate restaurants that everyone raves about, going to stupid jobs, panhandling for change to buy drink and drugs. The whole thing seems so absurd. When you add to this the idiotic speech Obama gave at West Point, trying to justify murder and mayhem in Afghanistan as necessary for the good of the country, while workers can’t find employment, while the bogus healthcare bill is hailed as a legislative revolution, while the talking heads on television babble on and on, while the grossest corruption is now the coin of the realm, well Jesus H. Christ, let me out of here! Back to Moab maybe. There is a special place south of town. Make a right turn onto Angel Rock Road and drive past the shabby houses and trailers, with yards filled with junk and a few horses, to the Hidden Valley trail head. Rising above you is a steep and rocky cliff; it is impossible to spot the trail, so jumbled are the rocks. But the hike isn’t as hard as it looks; there are numerous switchbacks that lessen the verticality of the ascent. After a bit more than a half mile and some huffing and puffing, you will find yourself in an amazing valley. Stark and sheer cliffs are on your left, and on your right the valley gives way to more gradually graded rock formations. The ancient ones came here long ago, maybe coming down from the La Sal Mountains and finding there way to the Colorado River. There must have been game in the valley and some protection from the elements, and perhaps hostile humans too. A mile and a half brings you to the end of the valley and the beginning of a slick rock descent to the river, or just as many treks over the rocks as you care to take. Unless you know what you are doing, it is easy to get lost in this terrain, so we stick to the jeep trail or walk with an eye toward some easily recognized landmark. This year the trail appeared slightly more passable than in the past. Moab is jeep central, and it may be that some group of high-clearance, four-wheel drive enthusiasts did some repair work, perhaps for a road race or excursion of some sort. It would be exciting to ride a jeep over the slick rocks the whole way to the mighty Colorado. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
