My dad always says, "you only go around once, so..."
Marvel and I spent the late spring into summer on the highways, skyways and railways, seeing a little of this beautiful country and leaving loss and responsibilities behind for a while. First we took in the Grand Canyon, starting at the North Rim at the end of May when the park had just opened and there weren't many other tourists clamoring around yet. We stayed in a little log cabin that consisted of a bedroom and a bath, but was just a short walk away from the main lodge with its restaurant and fireplaces. And the fireplaces were appreciated as we encountered just enough snow to give us some enchantment on nature paths and provide us an excuse to snuggle in our cabin with the book we were reading together. It was really beautiful. The walks out over the canyon views were breath taking... no other term to better describe them. Depending on the time of day, the colors of the canyon varied from deep green to a sort of lavender hue, and sometimes the winds were so overpowering that we actually turned back before reaching the end of the trail. In fact, I lost a good hat while we were there. We bought it in the gift shop, and not an hour later it lay just over the edge of a cliff, almost within reach, taunting us to come and get it. But we did not. Surely some braver risk taker will happen upon it, or it will blow deeper into the canyon and be found a hundred years from now by a future explorer. Anyway, for a little while it was on me.