Saturday, March 1, 2008

Oh, Babylon!

Kailee on Kissin' Kate Barlow

Jerimiah 51: 37.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. KJV

The cataclysmic meeting of three giants and the forces of creation have produced a few real mystical places. Somewhere near the center of the confluence of the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert lies the heart of Babylon. I don't know what Babylonian imagery possesed our pioneer ancestors to name this place. There were silver mines here in the early days. Perhaps it reflected King Nebuchadrezzar's monetary policy in ancient Babylonia--the silver standard. More likely, it was Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young's distaste for precious metal mining and the godless roughians that generally came with it that earned Babylon its name. Bawdy mining camp culture was abrasive to orderly Mormon life in St George and represented the wordly evils Mormons eschew.




The silver mines are just a memory now. The verse in Jerimiah 51 mutters a more modern interpretation for this Babylon touching the Virgin River. Astonishing heaps of Sandstone peirce the cactus and yucca strewn desert floor as if they were punched through from beneath by some great blow of force. It is the dwelling place for the mighty dragon, Desert Tortoise, who now owns Babylon. Today, we dared enter his lair.








8 comments:

Bonnie said...

Wow how beautiful! I would love to go and do that. I am so glad you guys have that chance to go and see these places that we read about.

Here at home said...

Cory could tell you all about Babylon. He's been there. Really. It is nothing to be proud of. Saddam had it built up somewhat. We've got pictures.

Anonymous said...

So, lets see another blog about Babylon--I wanna see those pics. It must be a fascinating place.

Tamster said...

Pretty pics/landscape! Looks like fun! :-)

HuckFinnsMom said...

That picture, the first one with the horse leaping up the big red rock, cliff, whatever...It brings back very bad memories. Was that your wife you talked into that? Whew, good story and pics, but that first picture... My heart leapt out of my chest when I saw it. Crazy people! C-A-R-A-Z-E-E!!

DrGooch said...

That was Kailee scrambling up the rocky trail on the Mustang. She loved it all--sliding down a steep sand dune, going off the sharp embankment to the river. She's a regular man from snowy river :)

Perfect Moments Photography said...

Wow, how awesome it would be to just go out into G-d's beautiful land like this and see the things you don't while driving a car.

Now that my husband loves horses (thanks to Doran) I bet he would love to go with you on a venture and take pictures for you! How fun :)

DrGooch said...

Anytime you want, Paul.