February 2018: Fire Wave (36°28'57.7"N, 114°31'21"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Fire Wave (36°28'57.7"N, 114°31'21"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Rock of Gibraltar, Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Pretzel Arch (36°26'25.4"N, 114°27'41.5"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Arch Apartments (718876-4032922, 36°24'99.4"N, 114°33'52.6"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Moonset, Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Praying Mantis Arch (728218-4035527, 36°26'27.1"N, 114°27'23.2"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Praying Mantis Arch (728218-4035527, 36°26'27.1"N, 114°27'23.2"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park (36°26'41.8"N, 114°27'65.3"W), Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Pagoda Arch (36°24'51"N, 114°33'24"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Eagle Head Arch (727453-4034721, 36°25'79.4"N, 114°27',75.6"W), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Windstone Arch (719318-4032476, 36°24'44.85"N, 114°33'14.37"), Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman
February 2018: Valley of Fire State Park (719345-4032536), Overton, NV
For our first road trip out of our new home base adjoining Saguaro National Park just north of Tucson, AZ, Valley of Fire State Park was an obvious choice. One of the main reasons we moved to the Southwest was to be within a day’s drive of some of our favorite places.
Valley of Fire State Park is a place where we hike where we want, explore and feel like we've discovered never before seen natural arches. Of course, this usually occurs while failing to find the ones we were looking for, although Cynny has become quite the arch finder. It's a place where we visit arches that seem like old friends and see them in a different light each time. In spite of our failures, it’s great that the Park does not fill its limited roads with directional signs and carve endless trails into the desert.
I spent my 64th birthday in the park this week. It’s easy to feel young when surrounded by natural arches as my lifetime is a mere fraction of a second in geologic time. Still arches don't live forever. I regret that I never made time to see Ephemeral Arch, perhaps the most iconic arch in the park during its lifetime, but it collapsed sometime during the week of May 23, 2010 before I ever visited the Park.
I'll have more time soon. December marked the end of my 40th year in academe and I'll be retiring at the end of May once I escort my final class of graduate students off the graduation stage. Unfortunately, I’ll need all the time I have as most everything I believe in is under attack. As a journalist I spent half a lifetime fighting these battles throughout the rest of the world. I never thought I’d have to fight them in my own backyard.
I feel like we are on the same path that led other countries where I worked to Apartheid, ethnic cleansing, environmental degradation, the sacrifice of civil and human rights in the name of nationalism and the rise of a racist elitist class. I take comfort in that fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of my former students are leading the fight. After this debacle, it’s going to take a lot of work to make America Great Again.
©Rich Beckman