Travel Blog - The Grand Canyon, beyond expectations
I reached the Grand Canyon, AZ late in the evening, after an amazing drive from Palm Springs, CA. My accommodation for the next two nights was a room in an authentic log cabin in the national forest on the North Rim. The rustic cabin, divided into two units with entrances on opposite ends, was one of 100 perched on the edge of the Canyon. Other than the Great Lodge which anchored them, these cabins represented the only, very limited development in the area. Unlike the South Rim, where the majority of tourists flock to visit the Canyon, the North Rim feels remote and secluded, a recluse from the world.
I set the alarm for 4:30 am, in order to catch the sun’s arrival in the morning. An ungodly hour by all accounts, and reminiscent of my time in Brooklyn, my first year living in NYC. I was younger then, and immune to the debilitating effects that a night with only three hours of sleep can have on a person in their late forties. So, of a after several snoozes, and multiple groans, I dragged myself into a sitting position by 5 am. Which come to think of it, because Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time, was really 4am. Thank you, Arizona.
The remnants of cloud from storms the previous night, hid most of the light our star normally bathes us in each day, but did not obscure the immense canyon which stretched before me, just steps from my bed. Like myself, others had come to see first light as well, maybe a dozen people in all. We each picked our way along a path that ended at a pinnacle from which the canyon dropped away on three sides. Without words, or more than a polite “good morning smile” exchanged between us, each chose a spot to sit and watch the daylight grow across the immense canyon around us.
Most stared, unblinking, at this true wonder of the world, lost in their own thoughts, or in their own soul. That vision, the moment, that experience transcended what we knew as reality in our own world, and brought into being that which before we may never have considered to be possible or to have even existed at all. I am giving words to an event for which there are none.
That morning on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, there was silence. A peaceful silence that enveloped 12 people, who had gathered together as strangers to witness the first light of a new day, but left as intimate confidants forever touched by their shared, solitary experience.
I have never felt so alone in, or connected to this world as I did at that moment.
Travel Blog - Kentucky
Kentucky – Horses, Bourbon, Bluegrass & Caves
…as I left Nashville, the green Tennessee countryside was filled with rolling hills, streams and small towns scattered about casually. Not long after crossing the border into the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I stopped at the state Welcome Center to take a gander at the cavalcade of promotional materials there, highlighting Kentucky’s attractions: – Horses, Mountains, Lakes, Caves & Bourbon!!!
Having shortened my stay in the Bluegrass state to just one night before heading for Chicago, going up into coal country, or spelunking in the famous caves was not an option. The tenor of the people and their communities in Kentucky was laid back, friendly and welcoming. The over amped excitement of the Kentucky Derby, held in early May, had passed, leaving a more relaxed atmosphere in the state and it’s environs. Livestock of every kind was evident in the farms and fenced fields passed on my route north through the middle of the state. Soooooo, if I was to skip the Horses, Mountains and Caves of Kentucky, it seemed I needed to see Bourbon country, and I needed to do so in just one day. Fortunately, I love Bourbon. Personally, I normally retire the brown liquors and gravitate towards clear alcohols during the hot summer months. However, despite the 95°+ temperatures, I’d enjoyed for the past two weeks, I gladly sampled some of Kentucky’s finest.
Bourbon is the only original American liqour. Created in Kentucky, and although produced throughout the state, the area around Louisville is considered it’s home. I arrived late into Louisville, and stayed ina motel right downtown. Can’t say enough about this EconLodge in Louisville Kentucky. It was conveniently located, very reasonably priced, and the recently renovated rooms could stand up to comparisons with any luxury hotel. Working late into the night and very hungry, I discovered something else about Louisville. Restaurants stayed open late. Delivery choices for food were many, and available till 4am! I decided that I like this town…
The next morning with the car packed, I headed south into Bourbon country. Bardstown, KY bills itself as the Bourbon capital of the world. An hour drive south of Louisville, is not really on the way to Chicago, but… I digress. I stopped at the Bourbon Heritage Center expecting to taste a variety of bourbons. But, curses!! the tasting tours are approximately every hour and I had just missed the start of one. Well, Plan B. … “Get the Cliff Notes”.
I asked some questions, read some promotional and informational materials, and bought four bottles of different styles of Bourbon. The tasting and savoring of these delightful liquors would be necessarily delayed until I was in Illinois. So, with this precious cargo loaded carefully into the car, my next stop was Chicago.
Travel Blog - Pure Michigan: Saugatuck, MI
Sleeping in, then lounging over breakfast, I was content and in no rush to leave Chicago. Following a night of impressive electrical storms, the morning was pleasant, although muggier than it should be after a night like that. The innkeeper careened in through the small parlor in which I was pleasantly enjoying my morning. He said we were in for some wild weather.
Well that was news to me! He said the storms approaching Chicago, had winds clocked overnight in Iowa, in excess of 100 miles per hour. Like a small hurricane except strangely, rotating the opposite way, with the leading edge only an hour away, confirmed by the red, flashing blotches on the weather radar he pulled up on his computer. I thought, “What the heck am I doing lallygagging here when I needed to drive?” And, I was heading in the same direction as the storm! If I didn’t go now, I could be driving for hours in a real mess.
So, with the urgency of Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds, I scrambled to get everything in the car and get going, which I managed to do just as a few rain drops started to fall. I got on the highway, and thanked the driving gods that I wasn’t in Indianapolis. If I had been, then the storm would have swallowed me whole by now. And the dingbat drivers in Indiana would have thwarted me at every turn, foiling any opportunity to make good time.
Traffic was light, and with some expert moves to gain good road positioning, I was moving East and North around Lake Michigan at an excellent pace. Good thing too, the dark clouds in the rear view mirror were angry, and seemed to rise higher each time I tried to gauge their distance. So, without looking back, and driven by an impressive tail wind, I broke free into sunshine after an hour or so, and sailed up the east coast of the Lake Michigan. I was no longer picturing a house landing on my car, and had stopped my singing repeatedly, “What’s she gonna look like with a chimney on her?!”
I found my way to Douglas & Saugatuck Michigan, artist communities on the lake, with hip shops, bobbing boats, and people enjoying the afternoon ahead of the storms. I stayed at The Blue Star Motel. It was nice. The rooms there are cute, with private patios and a hot tub! The manager was friendly and helpful, as were the room attendants who serviced the room. After getting a quick bite, I battened down the hatches in the room to ride out another wild night of wind and rain.
I emerged the next morning and found crisp Canadian summer air, brilliant sunshine, and a dew point significantly lower. Now that is how air is supposed to feel after a night of crazy storms. It was a perfect day, really. One that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was nice. We get days like that back home in New England too. But 9/11/01 was a day like that too. It was a clear day, sunny and warm without being hot.
The memory of that dreadful day, although seared onto my soul, is kept buried deep inside me. Unfortunately, it always returns painfully and with a vengeance when triggered by any day which dawns as beautifully as it did, so many years ago. For the first time in 14 years, a day with absolutely beautiful, perfect weather, didn’t make me sad. I drank it in, and was completely rejuvenated.
Thank you, Michigan!
Fiction
Alex
Alex made his way down the sidewalk easily, without hurrying or stopping. He walked alone. His only interaction with others was non verbal, as he shifted to the left or to the right as people passed. Careful to avoid eye contact, he successfully maintained his distance from others, quickening or slowing his pace to avoid accidental, physical contact with a stranger. Although an attractive young man, his dress and demeanor on this day, was unremarkable. He wore clothing in neutral colors with little tailoring, or any kind of embellishment to them. This allowed Alex to go unnoticed by the casual passer-by, and shielded him from unwelcome attention by those who shared his sidewalk. At least from those who weren’t watching him, noting his movements and monitoring his activities, no matter how seemingly mundane, as I had been doing for some time.
Watching Alex was my only task each day. Learning how he spent his time had been my sole occupation for a week now. How did he support himself? Who did he know, why and how well? Several times, I thought he might be on to me. Whether going to the market, or getting something to eat at the local deli, he altered his route, as if conscious that he may be followed. Having been very careful myself to do the same, and to maintain a good distance from him at all times, I concluded that his behavior was purposeful, and meant to shield his activity from detection by any who may be interested in what he was doing. Like a clandestine agent, trained to cover his tracks, it becomes instinctive, reflexively following that conditioning even while completing ordinary tasks.
Alex had something to hide, maybe many things. And that fact made my work exponentially more important and far more interesting than I had considered a week ago, when I first decided to observe him, to study his behavior, and to log all of his activities. What had started as an objective case study meant to provide me with some basic information about my stepbrother, had morphed into an obsessive addiction consuming my time and attention. Although I had always been aware of Alex’s existence, I had never seen or met him before last week. Our father had been careful to keep Alex a secret from me. And it seemed, that Alex was intent to do the same…