My Cave My View

False Kiva, in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, is no longer accessible after misuse by visitors. Courtesy photo

Cave dwellers and Tourons

You know there was a time when living in a cave was left to us professionals. Like the title says “My Cave. My View.” But it turns out living in caves has been a thing in San Juan County for a long time. Go play tourist for a few hours and visit some of them. But, do NOT be a touron (tourist-...

Historian Bob McPherson has spent his career documenting and writing about the remarkable lands, culture, and people of the area. Courtesy photo

Swapping stories with historian Bob McPherson

We live in an iconic landscape. John Wayne used this rugged, harsh, beautiful landscape to tell stories with San Juan County as a backdrop for his movies; many others have as well. Thelma and Louise, Back to the Future, Geronimo, City Slickers, and Forest Gump, just to name a few. When John Wayne...

It’s not a job, it’s her way of life. Heidi Redd is a true cowgirl, and that was officially confirmed when she was inducted as a member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, TX. Gary Torres photo

Heidi Redd named to Cowgirl Hall of Fame

A Real American Cowgirl – Heidi Redd I am on my way to interview Heidi Redd, so I am driving down Indian Creek to the Dugout Ranch listening to the John Denver song, I’d Rather be a Cowboy. Heidi is going to be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, TX. If I am...

Expiating in Wal-Mart

For 36 years, in our family it was forbidden to say the “S-word” during the summer, at least until August. I can remember Nikki running in and telling on her older sister, “Dad! Katie said the S-word.” She waited, expecting me to do something. I was a little confused because I was supposed to...

Mile Posts Along the Road of Life

If life is like a journey…a road trip as it were; then I can look into my rear-view mirror and see more mileposts behind me than are left in front of me. My road is a bit curvy with lots of bumps and detours. I am not sure how the time passed so quickly; I feel like I was in a hurry and anxious to...

Weight gain and memory loss

I can no longer exercise myself out of what I can eat myself into. That realization has been slapping me upside the head lately. It doesn’t help that Almond M&Ms and Pepsi have been the base of my food pyramid for the last 30 years. So here I am in a quandary, I could get healthy by eating...

Trick Questions

Well, January really started out swell. My 401K is down, my cholesterol is up, COVID is gone crazy, and my too kind and loving wife has me on a diet. Any one of these could cause me grief and frustration but all of them together and I am not in the best of moods. It has been six hours now...

Acceptance and Praise

Everyone needs some amount of acceptance and praise. For years I have tried to convince my too kind and loving wife and her sisters that I am funny, witty, maybe even insightful and have mastered at least the basics of grammar. I suppose I didn’t get enough attention as a child and now I go about...

Grown-up words and redemption

I am sharing this excerpt from a 40-year-old journal; I was in college. On one hand, it is too personal and dredges up old unresolved anger and hurt. On the other hand, maybe there is another 11-year-old boy out there living with a parent that is an alcoholic or has an addiction of another sort....

Communication is key

It all comes down to communication. Good communication is the key to a happy marriage and getting the right Christmas present. To be sure, I don’t have the best track record when it comes to purchasing presents for my too-kind-and-loving wife. Two years ago, I got her a nice, monogrammed floor...