‘My own desert dialect’ — 3 Utah women write about wilderness and nature

Edward Abbey roamed what is today Arches National Park as a seasonal ranger in the 1950s, treasuring the isolation and the harsh but fragile landscape that surrounded him. His observations and experiences became “Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness,” considered a classic of nature writing that helped spur the modern environmental movement.To mark the 50th anniversary of its publication in 1968, Back of Beyond Books in Moab commissioned Amy Irvine to contribute a 3,000-word e