Click images for caption and to enlarg

Click to close PublishAmerica recently released a children's book, Mommy, Do You Love Me? Written by Illinois author Teres Lambert and illustrated by Durango resident Cindy Coleman Click to close Image by: National Parks Service/U.S. Department of Agriculture RIM SHOT - The city of Page, Ariz., is working with the Glen Canyon Recreation Area to plan and develop a trail along the southeast rim of Glen Canyon. Click to close Image by: U.S. Gelogical Service A growing infestation of zebra and quagga mussels in lakes in the Four Corners (and beyond).

Welcome to Corner Posts, Inside/Outside Southwest magazine's newest column. Here, we will bring you news snippets from throughout the Four Corners - and sometimes slightly beyond, just because we like to push the boundaries, so to speak. We hope that we've chosen information that is useful, entertaining, thoughtful and insightful - and maybe even provocative at times. Let us know how we're doing. Got a tip? Send it to Amy@insideoutsidemag.com.

Banner year for double planks and jibbers
Ski resorts in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado saw some of the highest skier numbers and most snow than they have in recent few years. Eight of Colorado Ski Country USA's member resorts posted record snowfall accumulation. Many Colorado resorts measured nearly 500 inches of snowfall during the season. (The formidable Silverton Mountain checked in at 550 inches, and it may be safe to say it's still counting as of the time this is being written.) The abundant snow helped resorts in New Mexico and Arizona draw more skier and riders than they have the last few years, when nature hasn't been as generous. This year in the four states was a first of what has been both cheered and lamented: Taos Ski Valley opened its slopes to snowboarders. The slopes didn't open to the jibbers until the end of March, but for those who like to throw it down on vert-igo-inducing slopes, the wait was worth it. It was the last ski resort in New Mexico to allow snowboarders. There are now only a few resorts in the country who keep the distinction of skiers-only.

New Jersey? Get a rope!
This tidbit may not be Southwest oriented, but it's enough of an interesting news item to share while we are speaking about skiing. Believe it or not, Dubai - yes, that dry city surrounded by a sandy desert - has an indoor skiing facility. Not to be outdone, New Jersey is coming up with the second. The Meadowlands Xanadu in Bergen County, N.J., will be the United States' first Snow Dome for indoor skiing. Set to open this fall, the Meadowlands Xanadu is a short five miles from Manhattan. Who would have thought you'd be skiing down a slope with views of the New York City skyline?
Rim shot
The city of Page, Ariz., is working with the Glen Canyon Recreation Area to plan and develop a trail along the southeast rim of Glen Canyon, just below Glen Canyon Dam. Tentatively called Glen Canyon Rim Trail, it would be about 7 ½ miles long and link Horseshoe Bend trail with the Rim Trail, which already exists in Page. Right now, the two agencies are undertaking an environmental assessment of the trail to study what types of users the trail will accommodate. To keep up to date about the trail's progress, visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkId=62&projectId=20663.

You're mom called
She wants you to pedal 1,700 miles to visit her. At least that's what Gallup, N.M., resident Doug Leggett just did. The 64-year-old avid cyclist left March 20 from his home in Gallup to visit his 90-year-old mother in Seneca, S.C. This is the third time Leggett has pedaled 1,700 miles to visit his mother and brother on the east coast. He has no sag wagon, instead choosing to carry all of his gear on his touring bicycle. Along the way, whether it's to South Carolina or St. Petersburg, Fla., where he has also pedaled to a few times (at 2,500 miles), Leggett sets up camp in the woods, cemeteries and church parking lots.

Go elsewhere
Groups opposed to a British mining company's plan to explore for uranium near the Grand Canyon had a coup in recent weeks. A federal judge blocked the VANE Minerals Group from drilling as many as 39 locations on seven sites in the Kaibab National Forest. The company wants to find commercial quantities of uranium, hoping to get on the bandwagon of the rebirth of this type of mining, especially as the price for the metal has soared in recent years. The Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust and Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Forest Service for allowing the company to drill, arguing that the federal agency should have considered the proximity of the Grand Canyon to the drilling and want a full environmental assessment of the affects of the company's actions. Right now, U.S. Rep Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., has sponsored a bill to ban 1 million acres near Grand Canyon from mineral exploration under the 1872 Mining Act. The bill, House Resolution 5583, The Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008, is still going through the legislative process.

Is it warm in here?
A new study released in March by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council states that the West is getting warmer at almost twice the rate as the rest of the world. The study reports that the average temperature has risen 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last five years, while the global average has been 1.0 degrees in the 11-state region. Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and Montana are feeling it the most with rises more than two degrees higher than the rest of the planet. The study also reports that the Colorado River Basin, which supplies water to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Denver, has had a 2.2 degree rise from the average temperature. Most of that river's water comes from melting snow. The numbers used in the report, "Hotter and Drier: The West's Changed Climate" came from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev. The center's acting director, Kelly T. Redmond, said this region has been warming for the last 35 years, after a cool period in the 1970s. "We've been decidedly above average. You could put an exclamation on it," Redmond told the Salt Lake Tribune. Consequences are wide-ranging. Colorado's signature aspen trees are drying out and riddled with fungus; snowpacks are melting earlier in the spring, which leaves less water for summer irrigation and heats up trou streams. Lakes Powell and Mead are half-empty because they rely on collecting water from the Colorado River. That alone threatens the Colorado River Compact of 1922, which allocates fixed amounts of water among seven states.

Space invaders of the mussel kind
A few issues ago, Inside/Outside Southwest published a story about the growing infestation of zebra and quagga mussels in lakes in the Four Corners (and beyond). These nonindigenous aquatic species have been found in Lake Mead and Lake Havasu, causing all kinds of damage to boats and environmental degradation of waterways. While most of the occurrences of zebra mussels are in the Midwest and East, quagga mussels are more common in the West. In January, Pueblo Reservoir, an impoundment on the Arkansas River just west of Pueblo, Colo., reported the arrival of zebra mussels.

More beautiful bang for your buck
The United States' currency may not be helping Americans plan trips overseas, but it is helping boost the tourism economy on our home soil. International visitors to the U.S. increased to more than 56. 7 million people in 2007, an 11.1 percent increase over the pervious year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. One place enjoying the tourism boots is the Grand Canyon. Park officials don't track visitors' nationalities, but they are reporting a sharp increase in international tourists in the last year and estimate they now make up about 40 percent of all visitors to the Grand Canyon.

Blame it on the atmosphere
Feeling a little ditzy? You might be able to blame it on where you live. That is if you take the findings from National Institutes of Health researcher. R. Douglas Fields, a senior investigator in neuroscience at NIH, wrote in the recent issue of the trade publication Scientific American Mind that climbers of high peaks in the West may lead to irreversible brain damage. It seems that climbers of high mountains, whether weekend warrior or seasoned professional, face returning from the high peaks with a brain that is "not in the same condition it was in beforehand," he writes in his column "Into Thin Air: Mountain Climbing Kills Brain Cells." Fields based his theory on a Spanish study in 2006 by Drs. Nicolás Fayed, Pedro J. Modrego and Humberto Morales, who published their findings in the American Journal of Medicine. The Spanish doctors drew evidence by studying brain scans of climbers on peaks as low as Europe's 15,870-foot Mount Blanc. The scans showed brain damage, even among those who showed no outward signs of altitude sickness. Fields says that could be the same situation for American climbers who tackle peaks above 14,000 feet - mostly for lowlanders who ascend from sea level to the summit within days. He also says that more research needs to be done. Telluride climbing medicine expert Dr. Peter Hackett plans to do that research by launching an expedition this month (June) on Alaska's Denali peak, America's highest at 20,320 feet. Hackett says he aims to discredit the Spanish study. His bias, he says, is that high-altitude climbing doesn't pose any health risk of this sort and that is actually good for you to be in the mountains.

Self-promoting
Cindy Coleman, an Inside/Outside Southwest illustrator, has a new feather in her cap. PublishAmerica recently released a children's book, Mommy, Do You Love Me? Written by Illinois author Teres Lambert and illustrated by Durango resident Coleman, the book features a kangaroo that questions his mother's love for him because she's not constantly telling him she loves him. I won't give away the twist at the end of the book other than to say it's a good lesson for kids about self-esteem. Check out www.mommydoyouloveme.com to find out how to buy a copy.

Rising tide
The Bureau of Reclamation has good news for Lake Powell lovers: You can expect the lake's water level to rise about 50 feet by mid-June. The BuRec forecasts the inflow to go from 9.5 million acre-feet to 10.2 million acre-feet - all based on the snowfall runoff that is 129 percent of normal for this year. The most obvious result of the rising level will be that Castle Rock Cut, a popular shortcut out of Wahweap Marina to uplake areas, should be open for the first since 2003. To be passable, the shortcut requires the lake's elevation to be at least 3,620 feet. The BuRec expects is to be more then 3,600 feet by the end of June and peak about mid-July. Dwayne Cassidy, director of tourism for Page-Lake Powell, says the area already is seeing an increase in tourists because of the record lake level, and he expects it to continue throughout the season.

Dewey Bridge burned down
I was thinking of playing with words about a certain London bridge falling down, but the loss of the historic Dewey Bridge over the Colorado River near Moab, Utah, can hardly be looked at with levity or puns - intended or not. Sadly, the 92-year-old bridge was destroyed by fire April 6 after a 7-year-old boy from Grand Junction, Colo., allegedly started a brush fire with matches. The fire quickly spread and overtook the 500-foot suspension bridge, which was such an iconic piece of history that it had been on the National Register of Historic Places for several years. For many of us riverunners, cyclists, Moab lovers and campers, the bridge's destruction takes with it decades of fond outdoor memories. And I'm sure it breaks the hearts of cowboys and ranchers who often ran cattle across the bridge. Soon after the fire, a group called Committee for the Restoration of the Dewey Bridge formed to seek a feasibility study to rebuild the bridge using most of the construction techniques.

Up on the roof
Speaking of Moab, a new climbing "trend" has taken hold (no pun intended) near there. I put trend in quotes, because this practice has yet to take off but will probably do so soon. Agro rock climbers Dean Potter and Rob Pizem started climbing cracks in the roofs of massive rocks. In February, Potter climbed a 40-foot roof crack near Potash Road. Then in March, Pizem mastered a 5.13d 45-foot roof crack dubbed "Army of Darkness".

50/50
A new study out posits that Lake Mead will run dry by 2021 because of climate change and a high demand for water. Might this be the time we see the return of Glen Canyon? Laugh while you R.I.P., Ed Abbey.

Fair Taos
In April, Taos, N.M., earned the distinction of a Fair Trade Town - the first in New Mexico and the first in the western U.S. To be a Fair Trade place, a town must meet the certification requirements of: "goods produced in a sustainable fashion; safe and healthy working conditions; no slave, forced or child labor; the encouragement of long-term relationships between producers and buyers; and an internal structure for producers that allow decisions about profits to be made democratically." Fair Trade, says Chris Pieper, chairman of the newly formed Town of Taos Fair Trade Steering Committee, creates a community that has a sustainable and secure economy. The town and committee has set out to educate residents and visitors about buying Fair Trade products from local businesses. Taos is among five other cities in the U.S. to be a Fair Trade Town. There are more than 300 in Europe.

Old age
In the May issue of the Geological Society of America Bulletin, researchers speculate that part of the Grand Canyon Gorge is nine times older than previously thought. The long-held belief is that it was carved by the Colorado River about 6 million years ago. But the new study challenges that and says it may be that the Upper Granite Gorge was formed more than 50 million years ago. Rebecca Flowers, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the paper's lead author, says the giant chasm may have formed as a series of ancestral canyons the grew and joined together. Read the paper online here: www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=index-html&ct=1.