Reflections and Connections

Shep Madera, a member of the Hayden Survey Party that was ambushed in the 1875 Battle of Peters Hill, packing a mule. While 13 members of the survey party escaped, at least one Native American was shot. Photo courtesy American Heritage Museum in Laramie, WY.

Retracing the route of the Battle of Peters Hill, which occurred in August, 1875

by Rob Adams Contributing writer On August 17, 1875, it had been three days since any of the 13 men of the Hayden Survey Party assigned to map southeast Utah had felt the trickle of clear water over their parched tongues. The only thing they’d had to drink was so alkaline or muddy that they could...

Four massive government surveys covered the West after the Civil War, with the Hayden and Powell surveys covering the rugged redrock country of southeastern Utah. Courtesy photo

The Hayden Survey of 1875

The camp must have resembled a hastily thrown-together ranch rodeo just outside of Denver. A choking dust cloud, complete with the sweet and fruity aroma of horse manure, hung over a remuda of 90 mules with one or two horses added, to give the wild bunch a level of sophistication it didn’t deserve...

Norm Nevills, Elzada Clover, and Kolb on the way home after a remarkable adventure on the Green and Colorado rivers in the summer of 1938. Bill Gibson photo, courtesy Northern Arizona University

Into the belly of the beast... Nevills expedition

(This is the last of a three-part story. The first two are in the October 1 and 15 issues of the San Juan Record.) Bill Gibson, the crew’s official photographer, screamed, “There goes the Mexican Hat!” They all froze in their tracks, just in time to see the empty boat gracefully navigate the first...

Don Harris, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter on the river during the inaugural Cataract Canyon trip with Norman Nevills in 1938. See more photos of the trip at the San Juan Record website at sjrnews.com. Courtesy photo

Into the wild river at last

Predictions of calamity, misfortune, and death were the order of the day on the morning of June 20, 1938. Green River, Utah, population 500, was abuzz with activity due to a recent article in the Saturday Evening Post mentioning the sleepy whistle-stop town. A mob of over 100 national, regional,...

Norman Nevills, The Great San Juan Adventurer

Though he died five years before I was born, I remember hearing about Norman Nevills since I was a child. I heard him called The Great San Juan Adventurer. He was a river runner, a backcountry guide, a pilot, and passionate about his newfound home. Nevills was born in California in 1908, with an...

The life of a cropduster is full of adventure, monotony.... and danger. Courtesy art

Respect for the fragility of life...

7:42 am 25 July 1970 It’s been more than 55 years since I attended a masonic funeral. The service was simple, appropriate, and lasted less than half an hour. I don’t remember many details, only the simple urn bearing the remains of the man whose life we were honoring, but etched indelibly on the...

Honoring the memory of Leonard Doyle Perkins, or “Perk” as he was known. He was a character in Monticello who passed away with no immediate family. Courtesy photo

Lonely in life, in death, too soon forgotten

Everyone deserves to be remembered. Some people are unforgettable for their well-known good deeds, others for evil. But for the humble, the quiet, or alone, unless they write their own story, their narratives are left to those who knew and loved them, be they family or friend. Most at risk of being...

Being stuck is always a great bonding experience (with Doug Boyle and Jimmy Broderick). Rob Adams photo

Oh, for a chance to get stuck in the mud

Like a starving man craving prime rib, I have been dreaming of the good old days, when there was enough rain to make getting stuck in the mud at least a seasonal, if not a daily possibility; with the weather we’ve had, there’s no chance at all. There is nothing quite like being responsible for...

Topographical map of the Salt Creek area of Canyonlands National Park. Courtesy photo

Describing the land we love with maps

When I was a Boy Scout, still wet behind my ears, I got my first look at a topographic map. I was instantly fascinated by all those brown squiggly lines indicating elevation changes on the ground. In contrast to the brown lines, which were never straight, I saw a network of very straight red lines...

Monico Lopez, my old friend

Years ago, I had the good fortune to spend a great deal of time with Monico Lopez Sr., father to Anastacio, Fidel, Monico Jr., and Sabino. Some of my best memories were made with Monico and his boys. The Lopez family had nicknames for everyone they met. They would pick a name based on a prominent...