I wonder today, as I often do, about the never-ending quest for the known locations. The ways we strive for the famous spots. And the degradation of their dramatic beauty as we tromp across the little space that’s left well beyond capacity.

And yet so much stunning landscape exists just off the quiet highway between an indistinct small town with local rodeo heroes, and another one not remembered for much of anything. Just a few miles down a dirt road, entire stories of wild and fierce granitic landscapes, bold splashes of fall color painted by Gambel Oaks, Autumn Blaze Maples, and the red-hued fall grasses, show off whether we are there to witness it or not. The solitude of one loan junco working its way from branch to branch, does not need to be broken by our footsteps.

But I count myself lucky to have been here today, October 14th, 2023, a day of the ring of fire eclipse, to bare testimony of these oaks and maples and monoliths, to breathe in a pause, exhale a moment of gratitude, and exclaim, beauty is all around.