2007 - Summer - Couples in the Canyons |
There are several fine ways to enjoy the wilderness. Guy Trips, of course, have set the American standard ever since Lewis and Clark left St. Louis in 1803. Guys like to tramp off the beaten paths, crest rugged ridgelines, perch on pointy rocks, ford high water, get smelly, jump into ice water, rhapsodize about girls and beer, amplify impolite noises, and laugh a lot. They tend to admire free range predators—eagles, bears, rattlesnakes, and trout.
Family trips take a different tack altogether. We play with each other in places of raw beauty away from the twinkles, tangles, and tentacles of hometown living. It's a time to teach casting, crouching, cooking, rock love, and family laughter. These trips hopefully plant the seeds of wilderness activism in the next generation…zeal our planet needs in this time of reckless exploitation. Wild predators are a bit less charming when one is protecting kids….
Soul trips, like the 2 week solo walkabout I just completed in the Trinity Alps, move more slowly. If you're lucky, they can whisk the clutter out of your mental garage to make room for some fresh ideas, maybe burn a little superfluous adipose…and still laugh a lot.
Family trips take a different tack altogether. We play with each other in places of raw beauty away from the twinkles, tangles, and tentacles of hometown living. It's a time to teach casting, crouching, cooking, rock love, and family laughter. These trips hopefully plant the seeds of wilderness activism in the next generation…zeal our planet needs in this time of reckless exploitation. Wild predators are a bit less charming when one is protecting kids….
Soul trips, like the 2 week solo walkabout I just completed in the Trinity Alps, move more slowly. If you're lucky, they can whisk the clutter out of your mental garage to make room for some fresh ideas, maybe burn a little superfluous adipose…and still laugh a lot.
But one trip I'd never done—until now—was a couples trip. Desert hedonist Salem and musical Laurie, Salamandre's Sandie, and I flew to the red rock fairyland of Southern Utah to join Scott, Lord High Protector of the Escalante, and his imaginary wife, Barbara. (Real life women are not this cool, so I think perhaps Barbara is a conjured mirage or maybe a convincing hologram.)
We climbed the Domes of Capitol Reef, peered over the roadrunner cliffs, and probed the scoured gorges. We forged through piñons and junipers up to the Ponderosas and aspens, scrambled over slabs of sculpted sandstone, and frolicked in desert waterfalls. We admired the ancient petroglyphs and wafted karmic excoriation to the idiot defacers.
We sloshed through vertiginous splendor in the Escalante and stroked feathery ferns in the grottos of mystical springs. Each night, we cleaned up, started cooking, opened Salamandre, waited for the moon…and laughed a lot. Considering that we devote most of our wilderness time thinking about our sweethearts, this was certainly convenient….
Beyond the glory of natural beauty and the central role of laughter, another element binds these trips. Salamandre tastes best outside. May we particularly recommend the Coyote Cuvée and the two new Primitivos.
You, too, can wander off to the wilds, but you don't have to wait that long to open a Salamandre and laugh. Hike on over and see us!
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
We climbed the Domes of Capitol Reef, peered over the roadrunner cliffs, and probed the scoured gorges. We forged through piñons and junipers up to the Ponderosas and aspens, scrambled over slabs of sculpted sandstone, and frolicked in desert waterfalls. We admired the ancient petroglyphs and wafted karmic excoriation to the idiot defacers.
We sloshed through vertiginous splendor in the Escalante and stroked feathery ferns in the grottos of mystical springs. Each night, we cleaned up, started cooking, opened Salamandre, waited for the moon…and laughed a lot. Considering that we devote most of our wilderness time thinking about our sweethearts, this was certainly convenient….
Beyond the glory of natural beauty and the central role of laughter, another element binds these trips. Salamandre tastes best outside. May we particularly recommend the Coyote Cuvée and the two new Primitivos.
You, too, can wander off to the wilds, but you don't have to wait that long to open a Salamandre and laugh. Hike on over and see us!
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker