Colorado - Silver, Mountains, Denver & Cows

Colorado... Native, Frontier, Trendy, Suburban, Urban & Prairie

I had the pleasure of driving through the Navaho Nation on my way to Durango.  Navaho Nation, the largest Native American Nation in the US, (the Navaho Nation is the size of West Virginia), is filled with the iconic sites of western lore.  Monument Valley has been the setting used in countless Western films.  Stunning vistas, with every shade of red, rust, beige and brown, surround and amaze as I pass from Arizona, through New Mexico and into Colorado at the Four Corners.

Durango reveals the "Mountain Man" face of Colorado.  Although threatened by tourists, and holding out resiliently against the encroachment of the Hollywood "Telluride" set, this town still has an air of the gold rush, wild west, mountain frontier it once was.  After a day soaking in the hot springs, and catching up with Kel and Chris, I headed up and over the continental divide which I had last crossed in the Canadian Rockies in mid July. 

I was fortunate to stay in Littleton with some great friends I haven't seen in Forever!  Their son will be attending Columbine HS (yes, that Columbine) in the fall, providing they don't pack him off to military school! (Ahh the joys of parenthood, and that enigmatic creature, the 14 year old boy).  For some reason, the suburbs outside Denver reminded me of the neighborhoods from Poltergeist. Probably just me...

I spent the day in Denver in the museum district.  It was great.  The city has a cultural vibe, mixed in with some western/two step and urban rap.  I liked it. AND, Denver marked the return of the blazing summer heat, absent from my trip for the past few days.  The temps at the Grand Canyon, and in Durango were very comfortable during the day, and cool at night. However, the temperatures soared as I headed east across the prairies and south towards Tulsa.

Thank you Kel, Chris, Dennis & Holly for everything.  Colorado is a great state, with something for everyone.

The Grand Canyon, Beyond Expectations

I reached the Grand Canyon, AZ  late in the evening, after an amazing drive from Palm Springs, CA.  My accommodation for the next two nights was a room in an
authentic log cabin in the national forest on the North Rim.  The rustic cabin, divided into two units with entrances on opposite ends, was one of 100 perched on the edge of the Canyon.  Other than the Great Lodge which anchored them, these cabins represented the only, very limited development in the area.  Unlike the South Rim, where the majority of tourists flock to visit the Canyon, the North Rim feels remote and secluded, a recluse from the world.

I set the alarm for 4:30 am, in order to catch the sun's arrival in the morning.  An ungodly hour by all accounts, and reminiscent of my time in Brooklyn, my first year living in NYC.  I was younger then, and immune to the debilitating effects that a night with only three hours of sleep can have on a person in their late forties.  So, of a after several snoozes, and multiple groans, I dragged myself into a sitting position by 5 am. Which come to think of it, because Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time, was really 4am.  Thank you, Arizona.


The remnants of cloud from storms the previous night, hid most of the light our star normally bathes us in each day, but did not obscure the immense canyon which stretched before me, just steps from my bed.  Like myself, others had come to see first light as well, maybe a dozen people in all.  We each picked our way along a path that ended at a pinnacle from which the canyon dropped away on three sides.  Without words, or more than a polite "good morning smile" exchanged between us, each chose a spot to sit and watch the daylight grow across the immense canyon around us.



Most stared, unblinking, at this true wonder of the world, lost in their own thoughts, or in their own soul. That vision, the moment, that experience transcended what we knew as reality in our own world, and brought into being that which before we may never have considered to be possible or to have even existed at all.  I am giving words to an event for which there are none.


That morning on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, there was silence. A peaceful silence that enveloped 12 people, who had gathered together as strangers to witness the first light of a new day, but left as intimate confidants forever touched by their shared, solitary experience.

I have never felt so alone in, or connected to this world as I did at that moment.

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Photo Blog: The Cascade Mountains & Tacoma, Washington

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Sunset on the Cascades &Tacoma, WA

Sunset on The Cascades

Cascades

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA

Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA

Photo Blog: The Pacific Coast & Sonoma Valley, California

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Oregon-California Coast & Wine Country

Photo Blog: Portland Oregon

Portland Oregon

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Seattle, Washington = Awesome

Seattle = Awesome

Seattle is beautiful, crowded & noisy in some areas, quiet and peaceful in others. Even there though, it is ALIVE. The energy is tangible, intoxicating... 

I know I'm a city mouse, and my perspective is skewed towards hectic/electric, but there is culture, and entertainment, and gorgeous, picture post card settings... I mean, hello!!! 

Not to mention it was Hot & Sunny :-)