things that fit

Trying to work today without much success, so went for a long walk in the cool sunny air in a very green park (it looks more like spring around here than fall). It was lovely and just what I needed. I listened to music as I walked and felt the rain-washed air envelope my body. For a brief time I had an extraordinary feeling of freedom and thankfulness within me as if I was dancing alone in the absence of all that I knew and was bound by. (Mark Strand). And...chamisa (aka rabbitbrush) is blooming everywhere!

Yesterday I drove to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge because I hadn't been in a long time and I just felt like driving (you know, when you get that feeling--a full tank of gas and the desire to banish a melancholy moment). Well, I couldn't exactly head toward the Pacific or the Atlantic, so I headed toward the river a few miles away. This spring the area officially became the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. It is pretty impressive. Here's a quote from the speech Senator Udall made earlier in the year when the site was designated.

From the 800-foot-deep Rio Grande Gorge to the top of Ute Mountain at over 10,000 feet, the Rio Grande del Note has some of the most varied and spectacular vistas on earth. Human beings have walked its trails since prehistoric times. 

As for the bridge that spans this amazing gorge on Hwy 64, it reaches 1280 feet across and over the river 600 feet below. Sadly, many people have chosen to plunge to their deaths from its ramparts and officials have taken steps to try to block off some of the more open embankments. But on Sunday the place was pleasantly buzzing with tourists, activity, and ice cream in the old Bus Stop. There was even a guy sitting by the railing with his guitar singing An Octopus's Garden. I didn't get permission to post his picture so you'll just have to imagine a colorful shirt, a straw hat, a nice looking youngish man singing out to the sky (since no one seemed to be listening except me).

As I walked across the bridge I spotted two Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep resting on rocks far below. Well camouflaged, they blended right in. I read that they can see up to one mile and therefore have an advantage over predators. I guess they don't consider human gawkers toting cameras dangerous.

And as I was taking pictures I looked up toward Ute Mountain and saw a herd of them grazing in the far distance. I zoomed the lens all the way out and captured two before they roamed away.

All in all, it was nice to be outdoors and feel the wind in my hair, then back in the car, windows down, music from Leonard Cohen on the CD player. I love September.

     "Our lives are rivers
and rivers flow and move to the sea,
which is our dying." Marvelous lines!
     Antonio Machado