Old Mill of days past and Covered Bridge - Johnson VT #Photo

Old Abandoned water power plant and a currently active covered bridge in Johnson VT

Canyon wall rock threatening to crash into base of Arizona dam (Rock is 50 feet high, 30 feet wide)

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. —A massive piece of rock is at risk of crashing down from a canyon wall to the base of an Arizona dam, prompting the government to send in a crew of rappelers to keep the slab in place.

The 500,000-pound slab -- weighing more than many jumbo jets -- cracked and began to break away from the canyon wall last week because of what the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says is erosion that is typical for that type of rock. The area below the slab includes a passageway to a boat ramp, a machine shop and water and power facilities for the Glen Canyon Dam, located in Page near the Arizona-Utah border.

The Bureau of Reclamation has cut off access to the boat ramp, putting some rafting trips on hold until the rock can be secured.

A three-person crew has been scaling the towering walls to drill bolts that range from 6 feet to 8 feet long into the sandstone. Six bolts were placed in the canyon wall a week ago before a small chunk broke loose and crashed down, hitting a building and leaving a pile of rubble, Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Chris Watt said.

"It's just plain luck that it didn't cause more damage because we don't know how big of chunks are going to fall," he said. "If more of it falls, that's a real concern."

The slab measures 30 feet at its widest point and is 50 feet tall. Its thickness ranges from 6 inches to 4 feet, he said.

The plan is to attach bolts in the area above the crack to make sure it's safe enough for crews to then work on the part of the slab that is in jeopardy of falling. Temperatures can top 110 degrees on the face of the wall, limiting the hours the crew can work, Watt said. The work isn't expected to be complete until the first week of October.

The slab is about 150 feet away from the edge of the dam, which is not in danger of being hit by the rock. Watt also said the location is at constant risk of falling rock, and engineers have constructed protections at the site such as stronger buildings and an area designed to catch falling rock.

For now, a rafting company that takes tourists from the base of the dam down the Colorado River to Lees Ferry has cut down on the number of daily trips. Colorado River Discovery General Manager Korey Seyler said the company is now launching at Lees Ferry, about 15 miles downstream, and traveling up the river until it gets the OK to resume normal operations.

"It certainly has had a major impact on us, as all of our trips depart from the base of the dam," he said. "We've ceased having the ability to access the area."

Rockfalls aren't uncommon at Glen Canyon. The layer of rock known as Navajo sandstone is common in the Southwest, particularly in Utah, and is prone to cracks due to erosion.

This crack is the largest one in years, and workers at the dam have been watching it closely, Watt said.

Frank Talbott, a former river guide who lives just outside Page, said rocks have fallen into the river and taken out part of a catwalk that goes to the lower part of the dam.

"They just happen, and it doesn't hurt anything, unless it's right at a special place at the dam," he said.

**This photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, and provided by Frank Talbott shows workers stabilizing a sandstone wall along the Glen Canyon dam near Page, Ariz. The massive slab of rock is threatening to come crashing down at the base of the Arizona dam. The three-person crew has been working to stabilize the sandstone that forms the walls surrounding the Glen Canyon dam near the Arizona-Utah border. The slab weighs 500,000 pounds and recently began to crack due to erosion. The area below the slab includes a boat ramp, and water and power facilities for the dam. (Frank Talbott via AP)Associated Press

Anker Compact Car Jump Starter and Portable Charger Power Bank

Amazon.com: Anker Compact Car Jump Starter and Portable Charger Power Bank with 400A Peak Current, Advanced Safety Protection and Built-In LED Flashlight:  http://ow.ly/NZQA8

What's a Ghost Moose? How Ticks Are Killing an Iconic Animal

By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic
PUBLISHED JUNE 01, 2015

EAST MOXIE TOWNSHIP, Maine—Lee Kantar crouches over a dead moose calf and pulls a clump of hair from its straggly shoulder.

A few days earlier, the sickly ten-month-old animal had waded through deep snow to this sun-dappled stand of spruce trees in western Maine, laid down, and died.

"See how white those hairs are?" says Kantar, a moose biologist for the state.

It's a telltale sign that the calf was becoming a "ghost moose"—an animal so irritated by ticks that it rubs off most of its dark brown hair, exposing its pale undercoat and bare skin.

With their skinny necks, emaciated bodies, and big, hairless splotches, these moose look like the walking dead as they stumble through the forest.

And in recent years in New England, ghost moose sightings have become increasingly familiar.

The reason is likely climate change, biologists say, which is ushering in shorter, warmer winters that are boosting the fortunes of winter ticks. The tiny creatures latch on to moose here in staggering numbers: One moose can house 75,000 ticks, which are helping to drive a troubling rise in moose deaths, especially among calves. (See "New Climate Change Report Warns of Dire Consequences.")

Mostly wiped out in New England by hunting in the 1800s, moose populations had begun rebounding in the late 1970s, thanks to a suddenly abundant food source—new spruce-fir forests that took root following a pest outbreak that wiped out much of the former forest.

By the late 1990s, about 7,500 moose were living in New Hampshire. But in 2013, the population there had dropped to 4,500. In vastly bigger Maine, which has about 60,000 moose—the densest population in the lower 48 states—there's a suspected decline, but there's less data.

It's unlikely that these leggy deer will disappear entirely from New England, but the surge in moose deaths has made investigating the causes a top priority for the region's scientists.

Though winter tick is the main culprit, scientists are trying to unravel the bigger mystery of what else is contributing to the deaths. Moose are highly susceptible to several kinds of parasites, and it's likely that many factors are at play.

What's a Ghost Moose? How Ticks Are Killing an Iconic Animal See Full Story Here

A Walk In the Woods - Redford and Nolte

I am looking forward to seeing this in the fall.

I placed hiking the Appalachian Trail on my bucket list, and has been firmly planted there for the past few years.  It will probably have to happen after I retire or win the lottery, but I will not stray from this adventure at some point down the road.

Redford and Nolte Take 'A Walk In the Woods'

The adaptation of Bill Bryson's AT memoir gets its first trailer. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are set to hit the Appalachian Trail later this year in the long-awaited adaptation of Bill Bryson’s classic memoir A Walk in the Woods. Redford’s earnestness and Nolte’s barely comprehensible speech patterns look to provide plenty of laughs while Nick Offerman pops in as a sardonic REI employee.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters September 2nd.

Check out the first full trailer below: