When I closed my eyes last night I still hadn't chosen which varation of red rocks would be the target of today's wandering. This morning's decision? Another day in Red Rock Canyon, a day where the rocks would show different shades of color than yesterday.
The air was cooler today than yesterday. I started with more (thin) layers, but by the end of the day I was down to a single sleeveless layer (again). The sky this morning wore gray, patterned with clouds. And then... as I turned to the north, I saw a band of bright blue emerging from the gray. That blue expanded and chased the clouds away; my last hike of the day was under that beautiful blue sky.
Calico Tanks beckoned this morning. The begnning of the hike followed a wash, curving through hills of colored rock. Easy walking, and then... walking in the wash changed to walking up red rocks, finding a path up the gentlest grade, with the most sure footing. I walked, and I stopped to play with my camera. I walked some more, heading up the trail, climbing up rocks, not looking down...
Rover's right of course. I've never liked going down steep terrain. It was a bit of a scramble getting up, which meant that coming back down again made me a bit nervous. Actually, I sat and slid down a couple of the steep slick-lookng sections. It would have been quite safe to walk like a normal person, but sometimes...Hey, Rover here... I tried to tell Denise that I would bouce up a bit further to take pictures and that she might want to stop climbing up. She really doesn't like coming back down steep places. you know that about Denise, don't you? She didn't listen to me though. I'll let her tell you the rest of the story...
I followed, walked with, and chatted with two women on (what I consiidered to be a) dfficult section of trail. One of them shared my need to know that my feet wouldn't slip out from under me, and the other did a great job of scouting out gentler descents for all of us. Both women were from Las Vegas. Our conversation opened my eyes to life in Las Vegas. I was wondering why I saw so many people hiking and biking during what I thought were normal work hours. Well, those Monday to Friday daytime hours are regular working hours for many of us, but that's really not true for those employed in the casino industry. I wonder why that never occurred to me before.
And then... I started following a trail heading to the south and east, pulled by the two-colored rocks, a strong red over or under a lighter color. As I walked, I kept wandering to look at low-lying cactus, to try to capture the wisps on the edges of the yucca. It was quiet, and then... I heard a sound, a very distinct sound. I looked up, looked out, and saw a stellar's jay, flying. The sound I heard? It was the jay's wings moving through the air. Next I heard chirping, and saw a low bush teeming with birds, small birs, gray in color with rosy highlights.
The sounds weren't finished. I heard the distinctive sound of a hummingbird's wings. I looked, and looked, and saw a hummingbird hovering, soon joined by a second hummingbird, flying, dancing.
My day continued with a wander on the beginning of the Ice Box Canyon trail, and then with a walk on the First Creek Canyon trail. By the time I started First Creek Canyon the sun was shining. The beginning of the trail was in the sun, and then I entered the shadow of the mountains. The air cooled, but walking kept me warm. And that shadow? It covered much more ground as I headed back out, as the sun dropped lower in the sky, hiding behind those mountains.
Earlier, the sounds that decorated the day were the sound of birds. Coming back out of First Creek Canyon, I heard the sound of the wind, howling.
Just after I turned back on my last out-and-back hike of the day, I saw a beautiful 4-legged creature standing on the trail, looking at me. After I asked him if he was alone (yes, of course I talk to animals), he looked at me a little longer, then he turned and started walking in the same direction that I was traveling. Then he cut off of the trail, off on his own. Oh, you want to know who I saw? He was a beautiful coyote.
Tomorrow? It's time to see the Valley of Fire.
