For Sunday Stills – Your Favorite Landscapes
The Landscape of My Life
The landscape of my life lies before me
and it is beautiful
filled with the ‘teeners of Colorado
bleeding their rust-colored stains
the Grand Canyon deep and vast
where Condor shadows fade in twilight
Sunset on a snowy field sends skyward
a brilliant flash of gold
south to Death Valley’s salt flats
eerie, barren, grey and cold
I have seen so many sights
from Zion and Osaka,
New Zealand and Kauai
The landscape of my life lies before me
and … it is beautiful
We spent many summers in Colorado, Silverton, Ouray and Durango. It was here in the Red Mountain Pass I began to understand “Colorado Rocky Mountain High” whether from the majesty of the landscape or the lack of oxygen, I cannot say.
North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We have visited there several times alone and with family. Pictures cannot do it justice for it is the very definition of the word “vast.” I have never felt so small.
“Flash of Green” over the horizon in South Dakota. “Presence of God” moment, perhaps a soul coming back to earth.
Badwater Basin salt flats in Death Valley, California. 200 square miles of … nothing. All I could think was “what must the settlers have thought?”
Shugakuin Imperial Villa, Kyoto, Japan. There is a reason Kyoto is one of my spiritual centers and this shot pretty much says it all.
Skyline of Osaka, Japan from Osaka Castle. A stop at a okonomiyaki restaurant on the way home reminds me that some things are the same world wide. Like, pizza.
Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah. We spent a decade of falls, winters, and springs exploring this beautiful National Park. The awe and grandeur are never exaggerated. It lives up to it’s name “Sanctuary” and peace of mind, body and soul are palpable.
One of a hundred soul-stirring sunrises on Kapaa Beach, Hawaii. During our morning walk along the beach tears started rolling down my face. When Superhubs asked me what was wrong, I told him “my hands don’t hurt.” For the first time in decades, my hands did. not. hurt. The absence of pain, not relief of pain but the absence of it, can be a real eye-opener.
Til next time ~Stay trippy hippies ~JP
Crone and Curmudgeon 
I’m in the middle of writing a post about a past visit to Death Valley and I felt the same way … what did those early pioneers think? And I love Colorado’s western slope. Those views never disappointed.
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Thanks Ingrid. I visited Death Valley when I was younger (much, much younger) and what still strikes me is the beautiful bleakness of it. š
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I’m in awe of your wonderful landscapes, JP! I can’t pick a favorite but I’m leaning toward to first one of Colorado. I’m all about the rocky mountain high, too. As beautiful as your images are, it really pays to the places in person. Tears spilled when I walked through the trees as they opened up into the Grand Canyon last winter. Thank you for the virtual tour!
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As ever, fantastic photos. And such majestic scenery. My part of the world is all cramped and confined in comparison
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There are many things I love about my country of origin (and a few I don’t) and honestly so much of it is wide open vastiness that I can’t help but be grateful. š
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I’d love to be there. Though I think I’d find that vastness intimidating.
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It can be but I like the visual field. We hiked a trail in Zion National Park in Utah to a spot with a view that (on a clear day) was only interrupted by the curvature of the earth. We could see the plateau of the Grand Canyon which was over 300 miles away. Yeah, I like being able to see what’s coming at me. š
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Wow. I look out to sea, but at sea level you can’t see very far
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