Pause between canyons

The Southwest can be overwhelming.                                                                                                     Particularly if one wants to see it all in, say, 10 days. Each canyon, desert, rock spiral has a life of its own and requires time, concentration, dreams, and much more to then say "I've been there"! Imagine seeing Paris, Kathmandu, Brazzaville, and San Francisco in a week and going home trying to remember something about what you've seen. Kind of hard, right? Same for the Southwest, my friends.

But I'm being digressive. My story today is about finding a meaningful stop among the stunning canyons, without losing the focus on the area you are discovering. Usually, after a canyon, another one follows.





As an example,
between this (Canyonland)





and

                                          this (Monument Valley)

Not if you travel, for instance, from Moab, Utah, and Monument Valley, expanding over Utah and Arizona. There is a jewel that is easily missed. But it's seriously worth a turn off the main road.






This jewel is The Edge of the Cedars Museum. Here one finds an amazing collection of important artifacts excavated in the archaeology rich surrounding area or not very far from there, all belonging to the Ancient Puebloans civilization, once known as Anasazi. Effigy pottery, mugs, ladles and vessels are incredibly beautiful and very well preserved. It's the largest collection of its kind in the whole Four Corners area!

Two pieces caught my eye: almost intact "coverlets" i.e. turkey feathers blankets. Doesn't sound that astonishing? Just figure an Anasazi guy weaving in those days to make such a wonderful and useful piece.
It is hard to take a good picture of these blankets, so I post what I have, sorry!

This is the base on which the feathers were woven around

Around the museum there are some fantastic murals reproducing some of the most famous but hard to get to rock art with immense figure whose message we will never discover.

Not only the Edge of the Cedars has a collection to die for, but is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan presence.

Plan to stay for a long time to read all the fascinating stories and findings about each object. You won't regret it.

It was exciting, OMG!

Every tour I lead offers me something new, something never experienced before. I can't tell you if I like seeing over and over again the places I love more than experiencing something totally new. I'd say both.

This time, thanks to the increasing drought  the float on the Colorado River was cancelled at the last minute for lack of, yes, water! Rocks and sand stuck out of the low river's water, it was so sad. But, this adventure was replaced with a true adventure! If I were alone I would never have gone, my word. But I had to, and I had to show how relaxed I was, hiding terror going through my whole body. I did it, and I'm happy I did.

We boarded three hummers and off onto the nearby rocky mountains, just beside Canyonlands National Park.
I realized there were no roads or trails to speak of. Where were we going to go? On the rocks themselves, of course!

See the firm grip of the driver? He was great, I knew he was reliable (it's his job, after all!) and I decided to trust him and relax. My companions in my hummer were between terrified and excited. We all tried to laugh...ehm...

After every steep climb unfortunately always followed a steep, VERY steep, downhill slope. Once at the top we were all wondering "what's next"...a fall into the Colorado River? But after a couple of these exercises we all relaxed and enjoyed the most incredible views surrounding us.

It wasn't easy at all to take pictures, as you can well imagine. I tried, and here are some examples of my skills!

La Salle Mountains as a backdrop

Charming little cloud!

Finally we took a break and we all got out of our  vehicles. Surprise! We were in a spot that allowed to see the Colorado River! Spectacular!

All the women held hands thinking about Thelma and Louise!

Wondering around on what seemed to us the top of the world...almost

We were both sad and relieved when we saw "land" and knew we made it through a fantastic experience, proud, safe, happy, and willing to do it again.

Rocks speak

That touch of white left by the first snow of the season over Petrified Forest created a special atmosphere, everything was still, silent.

What would that petrified log from the Mesozoic era tell us if it could talk to us? Let's use our fantasy and listen!

To look v. to see

I have been absent from my "tales" for quite some time, but for a good reason. I spent two weeks around the Southwest with a group of 20 Italians! It was nice to speak my language helping my ideas with my hands! One can't speak Italian without knowing the use of one's hands; there are a variety of signs, not all very polite. But very useful!

It is at times disappointing to realize how some, luckily only a few, people travel. I think that they are only able to marvel in front of a stunning thing, and a well known one, but lose the nuances. We all know that a marvelous rock is, well, marvelous! But what about the beautiful land around it? The history and incredible geology that goes with it? What about the wind's song that surrounds us and whispers, and the colors and shapes?

this Delicate Arch

versus

this simple form

Or this Balanced Rock

versus

this

Are they afraid of emotions?