Today's story was written by Carlos Ramos, facilities director at Stokes Nature Center. I will be reading the English translation. To hear Carlos's version in Spanish, you can find it online or listen Wednesday night at 9:01 p.m.
August arrived and the heat was at its peak. Summer was well established in Utah, and educational outings were making the most of the season. There is nothing better than leaving everyday life behind and spending a few days immersed in nature.
This last August, I went canoeing on the Green River with incoming freshmen of Utah State University and a few guides from the USU outdoor programs. The Green River is the main tributary of the Colorado River and stretches some 730 miles through Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.
It is a brilliant, world-class sculptor, taking its time to shape magnificent red and orange sandstone mountains into unique, priceless works of art. During the late summer, the river is very calm, an excellent time to paddle. The journey becomes a time to listen, observe, sing the most off-key melodies, and learn about everything around us.
One of the non-negotiable requirements of this trip was no technology. At first, I wondered how we could return to a time when we did not depend on cell phones and other communication systems, so we can enjoy the world around us.
After five days, we learn that disconnecting from daily routines and worries about what might happen in the world makes us more attuned to nature, more observant, more creative, and more grounded. As we realize that it does not take much to be happy.
Labyrinth Canyon is home to a wide variety of bird species and serves as a nesting sanctuary for peregrine falcons and golden eagles. You can see great blue herons and, of course, bald eagles as well as swallow nests on the immense walls of the colorful cliffs.
Mammals include beavers and otters, as well as larger mammals such as desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, and foxes. On some days during this trip, we saw other nature lovers like us taking the time to enjoy fishing.
These dark, muddy waters are home to several federally protected fish native to Utah, including the Colorado pike minnow, the humpback chub, the bonytail chub, and the razorback sucker.
The banks of the Green River are adorned with trees such as willows and cottonwoods. In addition to adding a touch of beauty, their roots help stabilize sand bars, and they provide food and building material for beavers.
Above the canyons, the land is covered by a delicate living carpet of cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens, known as cryptobiotic crust, which is vital for preventing erosion and fixing nutrients in the soil.
Night fell, and the camp began to take shape. Everyone pitched their tents, and dinner was prepared and enjoyed, accompanied by stories, games, and trivia amid laughter and murmurs. The hours passed slowly in this wonderful place, somewhere you never want to leave.
When darkness fully settled in, our guests of honor arrived. A night filled with lights, whose shapes and names leave even the greatest dreamer pondering. The stars made their majestic entrance, tracing even the unimaginable across the sky, where creativity can discover 1000s upon 1000s of shapes. We waited for a glimpse of the Milky Way, and of course, the Queen of the Night, the Moon.
If I could wish for time to stand still, I would choose this place without hesitation, in the company of people as special as these traveling companions. They will forever be among the 1000s of explorers who have journeyed through these beautiful treasures of a wild Utah.
The story was written by Carlos Ramos, a Utah naturalist with a passion for the nature of this incredible planet, and he is definitely Wild About Utah.
