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Last summer, Rebecca Vance talked with her family about a dream she’d had: She wanted to live in a land disconnected from the world, which she viewed as chaotic and dangerous. She told her stepsister, Trevala Jara, that she could grow and gather her own food in a remote place, that she and her teenage son could be happy and safe away from the news, the viruses, the politics of modern-day America. “I’m going to worry about you,” Jara told her stepsister. But Vance was resolute. “I’m going to live off the land,” she replied. Her decision proved to be...

The mummified remains of three people discovered at a remote camping site in the Colorado wilderness were identified on Tuesday as two sisters and a teen boy who were planning to “live off the grid,” a report said. Christine Vance, 41, Rebecca Vance, 42, and Rebecca’s 14-year-old son were identified as the bodies discovered earlier this month about 1,000 feet from a site near the Gold Creek Campground, according to the Colorado Sun. The trio are believed to have started hiking in July 2022, about a year before they were discovered dead. A family member told the coroner that they...

Tourists are not welcome in a Colorado county during the coronavirus pandemic, and they could face jail time if they come. Gunnison County officials initiated a public health order last week that says non-residents and tourists must stay out to help slow the spread of coronavirus, and it comes with hefty consequences if it’s violated, according to county documents. If someone doesn’t follow the public health order, they could be hit with a fine of up to $5,000 and spend 18 months in county jail, according to the order. Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/coronavirus/article241813381.html#storylink=cpy

A massive closure of local national forest recreation areas and campgrounds may be imminent because of equally massive budget cuts. In the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, a shrinking recreation facility maintenance budget is creating a dire situation, potentially forcing the permanent closure of 49 of the GMUG’s 138 recreation areas, said forest public service staff officer Corey Wong. With a $2.7 million recreation facility maintenance backlog, the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests have many old, dilapidated facilities. Water systems in some campgrounds have been removed because they don’t meet standards. “Most of our facilities were...

"GMUG" stands for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Combined, they encompass some 2.9 million acres of National Forest lands in Central and Western Colorado. These three forests are home to some of the most outstanding recreational opportunity in the West. Right now, the forest's are revising their Forest Plans. These management plans provide broad guidance on what activities may or may not occur on these lands. The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), a national recreation advocacy group that champions recreational access and responsible use of public and private lands, is growing increasingly concerned about the influence several anti-access groups...

Link post: to provide interested FR readers with a link to the post in the 'chat' section, where any discussion should be posted: Geology Picture of the Week, June 20-26, 2004: Looking Straight Down into the Black Canyon

It's not easy to find canyon photographs with this particular perspective. That may be due to the difficulty of taking canyon photographs with this perspective without the aid of an aerial vehicle of some kind.