8.01.2010

Reflections At Blacktail Butte

Howdy.      
A friend and I went climbing at Blacktail Butte in Grand Teton National Park this morning.

The routes are very hard there, and I'm only comfortable lead climbing a few of them.  We've all got our limits, and, though its right on the side of the road, Blacktail Butte is capable of showing me mine.

The neat thing about the climbing at Blacktail Butte is that its more an exercise of
perception,
balance,
technique,
creativity,
confidence,
and fearlessness
than it is a challenge of brute strength.

Living Human. Dead Tree.
After climbing, my friend and I sat atop the crag and gazed across the valley at the majestic Teton Range.  We pointed out exceptional patches of dying trees to each other.  From the valley floor to high in the peaks, we saw RED.  We also saw a lot of trees that appeared to be turning.

Autumn has apparently arrived in this Land of Evergreens.


Traffic whizzed by loudly down on the highway and up in the sky.  I counted seven private jets descending towards the airport over the course of half an hour.  I counted two dozen opulent land yachts cruising by as well.


Over that half hour of observation, by my ballpark calculations, at least 50 million dollars worth of absurdly frivolous and conspicuous garbage passed right before my eyes.

Who Are These Fools?
What Possesses Them To Consume So Much?
Where Do They Get Their Power?
When Will They Ever Stop?
Why Can't They See Their Hypocrisy?
How Do We Show Them The Proper Way To Live?

Those are some questions that really matter.

Think about it while enjoying the Lyric of the Day from SUBLIME's Bradley Nowell. R.I.P.

Early man walked away as modern man took control.
Their minds were all the same and to conquer was their goal.
So he built his great empire and he slaughtered his own kind.
He died a confused man, killed himself with his own mind.
LET'S GO!!


We're only gonna die from our own arrogance,
that's why we might as well take our time.