Capitol Reef National Park, in South Central Utah, preserves not only unspoiled nature but relics of those who settled the land. The authors find it a good destination for visitors with limited mobility. (Photo by Deborah Wall.)
Nevada and the Southwest are chock-full of gorgeous scenery from the heights of Wheeler Peak to the depths of Death Valley, but enjoying them often requires a bit of stamina.
Along comes a unique book for those who want to see these sights but have limited mobility — whether in a wheelchair, using a walker, having a service dog or simply not in the best of shape, as related in this week’s newspaper column, available online at The Ely Times and the Elko Daily Free Press. For these people, and frankly anyone interested in getting out and seeing our great land, experienced outdoor writers and photographers Deborah Wall and Dennis Boulton have penned “Access For All: Touring the Southwest With Limited Mobility.”
The numerous, lush photographs alone make the book a valuable addition to anyone’s library.
The writers traveled tens of thousands of miles to research and take photographs for the book, finding accessible trails, overlooks, campgrounds, parking, bathrooms and lodging accommodations for the dozens of beautiful natural sights in Nevada, Arizona, Utah and western California.
Previously there has been little information available about which outdoor destinations are equipped to accommodate people with limited mobility, even though more and more outdoor sights have redoubled efforts to provide access to areas formerly available only to the young and fit. Longer life expectancy and early retirements have given more of us time to travel, despite aching joints and shortened breath.
In addition, the book suggests several road trips in which the scenery is visible from the comfort of an air-conditioned car, such as Highway 50: Loneliest Road in America.
“U.S. 50 roughly parallels the trail used by the Pony Express, the short-lived mail delivery system which ran from 1860 to 1861 …” the book tells us.
“If you long to experience the ‘real Nevada’ of present-day Western films, this is a good place to do so. To do it properly, allow two or three days; don’t fight the 382 miles from Carson City to Baker (home of Great Basin National Park), but savor them.”
In addition to the sights to see and the wildlife to watch for, the book is rich with history and anecdotes that you can regale your friends and family with while on the outing.
“In the Moapa area (Jack) Longstreet killed a man named Dry. Dry had a bad reputation, so authorities accepted Longstreet’s claim of self-defense. But on the hilt of Longstreet’s revolver, Dry’s notch wasn’t the only one,” we are told. “Longstreet built at Ash Meadows in 1895. He cleverly set the back of his cabin into a natural spring mound, whose running water provided refrigeration for food storage.”
The book, published by New University Press, hit the bookstore shelves this week and is available on Amazon.com for $24.99.
4TH ST8 
Beautiful sights to see and experience but gas at $3.78 and closing in on $4.00 slows our enthusiasm.
Gas is only expensive these days if you refuse to drive a high mileage vehicle. At 36 mpg, my Mazda costs me far less in gas than my old Maverick at 20 mpg – and a heck of a lot less than my brother’s old 1967 LeMans at 15 mpg or so.
Can your Mazderatti tow a travel trailer and few ATVs?
Even vehicles towing trailers cost less in gas than those of 50 years ago…unless you count the cost of our Mideast adventures.
So….no. It cannot.
Makes happy to know you approve of my SUV.
Been to Capitol Reef a coupla times…some of the petroglyphs reminded me of von Däniken’s “Chariots of the Gods”.
Just remembered: I ran into a guy there from Switzerland and we had a good discussion about personal firearm ownership. I think he had a Steyr Aug — still one of my faves.
Steve: I didn’t know anyone used the term, “Mazderatti” besides me. I called my new 1980 RX-7 my “Mazdaratti” back then. I googled it, and apparently there was a musical group called that also.
That Wankel engine could lay some stripes on the asphalt. One of my friends in high school had a Mazda pickup…thing was sick fast.
Today, Mazda is boring.
Can’t blame you for buying an SUV Steve. It’s a situation where decisions of millions which are perfectly rational in microeconomics add up to be far less rational in macroeconomics.
I had a friend that put an RX-3 motor in a Lotus Europa…way faster than my RX-7. Too bad Mazda doesn’t bring back the RX-7, that twin-turbo Gen 3 was amazing. The RX-8 just never did much for me…
Paid $3.98/gal for lowest grade. Where’s the media outrage?