the wild, wild west

The NY Times ran a story today about Southern Utah, the "West's best kept secret." Shh.. . NY Times, if you talk about it, it won't be a secret any more. The slideshow that accompanied the article included some gorgeous shots, mainly of the Capitol Reef area, that made me homesick.

But I have a few things to say about how the author Tom Perrottet characterized Southern Utah--and a few corrections. Perrottet calls Southern Utah "America's Outback," a fair enough characterization, I suppose. However, in his efforts to convey Southern Utah as the last great place, he probably should have gotten off the beaten path a bit. His two journeys include Dry Fork Coyote to see the Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slots and Calf Creek Falls. Both places are stunning and certainly worthy of a visit, but they are also the most traveled trails in the Escalante. He says of his journey to Calf Creek Falls,"The next morning, I set out in search of a waterfall said to be upriver." Said to be upriver? You mean the heavily signed interpretive trail?

I don't have a problem with Perrotet's travel and I understand that his audience is most likely to visit trails like Calf Creek and Peek-a-Boo, but please don't pretend you are on some big adventure Mr. Perrottet. Having an off-the-path adventure is certainly still possible in Southern Utah but you might need to strap on a backback and not get befuddled by the clearly set cairns on the trail to Peek-a-boo. If I were writing a travel piece about Southern Utah for the NY Times, I would probably write about Calf Creek and Peek-a-boo; they are accessible and stunning and a good introduction to the area. But in doing so, I would present them for what they are and not some grand adventure.

In addition to selling his journey for far more than it actually is, Perrotet also gets quite a few things wrong. After correctly naming the wash where you can find Peek-a-boo and Spooky, the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch, he uses the shortand "Coyote Gulch." No one in Utah calls Dry Fork "Coyote Gulch." Coyote Gulch is the much larger canyon downstream, not this tributary. More importantly, Perrottet asserts that the landscape hasn't changed since 1872? What?! What about the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition, where settlers blasted out rocks for hundreds of miles to make a road--in 1879? What about the settlement in the heart of Capitol Reef that included not only structures but acres of orchards. What about human use from increased travel? Or the pathways trampled by grazing cattle? The structures built after the Escalante was made a monument? To say that the place hasn't changed since since 1872 ignores a whole lot of history and the increased development and mineral exploration that threatens the area.

Southern Utah is stunning, wonderful, soul-awakening. But it is not unchanged. If writers like Perrotet don't acknowledge the threats against this beautiful landscape, there is a real risk that we will lose its beauty to excessive development.

And a final note. In recommending the area's available restaurants, Perrottet promotes the mediocre Cafe Diablo, but fails to mention Hell's Backbone? bitch, puhleeeze.

Maybe the next time the NY Times wants a travel piece on Utah, they should just call me.