{A Moment of Life} 52 photos project yr2 wk17

Sadly, between our wedding, a crazy few weeks and a short vacation, 

I have missed a few prompts for 52 Photos Project...

and though {A Moment of Life} prompt may be a perfect opportunity 

to share the wedding photos some have requested

they were not taken by me! *lol*

I have gone into my archives intentionally looking for this photo

as it still stands out strongly in my mind as a defining moment of life

for me...

I have yet to find the words to describe the emotions that came over me in that moment

There was something about: 

the sudden awareness of how small and vulnerable one is in the world

the tranquility and silence found in a canyon filled with water 

the drips off the paddle being the only sound

the story of a million years being whispered by the gentle breeze

the desire to never lose the freedom you feel in that moment of life...

At a distance, the Mister had his own moment...

he too was silent as his mind went on its personal journey

being half Ojibwe, perhaps the native spirits called out to him?

He climbed out of his kayak onto the rocks to explore, and snapped this as

I headed over to paddle into a slot canyon...

 As the walls narrowed and got higher, the silence deepened

until it became so narrow that I could barely turn my kayak around,

the silence was deafening

and I sang at the top of my lungs 

(since there was no one who would hear!)

before paddling out

to find the Mister...

and an inukshuk* that he had built

To this day my heart and lungs seem to swell and my breathing slows

and we both go to a far off silent place for a bit 

when we recall that moment in life that couldn't last forever

as we had to get out of the canyons and back to to shore 

by the time the sun had set over Lone Rock...

Of course I had to get some photos of that sunset and its reflection on Lone Rock

so I climbed off here...

and here

to capture the sun setting

and its reflection on Lone Rock

and what a beautiful sunset it was...

the Mister waited in his kayak as I took the last shot

("I promise!!")

and we headed in to shore

reaching it just in time to capture the afterglow

Words simply can not capture the moment

it must be experienced first hand...

These photos were taken on Lake Powell, a lake created by damming the Colorado River 

between the Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon on the Utah/Arizona border

in late September 2011

We found it interesting that folks we met in Arizona and Utah did not know 

what an inukshuk is, so in case any of you are unfamiliar...

* Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."

The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms for a variety of purposes: as navigation or directional aids, to mark a place of respect or memorial for a beloved person, or to indicate migration routes or places where fish can be found. Other similar stone structures were objects of veneration, signifying places of power or the abode of spirits. Although most inuksuit appear singly, sometimes they are arranged in sequences spanning great distances or are grouped to mark a specific place.

These sculptural forms are among the oldest and most important objects placed by humans upon the vast Arctic landscape.

Excerpt from Inukshuk Gallery

and a big thanks to Bella!

For this prompt and for all the work she puts in to holding this space for us to share

Janet xo