Cedar Mesa

I miss Cedar Mesa. Cedar Mesa is this amazing and sacred chunk of land SW of Blanding Utah that is riddled with deep canyons that provide solitude and quiet adventure.
We used to go there all the time but haven't been since last spring. The area is remote and provides very rustic camping, no water, no toilets, no nothing which is the beauty of it all. There are no trail signs or markers, you need a map and if you get lost you need self reliance, I love it.
There is evidence on the mesa as well as in the canyons of the people who came before, the native people of the area left their dwellings and their fingerprints for us to discover. I miss the pace of walking, observing, slowing it down so you notice what is happening around you. When I'm in Cedar Mesa my body slows down as well as my mind but my spirit tends to soar. The place is magic for me and I would love to get back there this fall. You hardly see anyone out there, though it has gotten busier over the years, word has gotten out.
The memory of the days where we just walked all day, across the mesa, down into a canyon and then back out, exploring along the way, feeling like little kids. That memory of being so tired but content at the end of a long day outside will never pass. The memory of sitting in a dark, ruined Kiva, the one shaft of sunlight beaming in through the opening in the ceiling, the smell of earth all around you, the adobe plaster still hanging onto the walls with ancient fingerprints, those memories sustain me and make me long to return.
I've been thinking about Cedar Mesa a lot lately, it happens to me this time of year as fall comes on, cooler days make me yearn for the high desert with crisp clear days and nights full of stars so abundent and skies so clear you can see a different galaxy.
Soon I hope to return, leave the rush of humanity behind and find that nurishment again.