Tag: travel

Traveling the Roads of the Ancients – Part Four

We said "oh wow" a hundred times this day.
We said “oh wow” a hundred times this day.
Nothing about Moab is boring or bland. The canyons and rock formations are vibrant and rugged. Millions of years are marked in their face.

The winds here do not whistle here or even roar. They howl and shriek and sometimes rumble through the depths of the canyons and then race through the valleys.

All night I heard the winds and felt them shudder the home we rented for our time here.

The power of water can be seen in the maze of canyons. The power of water can be seen in the maze of canyons.[/caption] The ancient rivers and oceans, like the winds, did not faintly flow. They carved the land into a maze of canyons.

We have loved sharing this land with Kris and Rich Holgrave
We have loved sharing this land with Kris and Rich Holgrave
Ray’s daughter and son-in-law traveled with us through the CanyonLand National Park yesterday and kept saying “oh, wow.” Ray and I did too.

The rocks show the different layers of vegetation and climate change over millions of years
The rocks show the different layers of vegetation and climate change over millions of years
Every corner had a new reason to say “oh wow.”

It is not a place of muted anything.

The oceans and rivers carved away the mountains leaving craggy spires.
The oceans and rivers carved away the mountains leaving craggy spires.
This was once all sea level land. Climates changes, tectonic plate uplifts and water wore away the land and uplifted the mountains leaving rock formations that demand being in the present moment.

The sun shifted and the land changed .
The sun shifted and the land changed .
Ray and I have been here before and every time it is different. The clouds and the sun highlight different parts of the canyons, an artist’s dream.

I come back to this land like a soul seeking rebirth.
I come back to this land like a soul seeking rebirth.
I have been to this land four times now.

The first was for my son Adam’s wedding to Jessi. The second time was when I took a solo road trip after my first husband died. The third time Ray and I came here weeks after my son Robin was killed.

This time it is all new and powerful once more.

Rugged beauty is everywhere
Rugged beauty is everywhere
When I was here for my son Adam’s wedding we stayed in Edward Abbey’s cabin where he wrote many books.

I like this quote by him. It says it all about living life fully.

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”
― Edward Abbey

To be continued
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