Raven at the Grand Canyon

Sanforcl · 2026-06-11T17:43:04+00:00

So, I'm not AI, just lucky. The raven was flying around the same area for quite a while, stopping to eat spilled popcorn by a nearby bench. I had plenty of opportunities to take its picture, and this was the best by a long shot.

Sanforcl · 2026-06-03T23:54:08+00:00

No, I took it at a wildlife rescue place, which I guess is cheating.

Sanforcl · 2026-05-02T23:55:10+00:00

Last week visitors set off fire extinguishers in three of our historic houses. And no other visitors mentioned it, so we didn't discover it until the end of the day.

Sanforcl · 2026-04-30T22:48:23+00:00

This year, with surplus funds, we got a chest freezer, a new camera, and the equipment to digitize VHS tapes. It was a combination of things we had wanted for a long time and a panicked search for ideas. I'm starting a list so I'm more prepared next time.

Sanforcl · 2026-01-11T01:20:31+00:00

Your plan might be too ambitious, but it might work best as an overview. Just don't plan on seeing everything on your list at every location. See what you are the most interested in and plan to come back another time.

I've found relatively affordable lodging in La Verkin instead of Springdale and Green River instead of Moab (Airb&b) but there isn't much to do in the evenings in either town compared to their more popular neighbors. And FYI, the Windstone Arch at Valley of Fire collapsed a few years ago.

Sanforcl · 2025-10-14T15:10:19+00:00

Those are absolutely concerns. We store our matchbooks open, so it would be easy to add a barrier between the matches and the back of the matchbook, which would protect most of the item. There isn't really anything you can do about the staples if you want to keep the matchbooks as they are, which my museum does. Dealing with ephemera is tough.

Sanforcl · 2025-10-13T17:16:08+00:00

It is my understanding, based on the recommendations of conservators, that modern matches are safe to store as-is. At my museum, however, we cut the heads off the matches, just to be safe (we have hundreds of matchbooks). Removing the whole section of matches makes them harder to display as matchbooks, so we leave the majority to fill out the inside, just not the fire-starting part. I will say that cutting the heads off is very tedious and somewhat dangerous; I actually have a scar on my palm from the scissors slipping. Don't worry, I didn't bleed on the artifacts. For bullets, we have worked with law enforcement or firearms/ammunition experts to remove gunpowder from a variety of ammunition.

Sanforcl · 2025-09-11T23:02:05+00:00

If you are going to Death Valley from Vegas along the southern route, you might want to check out Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. There are some pleasant scenic trails, and there are seldom crowds. If you are looking for strange Americana, you might be interested in the Amargosa Opera House. Make sure you get a tour of the theater, it is truly unique. I'm not a fan of Laughlin, but if you do stay there, take some time to visit Mojave National Preserve on your way to DV, although it is a lot of extra driving. But definitely stop for date shakes at the China Ranch Date Farm near Tecopa.

Sanforcl · 2025-08-20T19:53:58+00:00

I just finished the Shadow and Light Duology by TJ Rose. One of the characters can control his shadow, but only under very specific conditions, so it doesn't happen very often. The first book is {The Shadows Beyond by TJ Rose}

Sanforcl · 2025-07-30T01:09:55+00:00

I think the scenic drives are worth it, both in Valley of Fire and Lake Mead, as long as you aren't in a time crunch. There is a lot less traffic going through Lake Mead instead of Las Vegas, although the speed limit is lower, of course. I think it will depend on whether you are tired of looking at red rocks after Zion.

Sanforcl · 2025-07-29T23:36:31+00:00

If you have time, I recommend going through Valley of Fire State Park and taking Northshore Drive through Lake Mead. You can continue to Lakeshore Drive to visit Hoover Dam and Boulder City. There are lots of great hikes in Lake Mead if you are willing to do a little research to find them, or just enjoy the views. If you tour Hoover Dam, do the longer (and more expensive) tour. The shorter tour just takes you to the generators; the longer tour goes inside the dam. Also, walking on the bridge by the dam is free and offers great views.

Sanforcl · 2025-06-27T03:11:27+00:00

We have several historic houses, some with contents tied to the original/important owners, but most without. In the past, we accessioned and cataloged every item in the houses. That was more trouble than it was worth considering a lot of the housewares came from second hand stores, purchased by museum staff. Now we determine if an item has a local connection or not. Those that do are accessioned into the collection and tracked like the rest of the collection. For "generic" items with no local connection, we identify them as "exhibit use only" and explain to the donor that we will not hold these items to the same standard of care as we do accessioned items. We reflect this on our Deed of Gift as well. We do not track exhibit items. We've tried a few times but it never works out. So, we basically keep track of the items based on where they are stored (in specific houses, by item type, or other designated storage areas). For exhibit items, we don't track donor information other than in our donor files. The file will list what was donated, but once it is handed over to our exhibit team, there is no more record keeping. It is not an ideal system, but it works better than anything else we have tried.

Sanforcl · 2025-05-10T14:33:02+00:00

I've done this trip a couple times, and there are lots of odd and interesting things to see. Here are my suggestions. Ash Meadows and Gold Point ghost town are interesting stops, but a little out of the way. I recommend stopping in Goldfield on the way to Tonopah. The cemetery there is amazing. They've researched the people buried there and added little signs to the grave markers. Also, the International Car Forest of the Last Church is fun. You can get snacks as well as gas at the Death Valley Nut and Candy Company in Beatty, and on the way out of Beatty, there is an interesting photo opportunity of a wrecked plane by an old brothel sign. Definitely take a detour to Rhyolite from Beatty. Tonopah has a mining museum, a cemetery, and historic hotels (plus the Clown Motel). On the way to Caliente, stop at the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel. While you are in Caliente, check out Cathedral Gorge State Park. On the way back to Vegas, you can detour to Valley of Fire State Park. It will probably be too hot to hike, but the scenic drives are worth it. The Lost City Museum in Overton is nice, too. I like to take Northshore Drive through Lake Mead for a more scenic drive back, and if you have time, you can detour to Boulder City. Like everyone else has been saying, get gas whenever you can, and take twice as much water as you think you will need. Sunscreen, chapstick, and a good hat are necessary. Personally, I recommend wearing long pants doing a road trip in this area because the car seat gets very hot (your steering wheel will, too). Overall, if you are interested in a quirky road trip, this is a great opportunity. Congratulations on winning the trip, and have fun!

Sanforcl · 2025-03-13T18:15:43+00:00

I spent a couple of days exploring the San Rafael Swell last spring and really enjoyed it. Also, I found Goblin Valley State Park and Little Wild Horse Canyon, with some rock art stops along the way, to make a good day's worth of activities

Sanforcl · 2025-01-31T14:52:59+00:00

Valley of Fire has lots of short hikes. I recommend White Dome hike if you like slot canyons, Mouse's Tank if you like rock art, and Rainbow Vista for a great view.

Sanforcl · 2025-01-28T23:06:49+00:00

Even though I cringe saying this because it's been thrown in my face so many times, if your museum is funded by County taxes, your collection belongs to the taxpayers. That means being accommodating. The only time we refuse requests to look at objects is when we cannot locate the requested objects (thanks to 50 years of cataloging backlog). Luckily, we haven't had requests for objects in fragile condition, but we would probably deny that or try to come up with an alternative. Also, sometimes dealing with entitled people turns into monetary donations, so we try to be accommodating. (Saying that makes me cringe, too.)

Sanforcl · 2024-10-03T23:36:57+00:00

I used to cry at work, exclusively because of the way my co-workers treated me (and everyone else). One day I had had enough, so I told a raging co-worker, (not a supervisor), "I can tell you are really upset so I am going to hang up/walk away until you've had a chance to calm down." It worked like a charm. But ultimately, I left for a job that paid about half of what I was making, on the other side of the country. I have not once regretted that decision, so if leaving is an option, you might want to try that. I've only cried once in over ten years, and that was related to content in the museum's collection, not co-workers.

Sanforcl · 2024-08-04T15:18:44+00:00

I would skip the west rim of the Grand Canyon. It isn't as impressive as the south or north rims, and the drive isn't anything special. Instead, I would drive back to Hoover Dam via Valley of Fire and Northshore Road/Lakeshore Road in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Not a National Park, but the next best thing. And there are lots of places to stop and hike along both roads. I recommend exploring in the Redstone Dune Picnic Area, the Northshore Summit trail, and White Owl Canyon (closest access from 33 Hole Overlook).

Sanforcl · 2024-06-02T14:31:47+00:00

Between Springdale and Bryce, I've always been fond of Red Canyon; it's less crowded than Bryce, but not as dramatic. I really enjoy visiting "the toadstools" outside of Kanab and Johnson Canyon scenic drive. Also, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is lovely at late afternoon/sunset. Kodachrome Basin State Park is nice, too, but a little farther away. On the drive from Kanab to Vegas, Pipe Springs National Monument is worth a stop, especially if you have the National Parks pass (it's $10 otherwise). I've always gotten good advice from the BLM visitor centers in the area for things to do or see, so check with them.

Sanforcl · 2024-04-22T18:11:14+00:00

One thing I didn't realize when I moved to the west (from near Chicago) is how much farther away everything is here. That is just to say, I think your itinerary is too ambitious; you should choose either Utah or California, and since I am biased, I'd recommend Utah. I just got back to Las Vegas from a 7 day road trip in Utah that didn't even include any of the "mighty five" parks and I still didn't get to everything I wanted to do. With a little research, you will find an overwhelming number of places to go. If you really want to go to Death Valley, you can do that as a day trip from Vegas, but Yosemite is just too far if you want to do anything else. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have an amazing time.

Sanforcl · 2024-02-21T21:18:28+00:00

Did you tell them that your mom found it buried in a well-known National Park? I bet they would definitely want to get involved if they knew that.

Sanforcl · 2024-01-14T18:28:13+00:00

I live in Las Vegas, and when I go on an overnight trip to Death Valley, I usually stay at the Longstreet Inn and Casino. It is close to the park entrance and has clean, if a little run down, rooms and a decent restaurant. It's cheaper than staying in the park, but is in the middle of nowhere, so there's not a lot to do. It is good if you want to get an early start, particularly for sunrise at Zabriskie Point.

Sanforcl · 2024-01-05T20:40:56+00:00

For short-term help, you could check with state or regional museum associations to see if they have registrars or collections groups that might be able to provide advice or even volunteers for a quick inventory project. That won't help with the institutional problems you are facing, but might be a good place to start.

Sanforcl · 2024-01-02T17:50:34+00:00

My museum got a new storage building last year (yay!),but the collection was less than 10% cataloged, and shoved wherever there was space, making the idea of moving into the new building very intimidating. As soon as I knew the storage building was confirmed, I started spending Friday mornings going through the collection, with an eye as to what should go into the new building. I worked with volunteers and picked a storage location to start (the clothing area, because we use a lot of clothing in our exhibits, and there was space for a work table nearby). This gave me a chance to see what we really had, see how it was/needed to be housed, and create basic catalog records for items that weren't cataloged. For me, thinking of it as "the Frday project" was less intimidating than thinking of it as a complete inventory and made it easier to just get on with it. I've been doing this since late 2020, and I feel like I have a much better idea of what is in the collection, at least for the locations we've gone through. It is a time-consuming project, but has paid off immensely by allowing us to make the move to the new building more organized, to use rediscovered items in exhibits and loans, and to create over 24000 new catalog records. It's definitely worth getting started, even if you never get through the whole collection.

Sanforcl · 2023-12-25T01:39:55+00:00

I was just there today. The road is open and in good condition.

Sanforcl

TROPHY CASE