For
the past four days my mom and I ventured into the land of promise, promise in
hope even in the midst of conflict; order in chaos, splendor in the desert
sun. On Tuesday morning we left our
motel in Cedar City and headed south to Zion National Park for three
spectacular days.
I
am still marinating on the experience of the solitude, rest and indescribable
beauty of Zion and Bryce National Parks.
In the coming days I will be chronicling our adventures. I will also do features on focus travel tips
for both parks when I get back to the east coast.
This
land can strike a fire in the soul, kindle the whisper of the wind a symphony
of sound that feeds the lungs, the heart beating to the rhythm of this
paradise, wild and unbroken, restive in contradiction, a sanctuary of hope
amidst the turmoil of fury. This land is
ever-changing, in its measure, each view a note in life’s dance, so
extraordinary you can barely grasp the scenery before you…you fall into the
next angle of view falling in love to the rhythm of the canyons, restless and
wild, peaceful harmony. I aspire to
record each second of my adventures in Zion and Bryce like the palpitations of
my heartbeat, captured in each breath of air, yet words fail time and
again. The eyes see the resplendent,
fire red, intricate grand beauty and still the rational mind struggles to
belief that what lies before them. You stand
in awe, a state of unbelief, awe and humility before succumbing to the grace of
the canyons and vast tumultuous Colorado Plateau. This land is a reflection of our spiritual
and physical sojourn in life…the tests and trials, floods and droughts, wind
and rain, sun and frost, nights’ dark as the abyss, and the stardust that
brings light to hopelessness. This
territory has been covered by inland oceans, parched deserts, wind as strong as
a hurricane shaping sand into petrified mesa dunes, the iron fist of the earth’s
core uplifting the terrain 10,000 feet revealing sediments of millions of years
of sediments. Each tool in nature’s
masterful tool box, used to cut and carve, mold and shape – wind, fire, seismic
and volcanic activity, heat and frost…in the end it is water that finely tunes
this ever evolving piece of art. It is
the waters of the Virgin River formed millions of years ago, at the nascent eon
of this landscape that has sculpted Zion’s temples, turrets and jagged castles –
ancient monuments of old. At first
glance the Virgin River appears more like a pristine creek, meandering on life
support in the desert country of Southwestern Utah. It is this river like waters of ‘Eden’ that
in its humble ‘virgin’ state slowly and patiently, painstakingly carved the
layers of rock of Zion. This water
continues to pump life into Zion Country – it supplies drinking water,
irrigation and sustains flora and fauna, all while still cutting and
carving. Like ‘Eden’ – the ‘Virgin River’
is a paradise amidst a parched and restless earth; the river is a place of
peace – yet the river cannot be controlled by man…at times the Virgin River
rages with flash flooding, swallowing the canyon, destroying roads, inundating
structures, drowning with a force unmatched by man. This land is paradise on earth, yet still we
stand on the precipice of hardship and uncertainty. Life, like creation is not a process molded
by smooth passage, it comes from tests, trials, beautiful disasters, patience,
steps forward, inching along, carving out our path and living our journey in
the shadow and light of Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon as well
as this unbridled and wild country of Utah and Arizona.
Stay
tuned for chronicles from Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and beyond
No comments:
Post a Comment