Saturday, April 2, 2011

Springtime in the Rockies





















Springtime in the '90's meant a trip out west, driving through the Rocky Mountains to Utah to explore the canyons and photograph Anasazi ruins. We usually spent the equinox under the moonlight somewhere on Cedar Mesa. Oftentimes, we would camp out of the back of my little red hatchback. We spent more than one night at the edge of a canyon, eager for the morning hike down to the bottom where petroglyphs, pictographs, and ruins awaited.

One evening in early April, en route home, we headed out of Durango, Colorado, just as the sun was setting. We were hoping to find a place to camp for the night somewhere outside of town. A few miles down the road, darkness had fallen and finding a spot became somewhat problematical. It's not much fun to arrive in the dark. It's good to get the lay of the land before decisions are made, but that night we did not have that luxury. We decided to turn down a forest road that skirted a section of the Piedra River. We drove down it a ways and found a spot where we could at least park the car and get some sleep. It was dark enough that seeing our surroundings clearly wasn't possible. It felt isolated, with just a tinge of spooky.

We settled in for the night in the back of that hatchback.

About two in the morning, I had to go to the bathroom, the bathroom being whatever patch of ground struck your fancy, preferably a short distance away from the car. When I got out of the car, I could hear the river flowing beyond the ponderosa pines in silhouette all around us. The cool light of the stars peeking through the trees looked so close, as though I could reach out and touch them with my fingertips. I could sense the cold rock walls of mountains just beyond. It felt like wilderness. I spent a few minutes taking it all in, then climbed back in the car and fell asleep.

At first light, I woke up and looked around to get a better sense of where we had spent the night. I crawled out of the warm sleeping bag into the crisp mountain air. It was as beautiful as the glimpse I'd had during the night: the pine trees, the river, the Rocky Mountains just beyond, all to ourselves. It felt good to be guided, in some fashion, to this beautiful surprise.

John Muir wrote about his encounter with the mountains and his first summer in the Sierra with words that remind me of my own memories:

How deep our sleep last night in the mountain's heart, beneath the trees and stars, hushed by solemn-sounding waterfalls and many small soothing voices in sweet accord whispering peace.

And our first pure mountain day, warm, calm, cloudless, -- how immeasurable it seems, how serenely wild!  I can scarcely remember its beginning. Along the river, over the hills, in the ground, in the sky, spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm, new life, new beauty, unfolding, unrolling in glorious exuberant extravagance, -- new birds in their nests, new winged creatures in the air, and new leaves, new flowers, spreading, shining, rejoicing everywhere. 


Springtime in the canyons, springtime in the Rockies, springtime here in Minnesota:  "Rejoicing everywhere."





Photo from my first trip to Cedar Mesa, in southern Utah, at the edge of Owl Canyon, dated April 2, 1992.



33 comments:

  1. I haven't slept outside since I was a kid, but I feel like I want to now! (unfortunately, we had a wee bit of snow yesterday AM, so guess I'll have to wait a bit.)

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  2. Mountains just seem to suck you in, don't they? That's how I ended up in Montana. I used to drive back and forth from Mpls to Montana....back and forth. As I drove from Montana, I felt a deep loss inside of me, a homesickness. It happened every time. When Calvin died, I was in Montana as soon as I could pack and I've only been back once, to a class reunion. It feels so right for me here... for all the reasons you mention.

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  3. Nature has a way of guiding us to a good place in situations like you experienced Teresa. I think that part of it is being in an atmosphere that we ordinarily do not get to experience.

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  4. Li, There's something about sleeping surrounded by nature.... no snow. :)

    Manzanita, I love it here, but I sometimes miss the mountains. There's something about seeing their strength that's comforting. And that unsurpassed beauty....

    Paul, It is nice when Nature leads the way.

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  5. We went to Pecos National Historical Park today. Standing on the rise above the meadow and the river, I thought how cool it would be to pitch a tent for the night.

    Then I remembered we didn't bring a tent. And it's against park rules. But it still would have been great!

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  6. Linda, LOL I'm turning green. It sounds like you're having fun. I once lived just down the road from Pecos. It's a pretty interesting place.

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  7. I have slept outside many a night in the past, and I remember so well the stars and the beauty of the night sky. Thanks for reminding me of how beautiful it all is, still, whether I am there to see it or not...

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  8. My old bones don't like sleeping on the ground or even in the car any more, but I love having the window open at night this time of year and in the fall. I've slept many a night in the sierra though just in a sleeping bag, sometimes in my car and other times in a tent. I've often thought it would be nice to have one of those rollaway beds to push out on a porch and sleep out of doors. I saw one in the thrift store the other day and thought of that. Nothing better than the mountains and that cool crisp air.

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  9. DJan, It is awfully nice to sleep where the night sky seems closer. I haven't camped in about three years, but the memories are good ones.

    Linda, Yeah, I hear you. Last few camping trips were on a rather substantial air mattress. I've been thinking of those summer sleeping porches, too. I grew up sleeping many times in a screened porch in the summer. It still sounds like a good idea.

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  10. Yes, I can see where it would be spooky. Interesting that you could feel the rock wall. I've had to camp like that after dark a couple of times too. Once was someplace in Arizona on the way back from California. I could never ever find my way back again.

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  11. I live out of my van a lot when it is cool.Once I pulled into an area like this and without any moon or stars to see. The next morning I found I was next to a giant pile of stone to maintain all the roads.

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  12. What I love most about camping out in nature, particularly in the dark of the moon, is the starry firmament. Staying up and looking up into outer space is simply the best part of the night.

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  13. Jack, Careful there, "someplace in Arizona on my way back from California," speaks to my wanderlust, and I have yard work coming up. :) Thanks for commenting.

    Steve, I once had a van and camped with it. It is a good way to travel. I always thought it would be fun to have one of those sheepherders wagons.

    Dan, I read where your father worked on the space program. Wow. When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. What a great childhood you must have had. I agree, the best part of camping is that night sky. Thanks so much for visiting my blog.

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  14. It's wonderful to get out and get a new perspective on life and the world around. A night in the Rockies sounds like it did just this!

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  15. Betty! Indeed, it is. And it did. Thanks for stopping by.

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  16. Ooh gosh, I almost missed this post. I've been working and haven't been keeping up as much. I love this post. You know I love the mountains, the sound & smell of pine, the air...everything. I often wonder about Muir's time in the mountains...how different things must be from those times. Can you imagine visiting the Rockies and no diners, McD's, shopping(including fudge shops..ha ha ha) hotels,good roads... Oooh it must have been so different, so pristine, so...I could go on and on. Great post...

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  17. That's right, you're a Rocky Mountain kinda gal! It must have been very beautiful then. Still is, once you get away from the constructs of culture. :) Thanks, Lynn!

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  18. I do not tire of watching the sun rise and I see almost all of them. The regimen of early rising is work related and I hope to change my sleep habits to enjoy the night sky more. I miss that a lot.

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  19. Hi Tom, Yes, I, too, see the rising of the sun pretty much every day. And it's nice, but there is something about looking up into the night sky, the wonder and mystery of it all... One night up on Natural Bridges (I know you've been there), there were stars between the stars. Magical.

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  20. I feel the same thing out there Teresa. The people may be gone but they are still there.

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  21. as you've described it, teresa, it hardly seems real. what an adventure, like you're living in poems, like your experiences are works of art.
    michelle,
    thewanderer

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  22. Michelle, What loving and lovely thoughts you've shared. "Living in poems," and "experiences as works of art." Thank you for reminding me how beautiful life, my life, is. I needed to hear that this morning. And here you are. Of course. :)

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  23. Oh, my, these words provide the perfect illustration of sleeping under the stars in a vast, still domain. Muir keeps cropping up, too, with his wonderful, lyrical tributes to nature.

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  24. Thank you, Paul. Yes, I've been seeing a lot of Muir recently, too. Aren't his words just like poetry?

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  25. Yesterday while working in the garden I took a few minutes to lay on the ground and just stare up into the sky....I haven't done that in many years. It was very grounding...no pun intended. And it felt very soothing on my body. Haven't been near mountains since the 80's and would love to see some again...thanks for sharing your stories.

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  26. That sounds divine. I am so looking forward to being able to do the same. I read of your planting your garden.

    Yes, grounding. :)

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  27. You know, I always thought John Denver was a little flaky until I visited those Rocky Mountains and saw them for myself! Just breathtaking, as was the story! Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Joan! I can't tell you how very glad I am to have you back! I was just thinking about you, wondering where you've been. :) And here you are, and a great new post you have with good news. Yes, we shared the same thoughts about John Denver, and yes, once you visit those mountains, well, it changes everything. So good to hear from you. Thanks!

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  29. The Promise Of A Beautiful Morning Home. I haven't slept outdoors for several years, but,hopefully , I will again this year (preferably , without half a dozen rock bands playing outside my tent!)

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  30. Hi Tony, Yeah, quiet definitely adds to the ambience. Love that opening sentence in your comment. Thank You.

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  31. Beautifully said, Teresa. We are so part of what we're born into. I felt as you felt when the Gulf of Mexico came into view, more so when I rolled down the windows and sucked in that air. I was home.

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  32. Kittie, There is something about certain places that make us feel welcome in the world. I can just imagine how you felt in that moment. The Gulf of Mexico is a wonderful place.

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