This book I'm reading (look to the left) is fascinating. It's not exactly revisionist history, but it has definitely changed my perceptions about American history. For example, last night I was reading about the American Lone Wolf archetype. While history celebrates individuals for blazing new trails, it is often groups of people who make significant contributions. Columbus, Fremont, Lewis & Clark, and many other singular trailblazers had a unique talent for gathering and motivating large groups of people for a single purpose. They didn't (and couldn't) do it alone. This might seem obvious, but you always hear about Columbus sailing to the new world. Or Fremont crossing the rocky mountains. What about the hundred other people with them making sure they succeeded? Even the "mountain men" fur trappers like Daniel Boone would finish their careers as congressmen or governors because the social and organizational skills required for a successful expedition made the frontier a perfect political training ground.
It's apple harvest time here in Sebastopol. And that means fresh Gravenstein apple pie. This is the first of the season. mmmm.
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Last Stop, Rocky Mountains
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After several days in the desert, Rocky Mt. National Park felt like it was teeming with life. In one day we went from extreme heat to the frozen tundra above the tree line. Around every turn was a breathtaking view.
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The park was very crowded, but this is the peak time. I'd like to go back in winter to see a different season. I'm guessing I won't be able to get to the higher elevations at that time, though.
Arches
Arches National Park was hot. We got there just in time for the hottest part of the day. Still beautiful. Alien. Did I mention hot?
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We only saw a fraction of the thousands of completed arches. The amazing thing is, we saw dozens of new arches forming in the rocks. (There are probably hundreds or thousands of them developing.) As the current arches erode away, new ones will take their place. This location will have arches for thousands of years.
Next Stop, Bryce
Imagine you're standing inside a Dalí painting (minus the ants, crutches, and melting things) and you'll have a pretty good idea what Bryce Canyon National Park looks like. The objects reaching out of the ground are called hoodoos, and they can look like different things at different times of day. Sometimes the sea of hoodoos looked like ruins of an ancient city. We watched the sun set in Bryce, and it was so spectacular that we went back to the same spot in the morning to watch the sun rise. The elevation is higher in Bryce than Zion, and the temperature difference helped us get the best night's sleep on the trip to that point. I took at least two rolls of film there, and several digital pictures.
First Stop, Zion
Zion National Park is just two hours or so outside of Las Vegas. We drove down the Vegas strip for fun since skp and I hadn't been there in years. It was a shock to go from the agitated streets of hyperreality and simulation to the calm vistas of Zion. We hiked Scout's Point/Angel's Landing one day, then hiked three miles or so into the Narrows another.
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I hear that July is one of the only safe times to hike through the Narrows...and even then you need to check the weather carefully. A rainshower miles away can flood the canyons quickly. There's really nowhere to go if you hear that rumbling water coming. We dutifully checked the posted weather reports and talked with park rangers before going.
Usually when I'm hiking, I see water as a barrier. It was strange to walk through the water to make progress. We started early in the morning, and only saw a few other people once we were miles in. We even took time to explore a side canyon. On the way out, in the afternoon, there were quite a few people coming in and the day was heating up. We were thankful for the early start. Next time, I'd like to backpack the entire length of the canyon.
We took along a cheapo waterproof camera, and the pictures didn't turn out too well.
Zion Canyon
My trip was fantastic! More soon.
I like to wash,
By way of experiment,
The dust of the world
In the droplets of dew.
By way of experiment,
The dust of the world
In the droplets of dew.
- Basho
Misc.
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I found these on a roll of film I just developed. Three of them are from a trip to the Lost Coast. The last one is a view of fireworks from my backyard on the 4th.
I'll be back sometime around August 1st with a slew of pictures. In the meantime, you might want to check out the archives at the bottom of the page. Which ones? It doesn't matter. It's all gold.