In the winter of 1985 I was driving through the Mojave Desert with a friend, talking about our apparent need for new river gear. As we passed the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base, a man unexpectedly appeared on the side of the road selling used ammo cans. My friend and I laughed wildly and quickly came to realize that the moment was "All In A Days' Karma". This blog contains the occasional ramblings of a died-in-the-wool westerner who loves seeing, understanding, and being alive upon these landscapes. I cherish the moments of bliss and irony that come to all of us as we explore the planet and its residents (and perhaps visitors) in the short time we are here.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Burning the Bluff Mammoth

***Utah's Canyon Country Blog used some of these photo's to advertise the 2014 burning! See the link here.***

**FINAL UPDATE**: The YouTube video of the final act in this rousing, moving, historic adventure can be seen here. Read the lead-up to this below. 

A mammoth Mammoth has been assembled by locals in Bluff, Utah, a small historical hamlet beside the San Juan River. This in honor of the Mammoth petroglyph found in the Navajo Sandstone nearby. The plan is to burn it on December 21, if we are still around after the end of the Long Count Mayan calendar. (Yeah, right).

I visited the Bluff Mammoth 10 days ago and file this photographic report.

Artfully and scientifically constructed

Bill, Wayne and George aside it for scale

Framed by the Bluff Sandstone

Legs of fine cottonwood bark

And  beautifully painted toes

Awesome tusks but not of ivory

A work of art! Thank you Bluff!

You can read another article about this spectacle in the Arizona Republic newspaper here.
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3 comments:

  1. ArianeJanuary 9, 2013 at 2:08 AM

    Hmmmmmm. We stayed in Bluff on our way to Torrey after emerging from a Grand Canyon rafting trip with very a interesting geologist. Wished we'd seen this piece of art!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 3, 2014 at 4:32 PM

    What a unique event. It's almost a shame to burn this work of art.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownDecember 30, 2014 at 7:58 PM

    Coming soon in 2015... Took a bit longer than I had hoped!
    https://vimeo.com/channels/wakingthemammoth

    ReplyDelete

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