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Saturday, April 6, 2013

Venturing into Red Rock Canyon



An hour’s drive from Lancaster lays Red Rock Canyon State Park.  Rich in history, it was important to the American Indians, traders, and early settlers in ages past.  It's a treasure trove for paleontologists, which explains why they filmed the Montana dig scenes here for “Jurassic Park.”  The park continues to attract film crews, locals, and tourists alike. 

On the day of our visit, we drove into a crowded parking lot.  Families unloaded tools, pulled on work gloves, and lifted handcarts from their vehicles.  Others, armed with cameras, left their cars.  All headed out along the marked trails. 


We followed at a sluggish pace, pausing frequently to take photographs of these unique formations.  While our digital cameras allowed us to experiment with shots and settings, the lack of a viewfinder made it difficult to preview what the camera would capture, as the sun shone down so brightly.  We stepped off the path to let others by, as they set out along the trails, or returned to their cars or trucks for more supplies.  Their conversation and laughter made it clear that they enjoyed rebuilding the trails, and protecting this area of natural beauty.

Jabba's Palace?

A fortress of the Hyborian Age?

Who guards this ancient keep?

These strange formations spoke to us, suggesting structures and settings from Science Fiction and Fantasy stories.  The arid rock, with its different colored layers, told tales of perseverance in the face of nature’s onslaughts.  Statues and tableau chiseled by the best sculptors could be no more impressive than the upraised, tilted, jagged, rippling hillsides.  Dry grasses, wildflowers, and Yucca trees provided contrast, and increased the scope of our surroundings.

Men pulled handcarts laden with stone.  Women dug plants from the path with shovels.  Teens laughed and conversed, their cellphones never far from their hands.  Girls gathered more stones to line the paths.  Some boys tried to roll larger stones, ones they could not carry.  After awhile, we left the others behind.  The sounds of work and conversation drifted away.  We were explorers, journeying into an alien landscape.  What would we find around the next boulder? 

There was only one way to find out.

Dragon Dave

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