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our red rock wilderness {part one} : another reason we love living here

2.23.2011



"something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the
remaining wilderness be destroyed...we simply need that wild country
available to us, even if we never do more than
drive to its edge and look in."

-wallace stegner









































have you ever looked in to the mysteries and grand beauty
of the red rock desert?
it changes you. it slows your breath, and opens your heart and mind...
but it closes your mouth.
all you want to do is listen and watch to find out just how much this
seemingly empty place is moving and growing...thousands and thousands
of years of constant, but steady, change.

our red-rock wilderness pulls at my heart-strings.
it is a place that is incredibly stormy:
at one moment the sun shines and the dirt is cracked,
and before you know it a thunderhead has burst
and flash floods can be a danger that i have, luckily, never experienced.

it is stormy in another way:
there are tensions as to whether it should be preserved
as the great wilderness that it is,
or if it should be interrupted for our energy consumption,
or opened to development that, simply, there is not enough
water in this desert to support.

we fight to keep this wilderness...
because when it's gone, our children will miss it.
i know nature is much more powerful than us,
and could possibly heal after hundreds or thousands of years...
but i desperately want my children to know this wild place
as i have known it. and i desperately wish i knew this wild place as
it was for my grandpa as he traveled its canyons and plateaus so many decades ago.

this place will heal you.
it will whisper the most simple, but awe-inspiring secrets to your heart.

this is why we love living here. the wilderness is at our fingertips.

{by the way, did you know that much of this red rock wilderness is yours? if you live in the US, and pay your taxes, then you have a right to say what happens to this land...pretty rad, huh?}

14 comments:

Kerry O'Gorman said...

Wild places like this NEED to be saved. Our open spaces are getting smaller and smaller. Keep educating us all with your breathtaking documentation of such sacred areas.

beth said...

Beautiful photos! We used to live at the top of a mountain in North Carolina- so beautiful, and just so different than living anywhere else.

kara lynn said...

such beautiful photographs. i love the red rocks especially with foggy clouds.

janis said...

such stark, beautiful photos. i love the one of your braid snuck in..

Tash said...

Wow, what beautiful photos!! It must be amazing to be in such a beautiful place like this, I can only imagine how it must move you and put things into perspective.
Lovely quote and so very true.
Natasha xo

Greg Russell said...

These are some of the most heartfelt and reverent words I've had the pleasure of reading about the Southwest. Its really clear you have a profound sense of place and you have done an excellent job of articulating it on your blog.

You write about saving redrock country, any place we love. Indeed. My hope is that my son (who will turn 3 on Sunday) doesn't judge his parents' generation too harshly for the way we've treated our environment, and that he knows some of us cared.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'll be bookmarking this page...

Cheers,
Greg Russell

ptkate said...

Beautiful photos. Isn't it amazing to be surrounded by such breathtaking scenery? I feel the same way about living in the Pacific NW. I consider myself so lucky...

Jane Flanagan said...

I love this post. It's the greatest thing I miss about living where I live now... that presence of nature pushing in on you from all sides. Toronto, as a city, is so wholly detached from its surroundings, the weather is the only sign of nature and, even then, it's warped by the cityscape.

You've reminded me of a craving in inhibit on a regular basis. A constant need, a wishlist for a true home.

Shokoofeh said...

The combination of these photos and your words is amazingly calming. So beautiful! wow!

Paige said...

Beautiful thoughts and photos, as always :)

Cobalt Violet said...

magnificent place ...
beautiful post ...
beautiful words ...

Hope you are having a beautiful weekend!

Anonymous said...

These pictures are amazing, I love them all. Beautiful words and thoughts as well.
Have a good week :)

Erin said...

Relish every moment! This is what we miss most about Utah. We get back whenever we can and try to get up in the mountains or down south for hiking and camping...it really gets in your blood.

Sharon said...

Beautiful words. I feel this way about the ocean. Thank you for this wonderful post.

Sharon