Have you ever gone around the world with your ideas, chasing after inspiration, only to come full circle back to where you started, realizing that you were meant to be just where you were, with only slight modification?

In my case, I thought I was leaving my old self as a coach behind to head down a new path as a shamanic practitioner. I wasn’t exactly sure how that would look, but forged ahead with enthusiasm, building a new website, marketing in different ways, and gradually building a local clientele. And then I started getting calls from clients looking for a shaman who is also a coach. Funny how the universe works.

I started to see that my healing sessions with clients took on another dimension when I weaved coaching techniques together with shamanic healing principles. While my clients had been seeing improvement with shamanic healing, now that I fully embrace the blending of my experience, my clients are having profound experiences of transformation and healing, often in one visit.

Thought to be the oldest spiritual practice in human history, shamanism is now making its way into corporations, organizations, and even Wall Street — yes, there is a broker who has studied shamanism and now works with other brokers to bring energy consciousness to the bastions of capitalism. To watch a video about Larry Ford, the Wall Street Shaman, click here.

Larry Ford, Wall Street Shaman

Why is this ancient practice making a resurgence in our culture? A basic premise of Shamanism is that everything is a dream, co-created by each individual with the assistance of spirit guides and allies. These spirits can take many forms — angels, ascended masters, our ancestors, great teachers, animals, the elements, etc. A shaman has learned how to access these benevolent and compassionate spirits to restore the balance that has been lost in people and on earth.

Shamanism is all about intention, vibrant creation, and manifestation — whether it’s prosperity, your business, relationships, or your lifestyle, what do you want to create in your life, and how do you change your thoughts and vibrational energy to make that happen? My intention is that what you find in my newsletter, on my website, and in the information I share through my radio show and learning programs will help you navigate our 21st century world with ease, especially during this time of global spiritual awakening.

Core shamanic principles have been used by thousands of people for thousands of years in every culture. Whether it’s Celtic, Egyptian, or Native American, shamanism has helped people throughout the ages change their dream, and from there change their reality.

Are you ready to ignite your imagination and change your reality using the ancient wisdom of shamanism? I invite you to download my free ebook Purpose & Passion by registering at my website, www.theshamanicpath.com, then explore the site to find out more about energy consciousness and how it can benefit your life. Get ready to transform!

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important…

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

For those who know me, I am a techno-geek and a Macintosh evangelist. Back in the mid-90s, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and the first colored iMacs hit the market, I was the General Manager for an Apple Retail Store. So yesterday’s news that Jobs had died, really hit me. He was a creative genius that will be remembered in the way Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell are for their achievements. The world has lost a great visionary.

“There is no reason not to follow your heart” is a reminder to us all that when you live life with passion and purpose, great things will manifest. I have had several significant set backs in life, a couple in the last few months, and have been battling with all those external things he talks about. When I saw this quote today, it lifted my spirits in a way nothing has for a long time. Thank you Steve Jobs. You are still influencing, even in your death.

In Native American culture, there is a belief that when one shares all that one has, in order that the People might thrive, honor and abundance is brought to the giver. Jobs brought this to his work, his ideas, and his customers. His life is a great model of this principle. He will be missed.

Here is the commencement address at Stanford University in which he spoke the quote above. It’s 15 minutes, and well worth the time spent viewing it.

Horse as Teacher Book 1

Before leaving on my road trip, my colleague and partner in the Horse as Teacher book series, Kathy Pike, had asked if I would stand in for her shamanic teacher in her workshop in June in Carbondale, Colorado. I had agreed, thinking it would be on my way back home. However, when I found out my brother and his band, Snydley Whiplash, were having a 25th anniversary reunion for the 4th of July, I wanted to be there for the performance. I also wanted to go back to Arkansas to meet with more of the women and see if the land was truly drawing me to be there.

In the end, I decided to make a dash to Colorado without stopping along the way for sightseeing. After teaching at the workshop, I would see where the road led me. At that point, I would either go back to South Dakota or head west from there.

Kathy’s workshop was the 3rd of 4 held over a year’s time for her apprenticeship program, teaching students to become Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching practitioners and facilitators. This week-long session was focused on the internal work the participants needed to do to become a practitioner. Kathy has a shamanic colleague who had been there the first two sessions, but couldn’t teach in this one.

I arrived the two days before the start to help Kathy prepare. We went to pick up her assistant Reggie from the airport the night I arrived. Reggie is a therapist who decided to follow her path of working with horses and after living 60+ years in New York, moved to Texas just before meeting Kathy and starting to work as her assistant. Holding space for all of the horses, participants, and other people involved is a big effort. We were also all three staying in Kathy’s small casita, so being able to work well together was critical. The three of us had a great time, balancing each other throughout the week.

Coaching With Horses Workshop Ranch

The next morning we drove the 30 miles to the ranch where the workshop was being held. The drive out was spectacular, taking us into a long, gradually narrowing valley, the road winding along a tree-lined river. The pastures were filled with horses as we weaved our way to the far end of the valley. The ranch sat below a beautiful view of a show-capped mountain, the water flowing past dandelion-filled pastures, the horses grazing contentedly in the bright sun. This was a little piece of heaven.

The first three days of the week would be an experiential workshop. In that portion, there would be one person who was not part of the year-long program. The rest would finish the week, but Blaine was only there for the first session. Kathy had explained on the way that he was the husband of a woman who would be taking the program the next year, and he was there to experience some of what Tracy would explore. She had also explained that he was a minister and wasn’t sure how the Shamanic piece of the workshop would be for him.

That question was answered immediately when we met. It was an instant, deep connection. As we walked to the stand of trees by the small waterfall from the pond to the creek that I had chosen for our teaching, he started peppering me with questions. Blaine is a handsome, curious man with a deep strength and gentleness that is perfectly suited for the work he does. I definitely felt that we had had many conversations in many lifetimes.

Setting of Shamanic Teaching

The other participants were also very curious and connected to the shamanic teachings I shared with them. I taught them to journey to find their power animals and a spirit guide for the work they would be doing during the next few days. Then they journeyed to those spirits to find out what they needed to change or remove from their path in order to move forward. I also explained the medicine wheel, making sacred space, and creating rituals and daily practices, no matter how that looks for each person. There seemed to be a number of breakthroughs in the teaching session, and much more as the week progressed.

The next day, I took the other half of the group to the teaching space. Again, there were profound learnings that they shared with me. The setting, the subject, and the participants, as well as the facilitators made the week a very powerful grounding experience. But most of all were the horses. They are most amazing beings.

It’s been awhile since I made a blog post. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to say. In fact, this quest became much more than I had ever imagined it would be, an odyssey that took me 13 weeks, 13,400 miles, and through 13 national parks and monuments. Somewhere along the way, as I traveled roads new and familiar, I realized it was a retrospective look at what has shaped me, and at the same time, gave me new perspectives on how to transform and move forward.

So I will go back and reconstruct some of the amazing moments, life-changing experiences, and incredible insights I was so fortunate to have.

When last I posted, I was on my way to visit family. I’ll breeze through some of this, so as not to bore you. However, there are a few things that I’ll share here because they were either shamanic in nature, or have an impact on stories I will share later.

Having had the challenges I had on the first part of my journey, with sickness, finances, and juggling work with travel, I was relieved to arrive at my eldest sister Linda’s in Omaha, Nebraska.

When I was 11, Linda came home from a summer selling books door-to-door after her freshman year in college. She handed me a tape series by Zig Ziglar, called See You At the Top. It was my introduction to personal development information, and I was hooked.

Linda, who became highly successful in sales and recruiting and is now a professional speaker and trainer, has influenced me in so many ways, I’ve lost track. Not only did she introduce me to the world of self-help, she steered me to coaching and to the idea of creating collaborative books by coaches. She has been much more than a sister to me; she’s a mentor, a colleague, and a confidante.

Linda and Reece

I stayed with Linda, her husband Jerry, and son Reece for four days before I moved on to visit Carol, my youngest sister, who lives in Sioux City, Iowa with her husband Brad, and sons Liam and Aiden. Within minutes after walking in the door, Carol looked at me and said, “You look like you need to have a massage. Let me treat you to one.” (I think she had noticed that I couldn’t even stand up straight.) Within minutes, we had an appointment for the next day.

The next morning, as I was preparing to leave for that appointment, Carol’s good friend and next-door neighbor Shelley popped in. She and her husband Brian had finished building their house in the fall, and in February they had awakened to a fire that completely destroyed the interior of the house. Luckily, no one was hurt, but they had to move out for 4 months while the house was rebuilt.

Shelley didn’t know I was in town, so was surprised to see me. We talked for a bit, then I said I had to leave for my massage with Kathy Awtry. She said that she was also seeing Kathy that day, just after me! The universe works in mysterious ways, as you will see.

During my session with Kathy, we talked about my study of shamanism and the healing and energy work I do in depossession and soul retrievals. She was fascinated and full of questions.

A couple of hours after my massage, Shelley called me and had barely said hello when she asked me what I do. After I clarified that she was asking about my shamanic work, she said that after she had explained to Kathy what was going on for her, Kathy had suggested Shelley call me to have me do some work on her and her house.

Apparently, she and Brian, as well as their children, had been seeing a spirit in their house prior to the fire, specifically a woman. Neither had ever had experience with spirits, but they felt strongly that she was somehow involved with the fire. They had also been experiencing behaviors that weren’t typical in their relationship, with lots of anger and frustration, before the fire, as well as after.

Having never had any experience clearing energy for houses or land, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I decided I would approach it the same way I would a person: call in the spirits, do a drumming extraction while journeying, and let the spirits guide me in what to do next.

What an amazing experience! I immediately saw the woman in my mind. She was afraid, but not of me or Brian and Shelley. She was, in fact, trying to help them. It was her abusive husband’s spirit that she was protecting them from. His spirit was also there, elusive, lurking, trying to avoid me and what I was doing. The woman explained that he had not only abused her, but had ended up killing her, dumping her body in the nearby lake, and no one had ever discovered or said anything about her disappearance.

She went on to explain that he was an evil man who had caused a lot of people harm. They had lived on the property, and the image I was shown was of a run-down trailer in a very destitute trailer park on the land Shelley and Brian and Carol and Brad had built their houses on.

The woman had been trying to warn Shelley and Brian that her husband’s spirit was trying to do them harm, that he was the cause of the change in behavior, and that they needed to protect themselves from him. It was not her, but his energy that had started the fire.

After I finished drumming and worked with my spirit helpers to pass their souls to the light, I shared with Shelley what the spirits had shown me. She was flabbergasted. She confirmed everything that I had relayed to her. Brian had grown up in a nearby town, and had told her that there had been a trailer park, that it was a very poor area of town not that many years before, and that there were several not-so-nice men who had lived in the area.

I suggested to her that we do a depossession for her and Brian as well. We did one for her that night, although Brian was out of town.

The next day, Shelley said that the energy in the house was completely different. She hadn’t even wanted to go into the house, but after the work I did, was now completely free of that feeling. When Brian came home a few days later, he confirmed the same for him.

I let them know that when I passed through again on my way to Arkansas, I would give Brian a session, too. They were both relieved to know the cause of their misfortune, and were eager to know more about shamanism and energy work.

The next day, I headed to my hometown, Howard, South Dakota.

Silly me. I forgot to upload my video of the last National Park I visited before heading to South Dakota. One of my favorites .

Enjoy!

At Vista Caballo, I finally had a chance to catch up with myself, both physically and emotionally. When I made the final inspection of the Raven Lodge prior to leaving Oregon, as I locked the door for the last time, I looked at the beautiful space that I was fortunate to have lived in, saddened that I had to leave. It was then that my spirit guide whispered in my ear, “If you think this is beautiful, wait until you see what’s coming!”

From that moment until I reached Colorado, I had almost no thought or emotion about having to leave the Lodge. When I realized that fact at Lisa’s ranch, at first I thought that I must be in denial; how could I not have grief? Then, I thought that maybe that had all settled in my body instead and that was why I had gotten sick. But truthfully, neither seemed true for me.

What I began to understand was that I feel a deep trust that everything is happening for a very specific reason. My soul is directing this journey – both my life and this road trip. My spirits are supporting me. This trip has been an opportunity to revisit my path and based on that view, start to look to a new direction. Once I had a chance to catch up and breathe, I could see much more clearly that everything along the road has been a reminder of what I love – and what I’m capable of.

What I hadn’t been able to do because of either weather or being sick was to hike. Lisa’s conversation with me the previous day had spurred my thoughts and hiking is how I work through things. Lisa and Jess encouraged me to explore their land, explaining where the boundaries were, so off I went. Their property rises from their buildings up to a small rise where there is a 360 degree view with three separate mountain ranges: the Ute Mountain range to the southeast; the Abajo range to the west; and the La Sal Mountains to the northwest.

Abajo Mountain Range

La Sal Mountain Range

Ute Mountain Range

I followed the dirt road to the top where Jess is building the third cabin. I stopped at the few ancient piñon pine trees along the way. There are very few trees on the mesa; mostly there is sagebrush and red dirt, great land for range riding. I sat for a few minutes in the space they have created under the trees, but the cold wind was blowing directly at me. I didn’t want to cause a relapse of a cold, so decided to keep moving.

When I reached the cabin I saw why they chose the location. The cabin’s back deck faces the Ute Mountain range, while its front window takes in the La Sals. From the loft you can see the Abajo range. Knowing Jess’s building skills, when this cabin is finished, it will be cozy and beautiful.

After leaving the cabin, I walked for a distance east until I came to a fence line. The spring snow melt had caused their seasonal creek to overflow and I could hear the rush of the water below. I followed the fence line to a corner intersection of three fences and crossed over the east/west line to continue. I was reminded of when I helped my dad build fences on the farm in South Dakota, the corner junctions being critical to the sturdiness of all the lines that emanate from that point. Each fence line disappeared into the distance. Although their end point was unknown to me, I knew that each had a specific and meaningful intention, much like my soul’s journey.

I found a place to cross without having to climb over the barbed wire, and within a few feet I looked down to see Lisa and Jess’s dog chewing on something and realized it was the horns of a very large animal. At first I thought it was an elk, but on closer inspection, it was a deer. I’m not a hunter, so don’t know how many points the rack was, but it was intact and whole, including the skull. In fact, the entire skeleton was there. I had hoped to find a full rack for years, so I hoisted it onto my back, the skull resting on my shoulders and the rack encompassing my head.

Deer Rack and Skull

I picked up the sound of the rushing water again and began to follow it back to the ranch. As I came over the rise, I saw the sun begin to set on the Abajo range, in colors of purple, orange, and pink, a beautiful backdrop to the ranch buildings. It was in that moment that I had a huge insight.

Vista Caballo Sunset

That morning, Lisa had come to me and said she had a realization after our conversation about prosperity. I had shared with her my belief that prosperity is a measurement; abundance is a mindset. I feel truly abundant in my life, despite not always being financially prosperous. My ego wants to focus on the prosperity, my soul on the abundance. There is a huge misconception that in order to be spiritual, you must be without prosperity. I don’t believe that. However, it is necessary to have balance between the two.

When she first saw me that day, she said she had been reminded of the image of a Buddhist monk, who carries with them the robes they are wearing and a bowl, trusting that everything will be provided for them; and it always is. She suggested that perhaps that was my way to be in this life. To have an abundant mindset is to trust.

We also talked about what I was doing with my genius, that part of me that is there to fulfill my purpose in life. While my original reason for doing a road trip seemed to be for the experience, I was finding out that it is much more. It has been a chance for new perspectives on life, to experience joy in adversity, to reflect back and see where I have been in order to look forward to what is to come.

Lisa had also asked me at one point what was keeping me from having everything in life that I wanted, since I had so much talent and ability. Why wasn’t I going for it?

In my aha moment, I realized that I have been afraid to put everything on the line because the last time I did that for the restaurant, it had been a financial failure, although in so many other ways it was the most amazing experience for me, my employees, and my customers.

I hadn’t jumped off the edge again because I feared that it would be the same financial outcome. I’ve been overwhelmed with the idea of having to gather my energy and resources, just to have it fail.

It occurred to me, whether I did or did not pursue my next inspiration, I was creating the same result – financial struggle. Staying safe hadn’t produced any better results than trying something new and different. If that were the case, why wasn’t I taking the next leap of faith? Wouldn’t it be better for me to jump and see where I landed, than to play it safe, since the outcome of the latter hadn’t been any better than the former?

Excited about what I had just realized, I quickened my pace to return to the cabin and write down my thoughts.

As I approached the barn, it occurred to me that there would be no way to put the deer rack into my car. It was huge and unwieldy. I decided to let Jess and Lisa determine its final resting spot. Short of putting it on the hood of my car, it just wouldn’t travel very well in my packed car.

I realized then that the rack of horns was a metaphor for my life. I’d been looking for this thing for a long time, and when I finally found it, I had too much other stuff keeping me from having it. I’ve been seeking inspiration, and instead of making it happen, I have allowed other stuff to keep me from living it. There was that theme again: I must die to the old way of thinking in order to bring in what truly fills me. It is time to start living big.

The next day, I awoke with more energy than I’d had in a while. I logged onto my computer to answer a few emails and check my banking. What I found was disturbing. Someone had been using my PayPal credit card number to purchase things and PayPal had been taking the money from my checking to pay for it! My hotel stays had taken much more than anticipated from my budget, so I was stunned to see what was left.

After contacting my bank and making arrangements to make sure everything was covered, I canceled my PayPal credit card (which was still in my possession) at their website, packed my things, and headed for Vista Caballo, the ranch of Lisa Dee, an author in Horse as Teacher: The Path to Authenticity. It was Saturday and PayPal’s offices were closed. I’d have to deal with it on Monday.

Last October, I flew to Texas and drove my new car home on a road trip through Santa Fe and the Four Corners area. I had visited Lisa and her fiancé Jess on that trip, having a lovely dinner with them and their weekend guests. This time through, Lisa had graciously offered their cabin for me to stay. I told Lisa how significant that was in light of my banking situation. From there and over the weekend, we had a number of discussions about prosperity, abundance, and the perception of both. Lisa has an incredible way of shining light on things, coaching and teaching in a way that is both informative and transformational.

Jess, a world-class competitor in bicycling, was on a training ride, so Lisa and I took the opportunity to catch up. Sitting in their outdoor, fire-heated soak tub, she talked about the Law of Attraction and how most of the information about that universal principle just scratches the surface. What is missing is how we value ourselves, and how we treat money in energetic terms. Lisa brought up the example of how we look at the value of a penny. Ironically, on my trip, whenever I had received pennies in change, I would casually flip them into a canister on the counter, not wanting to “deal” with “just” a penny.

Without my revealing this piece of information, Lisa went on to say that most people don’t understand that a penny is as valuable as any other denomination. Since it’s all energy, we should treat it all with respect. She hit that on the nail.

She continued that we often don’t value ourselves and what we bring to the world any more than that penny. And with our vibration set to not value ourselves, it’s no wonder the law of attraction isn’t working. Lisa has created two successful companies, having recently sold one for a very large sum. She knows about prosperity and how to attract financial abundance. I absorbed everything she said.

What she and Jess have built reflects that she walks her talk. The cabin was luxurious, with attention to every detail, from the artwork on the walls to the candles lining the Jacuzzi bathtub. After unpacking and as we walked to the barn to feed the horses, she asked how everything was in the cabin. I joked that I would love to stay on as her camp cook, and she replied that they are actually building another cabin so that they can hire someone to do that. She encouraged me to check out what they were building

if I had a chance the next day.

As Lisa cleaned the stalls in the barn and fed the horses, she asked if I was getting any messages from the horses. When I had visited in October, her horse Hakomi had communicated to Lisa that she and I could have a conversation without Lisa having to translate. I had promised Hakomi I would be in contact with her through a journey after I finished that trip. When I saw her in the corral, I realized that I had not done as I had promised. While the other horses were curious about me, Hakomi ignored my presence.

Hakomi, Vista Caballo

Mikey and Angel came to greet me, but Promise held back, interested, but shy. Angel is very gregarious, extremely intelligent, and wants attention. Mikey is a calm horse, observing everything, and not reactive. Both picked on Promise, but she would just walk away and not engage with their antics.

Mikey and Promise

I put my hand on Promise’s back, which she tolerated, more focused on her eating. She occasionally looked back at me, curious to know what I was doing. I was drawn to her stomach and put my hand there. Lisa watched me and then said that Promise had always had a sensitive stomach. An image came to me that Promise had a nervous stomach because she didn’t trust that she was staying with Lisa. I told Lisa what was coming to me.

Hakomi, Mikey, Promise, and Angel

She related that every time she had people come to the ranch for workshops and sessions, Promise’s stomach would get worse. I asked what her history was. She had been passed from person to person, just getting settled in when another change would happen. I suggested that maybe when people came she was concerned that she would have to leave with them.

Lisa immediately began to tell Promise that she was safe and secure. She would never have to leave. Promise seemed to respond, visibly relaxing and going back to eat. I put my hands on her stomach and started to send healing energy to her. A few minutes passed and she moved toward me, seeming to want more of what I was doing. If I moved away, she would position herself for more.

About that time, Hakomi came through the barn, walked directly to Promise and nipped at her. When Promise moved away, Hakomi did it again. Then Angel and Mikey did the same thing. Promise just continued to move away, never engaging in retaliation.

Then, as if Hakomi’s voice was in my head, I heard clearly, “Why are you working with her, first? Why didn’t you contact me like you said you would?” I immediately saw that she was upset that Promise was getting special treatment, and as lead mare, she was being bypassed.

I told Lisa the message I was getting, as Hakomi walked toward me, stood in front of me, and looked directly at me, like a woman scorned. I got the message. I apologized to her and told her I would connect with her later, as Promise needed some healing energy right now. She seemed to accept that and made her way to the back corral to continue eating.

After Jess returned and we all had dinner, we looked out at the horses who had been released into the yard. Promise was lying down on the ground, looking like she was uncomfortable. Watching her, Lisa began to become concerned that she might be having colic.

She wasn’t getting up, a clear sign that something wasn’t right. Jess got her back to the barn where Lisa and I started working with her. I put my hands on her stomach while Lisa massaged the muscles around her tail to stimulate her to eliminate.

As I sent healing energy to her through my hands she continued to move closer to me, pressing her back end toward me. Whatever we were doing seemed to be helping. She started to pass gas. We worked for another 10 minutes or so. Eventually, Promise moved away from us to the hay on the ground, and started to eat. A very good sign.

Later, Lisa went to check on her. When Lisa asked how she was, Promise led her to a pile of dung and smelling it, looked back at Lisa as if to say, “See, aren’t you proud of me?”

Much later, before I fell asleep in the amazingly comfortable bed, I took another dip in the soak tub. The stars were out on a beautiful, clear night. I had brought my drum and my Native American flute with me to the soak tub, and as I sat on the submerged step, I played the flute. The horses came out of the barn to listen, rapt with attention. The notes filled the space with sound.

Then I picked up the drum and began to journey. I met my horse spirit guide and was immediately connected with Hakomi. We had a long conversation about the day’s events. She shared how each horse was doing, saying that Promise was very grateful for our help.

She continued to explain that she would help me connect with other horses, just like my horse spirit guide. She explained that she was a translator and was eager to help me with energy work for horses. She also said that she had felt disrespected by my not connecting with her after my visit in October. I was duly reprimanded, then forgiven. She’s an amazing horse, that one.

I slept like the dead that night, awaking to a bright sunrise.

By the time the sun went down over the canyon rim and I was back in camp, the temperature had dropped from a lovely 75 degrees to a chilly 40. By the time I was tucked into my sleeping bag (thankfully it goes to zero degrees) after a quick dinner and a few minutes by the fire I had made, it was near freezing. In the night, I checked the temperature on my cell phone and it was a balmy 25 degrees. There’s a reason I don’t camp in the winter.

Although I stayed warm enough through the night, I coughed a lot in the cold air and awoke exhausted.

The sun was rising and I wanted to get some early morning shots of the canyon. At the rim, the canyon was quiet. The morning sun is so different than the sunset, both in depth of colors and in the mood it casts. The sunset is reflective, calming, and still. The sunrise is refreshing, vibrant, and awake.

There were very few people up at that time, and I was able to sit with my thoughts without interruption…

What came to me was how this trip has been all about perspectives… Heyokah. I could look at this trip as being awful, with getting sick, the cold weather moving across country as a sidekick, and not being able to camp, hike, and explore as I had planned. Meanwhile, how lucky and grateful am I for being able to embark on this journey? Regardless of how I’m stumbling along this path, I am thrilled with what I’m seeing, experiencing, and learning.

There are reminders of this perspective in the land – the spires in Zion, the depths of the Grand Canyon; the lush rain forests of the Redwoods and the blowing wind of Death Valley. All beautiful in their own unique way. Like the people I have seen and met. Diverse, of different countries, of different interests. All seeking beauty in nature, the spectacular and the still. I wish we could all step back and see the horizon with its infinite possibilities. Connecting with the creations of mother earth we can know the answers to all our problems. The perspective is there; we just have to look for it.

Watching the grandeur of the scene in front of me gave me a boost of energy. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Packing camp was a struggle. It seemed like walking through molasses. An hour later I drove out of the park, with very little energy to spare. This cold was really knocking me out.

When I stopped to get groceries along the way and said something to the checker, I found I had virtually lost my voice. Although the head cold was gone, I was still coughing and my lungs felt completely full. I hadn’t licked it yet, and sleeping in cold weather probably hadn’t helped.

I had planned to go to Canyon De Chelley in eastern Arizona, then to Mesa Verde in southern Colorado. All I could think of was getting to a warm bed, so I drove to a hotel in Dove Creek that I had stayed at on my trip through that region in October. Camping was out due to a predicted freezing night.

I would head to my client’s ranch the next afternoon. It would give me a chance to get some work finished in the morning.

At the end of the day, I thanked the spirits for the way they are illuminating my path. I am grateful for their guidance, protection, and healing.

Aho,
Marilyn

I turned south to the Grand Canyon in the middle of the day and headed for the North Rim. On the way, I decided I’d try to camp and the only campground was at the South Rim. Then I saw the sign saying that the North Rim was closed for the winter. Decision made, I decided to beeline to the campground, set up my tent, and catch the Grand Canyon sunset.

The last time I was at the Grand Canyon was the summer after graduating from high school. I had signed up with four classmates and seven others for a field trip through the desert Southwest. A satellite school to the University of South Dakota, where I was starting in the fall, offered the camping trip for biology credit. From the south rim of the Grand Canyon, we hiked the 3 miles down to the floor of the canyon, took a quick dip in the rushing Colorado River, then headed back up to the rim. My classmates and I were athletes and it took us all day at a good pace. Not everyone on the trip was in good shape and the last one climbed from the canyon long after midnight.

Setting up my camp after being sick felt like climbing up the canyon. It took a loooong time, and I was completely winded by the time I grabbed my camera and headed for the rim. I had bypassed all of the initial view points to get to the campground, so it was my first time seeing it after all those years. Despite all the magnificent sights I’ve seen, none compare to the awe I feel when I look at this amazing natural creation. It’s stunning, expansive, and exquisite in color, depth, and energy. It truly takes your breath away. A picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s a video I made of Zion, the Grand Canyon, and northeast Arizona.

“All this is the music of waters.” ~ John Wesley Powell, 1895, referring to Zion National Park.

Being on the road gives you plenty of time to think, especially the stretch of eastern Arizona that spans from the Grand Canyon to the Four Corners area. The road cuts through Navajo Nation, passing from mesa to mesa, steadily climbing through red sand deserts, an occasional rock formation breaking the otherwise barren vista. Spring has brought rain, causing a light layer of green to pop up along the gullies where flash floods race. Water is scarce, but when it does appear, the results of its influence are magnificent.

Thursday, I finally felt strong enough to leave the motel in Hurricane, Utah and head east toward Zion National Park. Before I left, I found that my new digital camera was not working correctly. I liked the camera enough, but found some things that I would rather have different, so decided to take it back to Best Buy, which I had seen nearby, and return it, not having the strength or interest to research a different camera. I still have my Canon Film SLR and my Droid, which does a good video, although the photos it takes aren’t so good, so I decided to go on without digital at my fingertips. As a result, I’ll be getting photos of this portion of the trip posted later.

As I entered Zion, I remembered why I love this park so much. This was my fourth time through the park. I had hoped to be strong enough to take one of my favorite hikes of all time, to Angel’s Landing, a steep climb to a pinnacle that overlooks the entire park. It’s a hair-raising climb on a 2-foot wide trail that drops down thousands of feet on either side. At the top, the view is dizzying, the river flowing through the valley floor from that view looks like a string of ribbon dropped on the floor. Unfortunately, still weak from the cold, I could only drive through this time.

While the Grand Canyon drops deep, creating an expansive crevice in the earth, Zion goes the opposite way in the same distances. The red cliffs and the towering pinnacles tower thousands of feet into the blue skies. Life in Zion flows from the Virgin River, creating an oasis in the desert, forcefully shaping the walls that create lush green canyons. The name Zion is Hebrew for refuge, evoking its place in the sanctuary of the southwestern desert, harboring a mosaic of plants, animals, and spectacular views.

At one point, I stopped to take pictures. I heard voices above me, and looked up to see rock climbers scaling the cliff. They were like specks of dust on the huge rock face. A couple from California had also stopped. We chatted for a while, wondering what motivates someone to do something like that. I’m fascinated by their desire to scale walls of this magnitude, but have no interest in trying it myself.

The vermillion, white, and pink cliffs of Zion are at the edge of the Grand Staircase, the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau. If you go north from here, you would pass through Bryce Canyon and on to Escalante, Capitol Reef, Dead Horse Creek Canyon, and Arches, all in southern Utah. Going south, you head to the Grand Canyon. I was headed south.