Here we see a victim of SDS (Sandstone Deprivation Syndrome) getting a fix of Moabian sandstone in Arches National Park (near Moab, Utah). This scene was recorded on a plateau next to and above Park Avenue.

Moab is known for its beautiful landscapes, but is also known for producing sandstone addiction in weak-minded individuals. Moabian sandstone is the most addictive rock in the world and is so because it has a very high psychoramic quotient (explained at the gallery level).

Persons enamored of the bizarre fins and gorgeous canyons can easily get high there. However, the downside is that they need repeated doses of sandstone to stay calm. Thus the need to return again and again to satisfy their cravings.

The National Park Service in no way condones any form of addiction, but in the interest of maintaining public order it does tolerate the pictured behavior (as long as the repulsive activity is done out of sight of tourists). An SDS victim who does not get a sufficient fix in a timely manner is not just an annoyance to Park Service staff people, but also a public nuisance. Public nuisances depress park visitation rates, which in turn leads to staff lay-offs, an increase in litter, and the decline of Western Civilization.

This NPS policy of benign tolerance takes work, which takes money, which is hard to come by these days. Therefore the NPS charges an extra "maintenance" fee to such victims when they enter a park (the victims are easily identified by their nervous, bewildered behavior). The.proceeds are used to provide "calming quarters" on-site for those victims who do not properly satisfy their sandstone cravings.

Joe Tripod, who gets around in Moab, played a role in the creation of this photo.