It’s forty one degrees outside as the car clock flashes 8:00 A.M. At least I won’t need to heed to the warning about snakes that live in the water along the trail. I watch my breath in the morning air as I get started to do this infamous hike in the Oak Creek canyon area of Sedona.
It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving, which has only slightly dissipated the crowds. I move quickly and soon find myself alone in the forest, the Red Rocks towering above me.
I love The West. It’s storied glory as well as it’s almost unspeakable tragedies. I carry with me the memories of murdered Native tribes and the thoughts of this land being the former territory of Mexico.
I wonder what The West would be like today if men would have listened to the original inhabitants of this land, and recognized that we should not change the landscape in the name of progress and industrialization.
The Great Creator had a purpose. Yet those that respected this Great Creator were cut down, slaughtered or imprisoned.
A few of us still remember the origins of The West. We fight to keep sacred the places that still remain. We stand tall with this original Creator.
