Beautiful Bend...

Call it a freak of nature or a spectacle of sorts but the Horseshoe bend on US Route 89 it an amazing vista. A meander of Colorado River, it is located in Glen Canyon National Recreation area. The cliff is a short ¾ mile hike and has no barriers. You reach a cliff and look down and there it is in all its grandeur. Green, still water snaking around the bend. It is a truly a mesmerizing sight as you witness the dramatic natural ‘bend’.

It is a quiet area with vivid orange landscape in the surrounding. In the distance, Lake Powell and its orange rocks glisten. This Arizona landscape has been part of many popular music videos. Michael Jackson, Brittney spears, Michael Bolton have all used Lake Powell and surrounding areas for their videos. The Orange rugged land, crisp blue water, clear skies make this a picturesque place.

I was most surprised that this place was so approachable. You could walk right to it. You could lie down on rocks to take pictures. You could jump if you wanted. It seems very intimate. The horseshoe bend has been pictured extensively; different times of the day bring amazing colors to the water and the rocks. The water is very sluggish as it hugs the bend and it seems stagnant. River’s nature is to flow, for a river this bend might be queer. It slows down, it bends. But, this amazing perplexing bend in the middle of a flowing river is a beautiful oddity. Just as in life. If something is not like how we think it should be, doesn’t make it odd in a bad way. It just makes it a beautiful fitting piece.

Ready or not, here it comes...

Another year rolls out. The day itself, in its natural self, is as quiet and as loud as any other day. Sun isn’t any brighter, moonlight isn’t any more calming. Nature didn’t set itself to Day 1 of anything. No one has discovered that birds and animals look to re-set themselves. They live by rules of nature, their cycles and rituals match the four seasons.

A new year, a year at all…is all for our (human) convenience. Sure it is based on celestial calendar. But, it is for us to not get lost. It is for us to have a new start. We give ourselves the time it takes for earth to revolve around sun. Then we re-set our time and hope and wish for a better cycle. We make resolutions, we make promises and then we go one more time on a journey, with the earth, on the earth.

Holidays for us should be a prep time. How simple would that be? Time to introspect, time to look within and then re-set with hope for better. A basic ritual for humanity. A unique thing that ties us all. Time set apart t look at what we did, what we wanted to do and what we can carry forward. Time to be generous if we haven’t been. Time to be polite, civil and helpful, if we skiped that in some hurry. Time to deck places we live in, time to eat up and enjoy company of loved ones.

I don’t know if New Year brings any hope to those at war, those in pain and those who sleep hungry and in fear. But, it should beacuse they deserve a break the most. I don’t know if we need to dance and drink, perhaps there’s a place for that. How I wish that the year MMIX by Georgian calendar which is designated as international year of reconciliation, when we re-set ourselves and our ‘time’, we do it in its spirit. We do it to find ourselves.

Into the Belly...

December 1st, 2008. Page, Arizona.

Antelope canyons - nestled in the Navajo reservation of Arizona, have been discovered only some 100 years back. The canyons have been formed and are still being formed by the flashfloods that carve out patterns every time they flush through the canyons. Imagine that: every time there’s a flashflood, water 10-12 feet high rushes into the canyon and creates the carvings, smoothens the rocks, leaves its mark and then gushes out. It leaves a trail of mud behind as its seal. The rocks get chiseled with every flash-flood and have a sand-stone like smooth surface. It is fascinating. And it gets better. The canyon has an intriguing lighting system – the natural light! The slits in the canyon provide magnificent lighting effects on rocks. Some months of the year the rays of sun fall into canyons in form of beams. The smooth rocks light up with colors of mauve, purple, orange, golden and red.

Antelope canyon is photographer’s paradise. The canyons are only accessible by guided tours. The trucks that take you to the mouth of upper antelope canyon ride a long path of deep muddy terrain for at least half a mile. The mouth looks like a hill cracked open mysteriously. Walking into the belly and through the canyon is a spiritual experience with serenity and mystery engulfing the visitors. With the sounds of flute echoing in the canyon during the tours, the antelope canyon is one of the most intriguing and peaceful places I have been to. Walking under filtered light and with vivid colors on a narrow path, the canyon ends suddenly and the ‘normal’ sunlight seems very intense. Like emerging from a dream into reality.

My tour was guided by one of a very interesting and experienced person. Born and brought up in Page, he was a fascinating and rich mélange of culture and global wisdom. Extremely soft spoken, well travelled and an expert flute player, the stories, the culture, the rich description he provided was a great experience.