May 3, 2003 journal, buffet breakfast over a rushing green river Utah, Thompson Springs.

Beautiful art was displayed in the Tarnarish Restaurant 435-564-8109. Art oil paintings by Jewel Thyan. The one I liked most was of a thatched cottage reversed on glass with a gold Italian frame. I got involved trying to help, a little dog was lost and barking for his master. I travel on about 30 miles East to Thompson Springs that has its own exit on I-70. Wind was high and dust blowing everywhere. I drove into Thompson Canyon to see the Indian art of four cultures and writings under the cliffs and to behold the beauty of the red rock. A stop at the bed-and-breakfast and fill up my water bottles from the town’s spring water. About 100 people live here and they have a fire truck but no business is open. I met Mr. Lester Rogers who operates a trailer park and owns a lot of the town finding him to be a source of information about the town's history which interest me very much. I asked how the town got its name and he told me a Mr. Thompson lived by the spring and therefore it was named Thompson Springs and Thompson Canyon as the road went up by the springs North into the canyon and to the coal mines and eventually to the Uta Indian Reservation. The Bureau of Land Management claim the land on the East and West with state owning the land to the South. Mr. Rogers took me in his vehicle again into the canyon to point out more than I had seen of natural bridges and one rock formation thats like the holy city coming down from God out of heaven. Another looked like Noah's Ark and on the West side a perfect image of an Indian chief. Elevation here is 5140 ft. and I see snowcapped mountains to the South East. This is in Moab County where the young man cut off his arm to free himself from an 800 lb. boulder that rolled onto it just about this very day. These Bookcliffs or Petrographs and Castle Gate formation is a lifetime challenge to explore and the computer gives tons of information about this area. This can make a great Life Center for restoration. One project here failed as a artist cooperative that required artists to invest in a community 90 acre facility were each artist had 5 acres alone. The developer is now said to be willing to give it to some museum that will develop it in the way that he had hoped. The train station is now vacant with the train no longer stopping here. It’s a white wooden building about 2000 feet and said to be in a relatively good shape. The Thompson motel is closed and appearing to have about 12 rooms. The bed-and-breakfast has 7 guest rooms upstairs and has full living facilities downstairs with an adjacent quansett building. Another track of land has 160 acres in the mouth of the canyon on both sides of the road. I am fascinated at what I see here with the water I believe to be healthy. The tiny little booklet by Chris Moore about the Thompson, Sego, Satyrs and Crescent canyons of the Book Cliffs, it sells for $3.00. The nearest store may be in Grand Junction to the East or Green River to the West. I left Thompson Springs and drove East on I-70 were I suddenly encountered a roadblock and I could see the wind digging up dust miles away. I sit with cars on the highway for maybe an hour then suddenly it opened up and I drove into a dust storm that I could not belief for visibility was zero as dark as night and I feared for my life. There were many wrecks including tractor-trailer trucks and other cars were just stopped in frustration. This is not a good time to be traveling with extreme wind threatening safety.

By nightfall I had reached Glenwood Springs Colorado with a fuel stop in Rifle Colorado on the Colorado River where some artist is said to have hung a giant painting in the pass.

It is a marvelous thing to travel and see all the inspiring sites of nature and to know God.

Daniel 8-3“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had 2 horns: and the 2 horns were high; but one was higher than the other..last”