Two Little Vowels

  Trail and trial. Five exact same letters. Try saying them quickly multiple times over with a few additional words for a good tongue twister. A mere reversal of two vowels changes the entire context of expression, nuance of the communication or implication of the active out- workings of each noun. Def. Trail: a beaten path through rough country such as a forest. A route planned or followed for a particular purpose. Def. Trial: a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something.…

4 Comments

Humbled By History

  In an ultimate game of archaeological hide and seek, the Ancestral Pueblo People established themselves in palatial cliff dwellings in what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mese Verde: the modern day ‘humility through history’ experience. (Not mentioned anywhere on the park information or brochures!) Climbing down a rickety wooden ladder on the ranger lead tour, we are confronted with our modern day insignificance emanating from the eerie ‘Cliff Palace’. The largest multi storied, sophisticated cliff dwelling in the park, now a ruin.  It…

1 Comment

Streets of Gold

Moving from dry desert lands and explorers uncovering towering canyons, to a landscape rich in resources, where 1870’s miners sought their fortune in harsh territory. The rivers run yellow from the spoils of gold, iron, copper and silver drilling and fossicking. The area labelled ‘Little Switzerland’, although surrounded by the beautiful San Juan mountain passes and lush valleys, is a far cry for the early miners from the streets of bank lined Zurich. Dubbed the  Million Dollar Highway, due to the ore in the roadbed, the…

3 Comments

Canyons with Conviction

We’ve about used up all the synonyms for ‘beautiful’ travelling this countryside. Adjectives such as spectacular, dramatic, striking, eye-catching, breathtaking, glorious and of course ace, cool, awesome and grouse don’t seem to do justice to the ever unfolding layers of natural wonder. Dramatic juxtapositions of rugged and serene, gentle and ferocious, grandious and unpretentious; prompt the questions, “Can anything top this?”, “How do you rank beauty?”, “How do you begin to describe beauty?” To wax lyrical, or borrow from those much wiser, there are volumes of…

4 Comments

Grand Monuments and Golden Arches

  Hugging the Colorado river from Boulder towards Grand Junction, it is clear this country has never done anything by half. The Colorado River has etched, poked, forced, ravaged its way through forest and desert. Creating scapes of idyllic streams, raging canyons, desolate deserts, and towering plateaus. A mighty force, unrestrained and relentless. Stretching beyond time. An unyielding creator of the past, present and future. In this semidesert land of pinyon pines, Utah junipers, Mormon’s tea, desert sage and the frustratingly all evasive Big Horn Sheep;…

2 Comments

Wanderlust Wonderings

(A small detour from normal entries as we explore wider horizons). Landing in Denver, it was obvious this vacation was going to be huge. So huge. Better than you can imagine huge. The best vacation ever. Just huge. Actually, it was clearly going to rock, totally rock. Boulder Colorado, Rocky Mountains, Peak to Peak (rocks), Colorado Monument (more rock), The Arches National park; even more rock. Totally rocking in the first few days. Rolling into Boulder, a university town bustling with parents and students moving all…

3 Comments

“I sense great fear in you, Skywalker”

Questions of life loom large when you find yourself in a galaxy far, far away. Spun off into a parallel universe. “Traveling through hyperspace” certainly “ain’t like dusting crops, farm boy.” (Han Solo). People of many cultures have charted the heavens by the stars, looked for meaning, foreordination, inspiration and a sense of the divine. Overawed by cosmic magnitude; a recognition of place, and humility in the orbits of ego, and constellations of universal wonder. Cancer, Taurus, Aries or Vertigo, signs predicting future. Astrologists purporting to…

Comments Off on “I sense great fear in you, Skywalker”

Premium Unleaded

The excitement is electric in a sporting match when a goal is kicked or crucial point or run is scored. There’s a visceral frenzy in the moment, an identity with success and optimism invested in what’s to come. Energy is recharged as the intangible manifests into reality. We believe, identify, support and confirm value in the sweat, pain, progress and ultimate end goal. Momentum is achieved, investment solidified, sweetness celebrated. There’s no guaranteed outcome to positive progress. No automatic equation for an overarching victory. There’s identification…

2 Comments

Andante

A walking group generally consists of the leader and the “whip”. Destinations are clear, expectations set, orientation established and navigation routes devised. (Crutches obviously ditched!). There’s a confident sense of excitement, underpinned with a tentative curiosity and introspection as to the trail, its requirements, and one’s own capacity to meet the demands of the territory, distance and pace. The steady rhythm of footsteps settle like a metronome, shuffling between andantino and allegro, while kilometres are clocked and collective identity shared and shaped. Stories are traded, souls…

4 Comments

VIVE LA VIE

Vive la Vie -  ‘Life is wonderful’ is what it says on the card my friend has sent me. Is it a challenge? Perhaps an affirmation? In any case intentional and deliberate.  It’s a statement. No room for debate. Emphatic and unreserved. There are no grey undertones. An allusion and alluring to the richness of blessing, hope and colour. Colour is “the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light”. Wonder and…

2 Comments