47.14: Utah: 'Hey, Yellow Mountain': "Who are you calling yellow? Come up here and say that on my spine."

To get to the base of Yellow Mountain, one has to undertake a treacherous climb first. The return journey is even tougher.

Jenni reaches the base of the mountain.
When we were young, the encouragement was to think of the future. Sounds about right. Or is it? Long discussion could ensue but instead, we’ll mention a few points and relate it to some of our experiences. That we live in the present might negate living in or for the future. Right outside the starting gates, an intelligent person learns the future is promised to no one. Great opening lesson. All we have is the now, the present. (Obviously, there’s a whole lot of issues of preparing for the unknown but that’s not living. Save for the future but live for today not forgetting a pension.) 

Then there’s the concept of Carpe Diem. Seize the moment. I usually have some silly examples in my head (but valid) to remind me of the issues. How many people have put off things until their retirement? How many never made it to retirement? Upon retirement does a person still have the desire, the energy or health to undertake the deferred actions. I always thought of putting off playing football until retirement date. Probably needs no further explanation...continues below. 

  

Incredible surface besides the coloring.

From Jenni's vantage point, she cannot see Yellow Mountain.
Could be sitting on a mountain in Sedona, Arizona instead of Utah. Often, it's difficult to choose between these two beautiful states. Best to select them both.

A view of Castle Rock from the other side of the mountain.

If nothing else, one cannot beat the places where we eat brunch each hike.

A weakness in cameras is failing to capture the true perspective; on the other hand, maybe it's the photographer. Another treacherous scree covered slope.

I always treasure and am grateful for the lessons instilled in me by Mom and Dad. They lived through tough times, better than their parents but still with hardship. Along we came and life became a relative bed of roses. Our children's generation had a life in luxury beds with the thorns removed from said roses. As for the grandchildren's generation—it seems that life is heading to a 'glorious age of materialism'. Chase the buck and you can have everything and anything your heart desires. Really? 

Anyway, Mom and Dad stressed education, work ethic, higher education, solid job or business, marriage, children, values and a comfortable life. Wonderful. However, when you leave off the lateral aspects, life becomes channeled, narrower. We miss what’s happening on the sides as we focus on the restrictive path forward. We miss the action occurring around us. And the around is very, very large because it encompasses the whole world. Soon it will include other parts of the universe. So while we are busy traveling along our channel or path, we lose much by not witnessing the hundreds of different cultures that are thriving, changing or dying, the magnificence of the miracle called planet Earth with its diversity of natural beauty and wonders. 

As an aside, while there are officially 7 wonders of the world, we can’t but shout out the world is one of unlimited wonders. In fact, not a day passes without experiencing one or more of these miracles. Perhaps when we move along a fixed path, we lose so much because exposure to other cultures, people, even religions, is limited. People are often instructed of their own community superiority and without having anything with which to compare, accept such teachings. We believe it’s obvious that cultures are different and yes, some appear superior depending on the evaluation measures. (We should never underestimate values in the measure.)  

The opening paragraphs are a tease suggesting how fascinating life is but we understand the voyage requires effort and sacrifices, as does anything else. And of course, every voyage is different making each inhabitant's adventure through life, unique. Some sages have suggested we make our own luck. We think that applies equally to what we make of our lives. We are given our first breath, most fortunate should we have parents that set us off on track and blessed when we capitalize on such advantage, taking the initiative positively. We’ll stop there otherwise we might just end up paraphrasing a book we published some 3 years ago on this and many other subjects surrounding our adventures. “A Life Experience as No Other…” 

We’ll close by reminiscing on our stay in Durango. We planned on visiting for 7 days, extended a further 4 but will probably depart before the weather turns cold. The other morning we set out on a hike in the mountains in this rugged and exquisite area with the temperature at 23 degrees F. By the time we reached the summit, we were sweating in the seventies and that’s not Jenni’s age, yet. 

It was in Durango, sitting outside the narrow gauge railway station eleven years ago that we put the final thoughts to bed regarding Hike-about. We took a walk to the bench outside the main building and sat, casting our minds back to that day and the subsequent period leading to the present. It’s an era that stands out as no other in our lives. (Of course, one should remember one of us has difficulty remembering what we did last month.) 

We love the various signs we see throughout the world. Unfortunately, we only grasp the substance, nuances and messages of those in English and Afrikaans. One that struck home when we were in a bar in Durango in 2009 has remained chiseled in our brains. 

 “One does not have to be crazy to climb Colorado’s mountains…but it sure helps.” 

Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey