LATEST RELEASE... 2/19/26... The Forest is Forever: No. 3 in The Collected Ralph Stories

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

May 24, 2011, Into The Great Wide Open


 That year I rented some big sedan.
My Navigator and my grandson comprised the rest of the crew.
He's her nephew.
It was May, and we headed down through Washington and Oregon,
bound for the Southwest.

The photo was taken by my daughter.
Ridiculously enough, I couldn't get that close to the Canyon.
The effect was visceral and permanent.
I tried.

We hit all the places.
Death Valley.
Bonneville Salt Flats.
Zion.

There were ruins and petroglyphs! 
Given my choice, I would live somewhere in that wide open land.
To place a hand on a rock and feel its living heat, is not nothing.
To see so far, that the curve of Earth is almost discernable, 
is likewise something.

Have a wonderful day!

🤍

 

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