Kathleen left for Utah and Capital Reef National Park for two months of work as a Volunteer Park Ranger about two hours after getting off from her last day of school back at the end of May. I can't blame her for being eager, it is very beautiful up there. She worked... actually 'worked' might be a slight exageration. She worked four days per week. Generally she was either hiking trails, giving the Park Service a 'presence', or answering questions in the park headquarters; ocasionally she would also host the evening campfire talks... Does this count as 'working' ???? Anyway, she was scheduled to work until August 1.

On July 30 Kathleen's father, Jerry and I left College station to drive the 1,300 miles to Capital Reef National Park and try to persuade Kathleen to return to Texas. The two of us were calling this a vacation, and it turned out to be a great one. It took us two long days to make it to Capital Reef, but we did arrive about 3:00 Thursday afternoon. As we were pretty much trashed, we got a hotel for Thursday and Friday nights and took it easy... meaning naps, an early dinner and early to bed. Friday Kathleen had a couple of beautiful hikes for us to do. After two days of driving it felt great to stretch the legs... and the scenery was incredible. Fabulous canyons and desert vistas. The Mormons turned the central valley of Capital Reef into a desert oasis with peach, apple, plum and even cherry orchards ! Just incredible ! Hope my pictures do it justice. (between Kathleen and me we had about 2 dozen rolls!)

Kathleen had accumulated some great stories during the summer, including one of a panther stalking one of her fellow volunteers. He was out walking one night, checking out the stars (which are quite incredible), when he heard a twig snap. Swinging his light around he saw a full grown cougar only 30 feet away and obviously following him. The ranger 'made himself big' and refrained from looking the cougar directly in the eye, but was too scared to yell out. He slowly started backing up, and was appalled when the cougar started following him. He backed, the cougar advanced.... this went on until he had backed over 100 yards to the doorway of his cabin and was able to get a door between him and the cougar! I have pictures of one of the local deer, who come out into the campgrounds every night. She has a huge gash on one side with obvious claw marks. A very lucky deer, and a very lucky ranger !

On our second night in the park Kathleen had her last official act as a ranger... she gave a campfire talk on the life in a waterpocket. A 'waterpocket' is a depression in the rock that will hold water after a storm. Believe it or not, there is quite a variety of life that has developed around these effimeral ecosystems. Well, this night Kathleen's co-workers had a surprise in store for Kathleen. As she started talking they lined up in the front row and every time Kathleen said the word 'water', they would squirt her with squirt guns. You know how hard it is to talk about the life that depends on waterpockets with out saying the word 'water' ? Not to be outdone, Kathleen started talking about 'whiskeypockets' !

Over the next four days we alternated hiking and driving tours.... Barely made a dent in the park. On our very last day in the park we hired one of Kathleen's friends to take us on a 'jeep tour' of some of the 4-wheel-drive areas of the park. There are absolutltly incredible areas that you can only access via 4-wheel-drive (my truck could NOT have made it). On our way back into the main section of the park about 5:00 p.m. we came across a few rangers standing beside an area of road that had obviously had water and debris flowing over it... this was the main highway through the park ! They told us we had just missed a flash flood ! The highway parallels the Fremont river through the park, so we jumped back in the truck and headed down the road until we overtook the flood. We actually stopped three times to watch the flood come, and go, before heading on down. An incredible ending to our time in Capital Reef !

After leaving Capital Reef we drove to Page, camped out one night and then took a full day excursion boat out onto Lake Powell. The lake is beautiful. We stopped at Rainbow Bridge. I think it is interesting that the native Americans are now saying that Rainbow Arch was one of their sacred sites. There is absolutly no evidence that this is true. Personally I think they are just trying to get in on the tourism... but, it does suit the Park Service quite well. They now have an excuse to protect it with a little more vigour. Amoung other things, we took our 37 foot long 16 foot wide tour boat up a slot canyon that was at its narrowist about 18 feet wide ! ... And we went back nearly a mile !

Only real problem we had was with our trailor. We were pulling a small utility trailor we had just bought a month or so before Kathleen left. Our plans were to pickup enough flagstone on BLM lands in Utah to put together a front porch. We found the stone, beautiful red sandstone 'ripple rock'. This is the flat stone that still has ripples in it from being formed in a delta. Great stuff. About 5 miles north of Carlsbad, New Mexico, I felt the truck jerk. Stopped and looked around, but everything seemed normal. We drove on into Carlsbad and pulled into a convenience store. When I got out I saw that the driver's side tire on the truck was 'leaning'. I pulled out the jack and jacked it up, and when I did the wheel literally fell off. There was nothing holding it on ! The jerk turned out to have been the axel breaking. I was able to bolt it back on temporararily, though there were no bearings in the wheel.... and we drove another 5 miles to a frame and axel shop. We had to drop our load of beautiful ripple rock. The trailor is still in Carlsbad being looked at and we are planning another trip out there to pick it up in a few weeks... maybe over Labor Day ? Oh well, if that was our biggest problem, it was still a great trip. We arrived back in College Station on saturday, August 9, 1997; Kathleen started back to work at her school the following Monday.

Every time Kathleen goes up in the Utah/Arizona area, she says that it is so beautiful up there that if she were not married to me, she would not come back. After seeing this area for myself, I am struck that she really must love me ! (just can't imagine why ?)

	Kathleen Brooks, my wife, had been working at Capital Reef National Park all summer as a volunteer.
	Kathleen and her Father doing a canyon hike.
	Hickman Bridge in Capital Reef National Park.
	Capital Reef was named for a 100 mile long upthrusting of rock. It was a barrier to overland travel, therefore the name 'Reef', and the many domed mountains in the area reminded the early settlers of the US Capital building.
	The cathedral to the Sun and Moon, Cathedral Valley.
	The early Mormon settlers irregated using the Fremont River. They were able to grow orchards of apples, peaches, pears and even cherries. It is amazing to me how they were able to make the desert bloom. You can sure tell where the water is
	Red walls often surround you in the canyon lands.
	Bob Brooks and Jerry Till, as shot by my wife, Kathleen.
	The narrow desert canyons were beautiful.
	This would have been a fabulous slot canyon to hike. It is now covered by the emerald green waters of Lake Powell.
	Water and time had often eroded holes and arches in the desert rock.
	Many of the canyons were so narrow you could stand at the bottom of a 300 foot deep gorge and touch both walls. These were aptly named 'slot canyons'.
	The colors on the rock walls are called 'Desert Varnish'. Taking hundreds of years, the color is created by a bacteria that fixed manganese. This is one way we are able to date ancient Indian petrogliphs.
	'Cohab Canyon' was one place where the early Mormans hid their multiple wives when being sought out by the authorities.
	Kathleen often got herself into a tight slot.
	Many of the canyon walls were 'holey' in more ways than one.
	The different strata in the mountains often gave the cliffs a rainbow look.
	Kathleen thought the colors reminded her of a dreamcicle.
	Often flat grassey plains led up to upthrusting mountains.
	This formation in Capital Reef, is called 'Chimney Rock'.
	Though we had generally good weather, there were major storms all around the state. A week after we left there were people stranded and even a few deaths due to flash floods in Havasu and Antelope Canyons in Arizona.
	One of the 'Capital Domes' so prevalent in Capital Reef National Park.
	The motor boats in Lake Powell are dwarfed by the surrounding canyon walls.
	Though there are many wild flowers present in the spring, by the time I had arrived in late July most of the color in the desert came from the colorful strata of from lichens.
	The evening sunlight reflected off the high redwall canyons was breathtaking.
	Emily was one of Kathleen's coworkers at the park. Here she is trying out her own version of warpaint. Despite rumors to the contrary, Emily was a true barbarian.
	The day before we left the park there was a major flash on the Fremont River which flows through the middle of Capital Reef NP. What was a gental waterfall became a raging torrent. For additional pictures of the flood go to: /Flood.