We are nearing 6 months of road life. The days are shorter and the temperature is falling. Woke up to a frost which made everyday tasks like teeth brushing, coffee making etc., a challenge. There is also less running water in riverbeds for rafting and we are inland, so no more surfing. Climbing and mountain biking are our primary physical activities. Spent yesterday sport climbing, trying hard on some pocketed red rock. Happy to still be able to work my way up 12s, I thought I had lost all of my endurance to the slower paced, easier traditional climbs I’ve lead on gear.
We did a lot of driving the last couple of days, moving through Zion National Park and into Bryce Canyon. Bryce, what a magnificently carved landscape, so spectacular with it’s hundreds of pinnacles arranged so neatly. I felt AWE, a sculptor’s dream. Sadly, we didn’t budget enough time to walk down amongst and through the spires, and we are also limited by the four leggers that accompany us everywhere. They are not permitted in many national parks off of the paved surfaces. I understand this rule, but of course wish for an exception for my own little dog.
After Bryce Canyon, we continued to Capital Reef National Park and landed somewhere on BLM land outside of it, towards Moab. The drive featured plateaus and buttes, big rocky mountain peaks in the background, with softer mounds in the foreground, all shaped by time and the elements. Traveling through this landscape I feel like an ant, contemplating my size and place in the world. Am I just here to witness? What are days for? How can I contribute to this world in a positive way?
This morning as the sun rose I read Mary Oliver. Very poignantly, she directs us:
“Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention
Be astonished
Tell about it”
I can do that.