Canyonlands

Canyonlands Utah

"The idea of wilderness is such a peculiar idea. We revere the empty land and the nature-oriented values of American culture. The fact is, there was never any empty land. Everything was occupied when Europeans got to North America. We did a lot of work as a society to get people off of the land. And it was only after we got rid of the native people who were living in these places and had thereby somewhat domesticated the land that we were willing to contemplate institutions like national parks, which are founded on a mythology of pristine nature. But the people were missing." -William deBuys, College of Santa Fe professor

when we arrived

at Canyonlands in Utah

it felt like we were years

from the flea market or santa fe or potholes on cerillos

i was beginning to feel looser and quieter

when dreamr tould me

about a dream she had

last nite

petroglyphs at newspaper rock in canyonlands

"In my dream I was in an ancient desert village surrounded by sandstone canyon walls. I was sitting in the hot sun under a deep blue sky, tracing in the land with a sharp stick. Clouds of red dust floated in the air as I drew crow after crow after crow, all the same, until I was surrounded by them, an endless field. I stopped to watch the sun set over the horizon and as it did, I heard a rustling noise. It turned into a cacophony as the crows I'd etched into the ground lifted up out of the dust all at once, turning dark and solid, red earth spiraling off their wingtips as they broke free from the ground and flew toward the setting sun. I watched them until they turned into stars. I looked down and one crow remained, the one who would watch over me.
I felt powerfully protected." Dreamr