Wednesday, April 6, 2011 - Zion National Park, Springdale UT
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Watchman, Zion National Park, April 6, 2011
Long time - no post
I haven't posted here since way back on March 26th. It looks like I'm going to have a few quiet days ahead of me so maybe I can fill in those missing posts.
I came into Zion early this morning to make sure to get me one of those scarce first-come first-served campsites available this time of year. As I was setting up it slowly sunk in that the sun was not shining anymore. Why's that? Hmm... it seems there is a major storm front headed this way. So I decided it might be better to sit out the rain and snow forecast for southern Utah down here in Zion Canyon rather than up on the plateau where I'm headed. There should be plenty of time to catch up.
Eviction notice - maybe
This morning I signed up for 5 nights here at South Campground.
The Ranger just came by and handed my check back to me. She wouldn't accept a check for more than the next three nights. Huh?
It seems there's a storm front headed through Washington as well and the government is toying with shutting down the National Parks until they get a new budget in place. Starting Saturday. Maybe. Uh.... sure, ok.
Night camp
Site 112 - South Campground, Zion National Park, Springdale UT
- Verizon cell phone and EVDO service - good signal
- Go to Zion National Park website
- Locate Zion South Campground on my Night Camps map
- Check the weather here
Disaster and the Failure of Authority
Disasters are almost by definition about the failure of authority, in part because the powers that be are supposed to protect us from them, in part also because the thousand dispersed needs of a disaster overwhelm even the best governments, and because the government version of governing often arrives at the point of a gun. But the authorities don't usually fail so spectacularly. Failure at this level requires sustained effort. The deepening of the divide between the haves and have nots, the stripping away of social services, the defunding of the infrastructure, mean that this disaster—not of weather but of policy—has been more or less what was intended to happen, if not so starkly in plain sight.
The Uses of Disaster Rebecca Solnit, Harpers.org, September 9, 2005