With our busy lives, we take less time to “stop and smell the roses” than we should. I can remember many times earlier in my life driving through beautiful areas such as the Redwood forests of Northern California, or along the Washington and Oregon coast, or Grand Teton National Park, or Yellowstone, when nature invited me to stop for a while and have a chat. In my younger years I was too busy; I had a destination waiting at the other end of the drive; I had a schedule to keep. It wasn’t until much later in life that I realized that the journey is far more important than the destination, and that there are many wonderful side roads and detours if you will just take the time.
I’ve been doing a lot of driving around in the Big Horns looking for “Ah Ha!” places for photography, and found myself getting too caught up in the scouting. I was reminded of that recently when I happened upon a county road I had not noticed before. I was running late so I bookmarked it and decided to check it out later.
The next day shortly after turning onto the road, a sense of peace and tranquility came over me and I could feel mother nature inviting me to come and spend some time with her. The road heads straight up the shallow foothills toward the mountain and ends at the bottom of Little Goose Canyon. It was heavily overcast that day, and the canyon was shrouded in mist, and I ended up spending hours laying on the tailgate of my pickup allowing mother nature to message away all my cares, worries and concerns amid the rich smells and the sound of Little Goose Creek. Photographing the area never entered my mind. It wasn’t the priority that day.
As I laid there in that fuzzy place between being asleep and awake in the embrace of the spirits of the area, I was reminded how great a healer mother nature is if we will only give her a chance. I had vision after vision, and simply acknowledged them as they passed through unencumbered. After such encounters, I always come back with a clearer perspective and a reordered list of priorities.
Several days of rain have prevented me from getting back up there since I don’t want to make the road any worse than it already is. It is actually a “road” only by the loosest definition, and perhaps next time I will make the trip on foot instead of driving.
At the end of our lives, maybe we look back and shake our heads, saying “so many missed opportunities!”
I wonder why it’s so hard for us to learn to be in the moment.
I couldn’t agree more. With the complexities of life today, I think we naturally narrow our scope, but it’s important to at least from time-to-time switch gears. I think we would all be much healthier if we did.
Thank you very much for your interesting site.
Your photos and information regarding the Little Goose fire are of great value to me.
Thank you.
You are very welcome Judy, and thank you. I know there are a lot of people out there who have a love of the Big Horns, as I do, and it was something I felt I needed to do.
I found your website by accident. Our daughter is firefighting at the Little Goose Fire. We live in MA. and any information regarding the fire is helpful.
Thanks for all the information and photographs.
Susan
Susan, thank you, and as long as I can find information, or get it myself, I will keep posting. When you talk to your daughter, tell her how grateful we are for her efforts, and the efforts of all of the firefighters and volunteers up there working to put the fire out, and I think I speak for everyone in this area. I’ll keep your daughter in my thoughts and prayers, as well as all of them.