NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
A was traveling for work; I could telecommute for a few days, and then we could enjoy a few days together in a new region, for us; Arizona! After a few days of making our living from Phoenix, we were able to explore the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and connecting areas. We started with an open day on Sunday. We Ubered to the local aquarium, SEA LIFE Arizona, where we also tacked on tickets to the adjacent conservatory Butterfly Wonderland. I was reasonably impressed by both, but especially enjoyed the first aquarium exhibit of Colorado River Basin native fishes. The native fishes were different and unfamiliar to me, and I have to believe that the Colorado Pikeminnows are excellent fighters if hooked! They get to nearly six feet long!?! Because of the 3-hour time difference, baseball was more accessible to me, and I watched several playoff games over the course of the week. I was happy enough in the hotel room while A tended to her conference duties. My work days began at 5 AM, and so I was "done" in the early afternoons, local time. I had plenty of time to relax and walk about. I headed straight to the water on my first walk. An aqueduct ran through town a bit to the east. I picked up the local walk and bike trail and headed upstream. I found a pile of common carp beneath a sluice gate on each visit. Further north, I was treated to a run of cichlids (?) up an ephemeral stream into a golf-course pond. A couple of days later, this stream was dry, and any fish that hadn't made it to the pond were heron fodder. There were plenty of carp in these ponds, too, and I suspect there could be some large bass present, also. On Thursday morning, we hit the road and travelled north towards the Grand Canyon. We enjoyed the changing light, landscapes and biomes as we gained elevation and eventually entered the Colorado Plateau. The Grand Canyon was literally awesome; I was stricken with scope and my insignificance. We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon walking the South Rim Trail and scoping out the geological museum. I was impressed by how our perspective changed with position and lighting. I was also surprised to catch just a couple of tiny glimpses of the Colorado River itself. From the National Park, we headed south and turned off the road for a night of glamping at Clear Sky Resorts. We were here for the clear, protected night skies and we were not disappointed. Our views of the Milky Way and visible planets were the best I've enjoyed since the late 1980's in Montana. The evening's predicted meteor shower never materialized, but that was okay. My disappointment was offset by clearly viewing Jupiter and its moons through a telescope and enjoying the choruses of multiple coyote packs at 4 AM. This place was cool and had a fun and casual ambiance. The meals from the food truck here were great, too! Friday morning found us on the road again, headed for Sedona. Turning off the highway around Scottsdale, we travelled along Oak Creek and down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. We enjoyed Slide Rock State Park for a different perspective of the Grand Canyon rocks. We were now beneath the capping limestone and walking along the red sandstone. Oak Creek looked fishy, too, and I found the hole housing most of the resident big trout. I was glad to see them! Sedona itself was a little too crowded and kitschy for my taste, but we enjoyed the afternoon there with a low-key bus tour. It is a beautiful landscape, but I think I'd rather live in the nearby and much quieter Village of Oak Creek to the south. We found good food and accommodations for the evening, here. Saturday was all about travel. It all went well enough for us, but take it from me; when in Phoenix, consider getting an Uber arranged for the trip from the rental car drop-off area to the flight terminals. The buses were few and far between, and I am sure quite a few folks missed their flights. "Being early for being early" paid off again, as A and I enjoyed a cool 20 minutes of relaxation between arriving at our gate and boarding our flight. With neither my side gig nor fishing concerns demanding my time and energy, I had more opportunity than usual to relax and think. While my body gladly absorbed the rare dry heat, my mind wandered. Had I grown up here, what would my interests be? Perhaps not fishing, but I know I'd still be connected to the outdoors. Would it be hiking, hunting, or lepidoptery? Photography, astronomy, or golf? I don't know, but something would have caught my attention. At this time, I can only conclude that with the sparse, open landscape and easy views without human influence, it was natural to feel small and humble here. Unlike overgrown or overdeveloped New England, I could see and feel that this was a large but tough place to make one's life, and that there would be little at hand to easily accommodate basic needs or wants. To survive here, one would have to be a part of the land. And one should best know and accept that realization. I was reminded that Aldo Leopold had written about his youthful Arizona experiences. These have not stuck with me to the same degree as his Almanac, but a quick search found a concise article at www.arizonahighways.com/classroom/aldo-leopold. Having just shot a wolf as a young man, Leopold states: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." I am certain that same green fire resides in the eyes of the coyotes I heard singing at 6000 feet. I am glad it is still out there. Finally, Sedona is famous for its supposed spiritual energy and vortices. I largely missed out on these, but am more than willing to simply attribute these phenomena to folks simply being outside with enhanced awareness. I did feel that spark of awareness, in Sedona and throughout the trip. Maybe Sedona's environs make that awareness come more easily, but I suspect it is anywhere you need it, or want it, to be. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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With the scheduled removal of the landing float for the season, I was forced to conclude the saltwater boating season. I pulled amybaby22 from the water on Monday, October 10, 2022. But, I made the most of my last weekend on Casco Bay! I fished earnestly and with intent on each day, and I executed pretty well. I landed 16 striped bass to 30 inches on 19 hookups, bringing my season's total to 203 stripers landed. While I didn't catch a truly large striped bass (by local measure and experience, let's say 40 inches), I sure caught a lot of really nice ones, including two 36-inchers and more "keepers" above 28 inches than I've probably handled in the rest of my life. I didn't encounter any real issues while out on the water this year, so I'd have to say my season was a success! Of course, my season is not necessarily over; I can always hit the beaches (near or far) and follow the annual run down the coast in pursuit of either big fish or numbers. I expect that amybaby22 will hit the sweet water in pursuit of trout before winter arrives, too, so there's still plenty of opportunity for good things to happen. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
Steve LachanceVia Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Michigan and now, back to New England! Archives
June 2024
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