John Brown Canyon, Utah
After a very bizarre day spent burying Nama and re-ordering my steps in Gateway, I decided that retreat is not a direction. I headed west up John Brown Canyon, over the LaSal mountains and down into Moab.
As it hasn’t been graded since last winter, it’s a long, rough, remote road, but there is no way to get over it without just doing it. And there is no hurrying it either, as rushing the process will only serve to demolish your suspension, as the ruts get deeper as you approach the summit.
And then you ain’t going nowhere.
I can now relate to how a tweaker feels when in search of their next fix. I’ve seen them many times in the city, on the prowl with their heads down and scanning the pavement, hoping against hope for that one in a million chance that a tiny glint of grit is actually rock of crack and their next chance at redemption. As I travel this remote gravel road, the bright morning sun behind me causes every stone to cast a long shadow, shadows that make my heart jump every time towards that one impossibly improbable chance that the shadow in question actually a doG that needs snatched up and spirited away. And there are a LOT of rocks on this road…
“Peta Noconnah” was one of the last great Comanche war chiefs; his name roughly translated “He who travels alone but comes home”. I’ve always loved the sound of this, although it might be turning out that I’m not as good at traveling alone as I thought I was.
Next stop: Onion Creek
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