My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
After crawling out of my sleeping bag this morning to 29 degrees, I’m now in a hotel room in Loa, Utah at a place called Road Creek In. I tried to stay in Torrey but there are hunters on the prowl for deer season and a BMW motorcycle rally going on. everything was full. This is the best I can get and it will be warm and not wind to deal with.
The last three days have been exciting. I’ve just touched Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks and Escalante State Park. I’m awe struck! Such beauty. I can see why the Native American Indians call it sacred. The magnitude of these geological creations and how they were created go beyond my finite mind. And, yet they are so delicate.
Escalante State Park, Utah
Okay, I’m tired and going to bed. I will pass through Capital Reef National Park tomorrow as I head home. Still have a couple more days of this trip. So far I’ve covered over 2,000 miles and have about a 1,000 to get home. I will write more about this trip in a future post. Good night!
This road trip has been good for me. I’m now in Phoenix visiting my parents for a couple days and sleeping in a real bed for a change. I’ll head back out tomorrow morning and drift back towards home. I find it inexpensive to camp in the National Parks with my senior pass while entrance fees are free. I’ve never been to any of these parks before. This is not a photographic expedition but a vacation. I’m acting like a tourist and shooting from the same locations the tourists are shooting from. I just take more time as I shoot.
My first night was in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Since it’s late in the season I’m not fighting large crowds. I’m able to select just about any campsite I desire. So far this park has been my most impressive and will stay on my bucket list. Clouds moved in early in the evening then rained hard for a couple hours during the night. I stayed dry but the rain cover on my tent was soaked the next morning. In the above image you can just make out a few people who have climbed to the top of the dunes.
Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park
The second night was in Mesa Verde National Park. I’ve camped here once before while on one of my motorcycle trips. I setup camp then drove down to the cliff dwellings. I was back around 6:00 pm. As I sat on the back of my Forester eating a plum I notice out of the corner of my eye a movement near my tent. I turned and notice a large bear saunter through my camp, probably 20 feet from my tent. He never looked at me just moved back into the brush. He sure made a stir throughout the campsite. Parents were watching the kids closer and food bas being stored away.
Sunrise at Moran Point, South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park
My third night was spent at the Grand Canyon. Now this place was packed. One campground was full and there were only two open sites when I drove through. I must admit to being very impressed with the canyon. It does take your breath away. It’s beauty cannot be described but must be experienced. I rose early on Saturday morning and drove to Moran Point for the morning sunrise. There were only two of us with our primary purpose to just be there, taking a photo once in a while. After he moved on I had the Canyon rim all to myself. What a place to have quiet meditation.
There are several national parks I can pass through on my way back home, with Zion and Bryce as priorities. I like this idea of making the agenda for the day after I wake up. Since I’m camping, access to the internet is very limited and it’s been nice not having it. Hope everyone is staying out of trouble while I’m gone.
The above image shows some of the Poudre Rive flooding. It is difficult to get near the river with all the road blocks but my intent was not get too close anyway. What you are seeing is the over flow of the river which is actually beyond the trees. This image was taken 4 days after the river began flooding. It is a mess all along the northern Front Range and will take months to repair roads.
I’m leaving this morning for a road trip. It’s one of those impulsive moments with very little planning. I hope to stop at the Great Sand Dunes National Park then on to the Grand Can;yon. I’ve never been to either of them. If time permits I may head on to Phoenix to visit my parents. See ya in a few days!
Wikipedia says prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Some form of prayer is found in most major religions. In contrast with Western religion, Eastern religion for the most part discards worship and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Consequently, prayer is seen as a form of meditation or an adjunct practice to meditation.
Prayer and meditation have become important to me over the past thirty years. Prior to that any prayer life I had consisted of short burst of frustration or fear, “Oh my God!” There has been a move within me to for more quiet contemplation and meditation. So I find places where I can have those quiet moments. I use a couple of churches with in walking distance. I use a nearby park and a couple nature areas for more quiet. A quiet corner of my condo can make for a nice place also.
All three monotheistic Religions have a variety of prayer books: The Muslim Prayer Book – for praying five times a day; The Book of Common Prayer -which has prayers for seven times a day; Liturgy of the Hours – used by monastic communities to pray seven times a day; Siddur – the Jewish prayer book for praying three times a day. I could be wrong on these prayer books but it gives us some idea of the importance for prayer within these religions.
We all know the signs of the approaching fall season. We have football games now on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We put the shorts back in the bottom draw of the dresser. Starbucks comes out with their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Stores are putting out Halloween candy and Christmas decorations. We have cooler nights. The days begin to shorten. Squadrons Canada Geese are heading south. Leaves begin to change colors and fall from their branches. Fall is approaching.
It started raining yesterday late afternoon and is still lightly raining this morning. So, I’m sitting in small coffee shop near campus. I’ve already downed a small scone and a small soy chai, so I’m set. My photography has been almost nonexistent lately. I’m okay with that, sort of. This image is from past summer while on a walk around my hotel. I knew it would be black and white when I pressed the shutter.
“You’ll get over it…” It’s the clichés that cause the trouble. To lose someone you love is to alter your life for ever. You don’t get over it because ‘it” is the person you loved. The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never loses. How could it? The particularness of someone who mattered enough to grieve over is not made anodyne by death. This hole in my heart is in the shape of you and no-one else can fit it. Why would I want them to?” ― Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body
