House Mountain

After the Rain

How beautiful upon House Mountain were the clouds on its foothills-
They startled my consciousness with their light grey colors,
While masking the intricacy of man’s strivings.
How silently they poured into the valley,
Creating beauty, which had been obscured by sticks and stones.

It was early morn, but the light of day was sufficient to reveal the design-
How the Fog could yield a temporary happiness,
Through an emotion which was fleeting yet satisfying.
I could see the penetration of the wispy clouds into all of life’s illusions,
Yielding clarity to existence.

The fog was always in the valley- such a stark scene-
But I was above it, keeping a grander view.
How slyly did it seep into the crevices of the day,
Slowly shifting to a lighter hue.

Then the first light of the sun’s tiara was upon me,
And the ephemera were from another time-

Harold L. Overton (14 Feb 03)

Official State Question!

State Question (Subordinate to State Bird or State Twig)

After attending the USAF Navigator’s Reunion, October 15, 2005, at Albuquerque, New Mexico, Helen and I drove to Santa Fe just 60 miles distant to yet another Elderhostel program- a week of sampling Spanish cuisines and cooking.
The high point of the week was an actual cooking school in downtown Santa Fe, where Helen could revive her cuisine, learned during our twenty year stint near Taos. She had learned the local dishes, such as Posole (hominy) and empanadas, while enjoying the culture and geography around our cabin in Moreno Valley- east of Taos.

The school in downtown Santa Fe was performed! by a capable chef monikered Rocky Durham (being a practicing Earth Scientist, I thought anyone having a name like Rocky couldn’t be all bad). I’ll call him Julia Childs West, since he could prepare and cook enchiladas (en-chili-fied) and other local fare, while fielding questions, cracking jokes, and scratching his cheeks simultaneously. He kept up a constant banter of local lore and witticisms while indoctrinating us all with a view of the “fine points” of cookery with local produce such as chili and cactus.
What brought the loudest guffaws from me was the explanation about indoctrination of newcomers to the niceties of Spanish culture. It seems that great attention is paid to foreigners who must first be asked the most intimate of questions- the official State Question. It must be determined before their first meal:
Red or Green?
I resolved that this state snobbery would not go unchallenged, and briefly reviewed the possibilities for my present home- UTAH (Washington will be forthcoming). In the case of our temporary abode, as semi-citizens of the previously Mormon-dominated area, it is extremely important to elicit the proclivities of newcomers also- where religion is uppermost. Thinking back to the early Mormon days and even to the recent past, where Brigham Young and his predecessor Joseph Smith held sway, and to more recent nefarious characters, I must earnestly beseech the present culture to incorporate the following Question as one pertinent to be Officially asked, by those inquiring of all who are the New Kids on the block:
Smith or Jones?
I am at a loss as to the inquisition to be made for newcomers arriving in the Puget-Seattle area (my regular home- where the youth are hard latte drinkers, and the state is divided between dry farmers and wet liberals), but it could be something like this:
Sounds or Grounds?
I am sure that you can top this, particularly for your state. HLO

Basalt Extrusions with time in West US

Here is a website for information on volcanoes, and how they fit into a western US grid scheme. Look especially at the 0-5 m.y. bracket:
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/distribution_western_us.html