Just hung the Angels Landing painting "Yes, Gravity Works" up last night- it looks beautiful and was especially vivid when surrounded by the morning light this am... thank you for changing its name. I want to share why...
It was a rough year here in Zion w/ several visitor fatalities, rockfalls, and flash floods- which was why the three words I used to describe Zion at the Monday welcome dinner was "yes, gravity works"...nothing optimized that more for me than Angels Landing... I am the park's public information officer (ie press contact) and I feel like all I did recently was talk about Angels Landing- and it was never good. We had two fatalities there- one, a local young girl, was just heartbreaking. I am not sure any of us will ever fully get over that one. We also dealt with complaints and concerns of overcrowding on Angels Landing, as record breaking numbers of people continue to visit the park. Human waste was a huge issue, as toilets were over capacity- closing the trail for a few days to pull barrels of human waste off via helicopter. And of course, the big July 11 storm that decimated the trail to Angels Landing, closing it for two months. One thing after another... So, recently, whenever I looked at Angels Landing, it was with a manager's eye of apprehension and foreboding...
When I saw your painting on the lawn, it forced me to look at that formation again through another's eyes. It was more refreshing than I can describe. And I love the warmth captured in the piece... so Thank You!!!
Looking at it everyday will continue to remind me to take a deep breath and look past my recently held belief that Zion means only "Yes, Gravity Works"...
I also have your demonstration piece, which I also love. It's funny because I know ya'll must think, "we paint the same thing each year" with demos since we keep using the museum patio... but I don't think any of us that work at headquarters and see the Temples and Towers every day EVER get sick of them. For us, they are like a piece of home...
Anyway- I just wanted to thank you- Plein Air week has been a great break for me, as well as the other staff, to enable us to focus on something other than our visitor use issues and to remind us to enjoy the park and its never-ending beauty.
Hope this next year is much better than your last,
-Aly
