Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Kevin and I have finally put the finishing touches on our bedroom. One new design is that we've placed our own nature photography in frames around our bedroom. Here's a preview.
Sometimes it's embarrassing to splurge. I had just decided not to buy a swimsuit for my upcoming Hawaii trip (yes, I'm going back) because it was too expensive when I ran across these WPA posters from the 1940s. I immediately loved this retro art look, and thought it would be a nice departure in our house from the photographs we have displayed. The Internet buying bug bit me.
The funny thing is that I knew I really admired these Colorado Plateau posters, but I didn't just buy one: I bought three. The price was OK--$40 per poster, but once I saw that $120 added up, I couldn't believe I was forking over that much on a whim.
These posters came last week, and they are gorgeous and wonderful! I am planning to put them up in the study/library of our house. The biggest problem is that they are 13.5" x 19". I searched all over town last Saturday for a frame or mat that would fit, but it was no use. I really hope I find something soon, and I hope I don't have to pay for custom framing. If any of you have suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!
P.S. Sorry that these sizes aren't all the same. That's pretty lazy of me for design week, isn't it?
Brain dead, rock hard, and breaking off in pieces. The crumbling red stone walls are cracking, arching, expanding, shrinking. Orange muddy water etching away the solidity, leaving tall, lumpy, dusty figures. Lifeless yet living, the living dead. Glaring heat survivors, baked, fried, cemented before awakening. They remain motionless, only shrinking by the inch every few years. Eating the sun, sucking the wind, repelling the rain and its destructive drainage, they reside in a lifeless desert--a stupor. All they need to amass their zombie army is to wait, to stand in the presence of ever-eroding walls.
Kevin and I just returned from a recent trip to the Cedar City region of the state. Last year we did some hiking at Bryce Canyon National Park, but on our way there from Panguitch, we were stunned as we went through the beautiful Red Canyon, which seemed to just pop out of nowhere from the rolling green hills and plains. I loved it because the brilliant color reminded me distinctly of Arches National Park, where I was first conditioned as a child to love the red rock of Southern Utah. We promised to come back with this canyon as our specific destination.
The ranger at the station was a nice older gentleman with a big, white beard, and at first I was tempted to crack a joke about whether or not he was Ed Abbey reincarnated (I didn't). He and his wife could hardly believe that we came for Red Canyon itself, instead of just merely passing through on the way to Bryce. Yes, Bryce is fantastic; it's breathtaking; however, I think it's unfortunate that Red Canyon be passed up because of its proximity to a naturally spectacular giant.
We decided to go on the Ledge Point Trail, which from the bottom of Red Canyon is about 2 miles to the destination point via Cassidy and Rich trails. Looking at the map and what we could see on foot, it appears that there would be a fun backpacking or horseback trip going up Cassidy and coming down one of the other canyons, such as Losee, where we took our second short hike in the region. We even ran into some riders on the way there, and there were also bike treads on the trail, although the trail was very sandy and wouldn't be my idea of an especially navigable bike trail.
The trail parallels a wash until we split to Rich trail, which started an ascent and took us over a rockier trail. After turning to the Ledge Point trail, we entered a beautiful high Ponderosa Pine forest until we nearly reached the point that looks over much of Red Canyon and is a beautiful prospect.
It was getting close to sundown, and we wanted to stop in Panguitch for dinner at the Cowboy Smokehouse, so we decided to go on a little short tour up Casto Canyon road until we got to the Losee Canyon Trailhead. We walked up the Arches trail, which has about 15 small arches in a .5-.7 mile location. The arches are relatively small, and the place had a Goblin Valley kind of feel to it, but I'd really recommend this hike for kids, although it is a little steep. The rock formations are odd and playful, and it's great to have so much to see in one small place.
