ON THE ROAD WITH MICHAEL AND LIZ
We started out in Sedona, Arizona, then drove up through Flagstaff to Williams, AZ, where we parked our rented car and spent the night. The next morning we took a train up to the Grand Canyon and spent several days exploring the trials, wildlife and views. We then took the train back to Williams, where we spent the night. In the morning, we were picked up by a tour guide who drove us to the Colorado River where we spent the day rafting down the white waters of that beautiful river. At the end of the river trip, we drove to Lake Powell, and on to Bryce National Park where we stayed in a cabin and hiked in and out of many a canyon, enjoying people, wildlife and sites. We spontaneously cut a day off the Bryce trip to see nearby Zion National Park, and we were not disappointed we did. At Zion, we hiked up the Virgin River into more canyons. Most of that hike was in the river itself. After 15 days in the wild National Parks, we drove to Las Vegas. As you might imagine, Las Vegas is not really the type of place I like to hang out in, but since this was a trip to celebrate Liz's birthday and she wanted to check it out, of course I went along for the ride. There we saw a few shows and all the bright lights. We even contributed $16.00 toward the Las Vegas Foundation (aka gambling). But getting back to the wonderful places and National Parks... I found it so challenging to describe the beauty of each of the places we visited. As Liz and I spoke to other folks we met along our trip, a popular question would be asked by someone, "Which place did you like most?", or someone would say "This place was more beautiful than that place." I never was able to compare one place to another. For whatever reason, I was able to enjoy the beauty each place offered individually. It just didn't seem right to compare one to the other. There were times I would try to capture the beauty and the essence of a place in a video clip or picture and when I would look back at it afterward, it seemed I was only able to get part of it...something seemed to be missing. There was nothing that could duplicate the experience of being there right then and there; experiencing it at that moment...feeling the energy...seeing the beauty and experiencing the Presence that it instilled. Then it dawned on me. It was like trying to explain my relationship with the God of my understanding to someone else...or trying to describe what it felt like "Being in the Presence" while meditating. I might try to describe my relationship with God to or the deep peace I experience while meditating, and the person I'm talking with might be able to get a piece of what I am saying or trying to describe. But unless they experienced it themselves, they couldn't fully get it. For whatever reason, the different places we visited also reminded of the different types of religions on earth and how some people believe one is better than the other, or more peaceful, beautiful, spiritual, etc. Trying to describe the beauty of nature is like try to describe your relationship or faith in/with God. Each time I took a picture I was trying to capture the essence of the view/ feeling, but never could get it 100%. I began to see the correlation. I was seeing God as nature, feeling Her Presence all around me and, at times seeing God's hand behind nature. It was so simple, right there in front of me the whole time and it was like the light bulb went off and there She was Being Her Beautiful Nature. In this month's blog posts, I will share a few pictures and talk a little about each place and why it reminded me of a certain faith in God. |