Archive of entries posted by jfleck
“La Cuenca is dead right now”
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO – Manuel Campa was very particular. His town’s name is often shortened to merely “San Luis”, but standing in the dry bed of the Colorado River this morning, the full name mattered very much. “It’s the only city that has the name ‘Rio Colorado,’” he said. The sandy riverbed beneath the …
Presa Morelos: when in doubt, make a bird list
LOS ALGODONES, B.C. – I made it to Yuma with time to spare this afternoon, so I dumped my bags at the motel and drove around to the Andrade border crossing and through the little town of Algodones (best dentists in North America!) to Morelos Dam. I couldn’t find the angle to get the picture I wanted, …
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The Hite Marina
There used to be a marina at Hite, Utah, on the upper end of Lake Powell. The Park Service abandoned it in the early 2000s, when the reservoir dropped out from underneath it. They also fixed the sign.
Crossing the divide
HOLBROOK, AZ – Driving on Interstate 40 in western New Mexico, the continental divide feels like a geographic afterthought. When I was a boy, I remember the Continental Divide as high mountain passes in the Rockies, deserving of capitalization, a thing of great import. I was mesmerized by the concept. If I stood here and …
In Memoriam: Fred Phelps
For many years, the most-read post on Inkstain was this, from April 23, 2005: When Fred Phelps’ motley entourage came to Albuquerque, Nora and her friends made wings – big-ass wings. The Phelpsites set up on one corner at the entrance to the University of New Mexico, and the counter-protesters set up on the other. …
The fate of the Colorado River delta: shared blame
When I first became interested in the Colorado River delta a few years back, I wrote a piece for the newspaper explaining why I’m partly to blame for its fate: I know the collapse of the Colorado River delta ecosystem is not entirely my fault. But I couldn’t help but feel a little personally responsible …
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Ives in the Colorado River Delta
In 1857-58 1st Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives (ah, such a great name) conducted one of the first U.S. expeditions to map the Colorado River Delta, and figure out how to make use of it. Ives felt especially obligated to carefully document his journey “it being doubtful whether any party will ever again pursue the same …
Why I love y’all so much
This, from Tyler Cowen, explains why I love writing here so much: It is hard to write for uninspired readers. Y’all chose to stop by. That makes the task of writing for you so much easier and more enjoyable. So thanks.
f/8 and sit on your front porch. Eventually a cat will walk by.
As part of my new “slow journalism” movement, I’m adopting a more casual style of photography than the hyper-aware Weegee “f/8 and be there” approach.