SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B
Mark Boster /Los Angeles Times-TNS
The Grand Canyon closed to all visitors on Wednesday following earlier cut-
backs of services and access to popular trails.
Grand Canyon National
Park closed to all visitors
By Mary Forgione
Los Angeles Times
Grand Canyon National Park closed to
visitors Wednesday, saying in a statement
that it was following “the guidance of
state and local health offi cials” who made
the recommendation as a measure to stop
the spread of the coronavirus. The move
came a day after Arizona’s stay-at-home
order went into effect.
Also, a Grand Canyon Village resident
on the South Rim of the canyon tested
positive for COVID-19. The National Park
Service earlier confi rmed that at least
seven employees (none at the Grand Can-
yon) had contracted the coronavirus.
The nation’s second most popular park
drew criticism over the last few weeks for
leaving various roads and popular South
Rim view points open to visitors. This al-
lowed people to enter and gather in large
numbers, which runs counter to public
health rules.
Last week, in an effort to discourage
visitors, the park canceled backcountry
camping and closed access to the popular
Bright Angel, South Kaibab and North
Kaibab trails that lead down into the
canyon.
Joshua Tree National Park also closed
indefi nitely Wednesday over coronavirus
concerns, the park’s website says. The
800,000-acre desert park east of Los
Angeles earlier had closed campgrounds
and access roads into the park but al-
lowed walkers and cyclists to enter. Again,
crowds of hikers, bicyclists and climb-
ers fl ooded the park despite the partial
closures.
Grand Canyon, which receives more
than 6 million visitors a year, and Joshua
Tree join a growing list of parks in the
West that have shut to visitors. Yosemite,
Yellowstone, Canyonlands and Arches
in Utah, Crater Lake in Oregon, and
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
in the San Francisco Bay Area are closed
indefi nitely.
Other national parks, such as Zion Na-
tional Park in Utah, as well as Redwood
National and State Parks in Northern
California, have shut services, camp-
grounds and some roads but kept natural
areas open to hikers.
Idaho restrictions to continue
“Life will not go back to normal for a
long time.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little said Thursday
Little, who resisted putting signifi cant
night that he expects to add some sort
restraints on citizens until community
of action on top of the 21-day, stay-home
spread was confi rmed, said the stay-home
order he issued March 25.
order was not done “lightly.” He issued
His original order runs through April 15. a county-wide order when community
It was designed to slow the spread of the
spread was confi rmed in Blaine County
coronavirus.
and a statewide order when it was con-
“I know something will take its place,”
fi rmed in the Boise area.
Little said during a half-hour Q&A with
Blaine County’s case total ballooned to
Idaho Public Television. “As we see the sci- 351 on Thursday as it has experienced one
ence and the epidemiology from the other of the nation’s worst per-capita infections.
places, as we see what we have here, we
“This is not my natural state at all,”
will adjust it. ... Until we have a vaccine,
Little said, “in a state, the most unregu-
until we have immunity, until we have
lated state in the union, that’s my natural
good treatments, something’s going to have state. But the safety of the people of Idaho
to take place after the 15th, but it depends is paramount. ... It’s a heavy responsibility
upon the science that’s out there.
to me.”
By Chadd Cripe
The Idaho Statesman
HOME
There are plenty of resources
out there to get you going.
Continued from Page 2B
If you’re looking for some
Puzzles are also the perfect inspiration and want to get
activity to do while listen-
collaborative, HitRecord is an
ing to a podcast or relaxing
online platform that allows
music. Plus, depending on the creatives to share and make
size of the puzzle, you might art, whether it’s music, fi lm or
be at it for a while. If you’re
writing.
feeling ambitious, you could
attempt a 4,000-piece puzzle Organize your space
I know, how dare I suggest
like Ellen DeGeneres.
this?! Hear me out, you’re go-
Have a dance party
ing to be spending a lot more
It may sound silly, but
time at home, so you might
dancing is a great way to get as well make it a place you’re
on your feet and shake off
comfortable in! I’m not saying
some stress. Why not make
you need to go full on Marie
it a party and get the whole
Kondo, although you could if
family in on it? There’s plenty you wanted, but rearranging
of playlists out there of up-
some furniture or declutter-
beat songs to get you moving. ing your coffee table might
Watch out for the furniture!
make a bigger difference to
how you feel about being
Cook or bake
home than you would think.
How many times have
You might want to dust off
you told yourself you need to your old Pinterest account for
start meal-prepping? Now is this one.
the perfect time to try new
Look at old photos
recipes, plan meals and ex-
One of my favorite pas-
periment in the kitchen! Just
be sure to wash your produce times is to look through old
photos. My family has shoe
well.
boxes and shoe boxes full
Practice your hobby/
of them, so I’ve spent hours
passion
reminiscing. Photos are also
What do you love to do,
a great way to connect with
but don’t get to do often
your family and friends.
because of time? Now is the
Whenever I look through
time to pick up that instru-
them, I can’t help but take
ment again or start writing
photos of some of the funniest
that book or learn that new
or cutest ones and text them
language. It might be hard to to my family. You could also
keep up at fi rst, but devot-
watch home videos! Which,
ing a little time each day to
depending on how you have
whatever you want to craft
them saved, may need to be
will make a huge difference. digitized. Another great way
to spend time!
Video chat with friends
Staying connected with
loved ones is more important
than ever right now. Face-
Time, Skype, Zoom and other
video chatting platforms are
great tools we can use to
virtually interact with friends
and family. You can even get
creative and share a meal or
watch a movie at the same
time. The Chrome extension
Netfl ix Party allows you to
watch movies and TV shows
in sync with your friends!
If you’re itching for a game
night, Tabletop Simulator is a
platform that allows users to
play and create games with
other users.
Rest and help others
Something we all need to
do during this time is allow
ourselves to rest. If you have
the means to do so, use this
time to take a step back,
breathe and take care of your
mind and body. Try to help
others who are high risk or
those who don’t have the
luxury of being able to stay
home. Maybe a neighbor of
yours is part of the vulnerable
population and needs help
getting groceries. Perhaps
their garden needs some
tending. Even giving a call to
someone quarantined could
brighten their day. As diffi cult
and uncertain as this time is,
there are still many ways we
can take care of ourselves and
those around us.
Photo by Ethan Shaw
This type of rock outcrop is known as a “tor.” These are granitic rocks in the western
end of the Wallowas.
LANDFORMS
staggered, stair-step mountainsides. We have
knife-edge ridges and broad saddleback ones.
Continued from Page 1B
We even have a caldera: the blasted-open
Some look like shark fi ns, some like half-
volcanic edifi ce of Tower Mountain.
domes, some like clipper ships riding high
Rock outcrops here take the form of belted
over a sea of cirques, ridges and troughs.
cliffbands and colonnaded rimrock, forebod-
Our mountain margins may be strikingly
ing crags and ice-smoothed bosses, subtle
steep faulted fronts: the Teton-esque east
scabland blisters. Some of my favorites are
face of the Elkhorns, the Wallowa Valley’s
our many “tors,” those broken stacks and pil-
postcard backdrop, the spur-ribbed fl anks of lars scattered from foothill knolls and slopes
the Grande Ronde, the loom of the Strawber- amid the dacites and andesites of the Powder
rys over the John Day Valley. Or they may
River Volcanics to the gray rocklands of the
be dribblings of benches and foothills, easing Elkhorn and Wallowa batholiths. They have
down from the high country over long miles
the look of castle ruins, just as some of our
to subside into rolling plains or basins — or
great basalt dikes have the look of ruined
continuing to plummet into the deeps of some fortress walls.
of the continent’s most impressive canyons.
It’s quite the topographic quilt, quite the
We have some mighty rock walls — none
litany of landforms. Tremendous country to
mightier than the white west face of the
walk over, to ride over — and to sweep over
Matterhorn in the Wallowas — and also
in the mind’s-eye, anytime and anyplace.