So, I thought my first post would be one telling of how I fell in love with travel, or something else with substance.  But, today, someone who is always inspiring me asked how this blog was going…to which I responded, “I’m stuck.  I’m just so busy, and I haven’t had the time to really put some good posts together…and you know how anal I am.”  This received a knowing chuckle and a “Get over it girl and just post something, anything…just do it.”  So, here goes…

Over the past several weeks, I keep coming across this beautiful photo, taken in 2002 on a trip with an ex-boyfriend.  While I was in medical school, we took every opportunity for a get away to, well, get away.  This particular trip was in the middle of winter, and we choose Arizona.  We set off through Phoenix and Sedona headed for the Grand Canyon with the plan to take a donkey ride down into the canyon.  When we arrived, it was snowing at the rim…and it was cold.  I was weary of taking a donkey ride down the long narrow trail in the snow.  Really, I was, and still am, afraid of heights, and I was just feeling a bit anxious in the imperfect conditions.  But, determined to avoid lameness and disappointing my now ex, I got on that donkey.  As we dropped over the rim of the canyon, the snow stopped.  Then, amazingly, as we descended, it only got warmer.  The views were spectacular, making the stress of the height and the aching of my bum all the while worth it.  This particular photo was taken just as we had come through a little valley and rounded a corner headed for our lunch spot.  I found the scene breathtaking, with the textures of the canyon brought out by the lighting of the afternoon and the shadows cast by the clouds.  Over the years, I’ve taken hundreds, if not thousands of photos during my travels.  But, when I think of those most memorable, this one always comes to mind.