e-culture: Travel In the Works, Current Events, Diez y Seis, KTRU
September 10, 2001


IN THIS ISSUE
Travel in the Works
Current Events
Featured Tradition
Stay Tuned to KTRU
Grander Than the Grand Canyon
Volunteers, Our Top Priority
Hiking Harris County
More Photography Classes



Greetings from bearing 37° 06.63N, 111° 03.18W, a sandy bench that once rested high above a majestic canyon now containing Lake Powell. Taking a refreshing dip can result in a big surprise, as the sparse ledges drop off hundreds of feet into the old river channel. We camped at this junction of Balancing Rock Canyon and Glen Canyon to begin our exploration of ancient Anasazi sites and natural wonders.

The ruin sites we found out of the lake's wake, in deep side canyons with names like Iceberg, Reflection and Slickrock Canyon, were small and clung precariously to the upper reaches of once intermittent water sources. The deep canyon of the Colorado River provided constant water from the La Salle and Rocky Mountains, and may have supported larger pueblos, like those found in the Grand Canyon. All of the dwellings entombed in the lake could not have faired well beneath heavy silt and the crumbling sandstone walls caused by the containment of so much water.

Kilian Sweeney and I, in the little boat "Jornada de Cabeza de Vaca," traveled 150 to 200 miles beneath the canyon walls, through the goosenecks of the San Juan River and to the Hole-in-the-Rock, where Mormon missionaries descended into the gorge on hand-carved steps to fulfill their destiny to reach the native people of southeast Utah. We visited the Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural span of rock in the world, which normally requires a desperate hike through the desert from the Navajo Nation side of the lake. Even after the influx of Utes and Navajos, Mormon pioneers and modern miners seeking coal and uranium, this area remains thinly populated. More on the cultural and environmental paradoxes of the region will be reported in an article we are developing, "The Contradictions of John Wesley Powell."

Influential photographers and environmentalists have long resented the damming of Glen Canyon. Native Americans have insisted that the few remaining historic sites be protected. Recreation on the lake has caused the unfortunate destruction of ruins and petroglyphs. The intrigue of seeing how this area was once inhabited has compelled us to organize future trips into the canyons of the Cedar Mesa and a return visit to Glen Canyon, where we will tour the Escalante River, Chaol Canyon and the very scenic West Canyon. We also hope to include hikes into the Navajo National Monument, visits to Black Mesa and the Hopi Mesas, and another tour of the archaeological sites at Homol'ovi.


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Travel in the Works

Over the summer, we managed to explore a number of interesting places, including return visits to many National Parks in Utah and a first visit to the Sawtooth range in Idaho, where we found interesting cultural history, in addition to great adventures. Hiking above the treeline to the Blue Lakes in the Sneffels Wilderness, we have discovered some great possibilities for summer adventure in the San Juan Mountains. Our visits to the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado continue to reveal a fascinating area with the strong cultural identity of historic New Mexico. Look for future trips to these regions and articles on our web site in the near future.

In addition to the split winter and summer expeditions to the Canyonlands region, we have a variety of educational trips in the works.

In the fall, we plan to visit Lake Tenkiller, Grand Lake O' the Cherokees and Table Rock Lake. It has been a dry summer in the Ozarks, so we are concentrating on the lake areas to find the best examples of fall colors and nature. Cultural activities for fall may include petroglyph viewing on Amistad Reservoir and Seminole Canyon, and observance of the Apache Jii Procession in Globe, Arizona.

Winter plans include a visit to the Cane River for holiday lighting ceremonies. We will possibly return to Santa Fe and further explore the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. For photographers, we may make a trip to Bryce and the Grand Staircase.

Spring will likely take us to Los Angeles for a tour of cultural districts and museums.

Summer plans include a tour of Indian mound sites in Ohio and exploration of pioneer trails in Idaho, Oregon and northern California.

We will post tentative itineraries for these trips on the web site and formally organize those that garner the best response. Stay tuned for more details.

http://www.houstonculture.org/travel

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Current Events

Our calendar situation is getting under control. We are establishing deadlines and searching for a Calendar Editor. Deadlines will be as follows:

Mondays at Noon, all calendar items should be received to be included on the Monday evening KTRU World Music Show. Those items will be uploaded to the on-line calendar on Tuesday mornings.

Regardless of deadlines, please send event information as soon as possible. We can post a calendar for the benefit of other DJs at the station and target specific items to specific shows, such as the Blues or Reggae Show.

Remember to look at the calendar on Tuesdays for updates on great events, like the Festa Italiana, Turkish Festival, independent films at the Aurora Picture Show, South Indian drummer Trichy Sankaran and much more.

PS: Tune in the World Show tonight to hear the music of Trichy Sankaran and music for the Fiestas Patrias, in addition to more calendar items.

Please send calendar items to info@houstonculture.org.

http://www.houstonculture.org/events

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Featured Tradition

September 16 is Diez y Seis. The important Mexican holiday will be celebrated on Saturday, September 15 at 10:00am with the Fiestas Patrias Parade in downtown Houston. Use the link below to read about the tradition.

http://www.houstonculture.org/tour/texas4a.html


You can read a brief timeline of regional history to learn more about Diez y Seis and Mexican Independence.

http://www.houstonculture.org/vc/time.html

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Stay Tuned to KTRU

KTRU is very important in the community for the venue it provides to independent and cultural artists, and the resulting educational programs organized by students and volunteers. It was not even one year ago when we learned just how endangered independent art and music is in Houston when KTRU's format was targeted for introversive changes by Rice University administrators. Luckily, students and listeners raised their voices, and artists from around the world became involved to end a lockout. The best way to support KTRU is to listen to programming that interests you and let others know about it. There is a new fall schedule of specialty shows posted on our web site.

http://www.houstonculture.org/world/shows.html


There is a wide range of topics, from Blues to Classical Music of the Twentieth Century (Scordatura) to Local Music presented on 91.7FM. Participants in our activities will find the World Music Show, which I contribute my time to now and then on Mondays from 7:00 - 9:00pm, enlightening and rewarding.

The Americana Show, which follows World Music on Mondays at 9:00pm, features many topics for those interested in the history and multifaceted culture of American music. In the upcoming weeks on both Monday night programs, we will present a schedule of music events where you can see legenday Texas musicians, like Herb Remington and Johnny Gimble. I can report from personal experience, you will be snug under the covers back in your motel room when the former Texas Playboys drive past on the highway, whoopin' and hollerin', after a lively concert.

Texas music has strong identity and a tradition of innovation. Through artists like Milton Brown, Bob Wills, a host of cowboy singers and post-war small band combos, Texas music spread across the West, becoming the "Western" component in Country and Western. Decades ago, Texas musicians joked that WSM, the powerful station behind the Grand Ole Opry, stood for "Wrong Side of the Mississippi." But, in the KTRU tradition of open-mindedness and fairness, I'm going to present a Nashville Country artist on the Americana show, September 17 at 9:00pm. "Jason Ringenberg: Both Sides of the Line" will look at a farm boy who stepped into Nashville's small punk scene in the 1980s, took a fully independent approach to producing music in the Music City, and breathed new life into songs about sin and salvation.


More KTRU tips:
Set lists can be found on the web at www.ktru.org. When you are in the Rice University area, tune your radio from 91.7 to 91.5 to eliminate interference created by the "shadow" of downtown and the Med Center.

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Grander Than the Grand Canyon

Two Canyon Journals, from our trips to Copper Canyon, are on line and two more are near completion. There will be at least six in this series, and additional journals concerning learning experiences in canyons on the Southwest, such as Alamo and Chaco.

http://www.houstonculture.org/canyon


We are also preparing the Great Plains Journal, featuring shorter features on cultural topics, including the mysterious El Cuartelejo, Aurora Borealis, migrant Indians, Mennonite and Basque Immigrants.

Please let us know if you would like to contribute travel journals or cultural features.

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Volunteers, Our Top Priority

Our first priority is to increase our volunteer support. Volunteers may present their own ideas for initiatives, or contribute to the organization and execution of the following projects:

1) Organize events and exhibits
2) Develop educational and interesting topics for the web site
3) Help organize a cultural magazine
4) Plan a social event and tour of the Haak Vineyards and Winery
5) Clean up a historic Native American mound site on Galveston Bay
6) Promote an educational camp for kids
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp

We will hold a meeting in September to plan our future activities. Please contact Sahn Sanaphol at sahn@houstonculture.org if you or someone you know would like to volunteer.

http://www.houstonculture.org/office


In addition to increased effort to recruit active volunteers, we are involved in an effort to dramatically increase our resources on the Internet. Many unfinished pages will be completed in a few short weeks and we will seek volunteers to take over editorship of specific sections.

For community organizations and artists, we are creating useful on line indexes to help attract more support from the Houston community. Please take a few minutes to complete the required information.

http://www.houstonculture.org/listings

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Hiking Harris County

We are going to hike the Karankawa Trail and Pine Gully, two trails in southern Harris County that will surely surprise you. We will visit a historic Indian camp on Galveston Bay and tour the Armand Bayou Nature Center. The target date is Sunday, September 30, depending on weather. We will meet at 10:00am in the Astrodome area and carpool to Clear Lake. Please call 713-521-3686 if you are interested in this healthy and educational activity.

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More Photography Classes

Photography classes have proven extremely popular, with the current section well over the limit and inquiries too numerous to answer. We will offer two sections of the Introduction to Lighting course in January. There appears to be support for more sections, but we aren't solely in service to teach photography and need to dedicate more time to a variety of other activities. If you are interested in taking one of these classes, please register early.

http://www.houstonculture.org/class



Thanks for you contributions and suggestions. Please continue to send event and festival information to us for inclusion in the community calendar on our web site and to promote greater community involvement through KTRU.

Mark

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M A R K   L A C Y / mark@cultural-crossroads.com


Houston Institute for Culture
http://houstonculture.org

World Music on KTRU
http://houstonculture.org/world

Read Cabeza de Vaca On Line
http://houstonculture.org/spanish

Our Educational Youth Camp
http://houstonculture.org/camp