Occupation of Independence

Central Utah .  Most scenery tourists go ga-ga over redrock cliffs , canyons , and arches .  After all these years, I still enjoy seeing such things and look forward to my October migration through Utah.   But once a 10,000 foot, sheer vertical, fire engine red cliff becomes a standard postcard, it loses its aura of mystique.  The human mind yearns for a sense of wonder, and that can only come from being  surprised.  Such as vertical arroyo walls in mud :  Yes, I laugh at myself for preferring this kind of scenery.  But I can't help it.  We will return to this "slot" canyon soon, unsnap the doggie, and enjoy a genuine exploration.  Free of the tourist industry .

 Most people probably know someone who has has gone off the deep end when it comes to religion.  They can't make it through the day without popping another religion-pill. Before feeling superior to that person, a non-religious person should admit that human beings need a certain amount of emotional comfort  -- perhaps coming from a violent catharsis --  and if there aren't constructive approaches to that issue, people will be find a bad approach. Let's back up a step and try to summarize the history of Christianity over the last 500 years, in just a few sentences.  The Protestant Reformation brought on a century of religious wars that discredited the whole idea of taking religion seriously.  At the same time, the Scientific Revolution happened. So, in the 1700s, European intellectuals outgrew their Christian traditions .  They had enough common sense not to throw out the 'baby with the bathwater.'  They just wanted to deemphasize sadistic not...

Last post I was up to my old tricks of denigrating intellectuals, theologians, and philosophers, while praising the cyn ical point of view, in the original sense of the word, meaning 'dog-like.'  So it is quite a contradiction to praise purpose in walking.  But how can I resist praising purpose when walking in the desert southwest ?  In the north, hiking trails wind their way to mountain tops.  The path seems random and pointless.  Actually, what good is a mountain peak?  It is just barren rock.  You can't eat it. If you walk in a rocky and jumbled desert landscape, without official trails, you feel lost initially.  But then you forget about yourself and start to melt into the land.  The natural highways are arroyos , dry washes.  Your walk latches onto the arroyo.  You soon become part of a larger purpose: winding and flowing down to the great southwestern Father of Waters, the Colorado River . Every autumn I look forward to these...

  It is remarkable how you can spot a little dog even when it is almost completely camouflaged by the surrounding rocks.  Of course, she has to move.  The human eye and brain notice motion so easily. She runs around like a maniac, investigating every crack between the rocks.  Jumping left, right, up, down, cornering, braking.  She runs off-leash in a geometrical puzzle world and is interested in every bit of it.  Strangely there is no wildlife around here, except lizards .  I am in awe of her earnest playfulness.  She is as engrossed in it as young children get sometimes, in their play. A camouflaged cutie If she would just come back to me better, she would get more off-leash freedom.  But in reef country , there is so little vegetation that I can see her if she runs off, and there is no need to have a great fear of coyotes -- I doubt they can even make a living here. A couple times per year I like to give advertisements for a scene in Cha...