In "Untamed," the most ferocious animal in our national parks is not the bear

I finished watching "Untamed" last night. It's a limited series on Netflix starring Eric Bana, Sam Neil, Lily Santiago, and Rosemarie DeWitt, and a great supporting cast. It's set in Yosemite National Park. Shots of El Capitan and other familiar landmarks are blended into the narrative filmed in British Columbia. We again see a series set in the wild landscapes of the U.S. and filmed elsewhere, usually Canada, Trump's imaginary 51st state. The landscapes are gorgeous to look at and made me miss Wyoming and Colorado. The peaks. the trails winding through forests, the sparkling waters of the creeks. Even the ranger unis made me ache for the West. Rangers were our friends, men and women who welcomed us to the parks,  delivered campfire chats, and kept things orderly. 

I give high marks to "Untamed," its grim storyline and fine acting. It involved me for some five hours. Child abduction. drug-dealing, missing Native American women, murder, and treachery play roles. That is sometimes offset by sheer grandeur. But one  thought I came away with was: is this what we've become? We live harsh lives and are harsh with each other. Was it always this way or is it all grim now?

One more thing. Humans can be more savage than predatory animals. That was brought out in the first episode by fearsome roar of a grizzly at a cabin door. Lions and tigers and bears! But humans remain the deadliest animal. First scene. Climbers scaling El Capitan. It is a long way down, a dangerous business this rock climbing. Just as the top climber bangs a spike into the rocks, he looks up and sees a body falling toward him. The body snags the rope and pulls down the climbers but they don't fall. We see a close-up of the body. It is a young woman, clothes ripped, dead eyes stare up. We know the mystery. Did she jump or was she pushed? 

It's worth watching. Some scenes stay with me. One takes place in the morgue where the dead woman's (Lucy Cook) body is being stored while park investigators try to discover her identity. National Park Service Investigative Branch Ranger Kyle Turner (Bana) and his new assistant, former L.A. cop Naya Vasquez,  try to solve it. There follows lots of creepiness but the scene that lingers is in the morgue. Turner finds a cellphone hidden in the dead woman's backpack. It needs a photo I.D. to open. He takes it to the morgue and requests a picture of the corpse's face. No dice. The eyes have to be open. The morgue tech puts drops in the eyes to make them open unnaturally. Phone still won't open. The morgue tech says hydrogen peroxide has been known to bring life back to dead skin, warm it so it registers for the camera. He brushes it on the cheeks. Bama takes another photo and it works, the phone is unlocked and we're on the way to a resolution or so we think. I was left with the image of Lucy Cook, dead, again staring up, asking "why did you forsake me?"

The New York Times' Mike Hale reviewed the show. The reviewer's main takeaway was the show's bad timing. So who has time to pursue killers when DOGE cuts leave nobody to clean the bathrooms or break up Yellowstone bear jams? Good point. 

An accompanying NYT story tells of the few remaining park employees being tasked by the Trump regime with removing comments that "disparage America" from monuments, trail signs, and printed material. Our sins against black slaves and native peoples are being purged from the public records. If this sounds Orwellian to you, you've read Orwell and you're dead-on. The Know Nothings have won. The South has risen again. And we're all up Shit's Creek, somewhere out in the American wilderness.

Post #3,999

With national parks closed, Jackson Hole quiet on the eve of ski season

When I was in Jackson Hole over the weekend, people were plenty sore about the Republican-spawned national park shutdown. Hotel reservations have been cancelled and tour buses rerouted to other parks, notably those in neighboring Colorado and Utah reopened by state funds. In Wyoming, alas, the constitution forbids state funds going to federal government operations. The tourism industry made an appeal to Gov. Mead. Alas, private dollars from Cody and Jackson were enough to plow the roads that got the parks opened in the spring but money couldn't be leveraged for general operating costs. That's fine with me, as I'm content to let Republicans stew in their own juices. Unfortunately, everyone in Teton County, D & R & I alike, is in that same gravy boat.

The newly refurbished Snow King bar wasn't dead, not exactly, but it's a jumping place on sun-drenched summer evenings and frigid ski-season nights. Last Saturday night, with baseball playoffs on one TV screen and an SEC tiff on the other, only a few patrons lined the bar. Most of the rest of the 20-some people were connected with the Wyoming Arts Council's conference going on around town. We made reservations for 10 on Friday evening at the popular Rendezvous Bistro. The place was half-empty by the time we got around to dessert.

Traffic flowed freely and no tourists seemed in danger of getting flattened by an RV; close calls are an every day summer occurrence. There just weren't that many targets (or RVs). 

We heard rumors about a protest by Cody Tea Party types set for Yellowstone's east gate. I don't know if that happened. It was snowing most of the weekend, and that tends to take some steam out of Tea Party gatherings, as most attendees seem to be of advanced years. We did hear about some daredevils sneaking into the park, but they risked getting a ticket from park staff still on duty.

Probably the best quote I heard about the closed national parks came from writer and activist Terry Tempest Williams. She's a Utah native but now lives in Teton County. At an arts conference talk on Monday, Williams spoke about taking a walk "on the periphery of Grand Teton National Park. I was surprised by how quiet it was."

She wondered what the animals were doing and thinking. " 'Frolic' came to mind."

The animals may be frolicking, but the humans, perturbed by Congress's antics, are in a sour mood.

BioBlitz and Biodiversity Fest coming to Rocky Mountain National Park

This looks like fun, science and the arts mixing it up, and it's happening at my favorite (and closest) national park (from the 5280 mag web site):

To celebrate the U.S. National Park Service's 100th birthday, National Geographic is hosting a BioBlitz at a different national park every year during the decade leading up to the centennial celebration in 2016. Rocky Mountain National Park was chosen to host this year's event. 

So, what exactly is a BioBlitz? For 24 hours, scientists, students, teachers, volunteers, and science junkies will work together to identify as many species in the park as possible. That means plants, insects, birds, fish, mammals—even fungi. By offering scientists and community members a chance to conduct fieldwork together, coordinators hope to highlight the importance of ecosystem biodiversity.  

Everyone is welcome, but the event is especially important and entertaining for young people. "We are the first mountain ecosystem highlighted," says Kyle Patterson, Public Information Officer for Rocky Mountain National Park. "This is an extremely unique event in our own backyard and an incredible way to connect kids to science and nature."  

The BioBlitz's companion event, the Biodiversity Festival, will be held at the Estes Park fairgrounds Friday and Saturday, August 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 40 exhibitors will have hands-on activities, science and ranger demonstrations, speakers, and live animals. You can even graduate from "Biodiversity University." When the sun starts to set on Friday, break out the blankets and enjoy live music, an outdoor movie, and a photo presentation (from National Geographic, so you know it's gonna be good). 

Register for the BioBlitz here.

Olyeller clashes with Olblue

Tea Party Slim has recreation on his mind this Fourth of July weekend.

"Glendo?" I asked, mentioning a state park about 90 miles north of Cheyenne.

Slim sneered. "Too many Greenies."

I nodded. "We should put up a southern border fence."

Slim looked pensive. "Might work -- just a fence to keep out the Liberals. Colorado's crawling with them."

I laughed. "A fence with a Liberal detector? Turn back anyone with a pointy little head?"

"Or drinking a latte." He joined the laughter.

"Obama bumper sticker? Turn 'em around, tell 'em to get back to Boulder."

"Two Obama bumper stickers? Lock 'em up!"

"On what charge?"

Slim paused. "Reckless endangerment -- of Wyoming's citizens."

"DUI: Driving Under the Influence -- of Liberal Ideas."

A real knee-slapper. Slim slapped his knee. "Aiding and abetting -- terrorists."

I ceased laughing. "See Slim, there you go ruining a good time by going all Tea Party on me."

"What?"

"And we were having such a good time together bashing Colorado Liberals."

Slim tried to make amends. "Look, I was just..."

"Heard it all before, Slim. Obama is soft on terrorists. He may be one himself, seeing as he's from Kenya and his father was a Muslim. Isn't that the Tea Party line?"

"There's no Tea Party line," Slim said, looking defensive. "We're not a political party so we don't have a party line."

"That's true," I said. "Let's just say that those are typical Tea Party talking points."

"We don't have talking points."

"Yelling points?"

Slim smiled. "I just yelled once at a town hall meeting last year and now I'm a yeller?"

"Ol' Yeller?"

"That's a pretty good Twitter handle."

"I'll steer clear of your posts."

"C'mon Mike, I'll be olyeller and you can be Ol' Blue, as in blue state."

I stared at Slim. "Not bad -- Ol' Blue. But it sounds a bit like the name of a hound dog some Alabama KKK guy would own. 'Sic 'em, Blue, sic that pointy-headed Liberal. Get that colored fella next."

Slim slapped me on the back like some Alabama KKK guy. "I love joshin' with you Olblue, but I have to get rolling. The misses and the RV are waiting."

"Where are you going?

"It's a secret."

"State park?"

"No."

"National park? National forest?"

"No."

"BLM land?"

"None of those. A bunch of us own some land up around Laramie Peak. Private land, so we can recreate in peace."

I imagined a forest grove with a dozen RVs circled up like Conestogas. Slim and his fellow Tea Party windbags sat by the fire roasting Obamacare and big gubment. The little women were barefoot (too old to be pregnant) and busy cooking and cleaning and cutting firewood. I wondered what circle of Dante's Inferno this would be.

"You have fun, Slim. While you're recreating in the mountains, the Liberal misses and I will be plotting the overthrow of the U.S. Government."

"Hey," he said, standing tall, "that's our job."

Photo: Tea Party Slim is out there somewhere, plotting mischief. Photo of WY Shirley Rim/Hwy. 77 (used under Creative Commons license).

Love them budget cuts -- except when it affects "our park"

Put this under the heading of "we don't need that darn federal gubment."

All of us in the West love the national parks and national forests. Some on the Right believe that parks such as Yellowstone -- a national treasure and international heritage site -- takes care of itself, that you just push the self-clean button when all the tourists go home in September and it takes care of itself.

Yellowstone visitation is up over the past two summers. Here are some 2010 numbers from the NPS: 

It has been a record-breaking summer for Yellowstone National Park. Visitation figures for June, July, and now August, have all shattered previous records. Yellowstone hosted 854,837 visitors in August. It is the first time August visitation has passed the 800,000 mark, and is up more than 81,000 from the previous August record of 773,307 visitors set back in 1995. Visitation for the 3 summer months topped 2.5 million. Visitation for the first 8 months of the year was almost 2.87 million.  

With gas prices climbing above $4 per gallon, this summer looks to be another blockbuster for national parks in the West, including my favorites -- Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House want to cut budgets on all domestic spending. 

There's an irony here. Energy exploration is the number one industry in Wyoming followed closely by tourism with agriculture a distant third. Our U.S. Congressional delegation want to cut domestic spending but seem to be O.K. with us spending freely in Iraq and Afghanistan. And $4 billion in tax breaks for oil companies? That's fine with them too. But what about keeping the toilets clean and the roads repaired in Yellowstone? Forget it!

So the National Park Foundation is raising money to make up the shortfall:   

Dear Friend, Imagine for just one moment a world without our national parks…no Yellowstone, no Grand Canyon, no Yosemite. No opportunity to share these great treasures with your children, to build memories together that would last a lifetime. We need your help! Our parks are constantly facing the threat of budget cuts and shortfalls. This year alone our parks faced a final budget cut of more than $132 million. This has had a dramatic impact on the nearly 400 national parks spanning 84 million acres of stunning scenery and historical shrines. We can’t sit idly by while America’s national parks are being compromised. Help us to ensure that our national parks continue to receive the resources they need to protect fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitats, restore and maintain hundreds of miles of trails, fund educational programs that introduce children to our parks, and support thousands of volunteers that assist our park rangers and the millions of visitors the parks see each year. Now is the best time to show your support for our national parks. Thanks to the generosity of National Park Foundation Board member Jay Kislak, if you donate now, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000! America’s national parks belong to you. Please make a generous donation today to NPF. Only you can guarantee the future of our national parks.  

Jackson Hole National Monument

Neat Daily Kos post on the Jackson Hole National Monument

Photos of Obama family in Wyoming

TOP PHOTO: President Barack Obama, wife Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia Obama, 11, and Sasha Obama, 8, look at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). BOTTOM PHOTO: Park Ranger Katy Duffy guides Pres. Barack Obama and family around Old Faithful geyser during Saturday's visit. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

See more photos at http://tinyurl.com/ofkhh6

For a brief time, Greenpeace replaces Reagan on Mt. Rushmore with Pres. Obama

Greenpeace found a way to cover up the unpleasant visage of St. Reagan recently added to Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

Here's what the monument looked like on Tuesday:

Greenpeace enagaged in some July 8 hijinks, covering up St. Reagan with Pres. Obama, along the way making a point about Obama's lukewarm attituide toward global warming:

Vast improvement, don't you think? And protest is patriotic, as American as apple pie -- and Mt. Rushmore.

Bonanza of articles about Wyoming

A healthy harvest of intriguing recent articles about Wyoming:

KL Energy Corp. has a plant in Upton, Wyo., that makes cellulosic ethanol fuel from wood scrap from Black Hills forests. Go to http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/04/ap6618033.html

Fourth of July Cowboy Tea Party attendees gather in Cheyenne to steep their teabags of outrage in the brine of wingnuttery. Go to http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2009/07/05/local_news_updates/19local_07-05-09.txt

Unearthing Triceratops' horns at a dinosaur dig near Newcastle. Go to http://www.casperstartribune.com/articles/2009/07/05/news/wyoming/560f2e7562d9b58f872575e900210ac8.txt

Tammy Christel writes in the Jackson Hole Fine Arts Examiner about the struggles faced by Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, a tremendous gallery in Jackson. It's confronting extinction by emphasizing its community base, going green and holding rent parties. Go to http://www.examiner.com/x-11670-Jackson-Hole-Fine-Arts-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Lyndsay-McCanless-Contemporarys-Fourth-of-July-weekend

Writing in New West, Michael Pearlman wonders why bus service has been so long in coming to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Go to http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/bus_service_in_grand_teton_and_yellowstone_is_long_overdue/C41/L41/

Amanda Fry concludes her three-part Platte County Record-Times' series, "Wind Energy in Platte County," with a look at the landowners' views of the issue. Go to http://www.pcrecordtimes.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=1238&page=72. Thanks to Wheaterville for the tip on this one.

Sometimes gubment good, sometimes gubment bad

Denver Post reporter Mark Jaffe has been hanging out at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Park City, Utah. Yesterday he and the govs heard Republican pollster Frank Luntz talk about word choice. I'm not sure why Wyoming's Dave Freudenthal and Montana's Brian Schweitzer and Colorado's Bill Ritter had to listen to advice from the likes of Luntz. I guess someone had to be guest speaker. Maybe there's a Utah ordinance prohibiting Democrats at the podium.

Anyway, Jaffe covered Luntz's speech concerning he research he's conducted on Western voters. It seems that 44 percent of Westerners aren't happy with the direction America is headed. In other words, they don't like the gubment. Gubment bad. Until it's time to train and equip its armed forces to fight overseas. Then gubment good. Gubment bad because it makes us pay taxes. When those taxes are used to pave roads or prop up rural airline service or subsidize crops or build dams or fight wildfires -- gubment good then. Gubment bad when it doesn't allow us to shoot our automatic weapons any damn place we please. Gubment good when it allows us to wear firearms and look macho in national parks.

Damn that gubment.

Frank Luntz told the governors to watch what they say.

Luntz warned the governors to be careful about the language they use, saying that instead of talking about "infrastructure," which people equate with bureaucracy, they should talk about safer roads.

Touchstone words should be "safe," "clean" and "healthy," Luntz said.

These words can be used in almost any sentence, particularly those with a Western theme. Here are some examples:

"With Obama as president, I don't feel safe. I need to buy more guns and ammo."

"A clean rifle is a happy rifle."

"If you want to stay healthy, you better be out of town before sundown."

That last one is said to anyone from the gubment who overstays his or her welcome.

"Get out of Dodge, you lily-livered bureaucrat. And please stay healthy by driving on our safe and clean roads."

It's all in the words.

If credit cards were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns -- or something like that

The "Room for Debate" section in today's New York Times batted around the new law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. A broad array of opinions were displayed on the question "Guns in Parks -- Safe, Scary or a Sideshow?"

Personally, I think it's a scary, unsafe sideshow. But nobody asked me. The NYT did ask Wyoming writer, hunter and dog lover Ted Kerasote. He's against loaded firearms in parks -- and he's a gun guy. He wrote this in "Pack pepper spray, not a pistol:"

... Living within Grand Teton National Park, I see this all the time: a deer gunned down by the side of the road, its antlers chopped off; a moose waylaid just inside the park boundary; a coyote shot as it watches a car go by. These killings are perennial, often remove spectacular, genetically fit individuals, and create one more enforcement burden for park rangers.

Allowing visitors to carry loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, as legislation just passed by Congress does, will only make such poaching worse while making a ranger’s job more risky. And I don’t say this as some bleeding-heart liberal with an anti-gun agenda. There’s a rack of rifles and shotguns in my shed and, during Wyoming’s hunting season, I shoot an elk, an antelope and a variety of game birds — food for me and mine during the ensuing year. I’d be the last person in the world to outlaw guns.

... pepper spray is a far better deterrent than a .44 magnum, especially in the hands of the inexperienced. I’ve now used it to turn a charging moose, dissuade a cantankerous bison and send a bear scurrying. The animals had a coughing fit, and I a scare, a far better outcome than guns often produce.

That wasn't the only Wyoming reference in the article. That's appropriate, since we have tons of guns and lots of national park land. The NYT article opens with a photo of a grazing bison with a picnicking family in the background. The bison does not appear to be armed, but you never can tell. The picnickers may be packing heat, but seem most interested in gnawing sandwiches.

As a counterpoint to Ted's article, David B. Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute in Golden, Colo., begins his article this way:

“What works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne,” the presidential candidate Barack Obama often said when discussing gun policy. President Obama has put his principle into practice, signing a bill which, besides changing the laws about credit cards, repeals an inappropriate federal regulation.

I'm not sure what gun laws are in Chicago. Much more restrictive, I expect, than they were in Dillinger's day. Cheyenne law stipulates that everyone, from a day-old infant to a 100-year-old granny, must carry a loaded firearm at all times. This was the Wild West, after all, and some of that tradition remains in our free-form gun laws and our petrified legislature. When Dick Cheney was a greenhorn state legislator, he inadvertently shot himself in the foot while proposing legislation to tar-and-feather all Wyoming Democrats -- if any could be found. On Inauguration Day 2009, did you see Cheney being carted out of D.C. in a wheelchair? Don't blame his short-circuiting electronic heart. It was his old foot wound acting up. That and his rheumatiz.

David B. Kopel also had this to say:

The old regulation had prohibited defensive gun possession or carrying in national parks. Thanks to the new law, the federal rules about guns in national parks and wildlife refuges will be the same as the laws of the host states. So in Manhattan, where handgun carry permits are reserved for diamond merchants, the political-social-celebrity elite and a few other favored groups, there will not be a mass of people carrying guns at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, on 20th Street. (This result might have appalled Teddy Roosevelt, a N.R.A. member who as president carried his own revolver for protection.)

Teddy Roosevelt, of course, hunted in Wyoming after he shot all the game in the Dakotas. It's a well-known fact that he shot the last jackelope in Converse County. There's a statue to that jackelope in downtown Douglas, but not a single statue of the old Rough Rider. Teddy would be appalled.

As a counterpoint to that p.o.v., Kristen Brengel, director of legislative and government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, offers this:

In about nine months, guns will be allowed to be carried loaded throughout national parks if the state they are in permits guns in that state. After the amendment takes effect, visitors to national parks such as Yellowstone in Wyoming will begin to see guns visibly displayed in vehicles or being carried. Visitors to monuments and battlefields including Gettysburg National Military Park and Mount Rushmore will also now also be able to carry guns if the site is within a state that permits them.

Hikers in the back country will have a different experience. I will probably be discouraged from many hikes if other visitors are walking around openly carrying guns. Frankly, it is threatening to see a person hiking with a gun when it isn’t hunting season.

Because Wyoming already mandates gun-toting, I'm on trails all the time with a well-armed and well-regulated citizenry and I don't mind. I have a gun, my wife has a gun, my kids have guns, my dog has a gun, my tomato plants have guns -- we're all happy gun owners. Nothing untoward is going to happen to us while we enjoy nature's bounty. We will face down any threat, be it animal, mineral or human.

Meanwhile, I ask again: what does all this have to do with lowering credit card interest rates?

Read the entire NYT story at http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/guns-in-parks-safe-scary-or-a-sideshow/

Camping not just for "nerdy families, nature geeks and Boy Scouts" any more

CNN says this:

With the economy in a slump, camping seems to be grabbing a new foothold in the travel industry. Once considered by many to be an activity for nerdy families, nature geeks and Boy Scouts, sleeping outside in a tent has become chic -- likely because it is so much cheaper than paying for a hotel room.

The activity also strikes a new chord with Americans who want to get back to basics after an era of excess and overspending.

Outdoor camping's popularity jumped 7.4 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to a report from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Overnight backpacking is up 18.5 percent, the report said.

Here's a response from an ex-Boy Scout nature geek who has a nerdy family that loves camping: "Huh?"

Camping is not an alternative to a hotel room. There are camping trips and then there are hotel trips. When we spend the weekend in the mountains, we camp. When we stay overnight in Denver or travel to Tucson for spring break, we stay in hotels. Campsites are notoriously scarce in Denver's LoDo. You could bring your tent and camp down by the river. But the neighbors may not suit you.

I should take umbrage at these camping johnny-come-latelys. However, umbrage is also in short supply during these tough economic times. So I welcome all these new campers, many of them bound for the wilds of Wyoming this summer. If Bernie Madoff and his diamond-encrusted Hummer pulled up next to our campsite in the Snowy Range, I wouldn't tell him to take a hike. I'd invite him on a hike. What better way to know a person than to guide him on a jaunt over a rocky trail that rises 3,000 feet in two miles? If he's made of stern (but not Bear-Stearns) stuff, he'll make it to the summit. When we arrive, we'll admire the view together. When he turns his back, I'll vamoose, leaving him there in solitude to ponder his many crimes. I'd go back a couple days later with some bread and water.

We kid Bernie.

While camping, you can leave behind all of those economic concerns. Some rookies may worry that they won't have enough money to buy the latest camping gear. Don't let that trouble you. My old pal Dave touts "celebrity camping." You and your friends pile into a jalopy and head for the hills. Reaching a vacant campsite, you back up the car, unload comfy chairs and the beer cooler, and proceed to get "as loaded as a celebrity." Come nightfall, you can throw your sleeping bag (if you remember it) by the fire (if you have the wherewithal to make one) and sleep the sleep of the contented. Or you can just pass out in your camp chair.

Most of us prefer a less minimalist aproach. Besides, we're too old for such foolishness. We car camp, sure, but we also bring the proper equipment. Here's a partial list: tent, sleeping bags, air mattresses, camp stove, matches, food, beverages, cooking utensils, eating utensils, clothes, ponchos, books, journals, bug spray, dog. Optional items include iPods, although they are usually allowed, otherwise there will be a constant mosquito-like whining in my ear from a 16-year-old.

Definitely not allowed on any camping trip: RV, TV, ATV, guns, fishing poles, other fancy stuff. I have nothing against fishing, but killing any fish or fowl will again bring torrents of teen vegan whining into my ears. I liked to fish when I was a kid but do that no more. Now camping is for cooking, hiking, watching wildlife, sleeping under the stars and conversation.

Spending time with my nerdy family -- that's what it's really all about.

Head to Estes Park for Jan. 17 Earth Fest

Janice Mason in the Estes Park Trail Gazette on Jan. 9 writes about the second annual Estes Earth Fest taking place on Saturday, Jan. 17, at the YMCA of the Rockies' Willome Center.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Estes Park is known as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. When you drop into town on a summer Saturday, Estes Park may be the last place you think of as "green." Traffic is backed up for blocks, with cars and SUVs and RVs spewing clouds of exhaust into the mountain air. While downtown features creekside paths with a walkway and park, the town's shops are eerily similar to the those in Myrtle Beach and Branson, Mo. T-shirts, ice cream, burger joints, etc. It's not bad, but not exactly picturesque. But you have to go through Estes to get to RMNP, at least from the Front Range side of the Rocky Mountains. RMNP is one of our family's favorite camping and hiking spots. It's only a couple hours away from Cheyenne, the closest national park. It's worth a half-hour traffic jam in Estes to reach our destination.

But some changes are afoot, green-wise. Estes Park Light and Power is now accepting reservation requests for rebates on the installation of small wind turbines and photovoltaic generators. They'll be promoting the program at the Earth Fest.

Eagle Rock School staff and students have been working for months to recreate the success of last year’s Earth Fest held at the Estes Park High School. John Guffey, service-learning instructional specialist at Eagle Rock, leads the coordination of the festival.

“My sense of Estes Park is that we have a responsibility,” said Guffey. “I believe that it’s a beautiful one that we haven’t acknowledged. It’s been here for a long time, but we just think that we can milk the cow until we dry it out. In fact, we need to change how we relate with tourists and how we relate with the Park, to be a real connecting point. So we don’t just bring people in but that we give out the message.”

General admission tickets for the Earth Fest are $5 for adults 18 and over, $2.50 for students, and children under 8 enter free. The dinner will be by separate ticket: $10 for adults 18 and over, and $5 for youth ages 6 to 17. Advance dinner tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for youth ages 6 to 17.

YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center is located at 2515 Tunnel Road 2515, off of Highway CO-66.

FMI: John Guffey at 586-7115, jguffey@eaglerockschool.org, or visit www.eaglerockschool.org.

Two of the more interesting Earth Fest speakers are:

David Wann is an author, filmmaker and speaker about sustainable design and sustainable lifestyles. His most recent book, “Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle,” is a sequel to the best-selling book he coauthored, “Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic,” which has been translated in nine languages, including Chinese.

Jim Merkel is the author of “Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth” and directs the Global Living Project that consults with campuses and municipalities and offers workshops and lectures. Originally a military engineer, Merkel’s projects included energy demand management, design of military systems and foreign military sales. The Exxon Valdez disaster and the invasion of Iraq prompted him to devote his life to sustainability and world peace. He founded the Global Living Project (GLP) and initiated the GLP Summer Institute where teams of researchers attempted to live on an equitable portion of the biosphere.

Fine art, brought to you by Mother Nature

Thanks to the always alert and creative jhwygirl at 4&20 blackbirds, I bring you some examples of the weavings of Earth:According to the UUSS web site: The records displayed here are a selection recorded by the University of Utah Seismograph Stations in Yellowstone National Park. Some of these stations are part of the Advanced National Seismic System. The displays are updated every ten minutes to provide a (nearly) current record. Each panel represents 24 hours of data. Local time is displayed on the left side of the record.

While these webicorder displays are colorful, they do illustrate some fairly serious earthquake activity in Yellowstone. Some say it is the precursor of a gigantic eruption of the Yellowstone caldera. Others say it is fairly normal seismic activity for the region. I look at it and think that science is intriguing and beautiful.

Artists' credits (top to bottom): Mary Lake, Yellowstone N.P., Dec. 29; Soda Butte, Yellowstone N.P., Dec. 27; The Promontory, Yellowstone N.P., Dec. 28.

Free speech ends at park entrance

I can't wait to wear my "Impeach Bush & Cheney" T-shirt to Rocky Mountain National Park this summer.

If I do, some goofball park ranger at the Fall River Visitor's Center will strip me of it and make me stand in the corner.

Just look at what happened to two teens who tried to bring a peace message to RMNP (courtesy of Denver Post reporter Kieran Nicholson):

Two young peace activists said they were stopped at an entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday and ordered to remove peace placards on their chests before entering the park.

Mike Israel, 18, and Ashley Casale, 19, are on a "March for Peace" from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

The pair said they were stopped by a park ranger at a gate beyond Grand Lake and told they couldn't go inside the park wearing the placards, which read: "March 4 Peace."

"They stopped us and said our signs are too political," said Casale, a student a Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

The peace activists were detained for several hours, Casale said.

Eventually, the pair agreed not to wear the placards but wrote the same message on their T-shirts and continued their journey.

Park officials could not be reached for comment this morning.