Silence in the Flaming Gorge

View as we drive to Ashley National Forest

Written by Karen.

We drove into Red Canyon in the Ashley National Forest, Utah and parked our camper van in the almost empty parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.  There was just one other car in the lot, and they were backing out of their parking space.   We waved and then it was only us. 

We have experienced majestic solitude while on our road trip thus far.  There is something quite magical about driving along winding, picturesque two-lane roads that take you to a destination that you can experience as if you were the only person it was created for.  

The Flaming Gorge was one of those experiences.  We walked to the edge of the canyon and looked down and all around, and promptly sat down at the cliff's edge to take everything in.  The Red Canyon is 1,700 feet deep and about 4,000 feet wide.  The Green River below is aptly named and perfectly complimentary to the rusty red soaring cliffs.  We were completely alone, and in our contemplative silence, I suddenly heard something I had never heard before. 

Thwump, Thwump, Thwump.  We both turned our heads at the sound.  It was the sound that the wings of a bird makes as it soars through the air. Thwump, Thwump, Thwump. Another bird darted and flew in front of us before dropping off the canyon's edge to catch the wind currents. 

Adam and I sat together in silence for a long while. The power of silence is once again revealed to us as we stare transfixed at the beauty that is all around us.  This gift of silence and beauty together quiets our minds and rejuvenates our spirits. 

There is no sound track out here other than the natural rhythms of what is unfolding in the present moment. The hubbub and the noisy clutter of the everyday anxieties fall away, and is replaced with the simple pleasure of being still in the natural beauty that surrounds us. We walk slowly back to Chinook feeling a deep sense of well-being, and I consider how so often it is life's most simplest of pleasures that are the most profound.  

Roadside views as we drive to the Flaming Gorge

At the Red Canyon looking down at the Green River