The American West, with its splendid mountains, forests and deserts, has been my home for most of my life. For the past 12 years I've been writing about its wildest places and the people who've explored and protected them. Their stories are fascinating and instructive, and I invite you to have a look. Happy reading!
WILD LANDS OF MONTANA AND IDAHO:
CANYONS AND DESERTS OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU:
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IN PROGRESS:
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Monuments in Sandstone:
Utah's Park Lands in the Twentieth Century
Why is the canyon country of southern Utah--once thought to be a useless wasteland--now home to five of America's greatest national parks and seven outstanding national monuments? In my current "work in progress," I take a look at how native Utahns and visitors to our state have viewed the landscape of the Colorado Plateau over the past 150 years. I examine how changing attitudes toward these lands led to the creation of Utah's signature national parks, and issue a challenge to those seeking to guard them against misuse.
Above: Arches National Monument, 1950s, courtesy National Park Service, Canyonlands National Park archives.
Top: George C. Fraser and G.C. Fraser, Jr., in Cathedral Valley, 1915, Photo by Dave Rust, courtesy Mrs. Eldon Rasmussen.
Top: George C. Fraser and G.C. Fraser, Jr., in Cathedral Valley, 1915, Photo by Dave Rust, courtesy Mrs. Eldon Rasmussen.
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Interested in more? See my recent article on Capitol Reef National Park in National Parks Traveler.
Interested in more? See my recent article on Capitol Reef National Park in National Parks Traveler.
