The Sacred Path

Recently I went back to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks with a very good friend and her son, and it was quite probably the best week of my life - I certainly can’t remember one that was better. Spending time in Yellowstone and the Tetons – even with the crowds – is magic, and when you can share that time with people you love, it’s all the more special.

This year I’ve been fortunate to spend a good deal of time out in nature – more than I have in years – and I have cherished every minute of it. When I’m out in nature, my mind quiets, and as I’m hiking around and enjoying the beauty, it becomes a walking meditation. All of my physical and non-physical senses sharpen and expand; all remnants of the “noise” of civilization fades away, and in flows this incredible, natural harmonic symphony, and I become an active participant. The answers to questions that begin to form in my mind are answered almost before they can completely form.

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I spent six days trekking through Grand Teton National Park south of Yellowstone, at a two and a half day photographic workshop put on by landscape photographer Rodney Lough, Jr. and hanging around the area after the workshop for a few days doing some additional photography in Yellowstone park. I then dropped in on my cousin Kevin and his wife, Debbie who are the owners of The Elephant Head Lodge located ten miles east of the east entrance to Yellowstone in the Shoshone National Forest.

The workshop, the group of fellow photographers, and Rodney were great, and I learned a lot. It was wonderful having someone who knew the area so well. Rodney has been photographing The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for well over 10 years now and knows all the great spots (along with a few that other photographers do not know about).

Since all of my shooting was done on large format film, it will take some time before I can post any of my photos (develop, review, send out for scanning). I had planned on lugging my digital along, but it was just too much additional weight.

I wanted to share one experience with you though, that blew my socks off. Grand Teton National Park is one large sacred spot, and you can feel it wherever you go. On one morning after we had photographed an old barn at sunrise, we headed off to one of Rodney’s favorite spots to meet and photograph a tree he has calls The Patriarch. It cannot be seen from any road so virtually no one knows it’s there, and to get there you walk about a half mile down through three or four sagebrush and grass covered plateaus. When we got there, Rodney asked us to close our eyes and remain silent and listen for a time. As I stood there with my eyes closed, I expanded my awareness out and offered the spirits of the area my warm greeting as my eyes began to fill with tears. We then each walked out into the area to choose our spot to photograph The Patriarch.

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