A Morning Moment

My Dad has instilled in me a great appreciation for morning. For this reason, I have never been able to really "sleep in." Why would I miss my favorite time of day? We were six kids who all enjoyed our Dad’s company very much. One thing I found growing up was that the early birds got the "worm" (my Dad). If you somehow beat him in getting up, he would certainly be up moments after hearing you. I have many great morning moments, especially camping. One moment stands out in my mind:

In the summer of 2007, Annie and I traveled to Utah. Part of this trip was a customary sojourn to the desert for hiking and camping with family. We settled into our favorite BLM site in the San Rafael Swell, surrounded by rock formations and a pleasant little ephemeral stream. The daytime temperature was scorching (not the best season to be in the desert), but evening and morning were wonderful. That morning my Dad and I got up at about 5:30 am and just started meandering down the dry wash. The air was crisp and perfect, the sky was completely devoid of anything but light morning blue, the strange orange of "almost sunlight" glowed off of the eroding rocks. We meandered for probably an hour talking about the things that you only talk about when you have forgotten about where you ever need to be, and what you ever need to do. It felt like that wash would go on forever. It was just us and the wilderness. I remember some real nuggets of wisdom from that conversation. It was a great moment.