Sunday, May 7, 2006

Up to the mountains we went, Ryan and I, to see what we could see and to scope out the progress made by the grass and verge against the retreating snows.
We had a great time jousting against the wind and budding river birch above the Engineer Canyon ponds, and fish were caught, but we sought more than tangles and lost flys, so we headed down the road toward the Forks of the Huntington.


We were undaunted by the feeble gate and signage at the foot of Left-Hand Fork, but the sheer elevation gain ahead and probabilty of snow and mud left us less than eager for the challenge.
We headed on down the road a bit more, toward the desert. Ah, my beautiful desert, mistress of my winters and saviour of my snow-bound heart, she is about to undergo her annual transformation and ritual scorching, so we thought we'd better have a go while summer was still held at bay by a fickle spring.


A view toward the west, toward the Colorado Plateau from the edge of the Swell.


There are many traces of Spanish exploration prior to the 1700's in the Swell. Many say that there is treasure hidden and mystery to be unraveled, but that is for those with too much time and energy on their hands.
I have children to tend to and a wife too cherished to hunt often for such quarry.


Welcome to The Wedge! This one is for Ryan David, may you heal well and quickly. No, I didn't doctor this or make it up.


The leaves are new and untried against the summer's sweltering sun and drying winds. Their green is translucent even when the sun isn't shining from behind. Man, it's transcendently lovely out here right now.


An Homage to the 'Runner, steed of many adventures and sundry 'splores into the outback.


Another view of the canyons.


In the Swell, there are petroglyphs and pictographs too numerous to catalogue. These are some 'graphs from a drive-up area just off of the trail.


A view across the way from the paintings.


The end of the trail for the day, we had to get back to town in time to be late for some things that needed to be done. What a day, no matter what gas costs.

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