Notes from Westwater

The Guadalupe Cemetery near Cabezon Peak. Merry Palmer photo.
Juan Diego was climbing Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City when suddenly the air filled with exquisite music, and the hill, normally barren during December, bloomed like a flower garden. “Where am I?,” he asked. “Could this be the place that our ancestors spoke of—the Flower World Paradise in the land...
The Supernova Pictograph, along the Penasco Trail at Chaco Canyon is under the cliff’s lip about 16 feet above the floor. It may depict an astronomical phenomena from 1054 AD. Merry Palmer photo
“Was it worth it?” Ted asked as we looked up at the Supernova Pictograph in Chaco Canyon. Even with my hood up and a scarf wrapped around my neck, my face felt tingly from the cold. “Absolutely,” I said through stiff lips, and it was. The large red star, crescent moon, and hand possibly depicted an...
Remarkable model train display at Union Station in Kansas City, KS.  Ted Palmer photo
“I almost forgot my fatherly duties,” our son David said as he brought a huge, black garbage bag into the living room. An hour later, the bag bulged with bows and wrapping paper, but the piece de resistance came when Amy, our daughter-in-law, disappeared into their bedroom and came down the hall...
Rock art in Wastewater Canyon near the Colorado border. Photo by Ted Palmer
Love came down at Christmas, / Love all lovely, love divine;/ Love was born at Christmas, / Stars and angels gave the sign. Christina Georgina Rosetti “We didn’t find what we were looking for,” my hubby said as we headed back toward I-70, “but we did find what we weren’t looking for.” We had...
Wedding Ring Arch in Salt Creek Canyon of Canyonlands National Park.  Merry Palmer photo
Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. – Kahlil Gibran The road was snowy, and the temperature 21 degrees. We were on the north side of Elk Ridge, trying to get into Beef Basin by way of Indian Creek. We had seen scores of cliff climbers and young, hearty...
Coal Bed Villiage Megaliths. Merry Palmer photo
William Henry Jackson photographed Montezuma Canyon’s Coal Bed Village in 1875. Earlier in his career, he had also photographed Yellowstone’s landscape as a member of Ferdinand V. Hayden’s geologic expedition. With five or more assistants and pack mules to help haul his equipment, Jackson...
Golden Delicious apple from Ted and Merry’s tree.  Merry Palmer photo
If you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger. – Kahlil Gibran I always wanted to look like my mom’s mom, at least a little, but I resemble my great-grandmother Myrtle Mirah Mell, by a whopping 81 percent, or so FamilySearch says when I do the “...
Sir Albert and the Dragon, a work in progress that will eventually be animated with fire-breathing smoke from the dragon.   Merry Palmer photo
You’ve got a dream. Live that dream. Don’t hesitate. If I can do it . . . I think you can do whatever you put your mind to. Gary Greff As we drove on I-95, near Gladstone, ND, Ted and I were startled to see a huge metal sculpture of Canadian geese flying over the prairie. Ted pulled into the...
Bison grazing along the Little Missouri River in the North Dakota Badlands. Merry Palmer photo.
I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota. –Theodore Roosevelt, 1918 After we left the north country on our summer road trip, temperatures rose into the 90s and 100s. I wasn’t prepared for the heat and dry air, but gas prices dropped from...
A raven engages in a melodious monologue as it soars high above beautiful Prince Rupert near the Inland Passage along the Pacific Coast in British Columbia.  Ted Palmer photo
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” —Jimi Hendrix On July 25, 2024, we headed for Terrace, British Columbia, where our youngest son served part of his mission. We could see why he loved it so much with the mountains wreathed in clouds and thick, tall-pine...

Pages

San Juan Record

49 South Main St
PO Box 879
Monticello, UT 84535

Phone: 435.587.2277
Fax: 435.587.3377
news@sjrnews.com
Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday