the 4th of July weekend starts up. a cold night, clear, almost full moon, and without the fly on the tent, it’s bright and chilly inside. up at 0700 to stash the tent in the back of the truck and head out. the drive up 535 and the West Dolores River is pure Colorado. we stop for breakfast in a high meadow below Lizard Head Peak (at 13,113 feet), a 5-point stag wanders across the greenery in front of the car. the route then passes near Telluride, another one of those monetary vortices on Colorado, with multi-million-dollar homes blotted around the landscape. then through Ridgeway, in very dry piñon country. a stop at the Natural Food Store, a laid-back place, opened right at 10 am when we arrived, the whole business is for sale, hmmm, an interesting opportunity. then on up into the Uncompaghre National Forest. we find a pull-off near Cimarron Fork rather than staying in a campground. skies are showing flows of high-altitude smoke from what must be large and hot fires to the south west. most likely Arizona fires have spread and increased in number. the sky to the southwest fades to a reddish-grey behind Lizard Head and Dolores Peak and there is deep atmospheric haze everywhere.
we are near the road, and as this is the Friday before the most popular summer holiday weekend, there is constant traffic of ATV’s, RV’s, jeeps, and motocross bikes. why no mufflers on the motocross bikes? I’d like to pipe the exhaust manifold through the riders’ ears instead, using the vacuous cavity between the ears as a resonant chamber.
the west is in my blood. despite any anger, fear, happiness, success, or whatever. but anyway, can’t really speak here about be-ing.
Loki reads The Lord of the Rings aloud last night before bed, and now again this afternoon.