The ferocious wind
whips through tree branches.
I close my eyes and imagine
it’s a dark and supernatural wind
blowing civilization into oblivion.
The wind is singing, howling, and rushing.
The sound is perfect, superb, and beautiful.
Into the ocean deep mind, I descend
remembering ancient days.
It is summoning the anarchy
that burns in my soul.
Where’s an escape
that leads to the past?
Well, I’m falling into a rut they call a career. As of late, I accepted a much anticipated job working for Bundu bashers. They give tours all over the Southwest, to many National Parks, and I really look forward to giving this company by best effort, for the last part of the season… The job goes until the mid part of November or whenever the tours die down. More and more, I feel comfortable working as a tour guide, and educating people about the Southwest and its history. The real reward from this type of work is all the wonderful people that I get to meet, who are coming from all over to see and experience a beauty that has been my back yard and stomping ground, my whole life! It was amazing and fulfilling to work as a wilderness guide in Grand Canyon. The Creator has truly blessed my life!
Tonight, I just got back from the family ranch where I was cutting Alabaster stone, and down-sizing it for our ndn customers. The stone was excellent, it almost rang like a church bell! That is the sign of good carving Alabaster. I’ve been thinking hard about sculpting more stone, as this is a resource, available at my finger tips. Are there any beautiful female stone carvers out there, that would be interested in a guy like me!?
Anyways, I’m really trying to frequent my blog more often and post. I even changed the layout! There’s little things that are driving me through the wall though, about the design. It’ll take time to iron it out to my liking. Rome was not built in a day.
I love life, I really do!!!
Autumn is coming. The rain was cold yesterday, but I’m always wearing cowboy-cut wranglers which provide good insulation. In the dead heat of Central Arizona, I’m wearing blue jeans, good protection against rattlers and thorny bushes. The trees in town are still dark lush green. The oak on the mountain has not turned yellow, yet. Autumn is a season for whirl-winds and dust-devils, which I see more of in September and October. The harvest brings warm weather but colder nights on Southern Utah’s high desert. It is a choice time for camping in Canyon Country. The heat isn’t so intense and the threat of flash flooding is small. The monsoon storms are quieting down. And soon the rattlers and blow snakes will hibernate, together. The landscape will become still, with a rush of autumn leaves in the wind.
This weekend, my brother, his wife, and I, are going camping for my birthday. I turn twenty-six. In many ways, I still feel very young, but the days are creeping by. Will I ever find another person to share my life? The loneliness does not bother me, which surprises a few. I’m actually very content. Folks are saying to me, hop on the band-wagon, get married, have a bunch of kids! That’s fine, I’m in no rush! That is the small town mentality of Utah. It ain’t uncommon to see a family of twelve walking down the street. There’s a Brady-Bunch in every extended family!
Joe’s wife has never been camping without a tent! She’s a city girl from Mesa, but not so sophisticated. She’s become countrified by Southern Utah culture. With a slip of the tongue I’ve already heard the words, ain’t, gots, reckon, and ya’all! She promised my brother she would sleep in the desert, under the stars, without a tent! We’re going to Toroweap, Calf Creek Falls, or the San Rafael Swell? It’s my decision. She’s never been to the Toroweap Overlook, in Grand Canyon - A 3,500 foot drop to the Colorado River.
I believe in the existence of aliens, bigfoot, and most other phenomena. I think it naive to say nothing is there, because we live in a universe where the possibilities are infinite. Just look at the stars on a clear night out in the middle of nowhere! We do not always understand what is happening in our world, but it should be our responsibility to observe nature. Those mysterious entities may be spiritual manifestations, warning us! The earth is teaming with life, but even the power of life is unknown. Can science even begin to tell us about the soul and meaning of life? Hell no!
For a long time now, I have ventured into the wild, avoiding the every day rut. When I enter a mega-store, I feel the artificiality of our pop-culture, the greed of our doing, and I see all this ugly consumerism trying to drown me in its depths. Is this a culture of greed? Yes. I will not conform. I will not accept the status quo. My enemies are those that destroy beauty.
I’ve listened to the silence of deep canyons, of isolated desert landscapes. The beauty keeps me alive and moving. The natural world seems to be telling us that a great and powerful change is on the way…
The physical warnings are the earth quakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and record weather patterns. These are physical precursors. All over the world, things are not the same any more. It is undeniable. People are gathering who hear the mysteries. A growing chorus of them are trying to do something about it. When I was down on the Colorado River, they were talking about strange things going on in the canyon! They say there is more radiation in the Grand Canyon then ever before.
Perhaps more folks will see the mysteries of the unknown, as time draws further towards a close. I’m moving away from the consumerism and secularism, and from those that say there is no spiritual power in this world! That is how I’ve become personally sovereign. Even my personal relationship with the Creator has been a lonely one, but it is strong. My advice, follow the roots of truth, and listen to the unknown!
I feel the winds of New Mexico up here in Utah, I think the time draws near for me to spend a season or so in that country? I’m thinking of moving to Santa Fe, Gallup, or Farmington, and get out of Utah for a while. I think when I go to settle down it will be over in Blanding, or Moab, Utah. I really like the high desert country of the enchanted state. So much beauty!
Always live life to the fullest. Never quit or fall short of the goals you set, or the dreams you have. Go all the way, the whole way. Life really is too short. I’ve fulfilled two goals of mine; living and working in the Grand Canyon, and running the entire length of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon! Another goal of mine is to live within Canyon Lands National Park for a year. How do I go about achieving this?
Yes, New Mexico is a happy thought, tonight.
Our ranch house was never finished, it is a dream that remains incomplete. Construction began in the late 80’s but money problems hindered us from ever finishing it. Luckily my grand parents have a small home in Parowan, Utah. I live in Cedar City, and work for them part time. The ranch has the silence of a ghost town and the building itself is aging slowly. All around lay huge piles of Alabaster that we’ve collected and hauled in over the years. Native artisans from all over the Southwest travel to our stone yard to buy or trade for Alabaster carving stone. It is located near the town of Summit, Utah; between Cedar City, and Parowan. If you are traveling down I-15 and approach the Summit exit, look for a cinder pit mine to the south on the mountain, right below is the ranch. You’ll see all the rocks! It is not a business where we’ve made the greatest living. We have struggled like most other folks. In the winter months, life grows difficult with no customers coming for several months at a time. The Alabaster has allowed us to survive, though. There is something associated with the stone that adds to the silence. In the hills that surround our little ranch lays ancient ruins, rock art sites, scattered fire pits, and so many other things. All of Iron County seems entrenched in those ancient remnants!
By default, we like to call our retreat; Meadowlark Ranch, because of all the birds that congregate there. My grandfather emulates the meadowlark and sings, Summit… is a pretty little place! We have a 78 acre piece of land with a meadow to the east end of the property. Mule Deer gather in fall and winter to use it throughout the cold months, so we have a horrendous problem with poachers. Over the years I’ve spent hiking around the property, I’ve come across deer that were shot dead for no reason at all except to have their antlers removed. When I was younger, I seen two dead bucks leaned up against each other and stuffed in a basalt crevice with the antlers sawed off. Such experiences really anger me. I cannot stop stereotyping the rednecks that do this. They are the worst breed of Southern Utah White Trash; they are those that destroy the soul of the wild. Damn them!
I spent a day in the silence of our ranch, reliving some those experiences that still lurk on the outer edges of time and space. A supernatural wind howled and groaned, pushing cloudships across blue sky, and causing the empty ranch house to creak. Alone, I felt an intense euphoria as if something from the deep hills had come to pay me a visit! There’s a canyon nearby, Win Canyon, and Braffits Creek trickles down the left fork. The brush and undergrowth chokes the creek bottom, all the way up into the aspen and pine forests above. Braffits Creek may not seem like much, but to our family, it is somewhat sacred. We have stories that originate from there; even I have had personal experiences while hiking and exploring the area.
Braffits Creek is truly a strange place… My uncle and I came out of there late one summer night, with experiences that are hard to describe, like a child’s footprint in the middle of a mud bar near the creek, or the crazy laughter of an unknown animal rushing through the dense bushes. How do you describe those experiences? Will folks ever believe? In so many way, I’ve allowed those amazing experiences to fade into history.