"Rivers......."

"Rivers... are greater than their grandest canyons and biggest drops... for nearly all there is something more, something ineffable yet deeply satisfying, as we join with the ancient currents and flow, for a brief time, between the timeless banks." Bangs & Kallen

Grey Wolf also said, "Rivers... not only give life... but have lives of their own."

I have been watching our river slowly freeze over these last few days... and have been musing about memories of rivers in my life... Rivers are such a varied medium for adventures. We hike beside and across them, kayak and canoe upon them, play at that special place where rivers meet the ocean, feel the ebb and flow as we drift through deep canyons, and enjoy the sound and power of rivers as they flow and fall over rock and cliff...

River are often found in the wisdom literature as a metaphor for journeys...

I am often reminded out in the wildlands how water in its many forms is one of the primary elements within our natural world. I find the sounds of river water flowing especially pleasing to my senses... And I can watch the movement for endless hours... When we travel along this medium we often lose ourselves within, or give ourselves over to the experience... And of course, I have admired many stones that have been river polished...

Recently I read a quote by Twain that was discovered and posted by B.R. Thomas on his Blog "BRT Insights - Whitewater Kayaking", where M. Twain said: "The face of the river , in time, became a wonderful book... which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it had uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day."

Rivers weave their own magic through the lands, our experiences, and our memories.....

DSD