Saturday, October 24, 2009

the bittersweet season

It's fall here...I love it, yet it brings an anxious pang to my heart every year. Fall is when the colors burst from the deciduous trees, the sky is even more brilliant blue than usual, and the weather is mostly awesome for hiking in desert canyon land. I can relax...explore...revel in uncrowded beauty here. I made apple pie with the fruit from the trees in my back yard. Leaves are thick on the ground, and smoke scents the air as many people (me included) fire up their wood stoves to ward off the chill. This is the sweet part.

But here in Torrey, it's also the end of the season. The tourist season, the awake season, is winding to an abrupt finis, an ending that lands sudden and sharp as the cold and the shorter days. Most of the businesses in town close, including my place of employment, Capitol Reef Backcountry Outfitters. Things start to feel...eerie. It's another winding down. An ending, and we all know how difficult those can be. This, of course, is the bitter part.

It's actually a wonderful time of year to visit. The crowds have slimmed considerably and the cooler temps just make it more pleasant. I plan to get out there and explore a bit. I have been stir crazy lately!

Oh, and my goodness. The remains of Everett Ruess are not his after all, it seems. How crazy is that? Who's to blame for the snafu? Well, that might be a moot point. Although I feel for the family members, who are still lacking the closure they seek, it's sort of nice to have the mystery still open. It reminds me that once again, all possibilities are open.

Which is how I perhaps ought to think about fall. Hmm...off to wander the red rocks and ponder that thought!
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

shameless self-promotion

Well, but I'm also promoting southern Utah, the land of my heart and soul. Damn, I'm actually promoting it all over the place, these days. Can't help it, I love this area so much. I want others to love it too...responsibly. (Do you hear me, silly NYT article that did NOT include a useful sidebar telling visitors how to behave when visiting the perilous desert? Grumble. I hold you responsible for the trashing of Spooky & Peek-a-Boo. Seriously. That and just the all-too-common lack of human decency or respect these days.)

I'm the southern Utah Local Expert (sounds very official, no?) for NileGuide, a very cool travel site for the savvy, hip traveler (hey, that's you, really). I'm in charge of Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Moab. Uh...keeps me busy! Hopefully they'll add Capitol Reef sometime (but not too soon, I've got lots to catch up on with the other parks. Yikes....)

Set me up a Twitter account (yeesh, the thought scares me...but here I go anyway), @julietrevelyan.

And soon, hopefully, I'll be blogging for Capitol Reef Backcountry Outfitters, where I just completed my second season full of adventure & exploration.

Ah...the rain is falling wildly and the thunder is shaking and rolling terribly at the moment. Huge storm! And I'm inside! Writing! I love being able to look outside at the sturm und drang yet not have to be in it. God, this place is so beautiful. See?


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