A Gift for Vi

Glen Canyon Still Singing

I sleep beneath the surface
Still blooming a thousand reds
As the lapping, olive water
Above me strains an spreads

The water is restless, restive
As it covers my rock and lea
It’s a whispering, pacing being
Unsettled and seeking the sea

One day it will break the walls down
Shortsighted and muddied with greed
It will soar to the west, irregardless of all
A wild thing that’s finally been freed

The silt will drain from my canyons
Though damage has surely been done
When the wild waves are back in the riverbed
I will cleanse in the warmth of the sun

Bright rocks of crimson vermillion
Shot through with carmine and gold
Ecru and scarlet and saffron
The dry air will clear and unfold

The sacred sites of the Dine
Will return through this opening door
The ancient Anasazi enigma
Will unfold to the heavens once more

I will soar with arches and valleys
Deep Canyons and mystery filled Glen
Tenacious and patient as earth stone
Glen Canyon will live once again


©Edwina Peterson Cross
(For Vi)

AND . . .
It has already begun. Rainbow Bridge is free of water, standing dry and intact. Rainbow Bridge was designated a National Monument in 1910 by President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1956, Congress authorized the Glen Canyon Dam to fill the Lake Powell Reservoir, but only on the condition that the water level not go high enough to reach the monument. By 1971, the water had reached the monument and was threatening to totally engulf the bridge. A court case filed under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was lost and failed to protect the site. But Something-Else was watching this sacred site of the Dine - the Navajo Nation - the receding waters have left it still standing and whole. If it can be saved from the disrespect of uncaring tourists, that will be a victory. The further the water recedes, the less people will be able to reach the arch. It used to be a boat ride for the idle and curious, now it takes a fairly stiff hike. When the water is gone, the only way to reach the arch will be, as it was before, a fifteen mile hike through dry, difficult ground. Perhaps the sanctity will return to this ancient hallowed place.

http://www.ecohike.com/glen_canyon1.htm -
This is a group called ‘Escalante Canyon Outfitters’ - they lead exhibitions into areas that are already being reclaimed. One of the guides writes words of incredible promise: “I've spent time this fall exploring some beautiful sections of Glen Canyon that the receding waters of Lake Powell have left behind and I am impressed! The intense flash floods of this summer have scoured out the muddy sediments down to bedrock. The tapestried walls and desert varnish are returning as the white calcium carbonate deposition from the lake water flakes, revealing the original surface. I expected and found incredible beauty but the biggest surprise was the active reclamation of these canyons. The combination of what is newly exposed with what was never covered makes these canyons incredible. I hesitantly hiked into these formally drowned canyons expecting the worst; mud, bath tub rings and dead trees, only to find the healing effects of erosion and plant life. I was pleasantly surprised and cannot wait to go back.”
http://www.ecohike.com/images.htm contains his photographs of the newly uncovered canyons, including petroglyphs that are still intact.

I do hope that ‘the powers that be’ are cognizant of what is going to happen at Glen Canyon. They needn’t admit that there is a force beyond them at work here, but they must realize what is going to happen and prepare for it. I remember well the devastation and loss of life that occurred when the Teton Dam burst. On June 5, 1976, 80 billion gallons of water ripped through the dam and headed for the Upper Snake River Valley. By evening, the reservoir had drained completely. The water in the valley below was still moving. It ripped through Wilford, rolled over Sugar City, and charged through Rexburg. I had a cousin who was killed, fishing below the dam when it burst. They knew the Teton Dam was breaching. They must know it is going to happen to the Glen Canyon Dam as well. I hope the people below the water’s path are warned this time.

There was a line frequently quoted at the time of the failure of the Teton Dam. It richly applies to Glen Canyon, and arrogant man would do well to listen to it and finally come to understand it’s truth: "Nature bats last."