Taking deep breaths at 8,000'
I got outta Dodge to regroup with family, in Nature
We’ve got two months to steady ourselves in preparation for a chaotic future. I chose to get outa Dodge. My son, his wife, and their two kids are visiting from France for a few weeks and I’m joining them for a road trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Weather has been spectacular, and because it’s early November there are no crowds and it’s not HOT. (Cannot imagine how these canyons can swallow summer crowds.)
My son somehow managed to get us reservations to stay in the official park lodges. Equally impressive, he managed to pack a Subaru Outback with All the Things for five people for two weeks (I get off after six days).
Colette (10) and Jak (8) are at that great age when everything is amazing. They are already mountain goats, living as they do in the foothills of the French Alps, so they scamper up and down precipices that stop my heart. They have already found several geodes with crystals inside. Big thrill!
Hiking down the main canyon at Zion to the Narrows—the Virgin River looks peaceful now, but is capable of flash floods. Elevation 5,500’
At 8,000 feet, it’s a lot colder and the air is thinner. Glad we had time to acclimate to being mile-high at Zion before we hiked at Bryce.
The rock formations are millions of years old, worn away by water, ice, wind and time. It’s hard to capture their immensity and dimensionality in photos. We hiked down into one of the canyons amongst these crazy formations.
Damn proud of myself for doing this hike.
PUT YOURSELF IN THE WAY OF BEAUTY
Well, I think I did a good job already, but here’s one more… smaller scale. Nature’s sculpture. Lizards fighting?
Take care of yourselves. Cannot recommend Nature highly enough. And being with beloveds.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your joyful energy! It’s a wonderful way to shift out of despair, a superb reminder for all of us!
Thank you, Joy. So very beautiful!