Last week, my entire team drove several hours to Arches National Park for a team-building exercise. Some of them had flown in from the East Coast for a series of meetings last week--theme: "Achieving New Heights." It made for a long day, driving down, doing a couple of hikes, and driving back in the same day, especially since we'd spent a couple of hours at an indoor rock climbing place the night before. It was fun, but it sort of reminded me of an episode of The Office, minus the fire walking.
Excessive driving aside, I was reminded how beautiful the rural Southwest can be. My colleague from Boston was amazed at the vast open spaces. Except for driving through Moab, I hadn't been to Arches for decades, but my family used to go there when I was young. It was interesting to see a couple of places I couldn't remember in detail, but which were immediately familiar when I saw them. At the Devil's Garden campground where we ate lunch, when I looked up and saw the red rock formations above the picnic area, I recognized the place as matching a memory I had of climbing around with my brother on rocks above a camping site. I had a clear memory of the event, but I hadn't known where that memory occurred until I saw the formation again.
Interestingly enough, my brother is coming out for a visit and we're going to Arches together for the first time in 25 years or so. It will be fun to reminisce and see what memories get dredged up. I'm excited for our kids to make some of the same memories together. My younger sister will also be there. My memory of her in that park is of being in a baby carrier I've now inherited from my parents and will likely be using to carry one of my own children.
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2 comments:
Gah. Arches Envy!
(I have to save my vacation days for my writing retreat in August.) Or I'd be crashing that family reunion.
One of my favourite places in the world is in Arches. There's a ridge up on the Devil's Garden trail on the way to Double-O Arch (not to be confused with Double Arch) where you can see Dark Angel. The world just seems really huge up there and you can see for miles around in all directions.
Also, see if you can get some shots of Landscape Arch. They closed the path under it, but it's still holding steady for now.
So you managed to find my blog--welcome.
I don't know if I'll make it around the Dark Angel loop with the little ones in tow, but I do plan to enjoy Landscape Arch, as it may not be around too much longer. Then again, in geologic time, it may outlast all of us.
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