Ute Canyon Hike

So, here I sit in a beautiful place of contemplation... back home now on my covered deck I allow the rhythm of the rain and the colors of the roses to guide my mind back to our Ute Canyon hike.

Ute Canyon began with a greeting from our 4-legged friend - the Bighorn Sheep.... (It should have been my first indication that Spirit would travel near today.)


Before.... After.... 3 hrs and approx 7 mi.

Yes, dirty socks, forgot the others in the hotel - trying to be gypsies - but needing a home base - gypsies would be totally fine with dirty socks... so were we :)

As we approached the trail head, I happen to glance at a nearby tree... and sure enough I was blessed with the perfect walking stick - left by those who had been here before....

Just the right height. As I allowed it to rotate in my palm the half-moon shape settled comfortably within the digits of my four fingers allowing my thumb to rest and steer from above. We headed down the rigorous decent... filled with numerous switchbacks and steps carved into the sandstone.

We were amazed at the difference in terrain only a few bends away from our previous hike. We deeply inhaled the scents from the Pinon Pine forest and cussed the tall reeds and grasses as they lashed at our shins and calves. (Smarter hikers would wear long pants... :) ) Yet we both announced out loud how grateful we are for the abundance of moisture this spring.

The longer we hiked the more thoughtful our conversation became - a wonderful dose of therapy (didn't pay $75.00 an hour for it either - thank you Mother Nature!) We began to review the chapters of our life - from a distance now... filled with fewer judgments and less pain. (30 years now we have known one another...hmmm) We contemplated our childhoods, our own children (of course questioned if we'd done things right). We examined the theory of nature vs nurture and wondered just how much of life's journey we do and do not control... amazing sensation of spirit here... we are truly blessed.

That day we took time to "smell the roses," to take in nature, to believe and to live in the moment... Oh, if we could only slow down long enough to do that every day!

So, I thanked my walking stick and left it in the exact same place...hoping it would share its' spirit with the one next to deeply need it....