An Old Story

An old story but a good one as a little bear decided to take a walk across Rainbow Bridge on the old Donner Pass highway, route 80, leading into Reno. I've crossed that bridge many a time but never have had the luxury of seeing a bear either big or little. I remember reading this piece some time back and I see from the picture that it was in 2007, I wonder how many more bears have crossed the bridge since then. This particular little bear was one of the lucky ones as the rescuers dropped a huge net and after tranquilizing the bear was able to lower it to the ground and it ambled on its way.

I bet it wondered how it got itself into this mess.

Looking at the bridge made me think of the wonderful rides either going to Donner Pass to visit the museum there, or the lake, or just pass it by and go on down to Sacramento where I lived at the time. It was always a beautiful ride out of the hot city into the higher elevation up into the pine trees and the wondrous feeling of calmness. There is something about the smell of pine that makes the body relax and the mind wanders as the views become more spectacular each turn of the mountain road. I wrote several poems about the Sierra Mountains and painted many pictures of the trees and the lakes. I have a picture of Lake Tahoe on my living room wall where I can escape to the wonderful memories of Nevada.

Silence

one summer day/driving slowly/through the roads/dusty and dry/we wound our way/up into the mountains/and looked into the sky.

the meadow that we found there/was covered in snow/the vistas of the mountains/reached farther than we know.

the trees were so many/countless as they swayed/growing far and wide/patterns that were made.

I wondered what was different/then I knew/no noise of any kind/for silence/spread around us/ oh, so profound.

I hugged the awesome beauty/the silence that was there/and wished that I could/ wrap it up and take it home to share.

So today if you have a chance to drive out to a favorite place, take time out of your busy lives and look around. Find the quiet spot and enjoy the silence that is there. Refresh your minds and your hearts. I thank you Jo for my trip to memory lane, one picture, one story and the mind recalls the many trips up and down the highways and all the sights and sounds. I'm ready to hop in the car and go, camera is ready, friends are waiting, oh my what a fun time we would have. A lovely thought as the sunshine peeks through the trees today . . . sunshine, wow, two days in a row. I think our summer has started at long last. I'm on my way out the door to get some vitamin D. Hugs to all.