Notes from Westwater

The incredible Procession Panel on the east side of Comb Ridge. Merry Palmer photo

The Procession Panel

Nothing prepared me for the Procession Panel despite all the rock art my hubby and I had seen over the years. The Procession Panel is a famed tableau carved in a cliff face on the east side of Comb Ridge, and, as its name indicates, portrays a procession of three long lines of people from the west...

The spectacular expanse of Comb Ridge forms the backbone of central San Juan County. Merry Palmer photo

The Road to the Rising Sun

Tumbleweeds, cheatgrass, and Russian thistles impeded our passage as we trudged toward the ancient road in Comb Wash. They posed even more of a challenge for Kenidee, our little schnauzer, who hopped over, sidestepped, or scooted under the prickly weeds, some of which had blown into piles as big as...

The beauty of Warm Springs. Ted Palmer photo

Exploring Red Canyon, Warm Springs

We could hear the loud pulsing noise even before we rounded the corner, a noise that didn’t belong in Red Canyon. The sound startled us, and as we kept walking up the wash, it grew louder with every step. Earlier that morning, Ted had parked the 4 Runner in Red Canyon and unloaded our little ATV. I...

Merry and Ted Palmer at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Courtsey photo

Magnificent roots of the Redwoods

Years ago, I traveled with my family and best friend to the United Kingdom. We took buses, trains, and taxis to reach our destinations as we toured England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. One stop remains vivid in my memory—the York Minster in York, North Yorkshire, England. Workers began...

Along the Tsurai Trail in Northern California. Merry Palmer photo

For Whom the Bells Toll

The San Juan summer sun had seemed intense this year, so Ted, Kenidee, and I relished the moist air and cooler temperatures of the Pacific as we strolled across the beige sand toward the jetty. We were at the Humbolt Bay along the Redwood Coast in California. Before we could climb onto the jetty,...

Sand, burned forests, and butterflies

Bernadette Logue calls our life here on earth a soul odyssey, an epic adventure, saying we came to learn, heal, grow, and contribute, but neither my hubby nor I had our souls’ odysseys in mind when we left Lehman Caves and caught Highway 50, heading west. We merely felt curious about the wonders we...

The beautiful wonders of the Lehman Caves Lake Room. Ted Palmer photo

The wonders of the Lehman Caves

When I first read Pigeon Feathers by John Updike, I thought it was lame. A lover of birds, I didn’t like the boy slaughtering pigeons in a barn where they couldn’t escape. Fourteen-year-old David moves with his mom, dad, and demented grandmother to a Pennsylvania farm. While orienting himself to...

Spanish and pioneer signatures at Parowan Gap, now on the National Register of Historic Places. Ted Palmer photo

Beginning a journey

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. – Paulo Coelho Ted, Kenidee (our mini schnauzer), and I began our journey at Brianhead, UT....

The metamorphosis of the white-lined sphinx moth from its initial state of a vibrant green caterpillar can serve as a metaphor for our own sometimes painful transformation from self-focus to our full-winged mature potential. Merry Palmer photo

Hummingbird Moths

Vivid green in color with a horn on its tail, the caterpillar crawled nonchalantly across the La Quinta parking lot. I’d never seen one so big or bright with orange circles and yellow throughlines decorating its back. I tossed my suitcase into the 4-Runner and hurried back to scoop it up. After I...

Ted Palmer and Ferd Johnson at the mouth of the mysterious coal mine in Recapture Canyon south of Blanding. According to Johnson, the coal was of poor quality and left a lot of ash, but the mine was in operation for a short time, probably stopping in the ‘30s. Merry Palmer photo

The mysterious coal mine of San Juan County

“Would you like to see the only coal mine in San Juan County?” Ferd Johnson asked us one beautiful Sunday morning. “Sure.” We didn’t hesitate because Ferd has a great memory, wide-ranging experiences, and extensive knowledge about San Juan County. So, anytime he wanted to show us something, we were...