The Edge of Logos

Having checked out Monument Valley proper the day before, Heather and I took a day trip Sunday to explore the nearby area. Basically we took a huge looping route: from our camp near the Utah-Arizona border, we headed north on US 163, continued north on UT 261, then took UT 95 east, then returned south on US 191 back to 163. This is part of the vast Trail of the Ancients.

Map of the day trip loop. First stop was Mexican Hat down in the lower left, and we passed by it on the return.

This route is very rural, totally gorgeous and takes you through a bunch of really cool places. I highly recommend it if you visit the area. Gas up before you go and bring food and water. I’m not kidding, it’s very rural. Don’t expect gas stations or restaurants.

The first stop on the highway was Mexican Hat. A unique and very unlikely rock formation near the San Juan River. Crazy how a natural geological process would produce something so fragile, so delicately balanced.

Mexican Hat.

We continued on to Valley of the Gods. It’s not as well known as Monument Valley though I’m not sure why; it has very impressive sandstone formations similar to what I saw the day before, many buttes and pinnacles ranging from small to huge. Plus, this is on BLM land, not tribal land, so access is not restricted. There’s a 17-mile dirt road, FR 242, connecting 261 and 163, that winds and meanders through it. It’s not quite two lanes and is technical, rough enough that I wouldn’t recommend taking an RV or smallish car through it. It reminded me of that dusty road into Guadalupe Canyon in Baja, a pretty wild ride.

Valley of the Gods.

A towering rock formation, one of many. A person would be a dot in this photo.

This has to be phenomenal camping and mountain biking if you spent a day or two here.

We pulled over several times to get the lay of the land, and even climbed to the top of one of the buttes. From there was a fantastic view and total silence. After an hour or two in the valley we returned to 261 and headed north as it began the 1200ft. climb up to the top of Cedar Mesa. There’s an unpaved switchback taking you up, far above the valley floor.

Next stop was Natural Bridges National Monument. This is operated by the National Park Service, unlike anything else we’d seen. It has complex terrain, a number of natural stone bridges as well as archeological sites. The Anasazi, the Ancient Pueblo, once lived here. Ruins are nestled deep in a crack in a cliff wall.

Horsecollar Ruin.

The settlement was abandoned 7 centuries ago.

There’s a very well paved one-way, one-lane road, Bridge View Drive, that winds through the park. You can take this if you want to see the natural bridges but don’t want to hike. There’s also an outlook high above the Anasazi ruins, so far above that in order to produce the two photos above, I used a telephoto lens and crop the original down to the center of the image before scaling it to post here. Protecting archaeological sites is important, but I was surprised they kept visitors that far away.

Owachomo Bridge. A little tricky to make out, but it's there.

The last stop was Blanding, a town 45 minutes away, and the only town on this circuit. There we had a very late lunch. I ate my first Navajo taco, and for those who’ve never tried one, I highly recommend it. After lunch we drove back, returning to camp at dusk, exhausted but happy. We had a terrible dinner at the restaurant near the lodge–won’t eat there again!–and eventually returned to our campsite and retired.

Next day. We got an early start, struck camp, packed up and drove home. I was looking to get home before sunset if possible, so I went about 85-90mph most of the way. (At the risk of tempting the speeding ticket gods, I dare to say out loud that I never get a ticket when I drive the van. It’s been four years, so I don’t think it’s just luck. Cops somehow can’t see it going fast. Have I said I love my van?) I took the 40 back on a whim, mostly because of a disagreement between two GPS devices. That took us through Needles, Barstow, San Bernadino and finally to San Diego.

Well, how can I wrap this up? It was awesome! This really was a great trip, it blew the doors off anything I expected. Totally fun, interesting, challenging outdoor adventures in absolute beauty all weekend long.

arizona, california, experience, heather, hiking, nature, travel, utah

The drive in from San Diego, through Yuma, Phoenix and Flagstaff, then just crossing the Utah border, took 14 hours. It went smoothly overall aside from a few mapping hiccups near the end. We had a full moon and lightning from thunderheads on the horizon for the last leg of the trip. We got into camp around 11pm local time–turns out the Navajo Nation follows daylight savings when the rest of Arizona doesn’t, which meant the camp had been closed for over an hour–but we found a site on our own. The highest one in the camp actually, with a great view. It was a bit slanted so I used the levelers under one wheel, but even so I was a little surprised no one had taken such a prime spot.

We unloaded the van and tried out the new lights Heather put in. Two lines of amber LEDs running lengthwise from the cabin to the tailgate along the top of each interior wall. It bathes the interior in a warm indirect light coming from behind the valances, just enough to see by but not more. They run off the internal 12V electrical system and the power draw is almost undetectable. It’s a major enhancement to the van.

We stayed up for a while, had a few drinks and enjoyed the view of the stars and the sandstone buttes, just visible in ghostly moonlight. It was eerie how quiet it was. I’m not used to camping without music from every direction and we tried not to wake other people as we set up camp. Eventually we finished and crashed.

Saturday morning I awoke to this view, right out the tailgate of the van:

Rock formation right behind our camp. A deep gully separated it from us.

Towards the road up from the entrance.

There weren’t that many tent campers here, mostly RVs. After lunch we registered and got some information and local maps. Access to Monument Valley itself isn’t unrestricted. You have an 17-mile loop road you can take–it’s a fairly technical dirt road actually–and otherwise you need to be on a tour with a Navajo guide. Saturday night we went on a full moon tour. I wasn’t too thrilled about being on a tour but it’s only for the valley itself. There are a bunch of other parks and destinations nearby to check out, and we did that the next day.

That afternoon, before the tour, we went on a little hike. There were three trailheads from our campsite and none require guides, since they don’t go onto tribal land. I didn’t expect there to be much to see, but damn, I was wrong! Here are a few photos from that hike, which terminated at a natural stone arch. I’d always wanted to see one.

A natural stone arch. Just a 10 minute walk/climb from our camp.

Heather facing a canyon formed by a collection of buttes.

Just around the corner.

After the high-altitude hike we made our way back to camp. Had a breather, a few drinks and later on, dinner. The full moon tour started at dusk. It was like this initially:

The first stop.

A trio of ancient, huge, delicate buttes. I'll spare you their silly names.

Except these, I like their name: The Three Sisters.

I don’t have photos of the moonlit buttes, but I hope this gives some sense of the experience. The sunset-lit buttes were staggering, and I doubt any photograph can do it justice. There is a deep silence to the area; there are a few Navajo settlements here and there, but mostly the valley is empty. Their towering enormity and incredible age–and the silent stillness–evoke calmness, reflection and a broadening humility. I felt connected from the perspective of the yawning ages, far prior to the advent of humanity. I sensed how the countless busy people and their dusty little machines buzzing around nowadays is a virtually unnoticeable blip compared to the biological and geological processes that resulted in this awesome creation.

This was just what I had in my mind for what I wanted out of this trip. It was already exceeding my optimistic expectations. End of the first full day.

arizona, california, experience, heather, hiking, nature, travel, utah

From a chat I had with my ex-girlfriend Kelly Thomas the other day, regarding the death of my mother the day before. Edited for clarity.

Kelly: Jason, are you online?

Jason: Yeah, I’m here. How are you?

Kelly: I’m ok, I’m really sorry to hear about your mom.

Jason: Thanks. It was a long time coming. Fortunately I got to visit her two weeks ago to say goodbye.

Karen Wells, my mother. 14 December 1945 - 12 February 2009.

Kelly: I know she’s been sick for a long time but its still hard. I’m glad you were able to visit her.

Jason: Me too.

Kelly: So when is the funeral?

Jason: I don’t know exactly. Dad says the service will be in the next few days.

Kelly: How’s your dad doing?

Jason: He doesn’t let it out much, but I can tell he’s really hurting. I hope he feels relief.

Kelly: Me too, It does get better, but takes awhile. I still miss my dad.

Jason: I bet.

Mom’s been going, going, gone for a long time though. Once I understood she couldn’t be there for my wedding, that’s when it really sank in that she’s just not there anymore.

Kelly: So how are things otherwise? Are you working today or take the day off?

Jason: I haven’t decided. I’m actually doing okay, basically. I’ll probably go in later.

Kelly: I think after my dad died I was in shock. And then it hit me at the funeral. But I guess you were there so I’m probably not telling you something you don’t already know!

Jason: When I think about her, it doesn’t really hurt. Sometimes it does if I remember how she was a long time ago.

But when I went to see her… man. She was in a cognitive twilight. Some bit of her was there, but not much. That was upsetting to see. Most of who she was was gone already.

Kelly: I like to think that when my dad died he was finally at peace.

Jason: That’s a nice thought. I’m just glad Mom’s long darkness is over.

I know if someone had told her this was to be her fate, she would have been horrified. Especially because of the impact it had on the rest of the family.

Kelly: My dad too. I think he was in denial about it though. But maybe that’s part of why we don’t know the future, eh? We’d never hold out for it. Ok it’s not always that bad.

Jason: Heh.

Kelly: I don’t know how you feel about the whole spiritual stuff, but even if her mind wasn’t there I think her spirit was. The body is always just an impermanent condition.

Jason: I look at it this way. Who my mom was came from her mind, from her brain. Mostly people think of the mind as a uniform thing, but it’s not that way at all. From what little I understand of neuroscience, it’s structured in an unbelievably complicated way. When she had the brain tumor, some of those structures were damaged or destroyed. And then the radiation therapy, which did kill the tumor, caused the rest of the gradual but vast damage to her brain that ultimately killed her.

Kelly: So what happens when you die?

Jason: I think we’re all part of the world. We’re natural. We are born in nature. We don’t pop into existence from any ethereal plane. Our mothers give birth to us.

And we die naturally too. Once something in the world no longer exists, it no longer exists. The part of the world that was her is now gone, to be other things now.

Kelly: Like what?

Jason: Lots of things. Our memories of her. Or things that she created or caused, like my existence or Dave’s. Or the effect she had on Dad, or any relatives, or anyone who ever knew her. And her body, the physical expression of her, returns to simpler things.

Kelly: I think that’s really beautiful.

Jason:

Kelly: I made you smile!

Jason: I never needed a separate spiritual world. The natural world is more than enough for me.

Kelly: Sometimes it’s so beautiful I can barely stand it.

experience, friends, loss, nature

Tomorrow Heather and I head up to LA for a very full weekend. Saturday evening we’re going to Shoghi and Lily’s wedding work party, just to give them a hand. They’re such a great couple, and their wedding will be a very happy day.

But what dominates the weekend is the BIL conference. The conference runs all day Saturday and Sunday. We’re driving up to Long Beach early morning tomorrow, and I’m psyched about it. If you don’t know about it, it’s a counterpoint to the more famous TED conference, which is happening at the same time–right now–and is similar, save the choosy attitude about speakers and the $6000 attendance fee. It’s about sharing cool ideas.

BIL is free to attend, volunteer-driven, very DIY; anyone with something to say can volunteer to speak. Not to mention the calls for the more quotidian, things like drinks and snacks, folding chairs, etc. They use a wiki to track things, which (of course) anyone can edit. The participatory flavor reminds me of Burning Man.

I just printed out the schedule and there are plenty of interesting talks. But the best part for me is that I know so many people there! At least seven speakers and one of the organizers are friends of mine, and I know I’ll see other familiar faces in the crowd. It’s practically a reunion, and interestingly, most of these folks I have encountered on the playa. Anyway I’m looking forward to reconnecting and hearing out some interesting ideas.

experience, friends, los angeles, technology

From Sunday. I am in the air, returning home from San Jose. I’m taking American Eagle, and it is so much better than the regular American service. They have smaller planes at smaller gates, smaller crowds, shorter lines, plane-side valet service for your luggage. They’re less bureaucratic, more informal, and oh yeah, they even arrive on time sometimes–or early!

It’s nice to not be treated like livestock, it makes it easier to find the magic of flight. As I sit in my seat, I recognize I’m in a metal tube, filled with a million parts, powered by viscous rock goo from deep underground. Nothing less than the liquified remains of the lost botanical wonders of the Carboniferous, the age when Trees ruled the world.

From my little window I see the curious geometries below, made of stone and light, basically ignored by those energetic little people below. I can’t see them directly, but there they go, zipping around in painted metal boxes, their purposes utterly unknowable to me as I recede from them. They always have a lot to do.

The seething industry below spits out planes like this one. To board, I press buttons on a little box days before, manipulating symbols in just the right way. In this way I coax patterns of electrons to carry the insensible value of my past labors–more button pressing!–to a corporate being responsible for operating these complicated tubes.

And soon the plane will gracefully fall back toward the hard sphere from which it launched. I will emerge and then enter another metal container, this one small and yellow, likely operated by a man from the other side of the sphere. Our communication will be crude, functional, and brief.

Man, it is amazing. Amazingly weird!

bay area, experience, san diego, travel