I love the city. I think that the city is filled with magic.
The bustle of people walking to and fro, everyone you pass emitting a mysterious story to their life somehow. Business men and women with paper coffee cups in hand, servers leaving their shifts, standing at the bus stop with their aprons still tied around their waists, crowds of people who are all so different, not even aware of each other walking by. The tall buildings lining the streets in some sort of competition to which is tallest, which is most magnificent, when in reality they are all magnificent in their own ways. Historical buildings and monuments and city parks. Apartment stoops, east sides and west sides, food trucks and flower districts, trendy coffee shops and modern restaurants. I love that the city never really sleeps, that it is always there with open arms, bidding you to dance on its enchanting stage.
I also love the mountains. Even more, perhaps, than the city at all. I think that the mountains are filled with magic.
Being in the mountains feels intrinsic, as though my soul was born there and every time I arrive I am coming back home. There is a majesty that demands to be noticed in the rocks and the trees, the wild animals that accompany you along the way. Winding paths following crooked streams, the change in the air that is clear and unprocessed, where breathing it in becomes refreshment in the same way you gulp down a glass of cold purified water. The beauty of being there is irreplaceable. Really, the mountains are a breathtaking reminder of how small we are.
We live less than two hours from Salt Lake City and it is one of my favorite places to go when we leave our little mountain college-town valley. The Salt Lake City area offers me the best of both worlds, and I love that. I love that I can be thick in the city and all of its enticement, but then drive in any direction toward the mountains surrounding and find the solitude that I crave. It's a perfect mixture of just the right recipe for me, for all of the things that I love most.
This hike we took to see some views on a slow and brisk Sunday afternoon was lovely. It was also a huge reality check reminding me that I need to cut back on all of the soda that I have been splurging on lately, the bloat heavy in my stomach, weighing me down while I climbed. Even so, we found the wild up there in the mountains, just above the busy throngs of people. We found the wild in acorns and fall colors, running creeks and massive rain clouds, a tiny rattlesnake slithering through the brush. We talked sometimes while we hiked, mundane and everyday chatter that creates meaning in its simplicity, and we stayed silent other times, taking pictures and scanning the city below.
It was a short and sweet spur of the moment hike and at the very least, it was a small and subtle introduction into the beginnings of Autumn, the season we love the most.
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