Nature Eases My Pain
Maple Leaves
We exited the trail as the sun set and backlit the forest. We don’t have trees or leaves in Tucson, so I decided to bring home a remembrance.
There are a few sections of 1,600 ft. climb to the falls that were loose rock and a bit of a slow slog for some two-legged hikers (me). Since we didn’t get started until well after lunch, we didn’t finish until dinner time. Paige headed home as she had left her two boys alone in the house all day and Cynny and I decided not to go back to the Inn to get showered but to grab a quick dinner and then have a relaxing evening at the inn. Yelp directed us to a close-by Popeyes where we will never go again. The chicken was fine, the fries were cold, they didn’t have any ice, and they were out of sweet tea. There are some things that can be forgiven. Afterall, it's not really their fault that their ice machine broke or that the warming light over the fries was burned out.
Nature Eases My Pain
It’s been more than six months since I posted a gallery, so I thought I’d share some of my adventures, none of which have produced a prolific portfolio of photographs, but all of which were worth exploration. I’m still hunting arches as I was re-elected as President of the Natural Arch and Bridge Society, am still fascinated by long hikes to waterfalls, am still learning new techniques to photograph the night sky and am still hiking here and there, especially there.
Some people age gracefully and some do not. I retired in time to join those who do not. Details aside, when physically challenged, I try to respond defiantly in kind. The more I'm hurting, the longer and harder the hike. One of my gastroenterologists recently said to me: “At some point you are going to have to put your medical care before your passion.” And I responded, “Or not.”
As I inferred, there is no cohesive theme to this gallery, so I named it, “Nature Eases My Pain.” At the very least, it's a distraction.
I hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to read the captions. Often, they are more interesting than the photographs. Sad, but true.
