Today is a big deal in Utah. We celebrate the arrival of pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley; a very hostile and foreboding place that is part of the Great American Desert. In the dead of winter, the pioneers fought their way west across 1200 miles of wilderness and hostile Native Americans, carrying their worldly possessions on their backs, in carts pulled by hand, and Conestoga-style covered wagons pulled by oxen that suffered as much or more than the pilgrims. When they arrived after a lethal crossing of the Wasatch Mountains, this is what they saw:
The first home that I owned was located in this canyon, naturally named Emigration Canyon. In the distance can be seen the Great Salt Lake. My family’s history in the region dates about decade later than this epic journey. My wife’s great grandfather was B.H. Roberts, one of the founders of the Mormon Church. Here is an early photo of him and books that were written about him:
On my side of the family, the Cox clan came from England and became mountain men and early conservationists. My grandfather, George Cox, was one of the first game wardens, built many of the fish hatcheries in Utah, and was relentless in tracking down poachers and others who did not respect the wilderness and beauty of the American West.
My father was as tough as they come. He trapped Beaver and Muskrats, was a game warden, both for the State of Utah and the Federal Government; and he created habitat for wildlife and migratory birds throughout Utah, Wyoming, and Canada. Here is a photo that my brother took of him about 100 kilometers from the nearest road, and far from running water:
I am on the left and my father is next to me. He was in his fifties when this was taken, and we were among the first to descend into the Maze; a Slickrock wilderness that is now a part of the Canyonlands National Park. My dad also created many of the hiking trails in Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, chased and caught poachers in the State of Texas, and taught me to be a man. Here is another photo of him at my age, far from civilization in Utah’s Colorado Plateau:
I guess I am telling you all of this because my family has done much to make Utah and the American West a sacred place. We are an inseparable part of the wild west since its inception, and my family continues the tradition. My younger brother, Paul is a world-famous Ethnobotanist, a winner of the prestigious Goldman prize for environmental conservation, and got his doctorate at Harvard University. His daughter Mary, was recently selected to be a full professor at Oxford University in the U.K. She is one of the first American women to receive this prestigious appointment.
Years ago, Hollywood made a movie loosely based on my brother’s research and the work of his mentor, Dr, Richard Schultes, that starred Sean Connery, called, ‘The Medicine Man’. Paul created the Seacology Foundation, and now has his own research laboratory in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he and his scientific team are advancing towards a cure for ALS, Altzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Here is a video about the Seacology Foundation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxLnac6Wv4
The point of my post here is not to brag about my family, but to point out that simple people with little wealth can make a difference in the reality we all share. To build, rather than destroy, is the work of God as well as man, and our view of terrorism is that it is evil, destructive, and only serves its practitioners. All of humanity needs to look closely at what we have done and are doing. Please help us save the world……and, again, Happy Birthday, Utah!!!
