Advice from the Black Canyon

Carve out a place for yourself.

Aspire to new plateaus.

Stand the test of time.

Don’t get boxed in.

Listen to the voice of the wind.

It’s OK to be a little off the wall.

Reach Deep!
                                 Ilan Shamir

Here it is, another wonderful National Park to carve out a place for myself. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a place where explorers came for renewal and recreation rather than commercial wealth. According to the NPS, the Gunnison River, along with the forces of weathering, has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky over the last two million years.

Ilan Shamir's poem describes not only the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but my Venzaliner journey as well. A journey filled with aspirations and new plateaus, while standing the test of time, I keep trying not to get boxed in and definitely taking the time to listen to more than just the wind. Yes, I'm a little off the wall but I assume you can tell that by my actions.  However, by reaching deep I've enjoyed some of the coolest places, seen some of the most magnificent areas of the US and Canada, and met some of the most delightful people--all while taking the opportunity to realign my personal well being.

Life is good; especially after several days in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Although the weather was not condusive to seeing all of the overviews in the national park due to heavy cloud cover and rain, I enjoyed hiking trails above and below the south rim as well as downtime to reach deep! Click here to enjoy the views.