Travel Log-Utah

My wife and I just returned from a 7 day trip to Utah...among a multitude of really positive experiences a truly spiritual event occurred that I found very moving and life enhancing. I very much appreciate the "advise" one receives from people while travelling. The advise can be from a variety of sources-a stranger at a train station in the Netherlands that realizes I am somewhat lost and could use some information about riding trains, advise from hotel clerks on places to eat or see, bed and breakfast hosts who provide the inside track on the local area..these tips often come from locals who work in a variety of service type roles that support tourism. Such is the case of a gallery owner in Moab who "guided" us to an area that had some fantastic petroglphys. After a discussion about painting on location and the local art scene she provided directions to an area that she said was well worth seeing and contained a number of petroglphys, She gave us some general directions and said to keep an eye open for a "bunny" on the rocks as we returned to Moab. The road turned from pavement to gravel as we kept our eyes open for the images. As we scanned the rocks nothing was apparent as we drove along. After a few miles of driving I turned to my wife and said if the gods wanted us to see the petroglphys we would be guided to their location. At the time I had a strong feeling this was very possible. As we drove we came to a large parking area. Figuring we had missed the access we decided to go for a quick hike. (it was now late in the afternoon) There were a number of people preparing for hiking, biking and there were even some ATV's ready to head off. There were no signs re hiking trails or indications there were petroglophys in the area. I was drawn to a faintly travelled trail that headed up the side of a rock face. I started to walk up followed by my wife. About half way up we traded places and she lead the rest of the way up. As we crested the rock face and walked about 50 feet a small sign appeared requesting "respect" for the native american artwork that was in the area. Tears swelled up in my wife's eyes when she realized we had found the images. As we walked close to the cliff face-a number of drawings appeared. All manner of wonderful images and stories were represented. I was in awe of the discovery and the accessibility (there was no fences etc protecting).....I took out my camera and took a number of pictures....the two of us were the only people in the area. My wife decided to venture futher into the valley. I elected to stay put and enjoy the sacredness of the area. As she walked away I became accutely aware of a stillness that permeated the area. In fact I can't recall a time on earth for me that was as quiet and still as that time spent lying on a patch of ground looking up at the sky. It was like experiencing a deeply meditative state while being fully conscious...it was like nature provided a huge pillow for me to rest my head on. The break from my normal existance was a gift that I truly appreciated. Another amazing thing happened as we both realized we could talk clearly to each other eventhough my wife was a fair distance away. She ventured alone into the next valley...I was left totally alone. I tried to visualize a visit to the site a hundred years ago..I kind of faded into a state of fantasy that lasted for a short while...the stillness continued... it had an "out of this world" feel that I can't describe but I think will serve me well as a "happy place" for future consideration when I need to escape. A truly great experience. After about a half an hour my wife returned (I had started to worry about her which was taking away from my enjoyment of the solitude) and we decided to head back to the car. I felt refreshed and she was full of stories of the petroglphys she had discovered along with the observed "cat" tracks. Upon return to the parking lot there were 3 guys having a barbeque right beside our car. We struck up a conversation and my wife described what we had just seen. They were very surprised the petroglphys existed so close as they had been coming to the area for years and spent alot of time riding and exploring They were mountain bikers so they probably didn't do much hiking? They said it was too late for them to go up. It was also getting much cooler as night decended... I secretly hoped they wouldn't remember the conversation so the petroglphys would stay hidden? I wrestled with all kinds of emotions around my wife's disclosure...I tried not to be judgemental of my emotions...an interesting lesson? Anyway...in closing UTAH "rocks" and thanks to Louise...the gallery owner...you provided us with a priceless gift!!!