I took a guided hike to the cliff dwellings and petroglyphs of the Seminole State Park, TX. These places have enthralled me all over the Southwest as I have always had this sense that I once was a part of one of those communities or maybe its just a desire to have been. For some reason hunting and gathering and living in nature made cliff dwellings appeals to me. One of the petroglyphs I saw depicts a doorway to mother earth's core from which we were born. The people of Papa New Guinea, the Meakambut, still live and believe this and live in caves. (see Feb 2012 National Geographic).
We spent several days at the Big Bend National Park way south in Texas on the Rio Grande, a Mexican village was visible across the river on hikes. We also spent four days driving across West Texas. Maybe the best way to describe this vast area is with single phrases or words that came to mind while driving and ask you to visualize.
Hot, even in March...........Country Western, mostly Western, on the radio, dry and relentless wind... Silver did very well.........vast ranches.......little water.........jeans tucked in cowboy boots............TeX mex food............expansive views.........one of the top ten places in the WORLD to view stars and planets.......hog hunts and bow meetings.....pickups that actually haul farm materials.....am radio programs with people calling in to sell household goods...............American Coot bird..........sun and big sky.........longhorns....spring flowers.....border patrol.....border patrol.....border patrol.....Skeleton Canyon.....Boot Heel Grocery...Javelinas (wild pigs)
I also took a solo hike that followed a trail into a narrow canyon. I saw one other person in 3 hours. The sense there was... closed in.... towering walls.....scat.....geologic layers.....blue sky....did I bring enough water....relentless sun....dry river bed....eons of time.....adventure....early man hunting. I found a rock with a fossilized marine life shell embedded in it eons old. While holding it and looking at the various levels of geology in the canyon walls, I wondered if that former marine life, no matter how infinitesimal, was of any less importance than my life in the grand scheme. Did it's part in the food chain thousands of years ago play a part in my life coming into being on this planet during evolution? Was it's life contribution any less than mine? I believe probably not.
Funnies": Signs leaving campgrounds say "y'all come back now". Road signs by the state police say "don't mess with Texas"
I have talked Janet into calling Silver a covered wagon instead of a tin can
From the book A Cowboys Guide to Life ... "It's best to keep your troubles pretty much to yourself, cause half the people you'd tell 'em to won't give a damn, and the other half will be glad to hear you've got 'em.
And "Any time a large herd moves through a civilized area there's a lot of shit to clean up"
No comments:
Post a Comment