Monday, March 19, 2007

Zen Pagan Day

I woke up this morning feeling a bit mello. This being my last day I wanted to savor it and decided that the best way to do that was to take the 40 miles back to Zion at a leisurely pace, stopping for breakfast, take in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and then leisurely hike up along the Virgin River just until I found a quiet spot to relax and maybe read. I wasn't sure there was an easily accessible quiet spot on the Virgin River given the noticeable daily rise in tourism, but it would have to do.

Breakfast at "Grandmother Tina's" was excellent and I warmed up to Kanab while eavesdropping, and being included in on, on the conversation at Steve's table. These were obviously a group of locals who met there every morning. They were friendly, kind, retired but active people who enjoyed everything the area had to offer. Yesterday Steve hiked down into Snake Canyon.

After breakfast I headed Northwest stopping for a stroll along the dunes at the State Park. Even the sand here deserves mention. It's so fine its more like liquid than like our heavy, ponderous-by-comparison-granite sand. And the further you dig down with your toes the cooler it gets. What really struck me was how wonderful a place this would be to do some yoga, especially at sunset. Any takers?

Then it was off to Zion. The drive was bittersweet, so beautiful but also the last time I'd see all this beauty for awhile. After passing through the Zion tunnel, driving down two of the hair pin turns and crossing a small bridge I pulled off the side of the road to take a picture. Noticing how nice the little brook looked that went under the bridge I grabbed my backpack, locked Brutus and headed down for a closer look. One thing I've learned about this area, from reading the "Paria River" book, short experience, and listening to Steve this morning was that every river or stream leads up a canyon and every and any canyon can be wonderful. So I headed up the stream bed. Rounded a few corners, a few boulders, climbed up a few sliprock walls, and .... came to what was the exact spot I'd wanted to be. There at the head of the little canyon was a waterfall cascading into a clear pool...(that's it in the picture). I waded in the pool, enjoyed the quiet, watched the butterflies (big yellow ones), thanked the forces that had led me here, then took out my book and read.

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