for broadband wireless transmission of the Interweb into our remote rural community. But I’m quite happy with my zooming fiber optic connection to the digital world with Emery Telcom.
River Canyon Wireless repeater station in Castle Valley, Utah.
Welcome to your...
public lands. Be sure to close the gate and enjoy yourself!
Sounds like fun. Who’s bringing the chips?
Unusual window clinger...
Melodic song...
greets the morning from the summit of the highest golden cottonwood tree.
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta).
Surprising day of discovery...
in my backyard as I pioneered a new adventurous hiking/canyoneering route in Castle Valley. I’m keeping this specific location a secret.
This huge balanced rock is found at the high point on the walk, with the pedestal being about two meters high on the right side.
It's been one of those...
magnificently glorious autumn days.
Trace fossils...
belonging to the Scoyenia ichnofacies seen on the underside of this sandstone slab, consisting of the casts of tracks/trails and shallow horizontal burrows in the Permian-age Cutler Formation in Castle Valley, Utah. I’m coming back for this on a sample return mission on my eMTB tomorrow.
UPDATE: Grabbed the nice specimen this afternoon, and now it’s in the rock garden.
Sweeping view of Porcupine Rim...
along the axis of Castle Valley, from the high La Sal Mountains to Parriott Mesa, from the tiny town of Castleton (far distant left) to the community of Castle Valley (far distant right).
Click on image to enlarge.
View south toward Round Mountain, with the tip of Adobe Mesa in the upper left.
View toward the northwest showing the town of Castle Valley.
The most scenic dump...
in America is the Moab landfill, at least according to a 1986 Outside magazine contest. And here it is, shortly after sunrise this morning in its stunning panoramic beauty, captured as I went about today’s chores.
The Sand Flats and the famous Slick Rock Trail lay atop the sandstone mesa in the center, with the distant snow-capped La Sal Mountains appearing beneath the rising sun. That’s my 1986 Toyota 4Runner that will not die left of center of the image. (Click on image to enlarge.)
The runner-up, in case you’re curious, was Kodiak, Alaska. And they have big bears.
Tail of the storm...
passing eastward over Adobe Mesa at sunset. The end to a magnificently stormy day.
Click on image to enlarge.
Liquid gold...
was delivered from the skies, through the night and into the morning, amounting to 1.1 inches (2.8 cm) of water in the rain gauge. Excellent.
Two high desert trees...
on this beautiful autumn day.
Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) pregnant with berry-like cones
Single-leaf ash (Fraxinus anomala).
Happy Birthday Earth!
James Ussher, Archbishop of the Church of Ireland, established the time and date of the creation as the “entrance of the night preceding the 23rd day of October 4004 BC.” Well, okay then.
Big sky country Utah style...
on my 18 mile ride yesterday in upper Castle Valley. Outstanding!
Click on images to enlarge.
The largest tree in Utah...
is this Fremont’s cottonwood (Populus fremontii) that heralds one’s arrival into our rural community outside of Moab. Read the account of establishing this tree as the state champion in a 2016 article penned by our local scribe in the Castle Valley Comments.
The woody behemoth on a beautiful autumn afternoon, estimated to be more than 130 years old.
This tree is even highlighted as landmark on Google Maps. It’s big!
X marks the spot...
above Castleton Tower this morning, targeting Castle Valley for chemtrail application today.
Afternoon update: You thought I was kidding. I got sprayed during my ride near Round Mountain.
Major changes on the trails...
from a series of recent rains, especially in the arroyos where erosion and sedimentation have reshaped the terrain.
FASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST!
There’s no comparison between my former and new telecommunications providers at my high desert hacienda. See for yourself:
Out with the old: Frontier Communications DSL speedtest results.
In with the new: Emery Telcom fiber optic speedtest results.
Orders of magnitude performance increase on both download and upload speeds. WOW! But more than speed, the increased reliability of the fiber optic network is another important factor. Me likey.
The late bloomer...
in the high desert is a member of the sunflower family, and it’s at its peak brilliance right now. Absolutely radiant.
Rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa (formerly Chrysothamnus nauseosus)).
The water year...
is off to a good start in the La Sal Mountains of southeastern Utah, seen here freshly draped in snow from the season’s first winter storm. SNOTEL sites in the high country report 10, 12 and 13 inches of newly accumulated snow from yesterday.
Mostly cloud-free GOES-West satellite image showing snowpack in the Rocky Mountains after the winter storm.