Land of Contrast, Land of Change
NAMESOF SAN UAN COUNTY n 1934, Everett Ruess, a twenty-year-old vagabond philosopher, made his third visit in as many years to the geographic wonderland of northern Arizona and southern Utah. His intense love for the land's beauty caused him to pen some of the most lyrical poetry of the soul, describing mountain and desert through the eyes of an artist. That June, he sat upon Navajo Mountain and tried to describe his feelings towards the landscape: The perfection of this place is one reason why I distrust ever returning to the cities. Here I wander in beauty and perfection. There one walks in the midst of ugliness and mistakes. . . . The beauty of this country is becoming a part of me. I feel more detached from life and somehow gentler. . . . I have some good friends here, but no one really understands why I am here or what I do.'
Five months later, he disappeared forever in the wilderness near Escalante, Utah, a victim of the land he loved. Ruess's vision of this part of the world and his mysterious death
