A Time Warp at Café Rio



L/R:  Jeff & Sheri, Nancy & Sam, Linda & Gordon, LuJean & Rob's chair.



So here we are after how many years?  The picture is a little fuzzy, but that may be a good thing.  How miserable would it be for the wives as the guys relived adventures during the 70’s?  Apparently not so bad, since Sheri generously offered to host a BBQ on Jeff’s new deck.  Meanwhile, Gordon suggested we climb Lone Peak.  LuJean is already excited for the next “rendezvous.”  When we come up with a date, we will notify Quill Traders far and wide…

2013 Auto Show

Once again we found a splash of color amid the dreary January inversion at the Auto Expo.  The most stunning feature of the 2013 line-up was the staggering prices.  Glad we were just there for fun and not shopping.

Official portrait courtesy a nice Jeep rep from Michigan who had to drive to Park City to see the mountains.  L/R: Alexander, Julie, Spencer, Maddie, Kate, Thomas, LuJean and Rob.  Sadly, Matt was home with the flu.

 Maddie found a VW Bug that seemed a good fit.




Ford styling was impressive this year.


 Thomas was set for a test drive while Alexander enjoyed Range Rover leather.

Julie was torn between the practicality of the Honda Odyssey and her love – the Volvo wagon.

Of all the designs the Mercedes was among the most beautiful but Rob’s sticking with the timeless simplicity of  Jeep.

Up the Grand Staircase

Our 2011 and 2012 Jeep Trip series is Frederick Dellenbaugh’s fault.  Had he not published A Canyon Voyage back in 1908, we might have gone on a cruise.

Actually, LuJean doesn’t like ships any more than I do, so after doing a little reading*  I decided a chance to climb the geologic blocks of the “Grand Staircase” seemed like an interesting alternative.  It’s something Dellenbaugh would have thought worthwhile. We would begin at the Colorado River at Toroweap and visit successive strategic overlooks, ending at 10,000 foot Powell Point on the southwest edge of the Aquarius Plateau.  From there we would retrace the 1872 journey of A.H. Thompson and Dellenbaugh to the Dirty Devil River via Pleasant Creek and the Henry Mountains.

Pleasant Creek begins on the top of the Aquarius Plateau and flows through Capital Reef.

Since first photographed in the 1870’s, the image of Toroweap Point has been iconic, yet it’s not likely anyone you know has been there. Although easier to reach than it once was, it remains challenging as I discovered when I stopped by the BLM office in St. George.

                                    

“Last year a fella with a rented SUV had two flats in the first fifteen miles” a ranger warned. 

“It can cost as much as two-thousand bucks for a tow out of Toroweap,” a nearby gentleman helpfully volunteered.

When I mentioned our delima to our neighbor, Guy Brown, he simply said “you need to rent** a Jeep Rubicon.”  Since I love jeeps anyway (my first two “cars” were jeeps) it was an easy decision.  LuJean and her sister Beth were up for an adventure so off we went.

*  Some excellent books that inspired these trips:

Clarence Dutton, Tertiary History of the Grand Canon District

Frederick S, Dellenbaugh, A Canyon Voyage

Frederick H. Swanson, Dave Rust – a life in the canyons

George C. Fraser, Journeys in the Canyonlands of Utah and Arizona, 1914-1916

Elias Butler & Tom Myers, Grand Obsession – Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon

W. Kenneth Hamblin, Beyond the Visible Landscape – Aerial Panoramas of Utah’s Geology

Chinle Formation near the Old Paria townsite.

**  Guy sent us to Brian at Rugged Rental in Salt Lake City who rented the new Rubicon’s to us – a bit more expensive than a Ford Fiesta but not bad for a vehicle that can literally go anywhere and is a blast to drive.

Fun times scanning Kodachrome slides…

1984 - Christy & Julie at Capitial Reef

Another box and a half are complete taking us back to 1976 - with a few more surprise

discoveries.

1988 - Happy Mothers Day!

1976 - Death Hollow

Meanwhile, the weather couldn’t better for scanning.  The inversion was swept away by a massive snow storm.  It has been snowing for days.  The highs next week will be in the 20”s with a strong possibility that the inversion will come back.  Aside from needing to take a 401K withdrawal to pay for the heat, the weather couldn’t be better.

Snow shoveling had to be suspended due to avalanche hazard.

LuJean’s reindeer is up to his eyeballs in snow…

19" at our official measuring station.

Every Inversion has a Silver Lining?

Happy Birthday LuJean from Julie & Christy - 1989

A note from Rob:

With the valley in the icy grip of the “dreaded inversion” I have gotten serious about scanning old slides. No small task with up to 1,000 slides per container and seven containers plus several Kodak carousels.  However, since New Years I have gotten through one box and have a good start on the second – most of the late 70’s and 80’s are digitized and cataloged.  With the help of Smooth Jazz on Sky FM, our iTunes collection and some old CD’s it’s not so tedious and great fun to find long forgotten images.  LuJean’s only complaint is that I spent too much time behind the camera and not enough in front.  But, that was the plan… 

Julie the cat!

Grand Teton National Park  - 1989

Who are those people and what’s a Quill Trader anyway?

Kaibito Wash - 1975  L/R: Rob, Carolyn, Ruth, Cliff, Gordon, Hank & Jeff

Uncompagre Pk. - 1974  L/R: Rob, Hank, Cliff & Gordon

 A note from Rob:

The Quill Traders Gallery in our Friends & Family Catalog has generated a few questions. I’ll start in the beginning.  After I graduated from college I got involved in wilderness preservation issues and along the way had the opportunity to plan and participate in an amazing array of backpack and hiking trips.  The best part was the wonderful folks I met along the way. 

Grand Gulch - 1971  Peggy & Peace the Singing Dog

To make the transportation more efficient, in 1971 I sold my Jeep and VW bug and purchased a bright new yellow VW bus.  The bus had a personality similar to the yellow bus in the movie “Little Miss Sunshine.”  Our bus was named Sunbeam and provided 13 years and thousands of miles of fun adventures.

Q.  How many people and their gear can you fit in Sunbeam the bus?

A.  With the driver, eight as demonstrated below:

Grand Canyon - 1971

Since I love to write, along with wilderness articles, at year-end I enjoyed creating a satirical chronicle from the desk of Quality Quill.  Coincidentally, a new years get-together often occurred which become known as the Quill Traders Rendezvous.

After I got married and become involved in sprinkling systems, remodeling, parenting and a scout troop the world of Quill Traders faded but never was far from mind thanks to Millie, who made an amazing down comforter as a wedding present for LuJean and I.  Among with other clever things, the “Quality Quill Quilt” included an embroidered porcupine and the names of many of our friends in the Quill Traders Gallery.

Robbers Roost Canyon - 1975  L/R:  Sam, Hank , Marylin, Claudia, Helen, Jeff, Rob, Gina & Ruth

In the meantime, my apologies to friends who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in the Quill Traders Gallery – from my perspective, it’s an honor!

Teton Crest - 1974  L/R: Hank, Rob, Marylin, Sam, Gordon & Helen