Excerpts from a letter from John Adams to his wife dated July 3, 1776, the evening before that fateful vote:

Had a declaration of independence been made seven months ago, it would have been attended with many great and glorious effects. We might, before this hour, have formed alliance with foreign states. We should have mastered Quebec and been in possession of Canada.
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But, on the other hand, the delay of this declaration to this time has many great advantages attending it. The hopes of reconciliation which were fondly entertained by multitudes of honest and well-meaning, though short-sighted and mistaken, people have been gradually, and at last totally, extinguished. Time has been given for the whole people maturely to consider the great question of independence, and to ripen their judgment, dissipate their fears, and allure their hopes, by discussing it in newspapers and pamphlets, by debating it in assemblies, conventions, committees of safety and inspection, in town and county meetings, as well as in private conversations, so that the whole people, in every colony, have now adopted it as their own act. This will cement the union, and avoid those heats, and perhaps convulsions, which might have been occasioned by such a declaration six months ago.

But the day is past. The second day of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great Anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.

You may think me transported with enthusiasm; but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not.

As it turned out, of course, as it was July 4th, not July 2nd, that has become the date of our great Anniversary Festival.

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And what those 56 brave men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor? Here is what it cost them*:

Seventeen of the signers served in the military during the American Revolution. Thomas Nelson was a colonel in the Second Virginia Regiment and then commanded Virginia military forces at the Battle of Yorktown. William Whipple served with the New Hampshire militia and was one of the commanding officers in the decisive Saratoga campaign. Oliver Wolcott led the Connecticut regiments sent for the defense of New York and commanded a brigade of militia that took part in the defeat of General Burgoyne. Caesar Rodney was a Major General in the Delaware militia and John Hancock was the same in the Massachusetts militia.

Five of the signers were captured by the British during the war. Captains Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, and Arthur Middleton (South Carolina) were all captured at the Battle of Charleston in 1780; Colonel George Walton was wounded and captured at the Battle of Savannah. Richard Stockton of New Jersey never recovered from his incarceration at the hands of British Loyalists and died in 1781.

Colonel Thomas McKean of Delaware wrote John Adams that he was “hunted like a fox by the enemy—compelled to remove my family five times in a few months, and at last fixed them in a little log house on the banks of the Susquehanna . . . and they were soon obliged to move again on account of the incursions of the Indians.” Abraham Clark of New Jersey had two of his sons captured by the British during the war. The son of John Witherspoon, a major in the New Jersey Brigade, was killed at the Battle of Germantown.

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis’s New York home was destroyed and his wife was taken prisoner. John Hart’s farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey and he died while fleeing capture. Carter Braxton and Thomas Nelson (both of Virginia) lent large sums of their personal fortunes to support the war effort, but were never repaid.

*Source: Independence Forever: Why America Celebrates the Fourth of July

Let us then shake off the seductions of those who believe that freedom is our natural entitlement, and recall that to every generation anew falls the duty and privilege of defending our liberties and working to offer the blessings of freedom to all peoples of the earth.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities say two professional wrestlers found dead in a low-rent hotel in the capital may have been drugged to death by female robbers.

Autopsies are being performed on the two midget wrestlers, one of whom went by the name “La Parkita” — or “Little Death” — and wore a skeleton costume in the ring. The other was known as “Espectrito Jr.”

Authorities say two women were seen leaving the men’s hotel room before the bodies were discovered.

Prosecutor Miguel Angel Mancera said Wednesday that gangs of female robbers are experienced at using drugs to knock men out and rob them, but they may have used too strong a dose.

That may have been because of the wrestlers’ small stature, although larger men have also died in similar crimes.

I call this rock the Moai, because it reminded me of the statues on Easter Island.

A rock formation, seen further down the trail.

One of three holes in the rock through which the trail leads.

At Queen’s Garden, the rock formation that looks like Queen Victoria, on the left.

As I left Queen’s Garden, one more difference with Zion became apparent. With the trailhead being at the rim instead of the bottom, the return hike was uphill. But with a distance of only about 3/4 mile, it was nothing that a hiking nut like me couldn’t handle. I returned to the rim, and set off for another destination.

KIRKWOOD, NY — State police in New York say two Pennsylvania men robbed a gas station and might have gotten away if they had also fueled up.

Troopers said they caught 29-year-old Lonnie Meckwood, of Carbondale, and 51-year-old Phillip Weeks, of Tunkhannock, after their getaway car ran out of gas while the were trying to escape late Monday night.

Piss poor prior planning…. and chocked full of irony…

Near the north end of the paved trail, the river cascades over these rocks.

Hikers may proceed even further upriver at the end of the trail, if they don’t mind getting their feet wet.

Back along the main road, this is the Zion Lodge.

After returning via shuttle bus to the visitor’s center and my rent-a-car, I drove toward the park’s east entrance. The road goes up the wall of a side canyon through several switchbacks. From one of them, I could see the Great Arch.

After going through a tunnel, I drove by a bunch of sandstone formations on the way to the east entrance. Here are three of them.

Part of that last one reminds me of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, sort of.

Thus ended my day in Zion, but I would soon return – to a different part of the park.

After crossing the Virgin River, I started up the West Rim Trail, which winds its way up this cliff. The notch in the rock face, below what looks like two black chevrons, is part of the trail.

After the notch, the trail levels off for a while, but then leads to these switchbacks, known as Walter’s Wiggles. Time to go upwards again. This is view looking back down.

The trail continues to Scout’s Lookout, about two miles from the trailhead. A branch trail leads up to Angel’s Landing, seen here from further up the West Rim trail.

Also seen from the West Rim Trail is the Great White Throne, which is actually on the opposite side of the Virgin River.

Although I had gained quite a bit of elevation hiking the West Rim Trail, this formation was still well above me. I call it the “Sandstone Rock” just to give the picture a title, but I have no idea what its official name is, if any.

On the other hand, here’s the view down.

After turning around and retreating back to the canyon floor, I rode the shuttle bus to Weeping Rock. This is not a waterfall or cascade, but a place where water comes out from inside the rock. This results from sandstone, which is relatively permeable to water, being formed on top of a layer of shale, which is much more impermeable. Because the water cannot go downward through the shale, it moves sideways through the sandstone to find its way out.

This is the sandstone face above Weeping Rock, including a ledge that’s part of the East Rim Trail.

That’s it for now, but there’s more of Zion to come.