Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau

Come October, we will be able to hold in our hands the landscapes of hundreds of millions of years of geologic history. Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, by Ron Blakey and Wayne Ranney will be published. You can pre-order it at Amazon.com. I already did.

If you're a fan of Ron Blakey at NAU and the amazing maps he makes available to us on the Internet or of Wayne Ranney and his writing about the geologic history of the Sedona, Verde Valley and the Grand Canyon, this new book is a long awaited collaboration.

You can read about Ancient Lanscapes of the Colorado Plateau at The University of Arizona Press or at the Grand Canyon Association.

And there's more, the two authors will be giving a lecture, Tracing the Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, as part of the Canyon Country Community Lecture Series. See the details on the website, about the lecture in Prescott on Sunday, November 16, 2008 and in Flagstaff on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

This is really something to look forward to--one more contribution to our understanding of the Colorado Plateau by these two brilliant geologists.

The Lady From Prescott Part II

It's way past time for another trip to Prescott. Back on June 28, I wrote about The Lady From Prescott and promised another post. Well, the dog ate my book, or more exactly it was lost somewhere between "It was mailed on June 26" and "It's July 18 and I didn't get my book yet." There's an SOS out, but nothing yet, so this is an interim post on Miss Sharlot Hall.

Today, let's take a virtual trip over to the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott. Currently, on the home page, there is a video of John Langellier's appearance on KAET, on June 10, to discuss the 80th anniversary of the museum. It's the perfect introduction to Sharlot Hall and her life's work, the museum which bears her name.

In addition to the online tours of the Governor's Mansion and the legacy of Sharlot Mabridth Hall , there is also an on-line only exhibit, Color and Texture: The Vibrant Art of Jack Dudley.

You'll want to stay awhile on this website and explore all the interesting information it has to offer, don't leave until you check out this index page.

We'll be joining you real soon down in Prescott at the real world Sharlot Hall Museum. And we'll also be revisiting Miss Hall as soon as we track down that book we want to share.

The Lady From Prescott

I just made the acquaintance of one special lady, Ms. Sharlot Hall. She because the Territorial Historian for the Arizona Territory in 1909, the first woman to hold a salaried office in the territory. What led her to this job and where she went afterwards is a magnificent story of the making of our land. The rest of her story is coming soon to Coconino Chronicles.

Meanwhile, here is a portion of the poem she wrote about the plan to admit Arizona and New Mexico into statehood as one state. It arrived on the desk of every member of Congress. Enjoy:

"Ay! Let her go barehanded; bound by no grudging gift;
Back to her own free spaces where her rock-ribbed mountains lift
Their walls like a sheltering fortress; back to her house and blood;
And we of her blood will go our way and reckon your judgment good.
We will wait outside your sullen door till the stars that ye wear grow dim
As the pale dawn-stars that swim and fade o’er our highty Canyon’s rim;
We will lift no hand for the bays ye wear, nor covet your robes of state –
But Ah! By the skies above us all we will shame ye while we wait!"

That's just a taste of the style of this talented western historian.