"Waterfalls and Stones..."

A terrific picture posted recently by Tom on Two-Heel Drive, sparked some memories and musings on the wonder of waterfalls for me...

J. George wrote: "To climb a waterfall, go to the foot of the mountains. Look for a cleft in the skyline... toward the mist that hangs over the canyon... the climb becomes steeper, the water wilder... hear the thundering roar? There in the sunlight plunges the waterfall. An artist might be there... He will probably tell you he has been coming back to this spot year after year trying to paint the spirit of the waterfall... Step out on the ledge. A writer might be there composing a poem about the many sounds of the waterfall... The waterfall is now part of you...".

Waterfalls are another simple magic to be found out in our wild lands... Discovering them is another style of adventuring... Visiting and enjoying these surreal interactions between water, rock, gravity, mist, and sound, has provided many unforgettable moments...

So many times, I have also let out an exclamation of excitement after finding perfect, small, polished stones near falls. Some that I have gathered, painted, and passed forward as Summit Stones... I recall also what P. Collins wrote: "The rock is what makes this waterfall".

Falling waters make for natural places of musings; natural environments for simple ponderings, waitful watchings... As in F. Sheen who wrote: "The silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud... a divine mystery... or a waterfall".

As George said, and as I believe, there always can be found a spirit within falling waters, an entity that will mirror your own spirit and enthusiasms, that reflects your own wonder, that inspires your very personal meaning for why you are there and what you wish to experience in your adventures...

I remember...

Yosemite waterfalls in all their grandeur...

Frozen falls and the excitement of ice climbing...

Falling water over cliffs and high rock hidden within the Rockies...

Finding secluded secret locations where streams & small rivers flow and fall and blend with our oceans...

And within all of these, musings and imagining, who had the first accent of these, and who will later enjoy this element...

By leaving these special areas in exactly the same way as we discovered them, we pass forward the same opportunity to yet another adventurous wanderer...

DSD

(Images by - Top/Walker, Middle/Farlow, Bottom/Lee)