Stormy Utah Skies

Because I love storms, I was delighted that thunder and lightning traveled with us on a recent US road trip. Throughout the National Parks in southern Utah, rain was our constant companion...it served to heighten the colour of the red sandstone formations and provided me with hours of blissful sky-watching!Visiting Monument Valley was a special treat...it has been on my travel wish list for years. When black clouds gathered and thunder began resounding through the valley, I knew this was the perfect time for me to have come.





I have never seen rain come down with such power and volume. I was rendered breathless as I watched and listened.


Then as suddenly as it began, the rain came to a stop. Before long the sun poked its way through again, illuminating the valley floor, now richly red, and reflecting off the rivulets that streamed from the mesa tops.





The thrill of watching a storm rage through this magical place
is something I will never forget...


I'm linking this post to Looking At The Sky on Friday, graciously hosted by Tisha of Crazy Working Mom. For more sky pictures, do check out the link below.
http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/hosted
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A Thankful Haiku

Our thanks bestow on
the children of the world, who
teach us how to love…

I was fortunate enough to spend time with these wonderful children while visiting a Masai village in Kenya in 2006. Like youngsters everywhere, they were giggly, shy, curious and keen to be noticed.
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While families had little in the way of material possessions, the children were bursting with joy, eager to embrace the excitement each day brings. I was humbled by their spirit, and am still learning to be grateful for what I have, instead of pining for what I lack...

I am linking this post to Poets United Thursday Think Tank. This week's prompt is 'thanfulness', something we surely have in abundance. To see more poems about gratitude, do check out the link below:
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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-think-tank-25-thankfulness.html

Blog Blast For Peace 2010

I am reposting this haiku as my contribution to Blog Blast For Peace 2010. I wrote it for International Peace Day in September and have added it to a Peace Globe background provided by the amazing Mimi of 'Mimi Writes'.

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Mimi is the founder and host of 'Blog Blast for Peace', a movement designed to promote peace throughout the world. Please, please stop by her site and add your voice to the many who advocate an end to war and an embracing of equality for all!
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On this hope-filled day we come together from all over the world to offer up a prayer that peace will prevail, and to make a promise to the children of the world that we will dedicate ourselves to attaining that end, no matter what it takes. They deserve no less from us.....
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November 4, 2010
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To those of my readers who have taken the time to comment on this post, you have my heartfelt thanks. I have discovered that the blogging community is a network of caring, creative souls who make a difference in each other's lives. It is the insight, intelligence and generosity of so many that make me know true peace is possible...

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My original post of this haiku with additional photos is at the link below for those who would like to read more...
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http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/09/international-peace-day-2010.html
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Colorado Skies

On a recent trip to the U.S., we drove to Colorado to visit Mesa Verde National Park.

The park was wonderful...we had a grand day exploring the cliff dwellings and soaking up the history of this ancient site.

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As it came time to leave the park, storms clouds formed and rain began to fall on the plain below us. I could not tear myself away from the beautiful skies that resulted.

These are a few of my favourites from that evening...

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I’m linking this post to ‘Looking At The Sky Friday’, graciously hosted by CrAzY Working Mom at the link below. Do stop by for skies that will inspire!

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http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/

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Road Trip!

Route 66, Arizona
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I will be incommunicado for the first part of the month. My husband and I are taking another trip down to the Southwest area that we so enjoy, both for the incredible scenery and the mystical history behind its scattered ruins. This will be the first time we hit Four Corners, where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado meet, so there will be much to discover. We fly into Las Vegas, then immediately set off on a week-long road trip, mostly spent exploring the National Parks in Utah, to finally end up in Salt Lake City for a few days before heading home.

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I am including a tentative itinerary here for any armchair travelers among you who might be interested. Of course, plans are always subject to change! Leaving the house and furry companions in the capable hands of our big sons, we will be free souls wandering wherever whim takes us…our favourite thing in the world to do!
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Grand Canyon, Arizona

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My much-loved regular readers do not need me to say that I am rendered breathless at the thought of photographing Antelope Canyon, (high on my bucket list), and Bryce Canyon, not to mention Monument Valley! Think of every John Ford western flick you’ve ever seen with the red spires and buttes…are they not beyond magnificent? I am literally aquiver with anticipation!

Grand Canyon, ArizonaThis is the plan:
2nd: Vancouver to Las Vegas
3rd: Las Vegas to Zion Nat. Park
4th: Bryce Canyon, UT,
5th: Antelope Canyon, AZ
6th: Monument Valley, AZ
7th: Mesa Verde, CO
8th: Arches Nat. Park, UT
9th: Canyonlands, UT
10th: Salt Lake City and environs
11th: Salt Lake City to Vancouver

Chapel On The Hill, Sedona

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My camera awaits...batteries charged and memory cards lined up. When I get back online, I hope to have many wonders to share with you. I’ll try not to bore you with an excess of photos, but like an overexcited child, I don’t always know when to stop…and moderation never was my strong suit!
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I may check in whilst away, but striving to take in as much as we can, we spend very little time in hotel rooms. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime…happy blogging!!
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The photos above are from a trip to the Arizona in 2007
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Sacred Stone

Carved in sacred stone

upon temples of the Nile,

the history of Kings.

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I've just discovered a new haiku meme! When I saw that the prompt word for today was 'sacred', I immediately thought of Egypt.
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For more haiku, may I suggest you stop by
Haiku Heights at the following link...

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http://haiku-heights.blogspot.com/

A Canadian Autumn

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Autumn strikes a pose,

that we might better admire
her fine russet gown…

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Indian summer
is a callous lover who

heeds not winters call...

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Summer sheds her green

attire to wrap herself in

cloaks of burnished gold...
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I am linking this post to the Thursday Think Tank Prompt at Poets United. To check out more poems, please visit the link below...
http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/

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The photo effects above are courtesy of Funny Photo at the following link...

http://funny.pho.to/

International Peace Day 2010

Haiku for Peace

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'Neath skin dark or light

beats a heart that knows only

the colour of love...

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Children are the same the world over. The lively and curious youngsters I met in this African village in 2006 were kindred spirits to the giggling, rambunctious kids who frolicked through a shared childhood with my own offspring in Canada.

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To a child, each day is an adventure and life is always more about sharing than dividing. I propose this may be a recipe for serenity at any age...

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On this visit, one grinning young lad clasped onto my arms and would not let go. As he snuggled in close against me, I was reminded of my much-loved sons at that age, bursting as they were with the curious mixture of independence and affection that changed them from moment to moment as they grew into their own skin.
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How can it be that the complete acceptance we embrace in childhood so often dissipates by the time we reach adulthood?
I have not found the anwer to this question that so desperately needs explained. If we seekers of the world work together, is it not possible we may gain back the ability to trust and to share wholeheartedly? I have to believe it can be so.
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September 21st, 2010 is

International Peace Day.

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I am posting this haiku simultaneously here and on my other blog, Imagination Lane, to join my voice to the worldwide prayer that we may one day put an end to the madness of war...and that peace may then allow us to begin the long journey toward healing our fragile world.

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Let this peace be our bequest to the children of

today...and their promise for tomorrow.

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Namaste

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If you would like to know more about these wonderful youngsters, you might want to check out some earlier posts...

http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/dreams-of-africa.html http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/08/africas-true-treasure.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/giraffe-rescue-centre-kenya.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/forgotten-generation-aids-orphans-in.html

Egyptian Shadows

As my last post was of Egyptian skies, I thought to continue with more of this country's beauty for Shadow Shot Sunday.

There is a wonderful luminosity to the light in Egypt as it reflects off handhewn columns and ripples over sand underfoot. Everthing the sun touches here turns golden, contrasting sharply with the dim inner spaces that sunlight doesn't reach.

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Ancient temples are this photographers's dream, affording perfect studies in sun and shadow...

light against dark.

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The Temple of Horus at Edfu

I became fascinated by patterns formed as sunlight struck the ornate pillars and swept across deeply etched hieroglyphic images.
Kom Ombo Temple, Aswan

Moving along pillared halls was like walking with giants. I marvelled at the height and breadth of the columns, each one precisely carved by the master craftsmen who built these temples many centuries ago.
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Karnak Temple, Luxor

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Kom Ombo Temple, Aswan

As if the decorated columns were not sufficiently beautiful, they are topped by magnificent capitols,carved into breathtaking swirls and flourishes.
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These temples were once painted in brilliant royal hues of blue and red. Occasionally, one lifts one's eyes to spot a majestic falcon on an archway overhead, wings spread wide to protect his pharaoh, feathers still bearing traces of the blazing turquoise and gold that once made it soar.

How astounding it is to stand in these decorated halls built for the glorification of kings and gods!

Hypostyle Hall,

Temple of Luxor,

Luxor

Medinet Habu,

Mortuary Temple of Ramses III,

Luxor

Time and pollution have faded the brilliant colurs and worn gouges into the sandstone, but nothing will ever completerly diminish the magic or the magnificence of Ancient Egypt's treasures...

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Many thanks to 'Hey, Harriet' for hosting this Sunday event! To see more, do drop by her page at...
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http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/
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Egyptian Skies

In Egypt, the sun is unrelenting. With negligible rainfall, few clouds mar the blue perfection of its skies and the heat is a presence you can reach out and touch.

Sunset over the Nile

We visited Egypt at the peak of summer when daytime temperatures were in excess of 40 degrees Celsius, (105 degrees Fahrenheit), and the evenings cooled down only marginally.

The Sphinx
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The capital city, Cairo and its surrounding area, is home to seventeen million people. Roads are a driving nightmare as millions of tightly-packed trucks and cars jostle for space, spreading out in in numerous wide lanes that follow no order we could discern.
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As a result of this density, a blanket of smog shrouds the city always. On the Giza Plateau, we were told this was a good day and we were lucky to have clear skies to see the view.
The Giza Plateau looking across the Nile River to Cairo.
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Of course, stifling heat, traffic madness and the ever-present din of car horns could not detract from the majesty of the Pyramids. It was easy, on that expanse of plateau, to imagine life along the Nile when pharaohs ruled, and these pyramids were built to hold their remains.

The Valley of The Kings lies on the West Bank of the Nile. Ancient Egyptians believed that, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so should man live on the East Bank of the Nile and be buried on the West.

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The skies here were clearer, and the temperature even higher as the valley held tightly onto the sun's heat.

Climbing ever-deeper into the burial tombs of kings, the air shimmering with the heat and humidity generated by the hundreds of tourists that pressed around me, I felt my heart fill with a delight and satisfaction that surpassed any thought of discomfort.

After a lifetime fascination with Egyptology, I was at last following the footsteps of pharaohs...and it was magnificent!
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I’m linking this post to ‘Looking At The Sky Friday’, graciously hosted by CrAzY Working Mom at the link below. Do stop by for skies that will inspire!

http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/

My Irish Uncle

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A hand held out..a
glimpse of other lives I might
one day make my own…
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In a childhood laced with strife, my Uncle Milford laid before me his art books and music so that I might know there was much in life that was beautiful. I have never forgotten the generosity of spirit that promised me a brighter future…
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I'm linking this post to the Thursday Think Tank Prompt at Poets United. For more poetry, please check out their link....
http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/
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If you enjoyed Robert's music choice of Leonard Cohen on the Think Tank today, you might like to check out a piece I reposted on my other blog...

http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/

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