detoured

we took a walk this morning up our backyard mountains. on our usual route, we noticed bear shit on the path. seeming fresh, it changed my mind about taking that walk. (well, we aren't just going to follow the bear, are we? I think is what I said) so d. suggested we take a turn we had not taken before.

we headed up our detour, until we hit a high flat spot to rest. a perfect spot, really, for camping if you wanted a view of the valley. we could see our house and the garden. and per usual we looked for interesting rocks at our feet. and I picked up a fragment of an arrowhead. 

and then our walk ended and became a treasure hunt.

we also began to find pottery shards, a grinding stone, chiseled rocks, and other arrowhead material. and we realized, with the view and all, that once upon a time this was a great camping/overlook spot for people who needed a view of the valley. and that these were probably the same people who hundreds of years, maybe 1,000 years ago, drew the petroglyphs on nearby boulders. we'd been told these remnants were all over our valley, and now we know it is true. 

this is what the two of us call, a great morning walk. 

and yes, I brought a couple mementos home in my pockets. but most of the treasure we left up there where we found it. 

picking up pieces of things once made, held & broken by people who exist now only as spirits in the these mountains & this land, almost makes me feel closer to this land I touch each day.