The average person, when seeing this scene, would think something weird is going on. The average person would be correct in such an assessment, for the behavior exhibited here is beyond normal. However, certain clinical psychologists would see something tragic.

You see, this man suffers from an addiction called Sandstone Deprivation Syndrome (SDS). This incurable condition demands frequent satiation, and the only way to gain satisfaction is by coming into contact with Moabian sandstone (the rock surrounding Moab, Utah).

Moabian sandstone is characterized as "highly psychoramic," meaning that it exudes a quality that grasps people of a certain mental persuasion and does not let go. Visitors who tread upon the fins and domes around Moab are asking for trouble: since they are by nature "a bit off," they are predisposed to becoming enslaved by the rock. Thankfully, SDS does not affect people who merely stop at viewpoints or buy souvenirs.

The man shown here made his first visit to Moab in 2002, and even though his stay in the area was only about five hours, the seeds of a cruel attraction were planted before he left town. Here he is getting a sandstone fix from a short wall on a huge sandstone fin above Negro Bill Canyon.

More information, some quite graphic and disturbing, is available at the gallery level. Readers are advised not to eat just before reading the text.

This photograph was made possible in part by the rock-steady support of Joe Tripod, who is immune to SDS.