Our first tour, April 22 – 29 is nearly full. Lots of room still available on the second tour, April 29 – May 6.
One small piece of the Grand Staircase, the exposed layers of sedimentary rocks that begin (starting from the oldest) with the Tapeats Sandstone in Grand Canyon and top out in the Claron Formation in Bryce Canyon.
Talking Rocks Tours
The Sunshine and Campfires Tour
April 29 – May 6, 2018
Sunday. Arrive in St. George, Utah.
By air: Fly to Las Vegas and take a shuttle to St. George. Or car pool. Don’t reserve a shuttle seat without checking with me.
Sunday afternoon. Explore Snow Canyon State Park on your own. Lava caves, sandstone exposures, sandy washes.
Sunday evening. Camp in Snow Canyon (showers). Lecture: Geology 101 and local geology.
Monday morning. Hike to Snow Canyon petroglyphs (5 miles). Led by Gerry Bryant. Geology: Erosion, lava flows, topographic inversion, lag deposits, desert varnish, diagenetic color changes. Drive to the cinder cones at the top of the Snow Canyon lava flows.
Monday afternoon: Investigate the contact between the Kayenta and Navajo formations. Instruction by Gerry Bryant. Drive to Bryce Canyon.
Monday night. Camp at Bryce Canyon. (No showers.)
Tuesday morning. Dawn on the rim. After breakfast: Intro to local geology by Gerry Bryant. The Clarno Formation—the youngest bedrock we’ll examine on our trip. Midday: Hike along the rim. For the more adventuresome: the Tower Bridge Trail (3 miles) or the Fairyland Loop Trail (8 miles).
Tuesday afternoon. Drive to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
Tuesday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Wednesday morning. Dawn at the dunes. Instruction by Gerry Bryant.
Midday: Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway. Instruction by Gerry Bryant.
Local exploring of dunes, creek beds, and peaks.
Wednesday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Thursday. Buckskin Gulch hike (5 or 6 miles). We will hike in from Wiregrass Flat. If we have people wishing to hike the entire canyon (21 miles) that can be arranged for a small group.
Best web site for info: http://climb-utah.com/Escalante/buckskin.htm
Thursday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Friday morning. Drive to Grand Canyon. For the adventurous, we can hike down to the Coconino Sandstone with its fossil tracks.
Friday afternoon/evening. Hike/ride the shuttle along the rim.
Friday night: Camp at Grand Canyon (showers).
Sabbath. Hike to Plateau Point. 11 miles round trip. 3000 feet of elevation gain. In my opinion, this is the best hike in the park. We will take a very leisurely pace, eat lunch at the point, then take it very slow and easy back up. There are, of course, lots of shorter, easier options to experiencing the glory of the canyon.
Saturday night: Camp at Grand Canyon (showers).
Sunday morning. Drive to Las Vegas airport.
Talking Rocks Tours, Miles and Feet Tour, April 15-22, 2018.
Note: This tour features several long hikes. The longest hikes–Buckskin Gulch and Grand Canyon–will allow for shorter options.
|
Campground |
Activities |
Notes |
|
|
Sunday |
Snow Canyon Showers |
Fly to Las Vegas. Try to arrive by 1p. Get a shuttle to St. George. Afternoon. explore Snow Canyon. Lava caves, fossil sand dunes. Evening: Lecture- Geology 101 and local geology. |
It is possible we may arrange a car pool in a rental car. Let me know your air travel plans as soon as possible. Do not make a shuttle reservation yet. |
|
Monday |
Bryce Canyon No showers |
Morning. Hike to Snow Canyon petroglyphs (5 miles). Led by Gerry Bryant. Drive to cinder cones. Geology: Erosion, lava flows, topographic inversion, lag deposits, desert varnish, diagenic color changes. Afternoon: Contact between the Kayenta and Navajo formations. Instruction by Gerry Bryant. Drive to Bryce Canyon. |
No showers at Bryce. |
|
Tuesday |
Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP Showers |
Dawn on the rim. After breakfast, intro to local geology by Gerry Bryant. Midday: Hike 8 miles. Afternoon. Drive to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. (CP) |
Bryce is most spectacular at dawn. The rocks at Bryce are Cenozoic—the youngest bedrock we’ll encounter on our trip. |
|
Wednesday |
Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP Showers |
Dawn at the dunes. Instruction by Gerry Bryant. Midday: Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway. Instruction by Gerry Bryant. Local exploring of dunes and creek beds. |
Go to bed early for a very early start on Thursday. |
|
Thursday |
Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP Showers |
Buckskin Gulch hike (20 miles). Best web site for info: http://climb-utah.com/Escalante/buckskin.htm |
There will be a shorter option of five or six miles in and out of the upper part of the Gulch. |
|
Friday |
Grand Canyon Showers |
Rim to rim (if the road to the North Rim trail head is open. Two people (including me) will not do the rim-to-rim. Instead, we will shuttle the cars to the south rim. The rim-to-rim is an option, not a requirement. Venture at your own risk. |
North Kaibab Trail (elevation change 8,241 ft – 14.3 miles – mostly a descent) to Bright Angel Trail (mostly an ascent – 9.6 miles – elevation change 6,860 ft) for a total of 23.9 miles. Plan B: Hike to Plateau Point for sundown. |
|
Sabbath |
Grand Canyon Showers |
Hike to Plateau Pt. 11 miles, 3000 ft. |
Plan B: Hermit Trail. Animal tracks in the Coconino Sandstone |
|
Sunday |
Drive to Las Vegas |
I’m a sky lover. Dawn–I sit in meditation outside at dawn nearly every morning. Rain or shine, but I prefer shine.
Part of the magic of the desert is the unhindered sky gazing. On our Talking Rock tours, we eat good food, enjoy good conversation, study rocks and geological formations. All under desert sky–blue by day, black by night. golden at dawn and sunset.
This is obviously not the desert. This is the view east from our farm. That’s Mt. Rainier at the lower right. I’d be happy to host you on a tour of that grand mountain if you’re in the area when the road is open, June – October, usually.
Feet and Miles Tour, April 15-22. This tour maximizes the hiking. In Bryce, we’ll do 8 miles. In Buckskin, we’ll cover 21 miles. At Grand Canyon, we do a ten and a twenty mile hike. The formal geology instruction will be concentrated in the first couple of days.
Itinerary. Snow Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway, Buckskin Gulch, Grand Canyon.
Geology and Campfires Tour. April 29-May 6. Same campgrounds as the above tour. But the hiking will be limited to five or six miles/day max. A more leisurely pace overall. Better food. More time for interaction with our geology professor, Gerry Bryant.
God, Rocks, and Souls Tour. Five days in Death Valley. Wednesday evening through Sunday morning, May 9-13. Darwin Falls. Eureka Dunes. Badwater. Canyon treks. Geology. God. Desert/Nature Spirituality.
For information or reservations: jtmclarty@gmail.com or 253-350-1211.
The focus of this tour is hiking. Yes, we’ll talk geology. We’ll notice geology. We’ll visit dinosaur tracks. And we’ll hike. Lots of hiking.
Bryce Canyon. Buckskin Gulch (a slot canyon). Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway. Coral Pink Sand Dunes. Grand Canyon.
To the bottom of Grand Canyon.
Here’s the itinerary.
Sunday. Arrive in St. George, Utah.
By air: Fly to Las Vegas and take a shuttle to St. George.
Sunday afternoon. Explore Snow Canyon State Park on your own. Lava caves, sandstone exposures, sandy washes.
Sunday evening. Camp in Snow Canyon. Lecture: Geology 101 and local geology.
Monday morning. Hike to Snow Canyon petroglyphs. Led by Gerry Bryant. Geology: Erosion, lava flows, topographic inversion, lag deposits, desert varnish, diagenic color changes.
Monday afternoon. Contact between the Kayenta and Navajo formations. Drive to Bryce Canyon.
Monday night. Camp at Bryce Canyon. (No showers.)
Tuesday morning. Dawn on the rim. After breakfast: Intro to local geology. Midday: Hike eight miles.
Tuesday afternoon. Drive to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
Tuesday night. Camp at Coral Pink.
Wednesday morning. Dawn at the dunes.
Wednesday midday: Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway.
Local exploring of dunes, creek beds, and peaks.
Wednesday night. Camp at Coral Pink.
Thursday. Buckskin Gulch. 20 mile hike.
Thursday night. Camp at Coral Pink.
Friday morning. Drive to Grand Canyon.
Friday afternoon. Hike to Plateau Point. Eleven miles round trip. 3000 feet of elevation gain.
Sabbath. Hike to the bottom of Grand Canyon. Down South Kaibab, up Bright Angel. Fifteen miles, 5000 feet of elevation gain.
Sunday morning. Drive to Las Vegas airport.
Cost: $600. Includes local transportation, food, entrance and camping fees, geology professor.
Contact info: John McLarty. 253-350-1211. jtmclarty@gmail.com.
In a recent Facebook conversation with a minister, I made the point that nearly all Adventists who attend Adventist schools through college and then go on to complete a Ph.D. in biology or the earth sciences reject a short geochronology–whether that is a chronology of all matter or of just the phanerozoic rocks.
In response the minister said he didn’t see why a Christian would study biology or geology since it is a known fact that those sciences undermine belief in the literal historicity of Genesis 1-9.
The conversation between us was courteous and respectful throughout, but once I clearly understood his idea that certain sciences should be precluded from Christian study, I realized there was no point in talking further. I value science as a tool for investigating the world–even when the truth it reveals corrects my understanding of the Bible. He believes that science is a useful tool for investigation the world only if the truth it reveals agrees with what we already know from the Bible.
I do not know how to bridge that chasm.
Making plans for Talking Rock Tours 2017 in the SW. Also still considering an outing or two this fall doing NW geology in the neighborhood of Mt. Rainier.
Yesterday morning I went looking for a set of dinosaur tracks I photographed last year.
(Actually, I don’t know what kind of animal it was, but it was contemporaneous with dinosaurs.) My camera had recorded the GPS coordinates. However, I was unable to find it this year.
But while looking for the tracks pictured above, I spotted another track way made by a larger animal. A real dinosaur, this time, I think. (You might need to play with the angle of your screen to see it clearly.) Note the rings around the heel. This is characteristic of the deformation caused by a foot stepping in moist sand.
Most likely, the print we are seeing does not include the top layers of the original track. Those layers are missing and what we are seeing is the print made in layers below the surface as the pressure was transmitted down.
The Navajo Sandstone is full of animal tracks. These were not dead animals washed together into a heap by a flood or The Flood. They were living animals running around.
The pictures were taken in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The official name of the sandstone here is the Aztec Sandstone, but it is now recognized as an extension of the Navajo.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon that addressed the role of secular knowledge.
The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5xhSyrb-GY
Sermon at Green Lake Church, June 17, 2017
I also wrote a manuscript, but in this case, I think the spoken sermon is far more pointed and captures what I was intending to say, than the written sermon. In short: I referenced the Bible’s description of Solomon’s wisdom for which he is so celebrated. His wisdom was entirely secular. First, it was knowledge of the natural world–what we would call science (1 Kings 4:29). Second it was political or judicial (1 Kings 3:16). Kings in the region sent ambassadors to “go to school” under Solomon. The ambassadors were not coming for sermons. They were coming for lessons in natural science and political science. Once in Jerusalem they would be exposed to the spiritual treasures of Israel, but they came because of Solomon’s secular knowledge–knowledge that could be validated or falsified by direct experience.
Today, we who are believers can hope to gain a hearing among nonbelievers if we demonstrate solid competence in areas of secular knowledge. When we demonstrate incompetence in areas of secular knowledge, we undermine our overall credibility. Why would someone listen to us speak about God, the highest of all truth claims, if we demonstrate stubborn resistance to truth in areas open to investigation and direct observation.
This is where we stand as a church in regard to our current “Adventist geology.” Adventist geology is demonstrably false. Noah’s Flood did not create the Phanerozoic portion of the geologic column. (“Phanerozoic” refers to the portion of the geologic column in which fossils are abundant.)
johnmclarty.com 