Robert (GeoBob) Ford's BLOG

Snow on Red Rocks--Beautiful!

2012-01-24T16:06:00.003-07:00

The last few days brought a little rain and snow--the first in about two months. We really needed it, and it brought back a beautiful sight--Snow on Red Rocks! And there is NONE to CLEAR around the house or the driveway--the way I like it!!

See below some of the photos around our Rockville property and construction site--see also the updated photos on our house construction project. We finish and start moving in this coming weekend! Hurrah!!

Fog encircles the base of Smithsonian Butte as seen from the Virgin River along Route 9...

The Temple of Kinesava seen from our back window... I never get tired of seeing changing weather around the mountain and leaves/vegetation change along the Virgin River...

Our place with front door now stained but still some landscaping to do...little-by-little!

The Trees Ranch at entrance to Zion National Park about two miles from our House...

Snow on the Watchman and Bridge Mountain seen from entrance to Springdale/Zion Canyon

Springdale town sign--entrance to Zion National park

Kolob Terrace after snow at entrance to Sunset Canyon Ranch

Welcome!

The House is ALMOST Done!

2012-01-15T19:25:00.002-07:00

Well, it's been a little over six months since we "broke ground" on our building project near Zion National Park in Rockville Utah. July 2, 2011 was the "official start date" though real digging of foundations etc...started after mid-July (see this post for views of major stages in the building from August to October 2011).

The "indoor" finishing work which we've been doing since late November seems to go slower (and less visible) but when we think back it has been very fast indeed overall. Thanks to an excellent contractor, efficient and competent workers and GREAT BUILDING WEATHER. It has been an above-normal warm and dry Fall/Winter which has been a great blessing for building (but we also need the rain for the fields)!

If all goes well we start moving things in during the next ten days--below are some photos of highlights on the indoor work... We'll add more photos over the next few days as final touches are achieved! The next BIG date is MOVE-IN DAY! I can hardly wait!

The cabinet-makers move in with cabinets...see also below

Putting up light fixtures and mirrors...

Guest bathroom...

Powder room near entry...

Bringing in the kitchen appliances...to install...

Checking wiring for appliances...

The cooktop is in...

Kitchen area with appliances almost in...

A day with a LOTS of deliveries and workers...

Finished master-bath vanity and sinks, medicine cabinets etc...

The walk-in closet is complete with clothes rods...

Kitchen cabinets before installation in the Great Room...

Cabinets and counters--BEFORE the countertops are installed!

Unloading the granite countertops...

Installing granite countertops in the kitchen...

The Yellow Juparana granite we chose...

Cabinets and counters--AFTER countertops are installed...

One of the neat devices installed for storing goods "in corners" in the kitchen!

Water Reservoir & Pressure tank going in...

Water Purification, Reverse-Osmosis, Filtering and Softening Equipment in...

On-demand Water Heater System and Pump going in...

Bookshelf and decorative alcove from the entrance into the great room...

Tile-work completed...

Shower fixtures...

Masterbath Shower Door in...

Shower door in guestroom in...

Bryan and Celeste see our house for the first time at Christmas...

The front walkway is in---built from native local sandstone!

Front Entrance Paint Trim started and Glass installed...door painting next.

Front Door Glass Installed...

Closeup Front Door Glass...

Side Window Glass in Front Entrance...

The garage-door goes up!

Electrical work nearly done as well--indoors and outdoors!

The fan in the great room...

Fan and lights in the sun room...

Entryway decorative light fixture...

Choosing carpets...see also the window seats...

The fireplace is lit and working...

The Great Room...

We can see the end of the long but exciting ordeal--and realistically it has gone better than expected.

Our best, Karen and Bob!

Holiday with Family--what fun!

2012-01-01T13:18:00.002-07:00

Bryan and Anya (with granddaughter Celeste) from New Haven CT (Yale) and Colby (who is a senior at UCR-Riverside) joined us for a week before Chistmas near Las Vegas NV at a time-share. We also had a visit from Karen's sister and husband (Kathy and David Gochnour) as they went through to San Diego CA.

Then we spent five sunny, beautiful days (and cool nights) after Christmas around Springdale Utah near Zion National Park. It was wonderful! They also got to see our house which is near completion and helped us make choices on "countertops" etc.... We move in sometime over the next 2-3 weeks if all stays on schedule. Bryan and Anya then stopped-off in NYC for New Year's festivities and to visit the Zoo...etc...on their way home to New Haven.

I hope all our friends and family spent a lovely Holiday time together with those you love... Below are some select photos back to Halloween in the case of Celeste, Bryan and Anya--and the rest are around Zion and Vegas--there will be many more later! Enjoy!

Celeste at Halloween Party in Oct 2011

Anya, Celeste and Bryan at Yale Halloween Party

Karen & Bob at the Cosmopolitan Hotel--Las Vegas

Christmas Exhibit--the Bellagio, Las Vegas

Kathy and Dave Gochnour (Karen's sister & brother-in-law) at the Cosmopolitan Hotel--Las Vegas

Celeste on antique fire engine Ancestor Square/Painted Pony Restaurant St George Utah

Karen & Celeste at Zion Park Lodge--Red Rock Grill

Bryan and Celeste at Rockefeller Center/NYC New Year's Eve

Bryan and Celeste at Excalibur Hotel, Las Vegas on their way home to NYC

Karen with Bryan and Celeste at Checkerboard Mesa overlook--Zion NP

Bryan and Bob Ford at Temple of Siniwava--Zion NP (Christmas 2011)

Celeste at Temple of Siniwava--Zion NP (Christmas 2011)

The Ford family at the Temple of Siniwava--Zion NP (Christmas 2011)

Happy New Year to All!

Winter's arrived and we're Finishing our New House in Rockville Utah

2011-12-06T13:21:00.001-07:00

Since our last post Fall has come and gone around Zion National Park (see HERE) and we've made a lot of progress on our house! By next week the indoor tile work will be done, floors in and painting and last cabinet work will start to be installed. Over the last few days we had our first hard freeze and the leaves are off the trees--now really looks like winter, though still SUNNY DAYTIME temperatures are comfortable! This week a neighbor who is awesome with rock-work is laying some beautiful local sandstone for the walkway to our front porch and back veranda. Below are some seasonal photos around Rockville Utah as well indoor/outdoor photos of progress on the house. We move in during early January after the Holidays!

(From left to right) Bob, Bryan, Celeste, Karen, Anya and Colby at the time of Karen's Mom's Memorial in Lincoln Nebraska

The Storz, Schanders and Ford's together last February at the time of Karen's Mom's Memorial in Lincoln Nebraska

From the Ford Family--Bob, Karen, Colby, Bryan, Anya and Celeste! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Beautiful Fall Day in Zion

2011-11-21T09:39:00.001-07:00

A couple days ago my sister--Patricia Rose Ford the pastel artist--and Verna Ames my cousin from Portland Oregon and I spent the day in Zion National Park. Here are some of the photo hightlights! Pat also got in some painting while Verna and I took Abbie (the Labradoodle) along the Virgin River on the Narrows/Riverside Walk. You must do it yourself sometime!

Waterfall at Temple of Sinevava

Along the Rkiverside Walk

Zion Lodge view

Rocks near Temple of Sinevava

Patricia Rose Ford painting along the Virgin River

Fall splendor in Zion

The Riverside Walk in Zion

The Beehives and West Temple from near the Zion Nature Center

Abbie enjoying the sights in the Auto's sunroof

Picnic in Zion near the Amphitheatre and nature Center

The Zion Visitor Center below the Watchman

Trees Ranch near the entrance to Zion Canyon with the Eagle Crags in the background

Rockville Townhall & Community Center

Eagle Crags on the skyline and Rock & River Ranch in the Foreground in Rockville Utah

The view from our back porch on Grafton Road toward Mt Kinesawa

Looking east from our back porch toward the Eagle Crags Plateau

The Wave, Coyote Buttes, Arizona & Utah USA

2011-11-20T19:09:00.001-07:00

Visit to Coyote Buttes (The Wave)--one of the GREATEST hikes and BEAUTIFUL views of geology in the world; led by Gerry Bryant (geologist at Dixie State College) St George Utah and my sister Patricia Rose Ford (the pastel artist) and Verna Ames--cousin (Portland Oregon)! Enjoy!

Hiking up Buckskin Gulch to the trailhead to Coyote Buttes and THE WAVE!

Gerry Bryant teaching us some geology--sedimentary deformation in ancient sand dunes

Looking east toward Paria Canyon and the Hoodoos...

Patricia and Abby (Labradoodle) entering draw behind Twin Buttes

A Hoodoo with "capstone" rock

Twin Buttes--one of landmarks along trail to Coyote Buttes (The Wave)

Dinosaur tracks (see also below)

The Wave--see also below

(Left to right) Gerry Bryant, Robert Ford, Patricia Rose Ford, and Verna Ames

November 2011 in Southern Utah

2011-11-05T08:54:00.001-06:00

Trees are turning color in the pastures along the Virgin River near Grafton Ghost Town and it's been a wonderful time to hike and explore picturesque canyons near St George and Zion National Park Utah. And, our house in Rockville is making more progress--now we're doing the lath and stucco work outside and preparing to start painting inside.

Recently we had a wonderful visit by friends from Salt Lake City (Diane Opp and Brenda and Lee Bates) and later by my sister Patricia Rose Ford (the pastel artist) and Verna Ames--cousin (Portland Oregon). Below are some photos from visits with them to Red Cliffs NCA (St George BLM Office) and Grafton Ghost Town near our home in Rockville. We also visited Coyote Buttes (The Wave)--one of the GREATEST hikes and BEAUTIFUL views of geology in the world--the next post will show pictures from the Wave!! Enjoy!

Grafton Ghost Town - Community Center

Sunflare through Cottonwood Trees

View across meadows/pastures to the Eagle Crags (early Fall)

Veranda of the Russel House view toward Community Center

Veranda of the Russel House view toward Mt Kinesava

Veranda of the Russel House view toward Grafton Mesa

Grafton Cemetery & Mt Kinesava

Grafton Cemetery - note "killed by Indians"

Grafton Cemetery & Mt Kinesava

Fall colors in Grafton

Fall colors from our Back porch toward the Virgin River & Mt Kinesawa

Fall colors looking east across our fence toward the Eagle Crags

Ford's house under Construction on Grafton Road - stucco work in early November

Ford's house under Construction on Grafton Road - final texture work being done

Ford's house under Construction on Grafton Road - external work done interior work now

Ford House near Thanksgiving (November 22)

Hike to Red Cliffs National Conservation Area near St George Utah - see views below

Enjoy - Bob (Geobob) Ford

Early Fall Events in Southern Utah

2011-10-16T12:23:00.002-06:00

Our house construction in Rockville is progressing rapidly--now insulation and all "rough-in" work is done and sheet-rocking begins tomorrow! We've also taken some time off to enjoy some of the early fall events around St George such as the famous Marathon, World Senior Games, and this year--the 150th anniversary of the founding of St George as a "cotton mission" by the early Mormon pioneers. The fall colors are turning in the hills and soon will be seen along the Virgin River as well. Next week we receive friends from Salt Lake City to camp and hike and enjoy other events of the season, including some great art shows and jazz concerts! Below are some photos from this months events...enjoy!

Celeste (our granddaughter) in summer dress while visiting her maternal grandparents in St Petersburg Russia - the statues are at the famous Peterhof (Summer Gardens) of Peter the Great

The 2011 St George Marathon

Our house is progressing with insulation, windows, etc...

The St George Wagon Train--150th anniversary (1862-2012)

Mules getting some well-deserved chow

An old Scotsman using his spinning wheel

Remembering the Handcarts of early Mormon pioneers

The wagon train gets to the end of the line

Cowgirls at the Wagon Train event

Spinning cotton

Making lead bullets (balls) the old fashion way

Some historic firearms from the mid-1800s

A beautiful horse!

Remembering the Dixie Cotton Mission in St George

Site of the 2011 World Senior Games

A small boy and his horse

Getting some deserved rest!

ENJOY AND DO COME BACK LATER!

A Beautiful First Day of Fall on the Ford Ranch in Rockville Utah

2011-09-22T12:14:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was such a glorious first day of fall (and end of summer)....! We also enjoyed meeting some horses who just became our neighbors in the adjacent field. The last cutting of hay will occur today as well. Such a beautiful time of the year!! See some photo memories below....

Our house construction project is also progressing well--we're now transitioning to "finishing" such as roof, plumbing, electrical insulation, heating & cooling etc. Karen and I were out making some of the decisions needed today, such as, planning for cabinets in the kitchen, doors, windows, stucco, colors, etc. We wish you all a wonderful Fall!

The Walls are Rising on our New Home!

2011-08-22T20:02:00.003-06:00

Well, since our last post (August 2) the walls are going up (just today) so our new home is getting very real! Here are a few more photos for those following our work. We've now added photos that go through September 15 to show further progress--two months to-the-day since we started work.... Enjoy!

Filling in the space for the garage looking back south toward Grafton Road and the entry gate

Preparing to raise the first walls

First walls going up

First walls going up!

Picture-perfect view which we'll see from our kitchen/Great room

Looking south from Grafton Road to the house site with Mt Kinesawa in the background
and the many cottonwood trees along the Virgin River which goes through our property

Virgin River Valley south rim near Smithsonian Butte (view from north)

The Virgin River/Smithsonian Butte Bench south of our house

View from in our "hay fields" north of the house looking back south

Mt Kinesawa in Zion NP and walls going up on our new home

Walls going up (view from south to north)

Workers putting up trusses

View toward north from what will be the main living area

View from the Northwest in our fields to the southwest

The front entrance and the sunroom (south exposure)

View from the southwest to garage

Mt Kinesawa (in Zion NP) in background & house from Grafton Road

The view from what will be the back porch!

The house framing and roof nearly done

Grafton Road toward Bridge Mtn and The Watchman over our property (Zion)

View north from Grafton road and our gate

Roof almost done & Mt Kinesawa (Zion NP)

Roof almost done

Looking at the north side of the house from our hay fields back toward the Smithsonian Butte plateau

Our builder's sign looking north across our fields toward the Virgin River & Mt Kinesawa

The house is now all framed--roofing goes on starting September 19

Our house--all framed--from Grafton road along south fence looking toward Zion NP

View down the east fence line to our peach trees

The view we'll have from our back porch to Mt Kinesawa in Zion

Clouds after a storm near sunset over Bridge Mtn and TheWatchman (Zion NP)

ENJOY!

Laying the Foundation of our New Home

2011-08-02T11:46:00.000-06:00

Over the last three weeks considerable progress has been made on the construction, i.e. breaking ground, bringing in heavy equipment, excavation and re-fill with compaction for foundations, laying-out forms for footings, and preparing to pour cement for footings and stem-wall. The photos below show various stages of work over the last three weeks (July 7-August 2). It has been exciting to be started!

Come back and visit!

Bob & Karen Ford

Breaking Ground on our New Home Near Rockville

2011-07-14T19:31:00.001-06:00

As mentioned in my last post we've finally started building! In the week after the 4th of July we also did some farm work as well i.e. cutting our first crop of grass and baling and staking all 315 bales! Needless to say I slept well the last few days. It was hard work and since it is now full summer and HOT we get up early to work while it is cooler! But the views of changing shadows and colors on Mt. Kinesawa is always breath-taking and makes even stacking hay bales a pleasure! I've found that working on the ranch is very satisfying and makes me really feel like a rancher and farmer...something I always wanted to do!

And, this week we actually laid out the house site, scrapped-off the grass from the construction area and started excavation to lay the foundations; earlier in the week we completed the gate as well.... It has taken us more than 15 years to get to this point and it is VERY SATIFYING! See some photos of our first construction days below.

Do come back frequently to see our progress--and come visit and help with some good physical work--if you want--it's good for the body and soul!

My best, from Rockville, Utah on July 14, 2011

Finally--we're Building our House near Zion!

2011-07-02T11:08:00.006-06:00

Most of May 2011 we spent with our kids Bryan and Anya (and granddaughter Celeste) "Back in New Haven Connecticut (Yale)" baby-sitting and enjoying spring all over again! I also entered a photo exhibition held by the Greater New Haven Arts Council and their Photo Arts Collective. My entry was a favorite B&W photo from near Mesa Verde and Cortez Colorado that really evokes for me the grandeur of the "Four Corners" landscape". It was taken last summer during my "Grand USA Roadtrip" (see previous posts on my BLOG).

Now we're back in southern Utah where we've finalized a loan, acquired a building permit, and prepared our property in Rockville Utah for construction. The site is on Grafton Road along the Virgin River overlooking sites from famous films sets such as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as well as "The Electric Horseman".

We first acquired the property in 1996 and it has taken until now to get ready to build (see maps and earlier photos of our property HERE). Over the years we've been enthralled by the location (see photo below sent to us by a neighbor while we were still in Africa). You can learn more about the Grafton Heritage Partnership which is protecting and restoring this beautiful site--now a ghost town--but very dear to the local pioneers (more HERE).

Over the next few months we will post photos showing progress of construction. The house will include many energy-efficient and other "sustainability" features...and of course take advantage of the great view out the back of our house to awesome features such as the Temple of Kinesava and The Watchman in Zion National Park.

Below are a few photos taken around July 1, 2011 just after we got approval to "break ground". We have been working on fences, gates and other infrastructure for several months (including repairing the irrigation system) and preparing to make a nice "camp spot" down by the Virgin River where we will have an RV parking spot or tenting for our friends and relatives who want to come visit and enjoy the rushing water, quiet cool breezes and great views--and easy access to wonderful parks in the "Four Corners" region of USA.

Come back frequently and see our progress and do visit sometime! Our summer will be very busy on the construction--adding some "sweat equity"...and getting away when we can to where it is cooler in nearby high country such as Cedar Breaks National Monument or Bryan Head!Happy summer and have a Great 4th of July--wherever you are!

Back in New Haven (Yale) with Bryan, Anya and Celeste

2011-05-11T19:37:00.000-06:00

After enjoying a wonderfully mild winter in St George southern Utah (no snow clearing!!)--see previous BLOG post--we've returned to New Haven Connecticut at Yale University for about six weeks to be with our kids (Anya and Bryan) and our cute granddaughter (Celeste) who just recently turned two in April--see photos below. We also have had a great recent visit in early Spring (in St George) by our younger son--Colby--from Riverside California where he is finishing a degree in geology at the University of California, Riverside.

We will return to Utah in early June where hopefully all preparations will be "a go" for starting on our house construction on "my place" near Rockville Utah (see previous BLOG post). It has been a wonderful time to be here--experiencing spring for a second time after basking in it first in southern Utah around Zion National Park.

While here in Hew Haven I've spent a lot of time gallery-hopping and as result am preparing to enter a photo exhibition hosted by the Kehler Liddell Gallery which is part of the very active Photo Arts Collective found here (a program sponsored by the Greater New Haven Arts Council) which makes New Haven a truly exciting "cultural hotspot" here in New England. Some of the photos I've prepared for showing are in my online SLIDESHOW--on my website which I have also updated while here in New Haven.

In the next two weeks we will visit the Maine coast and the Green Mountains of Vermont before returning to Utah. I expect to be returning to my sustainability consulting with a trip back to Africa in early summer and later to Latin America. I'm keeping quite busy and happily engaged while waiting for the long process to start building really begins (see previous BLOG post).

By the way, taking time-off this last year has been great for my psyche and physical health, and it has allowed Karen and I to reconnect with family and with ourselves after the trauma of selling our house in California last year, after Karen went thru the heartache if her mother's death in February, and living through a forced period of separation while I worked in DRC/Congo for five months (Jan-June 2010). And, we've done a LOT of downsizing as well over the last winter that has given us more mobility and great satisfaction. I found some things I haven't seen for years--and got rid of tons of stuff I no longer want to see. I highly recommend it!

But, getting back into photography has been just what I needed for this time in my life, though I've found a LOT that I needed to learn if I'm truly going to make a go of it as a business. Right now it is still fun though it is a lot of work--but work I truly enjoy! Any suggestions are much appreciated. There is also a chance I will start some part time teaching in the fall at Dixie State College and Southern Utah University. All part of being "semi-retired"--wish me luck!!

Have a wonderful Summer!

From Bob and Karen Ford, and

Celeste, Anya and Bryan Ford!!

New Haven, Connecticut

Where We've been this Winter and Early Spring!

2011-04-05T13:54:00.002-06:00

Many of you may have wondered where I've gone since my last post (December 30, 2010). For now here is a quick update on what we've been up to. It has really been fun taking photography classes at Dixie State College with a great fine art and scenic photo artist (Bob Kulon). He has a an excellent PHOTO BLOG that is very informative and useful--I strongly recommend it to everyone! I've really learned a lot and loved getting back behind the lens of a camera in a serious way!

Here is a SLIDESHOW showing some of what I've been working on besides cataloging thousands of my photos with Adobe Lightroom (a great software tool) from 35 years of professional geographical work--I'm also finally learning how to use CS5 (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and other wonderful Adobe tools)! And of course, we're continuing to downsize, sort, sell, and give-away goods to prepare for living in a smaller place. And, like many other Boomers, we're testing semi-retirement status and learning the ropes of being a "grandad" (among many other pursuits) before I likely go back to work at least part time, i.e. consulting, teaching, and "ranching"!

We've also been preparing to build on our lovely property near Zion National Park in Rockville Utah--my "little ranch to be"--which hasmeant clearing a lot of weeds, building fences, and doing all the final preparations of architectural plans and finalizing construction loans--hope we can be ready to build JUNE 1, 2011--wish us luck! It has been hectic but satisfying to spend time outdoors doing something very different from my recent work abroad (see previous BLOG posts last year such as these)...

In between visits by friends such as Dave and Bronwen Larson from Loma Linda--and our younger son (Colby) who is taking geology at the University of California, Riverside--we've been out walking, attending lectures, gallery-hopping, and enjoying the late winter and early spring around southern Utah. See more photos in this PDF slideshow.

This is such a beautiful place. Do come visit us sometime!!

Bob (GeoBob) & Karen Ford, St George Utah

New Year's Greetings from the Fords Currently in Southern Utah

2010-12-30T21:16:00.006-07:00

The Fords--Karen, Bob, Colby and Bryan with his family including our lovely daughter-in-law Anya and our adorable granddaughter Celeste--wish all of you our friends and family a great and prosperous New Year from our current home in southern Utah where we are "house-sitting" for a few weeks in St. George while doing preparatory work to building a small place in Rockville. It has been wonderful over the last six months since my return from Rwanda and DRC/Congo in Africa to get back in touch with family and to rediscover the beauty of our great country (see other posts from my "grand road trip" last summer and into the fall).

Even though I love the tropics and have spent much of my life living and working there, I have particularly reveled in seeing the "change of seasons"--see some of my favorite shots below illustrating those changes as seen around my little "ranch-to-be" in Rockville Utah which overlooks gems such as Zion National Park and the Smithsonian Butte and Virgin River.

Our entire family was also blessed over the last two weeks, to have a wonderful 10-day Christmas vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur while much of the country was either coping with major floods or shoveling out of one of the worst snow storms in years (much of this is linked, by the way, to "climate change"--something I will discuss more in later posts.

Below are a few pictures from our "reveling in the sun"--what we call our VERY CABO CHRISTMAS (see more on our Facebook album page). In Cabo San Lucas we thrilled at whale watching, enjoyed colorful sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, swam and snorkeled on beautiful beaches and around beautiful rocky shores with family, and even met Santa Claus at our hotel (can't blame him for stopping there...???)! On our flights back on December 26 Karen, Colby and I were brought back to reality with airplane delays getting to our nearest big airport--Las Vegas, while Bryan, Anya and Celeste got stranded an extra day in Dallas/Ft Worth before they could fly back to Hartford Connecticut then by land through the snow to Yale University in New Haven. Luckily they were able to spend a nice "extra vacation day" at the Science Museum of Dallas (instead of sleeping in some airport) which Celeste thoroughly enjoyed! All our now home for the New Year.

Over the next month or two Karen and I continue "streamlining and downsizing our lives" (sorting / selling / giving away the extra goods from 41 years of marriage and preparing for semi-retirement) so we can settle into a smaller place--hopefully on our property in Rockville and also be ready for continued small project work possibly back in Washington DC and/or overseas in Africa or Latin America. Colby went back to UC Riverside where he is in his last two years studying geology.

I'm also continuing work on developing my "second career" as a geoscience and travel photographer (see my website) - http://geobobford.com/. One of my tasks is cataloging (adding metadata) to the over 4-6,000 photos I've taken during the past three years from my "grand road trip" but also some from stints of work and travel in Abu Dhabi, Rwanda, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Mexico and Canada. Then I need to go through thousands of earlier photos taken around the world in my research work in Africa, Asia, and Mesoamerica--it is hard but also satisfying work to reminisce and rediscover what one has done in life so far...and to think through how to use the rest of life!

So, my best to all of you in the New Year and I wish for better times for all of you as we work ourselves as a country out of the deep hole which has been The Great Recession of 2008-2010. I am glad that all sides politically seem to be moving on to a more positive collaborative posture since the elections; I hope the recent productiveness of Congress and our politicians holds out until we get into the next "political season". The immediate past election period was more nasty and discouraging than I would hope for; as a newly returned expatriate it was hard to take, but I have resolved to move ahead and try to do my best to "make good things happen" for the benefit of the whole country and our Planet which is still in peril--and those less fortunate around the world! We have much to be thankful for and SO much to do!

Robert (Geobob) Ford

Rockville, Utah

December 30, 2010

Back in Southern Utah for the Winter

2010-11-19T15:49:00.001-07:00

We're back in southern Utah for the fall and winter--house-sitting in St George (thanks to friends and family) and we attended a beautiful outdoor wedding in Snow Canyon State Park--see photo at left of Elyse and Brent. We've known Elyse since we first came back from Africa to Utah State University in 1987. She's all grown-up now into a beautiful woman--makes me feel old but happy for her and her wonderful family! Her parents are close friends (and family) and both are teachers at Dixie State College in St George--she in the Business School and he in the Geosciences. What more beautiful place to study geology than the "four corners" region of the US--same reason why I'm here!!

Next, we're beginning a huge task--what so many other retirees have had to do--sort through and deal with the accumulated goods of a lifetime (what we've not already sold or given away). And we've taken a trip back to southern California and will do so again around Thanksgiving to see our younger boy Colby who is finishing a degree in Earth Science at UC Riverside; we'll also pick up more "stored household goods" left when we sold our house last June in Redlands California (see first blog)....

This is all part of radical downsizing that we and many others are going through both due to retirement and the consequences of the Great Recession! It has been difficult but also satisfying to focus more on what is really important and less on accumulating goods or "climbing the workplace ladder"! And of course, I will continue to work on our property near Zion National Park building fences, preparing for building (hopefully soon), and enjoying some outdoor labor and Fall colors and beauty--see a few photos below!

And during this winter I will start seriously to organize my photos from a lifetime of professional geographical research, teaching and field work, as well as years of amateur photo work (including the 3000+ photos taken during this last summer's "great road trip").

All is part of a serious attempt to make photography a "second career" and business (see MyPhoto Homepage); I will be emphasizing "geotourism", geoscience and travel photography in support of major conservation and geoscientific projects I believe in...

What is and will be my philosophy and approach to photography? See page linked above and see the explanations of both commercial and free ussage access methods via my FLICKR site. Here are links to some of the photo collections and sets available--though you will need to SIGN-UP as a "friend" on FLICKR to have access. This is to protect my photos from inappropriate or malicious use on the Internet--I hope you will understand.

If you desire free-use of some of my photos (for specific educational, research or non-profit work where finances are an impediment) please contact me directly by email (geobobford@gmail.com) > More Contact Info HERE.

Over the winter we will also take trips to Baja California and maybe down into central Mexico (Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Oaxaca and other places). Look for blog posts from those adventures as well.

There is also a chance we return to work on some major climate change and conservation related activities in Latin America, Africa and Asia--we'll keep you posted on that possibility. Meanwhile we're organizing ourselves here--to be our "home base"--from which we can take on other projects.

Next Spring we'll go back for a while with our kids and granddaughter Celeste in New haven Connecticut. Do keep in touch and if you pass through "Red Rock Country" stop by and say "Howdy"!!

Bob (Geobob) Ford, St George and Rockville, Utah

Leaving our "Little Cutie" in New Haven - how sad!

2010-10-30T19:01:00.005-06:00

Well, just a quick update. We left a few days ago from New Haven Connecticut and are once again "on the road" back to St George Utah where we will spend part of winter getting things organized for "whatever comes next" including finishing some work on our "ranch"...fences, clearing, planning etc.

It was really sad to leave our kids in New Haven and particularly our little grand daughter Celeste though we are keeping up daily contact with SKYPE--what would we do without it! We will see them again around Christmas--thankfully--then again in the Spring.

On our way back west we did stop off and spend half a day at the Amana colonies in east-central Iowa. It was a beautiful fall day and we got lots of great pictures (more of those later after we finish our travels this winter)... And during our last two weeks in the East we took a lot more pictures of the Fall colors--we will share those later as well.

So this ends--for now--my "grand road trip" that started back in June 2010 in Redlands California (see my first real blog post of June 4, 2010). We've crisscrossed the continent several times and taken thousands of pictures (see FLICKR collections and sets). Now to spend some time organizing the photos and thinking about "what we saw and experienced" and then for some more serious blogging about what it has all meant for me and our future... It has been a major event in my life!

One very interesting hand-crafted pillow and statement really caught my eye in the Amana Colonies villages at their famous Woolen Mill--see photo above. That's how I feel right now and it's a great feeling--there is something to be said for retirement!

My best, Bob (Geobob) Ford - Lincoln Nebraska

New Haven Green and other New England Fall Spendours

2010-10-22T15:55:00.006-06:00

These past few weeks since Labor Day here in New Haven Connecticut have been wonderful--not only for the precious time spent with family, i.e. visiting Celeste our first grandchild and her parents at Yale (see yesterday's blog) but equally rewarding was my first time seeing New England in all its Fall glory!

We made 2-3 forays to see the top-rated villages "Yankee Magazine" recommended--it was a superb choice! And then we explored around those areas and found much more on our own as well--simply wandering and seeing what is around the next corner is SO great!.

The top-rated spots we started our exploration from included Kent Village in western Connecticut, Manchester Village and Bennington Vermont in the Green Mountains, and Williamstown and other sights along the Mohawk Trail in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Our favorite place was Shelburne Falls--a lovely little artist community near the Vermont border north of Springfield Massachusetts. Experiencing these places in the Fall almost makes me willing to try winter as well! Everyday has brought new vistas and experiences large and small that I will always treasure--even rainy days had their own beauty! I have many photos for you to peruse and share in a FLICKR Album entitled 'New England in the Fall" and your suggestions on improving my photography would be greatly appreciated!.

Please enjoy your own virtual tour of some of the beautiful places I sampled including many art galleries, museums, historic battlefields, small quaint shops, wonderful farms decked out for Halloween, meandering rivers, the amazing churches, and serene graveyards we visited... Graveyards must be at their most picturesque here in New England--see particularly the "Sacred Acre" graveyard in Bennington where Robert Frost the great poet is buried with his wife and other famous Vermonters.

I will have a lot to remember and think about over the coming winter! More later and my best--we go back West next week but New England will be on our minds in more ways than you can imagine!

Grandad and Celeste learn to use the Nikon Camera

2010-10-21T12:52:00.003-06:00

Intermittently, since my return from DRC/Congo Africa about four months ago (see BLOG post--My Personal Retrospective on my Summer...), Karen and I have had a glorious time getting to know our first grandchild--Celeste in between other summer and fall travels around the US, and while we think through "what comes next with our lives" in semi-retirement--or more work??--we'll see. Celeste lives with her Mom & Dad (Bryan and Anya) who are both busy new young professors at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. We're so proud of them!

Celeste's "digs" are in a spacious new condo/loft near the famous New Haven Green in what was previously an abandoned industrial building (you can read more about living in New Haven at my blog entitled - My Urban Reality Show Experience..."). With Celeste and her parents we've gotten to explore all kinds of new places, people, and events going on "under our noses" from the colorful "falling leaves" of Autumn on the Green, to attending public jazz concerts at Yale, or going to the Public Library or sampling the many restaurants, bookstores, and other urban services that make downtown New Haven such a true "cultural delight".

And over the last couple weeks we've explored some very cute New England villages and rural areas that are SO beautiful in the Fall. We'll share more on the blog soon about our recent "leaf peeping" adventures in Connecticut and Vermont! It is definitely a must do sometime for everyone--but getting to know Celeste was the greatest!!

See more of Celeste and her extended family at our FLICKR Family Album. We will be adding more to the blog soon as we get back to more mundane "winter work". In a few days we travel to Utah but we'll be back often to see our "little cutie" and at Christmas we'll get together in Baja California, Mexico--what fun!

Grafton Ghost Town TRIP WOW Slide Show

2010-10-14T13:40:00.000-06:00

Grafton - Ghost Town Slideshow: Different View’s trip from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States to Grafton (near Rockville), Utah was created by TripAdvisor. See another Rockville slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

A personal retrospective on my summer’s grand road trip

2010-09-27T13:13:00.002-06:00

In late May 2010 I returned from an extended stint of professional conservation and development work in Africa and the Middle East (see descriptions of my work in Rwanda, DRC/Congo and Abu Dhabi). This time I decided to start a blog to document my re-adjustment to life in America, and I took a grand “road trip” across America. On the trip I also dove into a longtime passion I had let go for too many years--outdoor photography (see links to photo sets and collections on FLICKR). It was my hope that a period of personal reflection and photographic exploration would facilitate thinking through “what should/could be next” for me in retirement (or semi-retirement) as a Boomer and also now “empty-nester” or maybe I would decide to go back to work for a while--that was also an option. Unlike most academics I had never had an official sabbatical and my last true vacation had been years ago!

The first task upon my return from Africa was to weather the trauma of selling our house in California after the real estate crash which accompanied The Great Recession. We decided we needed to be mobile again so we could explore whatever options might arise (see June 4 blog). In hindsight (as a social analyst and not as a homeowner) it seems clear that one of the most serious results of this recession has been the severe dampening of people’s ability to sell their homes when necessary so they can migrate easily, which has traditionally been a safety valve for Americans needing to cope with tough times (maybe we do need to be a nation of “renters rather than homeowners” as suggested by Richard Florida in The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post Crash Prosperity.

Regardless, we are so thankful we were finally able to sell and now will only rent for a while until our next phase of life is clearer. The ordeal was particularly hard on my wife Karen who had to struggle for almost nine months trying to sell our place while I continued working alone in DRC/Congo “saving gorillas” with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International--and trying to keep ourselves afloat economically. So now, as we hit the road--being mortgage-free-- truly feels like the new beginning of life we needed--at least the beginning of “retirement” or more work or both?? We’ll see what happens!

Also in hindsight, what has bothered me most since returning from Africa is trying to understand the source and rationale for the vitriol, lack of civility, and negativity that now seems to pass for political discourse on the radio and TV (June 16 blog)--it has been very distressing! I note that lately even some TV pundits are now stating “it has gone too far”--I hope they take their own advice! As one who has worked in many truly chaotic, poverty-ridden, environmentally degraded, violent, politically unstable, and insecure places such as Haiti, Congo, Rwanda, Honduras-- to hear the rancor among us Americans right now strikes me as being rather “small-minded” given the realities compared to what the rest of the world experiences all the time.

Many of my compatriots would benefit by traveling to see how “the rest of the world lives” and maybe they’d realize how great we have it! In an earlier blog I quoted Mark Twain who so cogently stated something which has become the motto of my trip:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many

of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Mark Twin.

My road trip was not meant explicitly to repeat Steinbeck’s trek recounted in his wonderful book Travels with Charley. But as I look back on it (and reread his book) it is uncanny how my experience is hauntingly similar to his, particularly as I’ve explored small town America, some of its urban gems, e.g. New Haven CT--and most of all, as I’ve explored the LAND--the beautiful places in national parks, preserves, and other landscape gems!

I could never hope to emulate Steinbeck’s writing, but for whatever it’s worth you can read about my road trip in my blogs of June 4, June 16, June 25, June 28, July 13 and August 19 (maybe you’ll see an evolution in my thinking over the summer that I can’t see--please tell me what you think I went through). Like Steinbeck I tried to focus my camera and guide my exploration on places and themes that might enlighten me (and others) on how The Great Recession is affecting real people in the real America as I “reconnected with America”.

Curiously, it was just yesterday that I learned online that a famous photographer--Randy Wells--had recently redone Steinbeck’s grand tour for the 50-year anniversary of Travels with Charley (see article in Outdoor Photographer). Some of his photos will soon become part of a special exhibition at the Steinbeck Center entitled: Steinbeck’s America: Rediscovering Travels with Charley and there will soon be a great coffee-table book to purchase as well… I strongly recommend the book and exhibit!

How do I personally feel now--four months since starting my road trip?

I can categorically state it was the best investment of time, resources, and psychic engagement I've ever spent! For me it was a return to saneness, balance, and a sense of joy about life and a renewed love of this great country. Most of all, I’ve regained an appreciation of what we need to do to preserve what’s great about our gloriously beautiful land and diverse and wonderful people--even thought when we’re at our worst we can be “a pain”--but that is also us! Doing such a road trip and rediscovering the America Steinbeck saw has given me confidence to tackle the next phase of my own life. Thanks Steinbeck for showing me (and hopefully) others the way forward. I hope the pundits are also reading you again! I still have a lot of pictures to process and publish--many memories and impressions to think about--and then more blogging. It was definitely worth it! I will still be haunted by the beauty of a setting sun outlining the buttes and pinacles around White Mesa (on the Navajo Reservation) and meeting a wonderfully engaging boy and his pony out for an evening ride across the open landscape (see below)--that evening and next morning watching the sun rise over Monument Valley was priceless!

Over the next few weeks--after a few more photographic trips to catch New England in the Fall--I will add more to my blog as I let the experience of this summer “simmer” for a while. I now understand completely what Steinbeck meant in his original book:

“We do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

I do look forward to sharing with others who have done similar odysseys. Tell me what was your experience? What benefits did it bring besides beautiful pictures...(see some of mine HERE on FLICKR). Some of my friends say I should just “keep traveling and taking pictures”--I may do that, or I may also go back and work awhile, on projects--or do both! Whatever the case, I believe in sharing what is still great about our country with others around the world; these rough times will pass and we’ll be stronger for it--I’m sure of that! Your thoughts and counsel would be greatly appreciated! Or am I being too “Pollyanna-ish”? Let me know.

Bob (Geobob) Ford, New Haven Connecticut, September 27, 2010

Contact: geobobford@gmail.com

BLOG = http://geobobford.blogspot.com/
Personal webpage: http://geobobford.com/
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geobob/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/geobobford

Utah Wanderings Late August to Labor Day 2010 Slideshow

2010-09-09T17:10:00.000-06:00

Utah Wanderings Late August to Labor Day 2010 Slideshow: "TripAdvisor™ TripWow ★ Utah Wanderings Late August to Labor Day 2010 Slideshow ★ to Logan, Zion National Park and Bear Lake Utah (near Fish Haven) by Robert E. Ford. Stunning free travel slideshows on TripAdvisor"

My Rocky Mountain High and Wyoming/Utah Wanderings August and September 2010

2010-08-28T09:15:00.006-06:00

For now enjoy some of the beautiful photos I took (see particularly those taken in Wyoming, Colorado, northern Utah/Idaho and southern Utah--see also other FLICKR Sets and Collections HERE. It was really gratifying to be hunting with my camera again! It was a GREAT summer trek and road trip and my first real vacation in years! (In a later post entitled--A personal retrospective on my summer’s grand road trip --I show photography from my end-of-summer "fling" through Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and back east to Pennsylvania).

Just a brief comment for now on what I saw and experienced--we have a wonderfully diverse and beautiful country and it was very satisfying to reconnect with it--in some ways for the first time! Even with all its faults there is a lot to value, protect, and share with the world--those who are depressed and fearful of the future need know that we will get through these troubled times--and be even better! I'm more optimistic than I've been in a while. Travel and particularly reconnecting with nature does great things for the soul and psyche...

Enjoy the Albums (click on the titles below) and Happy Trails!

1. Washington DC visits July-Aug 2010

The US Capitol Building on a hot July day 2010

2. WashingtonDC to Nebraska Road Trip Aug 2010

Welcome to Hannibal Missouri - Mark Twain's Boyhood Home

3. Colorado "Rocky Mountain High" Aug 2010

Chambers lake tranquility - Poudre Canyon & Cameron Pass

"Where the Antelope Play" - Pawnee Buttes National Grassland

4. Wyoming/Utah Wanderings Aug 15-20

Old Corral restaurant and store in Centennial Wyoming

Mirror Lake Snowy Range Wyoming (Medicine Bow Range)

5. Utah Wanderings late August to September 2010

Rainbow and storm clouds over the Virgin River near Zion National Park

I wish everyone of my friends, relatives, colleagues and new friends to be--a great new work year after Labor Day!

PS - In a later post entitled--A personal retrospective on my summer’s grand road trip --I show photography from my end-of-summer "fling" through Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and back east to Pennsylvania.

Bob (Geobob) Ford: St. George and Rockville Utah, August 31, 2010

A PERSONAL SUMMER URBAN REALITY SHOW EXPERIENCE and THE GREAT RECESSION

2010-08-19T19:10:00.002-06:00

Spending the last few weeks around New Haven has been a uniquely rewarding and enlightening experience (see previous post). How this story has evolved is quite unique; like many of life’s most memorable episodes, our past is often prologue to our future and this summer in New Haven lived up to that dictum in spades. Let me explain by first backtracking to our last few months in Rwanda exactly a year ago (July-Aug 2009) at the National University of Rwanda Central Africa (NUR) where I was a research professor at the Center for GIS and Remote Sensing—see more about my Africa work HERE.

In July-August 2010 I had been asked by NUR to assist a strategic planning exercise led by a dynamic, creative, academic town/university developer and “social entrepreneur” Andrea Pizziconi of the Christie Company New York City--who had come with a very impressive international team to design and implement a 50-year “redevelopment plan” for the University and the small southern Rwandese town of Butare where it resides. Andrea’s claim to fame is that she previously worked with Yale University and the New Haven City Redevelopment Authority to repair the broken down "town vs. gown" relationship which had been a festering problem for at least twenty years

In any case, after a successful decade or more of work as a "community organizer" in New Haven, Andrea came to NUR in Rwanda where I assisted the planning team in collecting baseline field geographic and other data. I even had the opportunity of participating in a "visioning" architectural exercise which brought me to New York City in September 2009. There I had the pleasure of working with one of the leading “Green” architectural firms which had been selected to implement the design work in Rwanda; the exercise also included very capable green design planners and architects from South Africa and the UK. It so happened, that just three weeks before, my son and daughter-in-law had moved to Yale University in New Haven from their recently completed post doc positions in Switzerland and Germany with their then five-month old Celeste (see photos in my earlier Facebook Family Album as well as the most recent one from this summer on FLICKR).

As I look back, it is curious how life put me back in New Haven this summer of 2010--a year or so into the Great Recession—living for at least a month in the “inner-city” core of a city which had in many ways been forced to cope with the fundamental socioeconomic forces demanding “urban renewal” long before the onset of the current recession in December 2008. Like many other towns in the industrial northeast (particularly many former mill towns) this recession is not new—but has been building for 20-30 years. In previous blogs I noted some of the despair and socioeconomic decay seen in other towns across upstate New York and the “Rust Belt”, i.e. Michigan, and even in some of the Rocky Mountain towns such as Loveland or Fort Collins—which one would assume were better prepared for the Recession. But of course, no one was fully prepared—the difference has been largely one of levels of despair and fear!

But both these visits to New Haven—a year ago and last month--have allowed me to observe and experience first-hand the reality of how the whole process of “urban renewal and restructuring” is playing out, and hopefully, creating the “new urban America” of the 21st century. Getting to see, feel, and experience urban field geographic analysis first-hand is of course a cultural geographer's dream come true! I should note that for most of my professional life I had focused on rural development issues. Now for the first time, I have gotten to study at my own pace--urban redevelopment--how lucky can I be!

About two weeks into our stay in New Haven last month I was perusing the book shelves at one of the “new” New Haven’s urban gems--The Atticus Bookstore/Café on Chapel Street while Celeste (my granddaughter) played with the children’s books. Sampling the wares I was attracted by a book cover advertisement that touted the word “spatial dimensions” of the Great Recession. The book title was curiously--The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post Crash Prosperity--by Richard Florida. Just a few pages into the book and I felt the author crystallized in my mind a lot of what I’d been seeing and living on my great “road trip” across America which I had embarked upon starting on June 11 in Redlands California (see earlier blog). I would also recommend reading a very insightful review of the book by Aaron M. Renn who hosts the “urbanophile blog”.

As a recently returned expat American still suffering through the foreordained "malaise" of “return culture shock”, and, still smarting from the despair of trying several times and eventually selling (at a substantial loss) our house in southern California, and then taking-off on this grand road trip both as therapy and an attempt to discover what to do with the rest of our “Boomer” lives—it has needless to say been the proverbial “roller-coaster ride” of our lives! As I stated earlier, when I started the blog back in late May 2010, my goal was to write down what I was seeing and experiencing from the perspective of a professional geographer. But also as a “fellow Boomer” I wanted to try and come to personal terms with whatever happened to the American Dream we thought would always turn out “rosy”! Of course, our parent’s generation—who lived through the Great Depression—could have told us “it can also happen to you” as well!

Needless to say, now that the “worst” may be over (unless we go into a true “double-dip recession”) the political strife and blame-setting has reached an almost deafening crescendo of innuendo and harshness that is very disconcerting to me personally—particularly this late Fall as we move into the political season before the November 2010 elections. What amazes me is how quickly the mood has changed in our country since I was here last in January and later in September 2009. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the level of incivility and even hostility now on talk radio in particular, has been the hardest thing for me to take. I used to be a real “news junky” but I now find it too depressing and turn off the TV or radio when it gets too shrill—maybe blogging is a better option? We’ll see…

So, the book by Richard Florida has helped me, as well as the travels of the last two months, to look beyond the despair of the present and to accept that “it’s not the end of the world”—yet! And, maybe we just need to look for ways to adapt and grow and do like our pioneers did to just “push on” to the future which they were always confident would pan out for the better!

Unfortunately, I have also seen on my road trip that for many of our less traveled or educated citizens, life really does look very bleak and scary right now—particularly for the “long-term unemployed” in the decaying mill-towns across the “Rust Belt”! Thus I can understand, but hopefully not accept, some of the “fear-mongering” which is expressing it in such social phenomena as the “Tea-Party Movement” and even more extreme expressions from truly fringe groups who preach hate and retribution!.

My personal hope is that through this blog I can help others of my Boomer generation and even those of my younger son's generation--the "Gen X-ers"--those getting ready to soon graduate from college or those who just did and are facing a very tough job market--to come to terms with reality, look for the solutions, and then find ways to positively move on together to what will surely be a better day—believe me it will happen! That’s always been America’s genius—to build new worlds out of disorganization and chaos and to see all challenges as opportunities to succeed!

Jumping ahead a little, after we left Washington DC on August 6, 2010 on our way back to Loveland Colorado—continuing our “grand road trip” where I last week took some time off for backpacking in the Rockies and in Wyoming--we stopped briefly in Hannibal Missouri (hometown and real-life setting for much of Mark Twain’s writing and thinking). See photos online in my Facebook albums (coming soon) as well as later discussions in my next few blogs. In the Mark Twain Museum I found a T-Shirt that said it all--he expressed for me better than anyone ever could, why I’m traveling and what I hoped it would do for me and my readers:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many

of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Mark Twin.

Maybe we all need to re-read Mark Twain again—there is a reason he is our “most American of writers”. He also lived and wrote during times of great stress and restructuring spanning the late 19th to early 20th century America. We could all benefit by remembering how our forefathers coped and succeeded!

So, how do I feel now after having been back in the US for about exactly three months and being “on the road” for about two months? I feel a lot more confident about the future. And it has been wonderful taking time to hike and take pictures in some of our wonderful natural areas, visit historic sites such as Hannibal or Springfield, Missouri (Lincoln’s home) and of course, the time to reconnect with family has all helped. I do feel better about whatever comes next!

But, nevertheless, some things I’m seeing and experiencing as I travel the US this summer of 2010 still concern me a lot, but I’m sure we’ll weather them. Now I just want to find how I can best help to find the solutions that will work for the next generation—my granddaughter Celeste’s and her kids as well as my younger son Colby who will soon finish college himself and join the real world!

Bob (Geobob) Ford: Loveland Colorado August 19, 2010