Ear To The Ground Glade Park Blog

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Jul 22, 2008, Glade Park & Piñon Mesa Fire News

Current news of Glade Park & Piñon Mesa fires

Jul 15, 2008, Glade Park “Movies Under The Stars” Summer, 2007 Schedule

Escape summer heat for a family movie, good food, local entertainment, hay rides, fun and fundraising for the GP Volunteer Fire Department.

Jul 13, 2008, Enjoy the Blue Bird of happiness, without the bears...

Watching a newly launched family of Blue Birds enjoy a communal bath will always brighten your day. Since they eat insects they are not attracted to the bird feeder, but a bird bath will bring them in for a cool drink and a bath. Depending on the capacity of your model, be prepared to refill. A flock of starlings can hit in a collective frenzy and blast all the water out, but even that can be entertaining. If you have had to remove your bird and hummer feeders due to bear problems, offer a bath instead. It's hot and dry out there, and you can still help out your avian friends without attracting the party crashing bruins.

Jul 6, 2008, Turkey Flats Trail on Pinon Mesa/Glade Park, CO

Turkey Flats Trail for hiking and mountain biking

Jun 23, 2008, There, but for the grace of God, go I...

When something that happens on Glade Park hits the news, it is usually not good news. I guess that is how the news biz works. We have our share of scary things happening. Each one seems to be a cautionary tale, a reminder to the rest of us, that things we do every day, or even occasionally, have the potential to go bad. We drive roads that make some cringe. We use guns. Ride horses. People come to this area for recreation in the wide open spaces. We are further from law enforcement and medical reinforcement. Even with the life line of the Glade Park Volunteer Firefighters, who will rush to assist as soon as possible, there is a sometimes a longer response time, just because of the distances and terrain. Let the good that comes from someone else’s misfortune be a reminder that we all need to proceed with caution, take a little more care, so that the joys of were we live do not become sorrows. And to balance it out - send us some good news! Share the good times. On the News Currents page there is a link to submit news. Let us celebrate with you!

Jun 23, 2008, Glade Park/Pinon Mesa CO News Currents

Read & report Glade Park current news and useful information

Jun 19, 2008, Glade Park Utilities and Services

Glade Park Utilities and other essential services

Jun 18, 2008, "Somewhere between A.1. and Heinz 57, but thankfully better..."

Are you one of those people who find steak sauces get in the way of tasting the steak? That describes me, until I found Watkins Steak Sauce. Consider me biased, since I am a Watkins distributor? Here is what Gentleman's Quarterly magazine had to say about it: "The purpose of a steak sauce is to help you eat more steak, not to match its smoky-charred goodness or mask it with peppery counterpoint. Cleanse the palate, tease the mouth a little, and make way for more... Watkins Steak Sauce is a tart little sauce, slightly barbecueish and sweet but effective in cutting the saltiness and whetting the appetitie. Claims to be somewhere between A1 and Heinz 57, but thankfully is better." Take advantage of it being on sale right now and try it! I do not waste my blog on recommending something unless it is great! Follow link to order.

Jun 16, 2008, Glade Park & Pinon Mesa Forum

Glade Park & Pinon Mesa Memories, Info and Opinions

Jun 16, 2008, Glade Park in Mesa County time capsule

Glade Park contributes to Mesa County's 125th Anniversary time capsule

Jun 12, 2008, Glade Park and the time capsule...

If you have been following the Forum and my blog you know that the museum is putting a time capsule at the old Mesa County Courthouse, and has offered to include Glade Park and other surrounding towns and communities. Lynn Grose was contacted and came up with a postcard from the Glade Park Store. As many of you know, it has an arial view of the crossroads of our community, with the Glade Park store and the Miller home. Then I was contacted by Ronna Lee Sharpe, saying she also printed out the glade-park.com home page, and a poem written by my great uncle Monte, and would like to also include them! 100 years from now, when they open the capsule, what will our little community be like? Hopefully much the same. Since Lynn will not be available on Saturday, I have agreed to be at the ceremony on Saturday morning to present the Glade Park items for the time capsule. An ice cream social will follow. Hope some of you can come! Follow link to Forum for more...

Jun 11, 2008, Dear old friend missing...

Please follow the link to the Forum if you have seen an elderly border collie mix. She is missed by new residents. This one hits close to home, as I just had to say good-bye to Boo, who had been with me for 15 years. We hope someone found our new neighbor's old friend.

Jun 6, 2008, The smell of wet sage…

In sagebrush country it is easy to tell when you have had a good soaking rain. In fact that is one of the best reasons to live in sagebrush country, though it can be rare. If we could bottle the smell of wet sage Glade Parkers would all be gazillionaires. What people in cities would pay for this smell… To savor it this morning I had breakfast on the patio. I cut and steamed fresh asparagus, scrambled a couple of home-grown eggs, and cracked out a little piece of smoked salmon. Back out on the patio I savored breakfast, as I inhaled fresh sage drenched air, and watched the birds line up on the fence to dry their damp feathers in the sun. They couldn’t stay long, because the earth worms were coming up through the soggy soil to get some air, and the pickin’s were good. The columbines had fresh blossoms, but the rain had taken the blush off the lilacs. A blue bird landed on the stump to sun and fluff for a moment, then exited stage left. Stage right a hummingbird copters in for a quick snack. It was what I call a spa morning: people pay thousands of dollars for this kind of experience. But down here heaven can’t last forever. I need to get busy. But a morning of this kind can carry you through the hard work it takes to buy the gas, and be in a position to enjoy it. Realization: this spa does cost thousands! Back to work!

Yesterday wasn’t too bad either. My compadres and I drove to Moab to do some research on the Glade Park history book. My mom, and Bill and Betty Ann Morse accompanied me to canyon country, in the rain. Ghostly spires draped with fog and splattered with sunlight. Varnished red cliffs along the swollen Colorado River. What country! We bothered the busy staff at the Grand Country courthouse, who dug out old volumes for us to pour over. Much dust and a few jewels were gathered there. Then we were sent from the library to the museum for archives, to find that that they had no one in today to supervise our search through their treasures. Now we will have to come back another day. Rats! ; )

On the way back we looped through the eclectic little sometimes-ghost town of Cisco, Utah. It seems to be seeing a bit of action again, as the energy industry once again wakes up to that part of the desert. Research on my great-uncle Monte’s story draws me to Cisco. In addition to being a trapper, writer and moonshiner, he also ran a restaurant in Cisco, called the Pastime Café. Was it in that half-burned shell of a building? Too muddy to traipse around on foot. More research and a dryer day will be more productive. Another reason to come back this way! A tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.!

Jun 4, 2008, Museum wants Glade Park in time capsule...

Check the Forum for the letter from Lynn Gross, president of Glade Park Community Services. The Museum of the West has contacted her about finding an item to represent Glade Park in the time capsule they are putting at the old Mesa County Courthouse. It is great that they want to include us, but very short notice. If you have any good ideas, let us know immediatly! They want it by tomorrow!

Jun 1, 2008, History repeats itself at the Potholes

Tragedy has once again struck at the Potholes. Another swimmer died today. It has not yet been announced whether alcohol or drugs are involved.

As someone who grew up on Glade Park, and has followed the string of tragedies that have taken place there over the years, my unofficial conclusion is that the majority have been alcohol/drug related. It is a risky, but perennial, place to party. My mom wisely restricted us from going to the Potholes because of the nature of the crowd that was likely to be hanging out there. Much has changed since then, but not the trouble the Potholes attracts.

When I was preparing the Outdoor Pursuits section of this website I called the BLM to get information about the designated camping and picnicking spots in their domain. I mentioned that I had gone in search of the Potholes and drove right past the entrance road. They told me that was not accidental. Although at one time they developed the site, they later decided to try to make it disappear. I agreed to do nothing to publicize its location or existence. I had made an attempt to research how many people have died there, but dropped that effort when I agreed not to mention it as a destination.

Unfortunately, the location has been passed down by word of mouth, and the survivors of previous expeditions. Let this be another warning. Though the details of this accident are not yet released, the spot remains remote and risky. The cliffs, the waterfall and pool of water below tempt divers to show their skill. But it takes a precision dive when there is adequate water to be successful. Water depth varies, and being off target just a foot can be fatal. High water has its own dangers, with swift currents swirling past. Add intoxication and the danger multiplies.

Ironically it can be the hero who jumps in to save someone else who ends up dieing. That appears to be the case in today’s accident. It is not the first time that has happened. The curse of the Potholes continues.

May 25, 2008, Canary, clean-up and correction...

Canary: This morning, as I got ready to join the pre-season clean-up crew for Movies Under the Stars, a glance out the window stopped me in my tracks. I blinked at the bright yellow splash of color at the bird feeder. It looked like a wild canary, and a quick check in my “Birds of Colorado Field Book” confirmed the markings of a male American Goldfinch, or “wild canary.” It also said they enjoy Niger Thistle, which explained a lot. A few days ago I spent my blog berating the flock of parasitic Brown Headed Cow Birds that had descended on the bird feeder. I let it go empty, then decided to put some Niger Thistle seeds in it (since the BHCB’s don’t seem to like them). I already have a small feeder I stock with that seed, and it attracts the pretty little finches. The additional feeder stocked to their fancy attracted even more bright red trimmed finches (males). It must have also brought in this little Wild Canary for a rest stop. Unfortunately I had to take the picture through a kitchen window that was doused with dust and then splattered with just enough rain to make mud, as he posed in front of the white rag I used to stabilize a young tree. Not a great photo, but documentation. Maybe it will inspire some of you to show us what you have captured with a camera. The link below is to the Wildlife page where you can see the canary and download your own sitings.

Clean-up: The Movies Under the Stars clean-up crew made short work of preparations for a new season. Rain clouds threatened, but did not interfere. Progress was also made on getting volunteers signed up, but there is good news! Jill still has plenty of openings, so you have not missed your chance to join the fun, and help raise funds for our dedicated firefighters. The protection of our community from wildfires does not happen magically. Your donations and volunteerism are needed to back-up the sacrafices these folks make. Get'er done!

Correction: At the MUS clean-up it was brought to my attention that the news story about the liquor thief has just one problem. The cabin address is not on Glade Park! I had to admit that I just went with the Sentinel story description of it being on Glade Park. Now that I thought about it, it didn’t quite jive. The “1600 block” of H Road appears to be in the vicinity of McGinnis Canyons Conservation Area, across the river and south west of Fruita. There appears to be a little sliver of private land on that “block.” If you have worried about your liquor unnecessarily, my apologies!

May 24, 2008, Glade Park & Pinon Mesa Wildlife Gallery

Wildlife encountered on Glade Park & Pinon Mesa, Colorado

May 21, 2008, The Mafioso deadbeat-parent bird…

What would happen if you crossed a bird with Mafia traits, and a bird with welfare-deadbeat–parent traits? No need to wonder. It seems this has already happened. This innocent appearing feathered demon is descriptively called the Brown Headed Cow Bird (they seem to travel with cows, formerly buffalo, and they have a brown head.)

The mystery is -- how did they figure out they could lay their eggs in another bird’s nest, forcing those birds to hatch them and knock themselves out feeding the resulting chicks, while the biological chicks sometimes go hungry or get knocked out of the nest by a monster chick that hatches sooner and gets fed more often? Worse yet – if the hard working couple wises up and kicks the foreign egg or chick out of the nest, the BHCB’s have been known to retaliate and destroy the whole nest. No wonder some birds have learned to just hide the egg and not sit on it. It is generally a no-win situation for the poor wrens, finches or the other 140 plus species documented to be targets for these deadbeat hellions. It is also mysteriously programmed into the little stow-away to recognize and join up with the waiting gang of dead-beat thug parents. I have seen this happen at my bird feeder. The happy chick seems to be saying: “Where have you been all my life? I knew I didn’t belong to those weirdoes. I must have been kidnapped! Don’t let them get by with it!” And the adults reply: “It’s OK, the important thing is you found us. Someday when you get older you will understand…”

In case you are doubting me, this avian scam has been scientifically researched and documented. What worries me is that my bird feeder is being visited by a growing gang of these thugs. True to the cow association they are supposed to be called “a corral” or “a herd”, but I prefer gang. I left my bird feeder empty for several days, hoping they would move on, but it did not take them long to discover when the easy eats were back. Although I enjoy the birdfeeder, I also like to feel it is benefiting the seed recipients. When it is encouraging a parasitic gang of thugs to take over the neighborhood I have to consider giving it up. They do not seem to graze on the little black thistle seeds the finches like, so it seems safe to continue with that feeder. Too bad the chicken and dog yards are on the other side of the bird feeder, or I might get some target practice. If you have any good ideas on how to get rid of them, let me know. Link is to a picture so you can watch out for them.

May 21, 2008, Glade Park Community Events Calendar

Join in for good times and good causes! The meaning of community!

May 19, 2008, Flag Confrontation Yeilds a Suspect

Visit the News Currents page to get the details...

May 12, 2008, A dirt biker's excellent adventure is memory lane for me...

Sometimes my search for Glade Park related material leads me to unexpected websites. This time I came across Greg “The Adventure Rider”s chronicle of the maiden voyage of a new (to the rider) dirt bike. He came up the Fruita side of the Colorado National Monument, turned West at the Glade Park Store, and headed into Utah. This rider included some nice photos of his bike in scenery that was all very familiar to me, as I am sure it will be to many of you. When we were on the ranch we trailed our cattle to the winter range on this same route, across the Utah line, and down “the dugway.” I especially enjoyed the rider’s description of “catching air” on some little hills. I know right where they are because my dad used to delight in doing close to the same maneuver with the pick-up truck. My siblings and I called them “the tickle bumps,” because as dad picked-up speed, and the truck dropped off the crests of the bumps, there was a ticklish feeling in the pit of the stomach that made us laugh and cheer him on (as Mom scolded him to slow down.) It looks like Coates Creek is rising with the spring run-off. It will be an easy to ford trickle by early summer, but by then the heat will make the trip much less enjoyable. Although the high water at Coates Creek, and his limited gas supply caused Greg the dirt biker to turn around, we would continue to the winter range next to the Colorado River. (A similarly sweet view of the La Salle mountains was also visible from our summer cow camp on Piñon Mesa.) The condition of that road back in the old days probably would have been more to the taste of a dirt biker. These days Dennis Carnes is the road man for Grand County, Utah, and it has never been better groomed, and well drained by expert cuts at low spots. It sounds like Greg took a little side trip up Biezer (S 5 7/10 Rd.) on the way back. He was sweating his gas supply, while trying to economize by coasting down the Monument. I wonder why he didn’t stop to get some gas at the Glade Park store. Maybe part of the adventure is getting home on his close calculations. The link below is to Greg’s excellent adventure…

May 10, 2008, This morn’ I woke to Ireland…

…my dog did her crack-of-dawn whimper to go out, and desperately fighting back awakeness, I parted my eyelids only enough to find my way. When I opened the door for her, I first noticed rapidly moving clouds, drifting in sunlit layers, like ocean waves, and fog filling the lowlands like an ocean cove. The breeze was damp and balmy, there was tender green grass, and the carpet of tiny purple weeds could have been heather…briefly I imagined my Irish ancestors had come for me in my sleep, and taken me back to our native land…though I have never actually traveled there, for an instant I knew what it would be like. Then I knew it was springtime on Glade Park, and that was even more amazing. After the long winter of blowing, drifting snow, spring has finally come! The wildflowers (and weeds) are bursting forth! The car is out of Red Canyon! Oh, yes, the wind is blowing fiercely at times, but this morning it was gentle, like the landscape. What is better than finding the first tender tips of asparagus peeking through the dewy red soil? I think it would be boring to live in a place where there is no contrast between the seasons. How can you appreciate one without absence from it for a while?

This is continuing to be a remarkable day… when I checked my email I had a message from my niece, Sarah, who lives in Germany. She said she bought a new soap, and when she showers with it, the smell reminds her every morning of Auntie Deb. I told her I would take that is a compliment (at least it is a clean smell). The best part is knowing that, although she is so far away, she still thinks of me at all. So my thoughts are international travelers twice already, and I haven’t even had my morning coffee. I can smell it waiting for me, as are the hungry horses...

Apr 7, 2008, Continued reflections on a snowy doorstep or…

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” *
For once a snowstorm is causing a road to be open, rather than closed. After all the careful planning to remove the car from Red Canyon, the Monument road will not be closed after all. The operation has wisely been postponed. I am looking out the window at a meadowlark sitting on my fence. The other day I saw a bluebird. Sure signs of spring, but they must be wondering why they came back so soon. Once again I give thanks for the moisture, but can’t help but insert a prayer for rain next time.

*Adapted from “To a Mouse,” by Scottish poet Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”

Apr 5, 2008, Is "Thelma and Loise" to blame for this?

In case you have missed the flashing portable electronic billboard...and did not get handed a flier at the Colorado National Momument entrance gate. Think they are trying to tell us something? It is all about the wrecked mess left in Red Canyon by an apparently suicidal woman last fall. It was all so "Thelma and Louise," I makes you wonder if that unfortunate ending to an otherwise good movie may have led this poor woman to belive this would be a glorious way to end it all. It is not the first time movies have glorified ill concieved actions. As a previously blogged, it is a double tragedy when someone is both suicidal and bent on going out in a dramatic way that will cost thousands of dollars in clean up, not to mention some risk to the rescue and clean-up crews, inconvenience to commuters, and loss of access to tourists. How much money and man hours will the CNM have to spend on this, that could have been better directed toward their mission. That is a poor memorial to a life. New barriers have been installed along the road. Hopefully no one else will be inclined to subvert them to do another "Thelma and Louise." Link to CNM flier on this topic.

Apr 2, 2008, Refllections on a snowy doorstep...

How many times, in the last month, have I once again cleaned snow off my doorstep, while wistfully (and wishfully) thinking that it is probably the last time until next fall? The most recent time was Monday morning. OK, it was not a lot of snow, but the cold, icy blast that brought it, once again, dampened hopes of spring actually arriving. I know that last Thursday the calendar said "Spring Begins," but that shows you how much authority the calendar makers have. I have to remind myself that what we actually have is "springtime in the Rockies," which does not go by the rules! And now the inevitable guilt descends. Growing up on a ranch on arid Glade Park, one did not dare complain about any weather that brought moisture with it. And we have been blessed with a persistent winter that has delivered plentiful snow on Piñon Mesa, and the Park. Last fall, based on a gut feeling, I put up some snow fence and ordered a new layer of gravel on my road. Although the wind still blew snow past the drifts at the snow fence, it helped. Thankfully neighbor Ron came along with his big green tractor and cleared the road when needed. Yes, I am grateful for the bounty of much needed moisture. But I am also like the horses, who hungrily seek out each tender green patch of grass, as proof that spring is on its way!

Mar 30, 2008, Old Gordon Toll Road topic of Haggerty column

After rushing to cover the Colorado National Monument's new policy on requiring identification, and finding it was highly exaggerated, Bill Haggerty took a hike on the "Old Gordon Trail." It was formerly a toll road, run by Glade Park rancher John Gordon. The Gordons were early settlers and entrepeneurs in the Grand Valley, and also operated a ferry across the Colorado River for a while. If you have never taken the hike, he gives instructions on how to find the trailhead. He rates it as "easy but a little steep," which seem a bit contradictory. If you think you are up to it, at least do it while the weather is cool.

Mar 11, 2008, WESTERN SLOPE SEAMLESS GUTTER

We service the Glade Park Community at the same price per foot that you would get living in Grand Junction! All installations are done by the owner

Feb 17, 2008, Pinon Mesa part of Gateway Area-BLM Management Plan

Pinon Mesa and Granite area involved in new “Gateway area” BLM management plan.

Feb 11, 2008, Pay attention - BLM plan for Pinon Mesa and Granite Creek area...

BLM has lumped Pinon Mesa and the Granite Creek areas (Area 9)in with the "Gateway Area, Mesa and Montrose Counties" to "develop and design a recreation management plan and travel system." They are holding public meetings to get input, and it would be wise for those who are interested to pay attention. The meeting that involves Area 9 will be held Feb. 21 from 6-8 pm at the Mesa County Courthouse Annex.
Check out the information on BLM link, and let us know what you think.

Feb 9, 2008, Pinon Mesa 4-H Club, Glade Park, CO

Glade Park 4-H builds character and good times.

Feb 9, 2008, New way to submit an advertisement to Glade Park Marketplace!

It is now possible for you do design your own web page for your business! The submit listing link at the bottom of Glade Park Marketplace will show you how! You can download a picture, logo or business card and write the copy for your own page, which will be linked to the Marketplace page! You can also recommend a Glade Park Friendly business, which will grant it a listing with the first 3 months FREE! We want to know who is happy to serve Glade Park customers! (Aren't you tired of going through the phone book listings to see who will come up here?)

Feb 9, 2008, Glade Park Marketplace

Commerce by and/or for Glade Parkers!

Feb 8, 2008, Lewis, Thompson and Miracle pioneer photos

Barbara Turner, from St. Joseph, MO has blessed us with some precious family photos of Glade Park pioneer families. I was happy to see that she used the photo submission tool in the Picture Gallery, and it seemed to work very well for her. Hopefully this will encourage others to use it!

Feb 8, 2008, Glade Park Pioneer Families: Lewis, Thompson, Miracle

Barbara Turner shares family history and pictures

Feb 7, 2008, Glade Park Volunteer Fire Department comes to the rescue again...

If you are paying attention to local news you will realize the Glade Park Volunteer Fire Department doesn't just answer Glade Park rescue calls. Today they assisted when a Mesa State geology student on a field trip at a mica mine has a heart attack. See link for video of KKCO news report.

Feb 3, 2008, Winter Song...

Happy Super Bowl day! If you are spending it on Glade Park, your view out the window is a white-out of blowing and drifting snow. This is the time of year one begins to become winter weary, especially when it is living up to it's name. A few weeks ago I heard Viola Holloway and my mother discussing this winter, and they both agreed it "is like the ones we used to have." Since it is good for the moisture levels come spring, we have to remind ourselves to be grateful. That is why I decided to share something special with you today. It is a Navajo chant called "Winter Song"...

Feb 3, 2008, Winter Song - Navajo Chant

Navajo Chant to celebrate the change of seasons

Jan 30, 2008, 2007 Collbran Ranch Rodeo

Sam Branham, Steve Biggerstaff, Jon Schmalz and Clayton Smith won trophy saddles at the Annual Mesa County Cattlemen's Ranch Rodeo in Collbran, CO on

Jan 29, 2008, Glade Park Bible Church

Glade Park's country church services and news

Jan 23, 2008, New Glade Park School: Work in Progress

Dreams of a new Glade Park school are becoming reality

Jan 21, 2008, Laurel Imer Photo Gallery

Photos by Laurel Imer, Glade Park, CO resident

Jan 11, 2008, Young man injures his hand with a CO2 cartridge...

Link is to Daily Sentinel story. Appears that this young man was actually pretty lucky. I do not know how badly his hand was injured, but it certainly could have been worse. It is good to know that help was available so he could get the care he needed.

Jan 8, 2008, Glade Park Buck

Here is a nice looking buck on a stroll through our backyard here on the

Jan 5, 2008, 2008 "Movies Under the Stars" Schedule

Imagine a WARM summer evening, the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, family fun, stars overhead... On a cold winter day, waiting for a big winter storm to descend upon us, warm yourself with thoughts of the new 2008 "Movies Under the Stars" schedule. Now when you are picking flicks to watch during the cold months, you know which ones to save for - summer under the stars!

This is also a good time to remember that the Glade Park Volunteer Fire Department needs our support year around. Even with a successful fundraiser, they also need donations from the community members they serve. At this time there is no tax district to fund them. Maybe we can all keep our lives simpler by voluntarily making an annual donation in recognition of the protection they give us. "Thank-yous" are also appreciated. - link to 2008 "Movies Under the Stars" schedule -

Jan 5, 2008, Movies Under the Stars: Movie Descriptions

Descriptions of Movies on 2008 Schedule

Dec 28, 2007, Glade Park kids connect with the community...

I been thinkin' about my recent nostalgic blog entry, describing Christmas programs at Coates Creek School. Those were good times. But I realized it ended up with that "good ole' days just can't be equaled nowdays" tone that glorifies the past at the expense of good things going on in the present. What reined me in on that nostalgia fest was a more recent memory of the feeling of deja vu I had last fall at the Piñon Mesa 4-H Club Halloween Party. Those kids were having a great time in a family atmosphere, where parents and community were there to applaud their costumes and supervise the fun. They were even being allowed a rare occasion to O.D. of sweets the way we used to! So what I need to make clear is that there is still a way for Glade Park kids to be connected to where they are growing up, and get recognition, support and knowledge in a smaller scale, local setting. Even without a Glade Park school, Piñon Mesa 4-H Club is here for them. If your kids are not involved, this is the best time of year to get signed up. See link below for more information. And if we also get a school, that will be a even better!

Dec 20, 2007, Christmas Past and Present

"There's a memory I treasure,
From another place and year,
Of a Christmas far too beautiful,
To ever disappear."
--E.B. Michaels

This quote was on a Christmas card I sent out years ago. One of the cards remains with the Christmas stuff that is taken out every year and sorted through. I finally realized it had survived, because each year, when I read the verse, I am taken back to the childhood Christmases spent on Glade Park.

A big part of Christmas in those years was the Christmas program at Coates Creek School. It was the community social event of the season. We would practice the Christmas play for several weeks, which was all the more wonderful because it provided plenty of diversion from regular studies. In this day of political correctness, and separation of church and public education, this would be considered an outrage by some. But it provided another facet of our education. It was our theater and music class. Mom and Joan Kruckenberg would come and play the piano for us to practice the carols. We had an opportunity to perform before an audience of our loved ones.

On the big night the little log schoolhouse would be packed with community members who clapped like they were watching a Broadway play. When the performance was over, Santa would come, with something for each child. Sometimes he seemed strangely familiar, like the year Dennis Carnes exclaimed Santa was wearing his dad's boots!

The ladies Friendship Club had devoted their December meeting to filling up lunch-size brown paper bags with home-made candy and cookies, the equal of which you will not find in this day of commercially produced treats. With the relief of having our program over, the excitement of seeing Santa, and all that sugar pumping through our veins, things became animated.

Thankfully we were not protected by the food police from having such a nutritionally void peak experience. But it is no wonder the adults bundled us up and sent us out into the night air, hoping we would work off enough energy for them to get us into the car headed for home.

When I hear about the prospect of a Glade Park once again having a school, it is my hope for the students, and the community, that they experience that kind of continuity with the place they are growing up. The world is so huge and impersonal: children need a place where they can start out as unique and acknowledged.

It seems inevitable that we will have a white Christmas this year. It is my hope that you will all have a happy and prosperous New Year!

As I sink into personal plans with loved ones, I hope you are all doing the same. Thanks for bearing with Glade Park.com through its first formative year. Hopefully your input will guide it into a new year!

Dec 15, 2007, Cyclists banned from Rim Rock Drive...while snow plows are operating. :)

Glade Park commuters have encountered some very determined cyclists pushing themselves to the limit on the Monument road, during sweltering heat, and even rain storms. But at least we won't have to worry about them while the snow plows are out! Somehow I don't think the cyclists will be complaining about this ban.

For motorists, the Monument staff is cautioning against using the west entrance to 16 1/2 Rd during storms. The good news is that they have hired Mesa County to keep the roads plowed from the east entrance to DS Road. The Monument staff will plow the west end up to the visitor center. The remainder will be plowed after the storm has passed. Link to Sentinel story (as long as it lasts).

Dec 10, 2007, Activist Judge cries fowl on sage grouse ESA decision

Does a judge know more about sage grouse than the wildlife experts? Does he understand the science involved in the decision not to list the sage grouse as an endangered species -- well enough to decide that the “best science” was not used?

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill is the judge who is second guessing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the sage grouse decision. Why was this decision brought into the realm of the courts?

No surprises there. It will be the relentless pressure of an environmental group(s), which in this case is the Western Watersheds Project. They sued over the decision not to list the sage grouse as an endangered species. They know which judges can be counted on to make decisions based on their own ideology rather than the letter of the law. That is were the environmental suits get filed.

The conflicts within the U.S. F&WS are sited as evidence that “pressure and intimidation tactics” interfered with the decision. The environmental groups did not complain when the Clinton administration turned Babbit loose to steam roll the policies they liked. When an effort is made to put some balance back into these decisions, they cry fowl.

Did the judge and the WWP consider the fact that the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado have put a huge effort into creating cooperative agreements with private land owners to protect the grouse, so that an ESA listing does not have to be the inevitable, and economically devastating, solution?

The conservation easement that the Van Loan ranch entered into is a crown jewel in that effort. Did the WWP and Judge Winmill take those efforts into consideration? Do not hold your breath.

They do not want compromises to succeed. They do not care whether wildlife decisions devastate local economies and threaten our national security. In fact, these groups want to see ranchers driven off of grazing permits; energy development brought to a halt; logging become a log jam of restrictions; and mineral and other resource extraction become extinct.

If they had their way, this country would be one continuous idyllic wildlife reserve, without regard to the damage it does to this nation.

As we become more dependent on unstable, violent, and unethical countries for energy, food, and other natural resources, they would set our resources aside for the wild animals.

Do not get me wrong. I love wild animals, and wild places. I grew up on a ranch on Glade Park and saw sage grouse prosper as cattle grazed nearby. Realistic compromises are possible, and we must continue to make them.

I am including a link to this story in the Daily Herald, Central Utah. It is the same AP article that appeared in the Daily Sentinel, but the Herald printed more of it.

Dec 5, 2007, Glade Park school still on the radar

According to a Daily Sentinel story, there is still a movement to start a school up here on Glade Park. As a former student of Coates Creek School, the last active school in this community, I am a strong advocate for bringing a school back to the Park. The quality of the education provided in that one room setting served former Coates Creekers well. I know that my siblings and I had no academic problems transitioning into valley schools. Glade Park.com will be following this issue closely, and invites information and discussion on this issue. See link to Daily Sentinel story.