I've been to Spearfish Canyon several times and truly believe that there are few places more beautiful in the fall. Recently I became aware that there are many places in the canyon I have yet to explore. This weekend I was SUPER excited because some friends of mine were taking me to visit some caves in the canyon that I never even knew existed. Caves. How cool is that?!?! I NEEDED to see these caves! (By the way, I read on my phone in the car on the way there. I knew you'd be proud!)
We followed the directions to get there and drove around the area but could NOT find the trail. We walked up and down the road, used GPS to make sure we were at the right mile marker, and I got covered in burrs while walking along what was most decidedly not a trail while trying to find the actual trail. Finally after some assistance from a Spearfish local, we made it to the right area and started looking for "a well worn path" as our directions instructed. We got excited as we noticed a group coming down the hillside. They said they had just been to the caves and pointed us in the "right" direction.
As we began climbing, we noticed that it didn't really seem like we were on a trail. The climb was nearly straight up, there were trees and branches in our path, and the hillside was covered in loose stones. We were slipping, sliding, and loosening rocks that gained momentum as they feel and created the very real possibly of a serious injury to those below. We sent back the younger members of our team as well as an injured party and trudged (or climbed) on. We finally came to wall of rock that would not be safe to climb. How could we be in the right place? I turned around and nearly had a panic attack as I realized just how high we had climbed and just how steep the hill was. Why is going uphill always so much easier and less scary than down? Some of us wanted to give up, but I really needed to see those caves! I was going to do this!
We sent some "scouts" with climbing experience around the hillside and they came back about 15 minutes later to inform us that we weren't on the trail after all. We needed to climb down the hill and to the left to get there. After climbing (or sliding/falling) down the hill we finally made it to the path. Actually this was actually not such a bad deal because we found a bunch of fossils on our unplanned detour. How cool is that?!?!? When we finally made it to the caves they were AMAZING!!! There was a waterfall, water dripping though the limestone, little pockets of crystals imbedded in the stone, and the view was amazing. I was SO glad I didn't give up.
What does this have to do with reading? Well, those of you who've seen my "to read" pile will know that there are so many books out there that I NEED to explore! (Please note I said NEED, not want). Sometimes I feel like I'll never get to read everything I'd like, and there is a very real possibility that I won't get through them all, but how many wonderful books might I miss out on if I just gave up?!? What keeps me reading is the possibility that each new book brings. Sure, some books might turn out to be bad or not to my liking, but the next one could be amazing!
What keeps YOU reading?
We followed the directions to get there and drove around the area but could NOT find the trail. We walked up and down the road, used GPS to make sure we were at the right mile marker, and I got covered in burrs while walking along what was most decidedly not a trail while trying to find the actual trail. Finally after some assistance from a Spearfish local, we made it to the right area and started looking for "a well worn path" as our directions instructed. We got excited as we noticed a group coming down the hillside. They said they had just been to the caves and pointed us in the "right" direction.
As we began climbing, we noticed that it didn't really seem like we were on a trail. The climb was nearly straight up, there were trees and branches in our path, and the hillside was covered in loose stones. We were slipping, sliding, and loosening rocks that gained momentum as they feel and created the very real possibly of a serious injury to those below. We sent back the younger members of our team as well as an injured party and trudged (or climbed) on. We finally came to wall of rock that would not be safe to climb. How could we be in the right place? I turned around and nearly had a panic attack as I realized just how high we had climbed and just how steep the hill was. Why is going uphill always so much easier and less scary than down? Some of us wanted to give up, but I really needed to see those caves! I was going to do this!
We sent some "scouts" with climbing experience around the hillside and they came back about 15 minutes later to inform us that we weren't on the trail after all. We needed to climb down the hill and to the left to get there. After climbing (or sliding/falling) down the hill we finally made it to the path. Actually this was actually not such a bad deal because we found a bunch of fossils on our unplanned detour. How cool is that?!?!? When we finally made it to the caves they were AMAZING!!! There was a waterfall, water dripping though the limestone, little pockets of crystals imbedded in the stone, and the view was amazing. I was SO glad I didn't give up.
What does this have to do with reading? Well, those of you who've seen my "to read" pile will know that there are so many books out there that I NEED to explore! (Please note I said NEED, not want). Sometimes I feel like I'll never get to read everything I'd like, and there is a very real possibility that I won't get through them all, but how many wonderful books might I miss out on if I just gave up?!? What keeps me reading is the possibility that each new book brings. Sure, some books might turn out to be bad or not to my liking, but the next one could be amazing!
What keeps YOU reading?