Setting Sun

An ocean of orange, tinged with red. Vibrant and too huge to ignore. The breeze was truly wafting and gentle. The sky was darkening to black from deep blue. The air was dry. This was the desert after all. The stillness captured my breath. The big orange ball sank below the horizon on its own timeline.

Cactus were outlined starkly. Soft greens and grays were muted to shadows as sunlight gradually disappeared. The hills, mountains, mesas and flat desert landscapes were a dimly lit scene of beauty changing slowly in lessening light.

This memory of desert sun setting could be repeated endlessly for New Mexico, Colorado, and every state. The landscape would be different, but the same process and reality would occur. What is special is the gigantic openness of Arizona (and New Mexico) because of the desert. It is special. It pulls you in every time. I am transfixed every time. It is just one small attraction of the American southwest.

Being there is accompanied by the smells and feeling of touch of the scene. They are real and present. They remind us of the many layers of existence in most things. If we take the time to think about them, are open to them, we will experience them. And never forget their presence. Never. Forget.

My love for the southwest has been real for decades, and not just because I was born in southern California. We did live for 3 years on the Mojave Desert and that helped cement my desert attraction. But the landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico are stunning in their own way. The colors. The textures. The shapes of land masses and rocks, steepled or blocked on flat land floors, create monuments too large to ignore. And of course, light all around them dances in ways unimagined in Illinois or Iowa. That’s just a fact of life.

Canyon lands are completely different. The Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyons are spectacular in their own rights. Each very different from the other. Each experienced differently. Some we look into, others we look down into, and others we look upward. So different, so strange, yet so compelling to be present.

If you haven’t been to these places, and if you are able to, visit them. Experience them. Your life will shift and be enriched. Trust me, it will.

August 15, 2025

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more