Hiking the Canyon floor that morning, I recalled our discussion of the ancient Pueblo and was reminded of my walks through Manhattan over the years. Yes, Manhattan. It’s one of my favorite places to explore and every bit as other-worldly as this. Like the Pueblo, Manhattanites see nothing of the world beyond The Rim. When they peer out of their world, they see only sky. The sense of nothing beyond, creates a feeling of self-contained-ness, a not-knowing-ness, of the world outside their world. But for some comes the wonder of what may lie beyond, on the other side of the sky. For those who leave, plumbing the depths of return becomes an insurmountable summit. Pueblos eventually left the Canyon. People eventually leave Manhattan. Children eventually leave their parents. And humans are on the cusp of leaving Earth. To leave, seems to be our destiny. The story in the book is about return.
Early morning hike on the Canyon floor near Phantom Ranch… Day Two of our odyssey
Cañon Del Grande 