I got to telling MamaLou about this so i thought it good blog fodder...and here's some ear candy for the road...
Back a few years ago we were coming back from our Arizona escapade and taking the scenic route doing it. We were heading for Denver, in a roundabout manner, and stopped off to visit my great aunt and uncle in Cortez, CO which is set like a small opal in the arid SW corner of sunny CO. We had a great time visiting with them. They showed us all around Cortez and took us up to Mesa Verde, which we decided to take a full tour of the next day. If you haven't been, well...put it on that Bucket List...its that kinda cool. We ended up spending a couple days with them and got to hear some great stories since they have lived in Cortez for...many, many, MANY moons...i think maybe they did some trading with the Mesa Verdans back in the day...mostly from his homemade wine from his homemade wine cellar.
When we decided to leave, i asked Uncle Billy which was the best way to get to Denver since there's really no FAST way from Cortez to anywhere...as it should be. He hemmed and hawed, and then there's... and finally decided to send us up by way of Utah...i know what you're thinking..."wait, isn't Utah WEST and Denver is EAST of Cortez?" Well, yeah...but you gotta understand...nobody is in a hurry to get anywhere in Cortez...and come to think of it...neither were we. As a caveat he said, "Now make sure when you get outside of Monticello to look for Horsehead Peak...you'll know it when you see it...course, it took me thirty years to see it, but you might see it right off." Oh good. A treasure hunt/challenge. I couldn't hardly wait... So off we went.
The spirit of Cortez himself must've been with me...cuz i was like a hound on track looking for that geo-cache. Uncle Billy, probably baiting the hook, was vaguely descriptive of what i was looking for...and when i say 'vaguely' i mean like vaporous, so by the time we hit the Utah line i was salivating to see something...ANYTHING...
"Is that it...that kinda looks like a...no, no that can't be...ooooh what's that over there...that's a...no, no....OH WAIT now THAT LOOKS...no" This went on for like 50 miles. Every new run of peaks sent my eyes racing up and down them.
I had just about given...wait...i think...what is...i gotta get closer to this...how far is Monticello...what was it he said...i'm not sure but...what am i supposed to...HOLY FREAKING COW! I mean... THAT IS A FREAKING HORSE HEAD RIGHT THERE IN THAT MOUNTAIN!!!! So i call The Queen who is driving the car in front of me...
"DO YOU SEE IT?!!! (am i screaming?)
"IT'S RIGHT THERE! LOOK TO THE LEFT OF THAT PEAK, (ok control yourself), down the face of the mountain, do you see the outline? OK its like...the horse is looking to the North...no, kinda adjust your eyes like looking at one of those 3D images...you see it? His ears are at the top...and he has a blaze face...YEAH THAT'S IT!!!! YOU SEE IT NOW?!! Is that not the coolest...?
Man i was stoked! I danged near bought a postcard at the gas station we stopped at. But i just took some pics instead.
The rest of the trip was cool too, we actually passed very close to Moab and the rock formations in that area are just pretty cool, but we really needed to push on even though i would've loved to stop. Anyway, for those of you who have never seen or may never pass that way...
pretty cool, eh!
10 comments:
Forgive me, Jay, but I don't see it. What am I looking for here? That said... this is a hella good story!
And... let me put in a plug for Moab. I stayed overnight there last year on the way home from SN1's place. Did the whole Arches tour (lotsa pics on the blog from that time), and had dinner and not a few pints at the MOST wonderful Moab Brewery. I was on foot, so no restraint was necessary in the drink/drive space, and their Hefeweizen is to die for. I liked it so much I bought one of their tee shirts... and kinda-sorta crawled back to the motel.
My, but I DO go on, eh? ;-)
I was thinking...I don't see it either...when I read Buck's comment and then looked back at the picture. And I'll swan if it wasn't right there...a horse's head! Now that is cool.
OK...(this is kinda exciting...like when The Queen couldn't see it either)... now...
look at the grey trees at the bottom of the pic...very slowly let your eyes drift slightly to the right, up over the lower front range of hills, you'll see a large somewhat conically shaped patch of evergreens...almost like a huge christmas tree...this forms the neck and right ear of the horsehead, the patch of snow to the left of the evergreens forms the blaze on the face of the horse. The horse is looking directly at you, with ears perked up and nostrils flared. Its wicked cool when you see it.
Very cool, I saw it right away. What fun.
OK... I got it now! Thanks for that, Jay.
Ah, Marshall Tucker, Yes, I can see, and did immediatly see you horse's head. Cool!
BOOMER SOONER!!!
Big Bro
Way cool Jay! And thanks for the song(s). ;-) JB and MTB.
Saw the horse immediately, which is better than usual for me. Pretty picture. And love the song too, thanks for sharing.
That's just too cool! We've never driven that stretch of highway, but we may just have to go find that horse-head peak. (looking at the weather radar map, it appears that eastern Utah is getting snow right now.)
I saw it immediately, but I had good instructions. Very cool. I'll see if I can find a pic of the bear who slept on the mountain behind our house.
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