camping at sun river

 

Rocky Mountain Front 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rocky Mountain Front is an area extending over 100 miles (160 km) from the central regions of the U.S. state of Montana to southern Alberta, Canada. Here, the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains and Canadian Prairie in an abrupt elevation rise of between 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,219–1,524 m)....Also referred to as the "Crown of the Continent", the region is characterized by an uncommon ecosystem in which prairie and Northern Rockies flora and fauna overlap. All of the original animal species encountered when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the region still exist in their wild state..."

I'm not sure why it's called 
The Front.
Jeff sounded so logical
as he explained that
we were at the
front of the mountains,
as close as you can get,
so high the trees look smaller,
until they stop and
wide, dusty plains
rise from the earth.
 Nothing,
     nothing,
          is here.
 I always get real
quiet when I see
this sort of emptiness.
Vast wash of green and brown,
soft and curved,
on and on and on.

One antelope 
a proud pulse of horns
sweeps swiftly through
la planera.
Elie prefers her Spanish
in times like these
when beauty is beyond our
known language,
the curves in the road
take our breath
and words
away,
by the time I can say
his name,
he's gone.

 
 Lying in a green pasture
purple yoga mat
hand propped head
clouds and mountains and trees
birds whiz past.
In an orange tent behind me
Solan reads about monkeys
that jump on beds
to the tree little guys.
Soft, cool wind
dances while the
sky makes her descision towards
rain or
sun or
both.

I'm beginning to understand
some things about me.
There are a few things
that keep me really,
really happy.

Open space and clear air,
a tent home with just essentials
water and pillow and book and pen,
our days nothing but
my best things.
A well thought out meal,
a chair by a fire,
old and easy friends
together, time for words and
topics that stretch and
morph and mold,
children that explore
each game more wild
and creative than the next.
We make pizza with
our bodies,
race like dinos through
the tall grass.

They are so safe here.
So pure.

My anxiety quiet.

No traffic or glasses or bedtimes,
just the patience of clouds,
the surrender to rain.

I step away from it all,
sneak off to be with myself and
I know
all is right with the world
as my options,
hike, journal, book, mat,
are about as perfect as they get,
this list of favorites for decades now.

When did I get so old?
How is it that I am
so the same
out here in
this tremendous world.