It wasn't until I made the great leap west in 1978, did I begin to realize there was heaps of White Folk history on the other side of this continent. The only difference was the White Folk spoke Spanish instead of English.
In 1776, (isn't that year significant in U.S. History?) Fathers Dominguez and Escalante left Santa Fe, New Mexico in an attempt to find a route to the Catholic missions in Monterey, California. They endured hunger, cold, thirst and other hardships while traversing a harsh landscape. They were the first Non-Natives to see a significant part of the Colorado Plateau country. They left behind a few names of the rivers they crossed: the Dolores, the San Miguel and the Mancos. Their brave efforts failed to gain them the prize they sought. They returned to Santa Fe to a less than warm welcome. They were looked upon as losers.
So, it's a little ironic that the one River they didn't ford or even see is named after Father Escalante. Kudos to Almon Thompson who mapped and named the river in 1872. This humble river (only 90 miles long) was the last waterway of its size to be discovered in the Lower 48. Thanks Almon for not being a suck-up and naming the river after your boss - John Wesley Powell.
I forded the Escalante River today over and over. I have photos to prove it too. Please don't look at me as a failure for not making it to Monterey.
There is so much to see in the 1.9 million acre Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. I'll be doing some exploring in the days to come. Anyone interested in backpacking here this fall?
In the final photo, a few knockoffs of Casey Nocket left their sign in a beautiful alcove. Shame on them. http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2014/11/the-case-against-casey-nocket.html
Be nice out there.
Jeff
BTW. The W,W Jew blog just scored its 15,000th page view. So what, if many of those hits came from Eastern European hackers! Maybe they read my stuff in between sniffing around for my password.
Why can't we all just get along?
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