Close Encounters of the Research Kind

Lori here~

I've whined talked about how much I dislike research - except when it's hands on. Yesterday we loaded up the family in the fuel efficient Honda hybrid rather than the gas-hogging SUV (gas is $3.11 a gallon here, where is it where you live?) and drove 2 hours to Devil's Tower National Monument. My Mother's Day tradition? I get to tell my family to take a hike. Usually we try and hike someplace new every year, but daughter #1 wasn't able to make the trip to Devil's Tower with us last year, so we made a repeat trip.

Picture the day. Sunny. Temperatures in the mid-70s. Clear, cloudless skies, a breathtaking blue, stretching above rolling pine-covered hills, red rock bluffs and lush high land prairie meadows. I never tire of the scenery out here in the Wild West - whether I'm in the mountains or on the plains. People used to seeing miles and miles of urban sprawl and commerical development usually remark that there's nothing out here when they're faced with miles and miles of uninhabited rangeland. Sure, it's neat to watch golden eagles and red-tailed hawks soaring overhead. Or to catch a whiff of the sharp scent of sun-warmed pine. Or to notice herds of antelope lounging amidst the silver sage before bolting across the ground in a blur of tan and white. Or to see a swath of yellow wild snapdragons interspersed with the delicate white flowers of snow in summer and purple shooting stars, a carpet of color beneath the towering ponderosa pines...but what do you *do* out here?

Smile, shake our heads and realize that we could explain ourselves about the majesty, the beauty and the vastness until we're blue in the face and unless you live here, you won't "get" it. After a week of networking  and being surrounded by people, I needed to recharge my mental batteries.

What does this have to do with research? Nothing, really. Except even though yesterday was a family outing, I took notes on variances in topography between Sundance, Wyoming and Belle Fourche, South Dakota, if only to cement the setting in my own mind. If only to reinforce this is the area I love. This is what I want to write about. This is why I write.

I don't venture far from my roots no matter what genre. My cowboy romance series is set in Wyoming outside of Devil's Tower. The Julie Collins books are set outside of Sturgis. Although the difference in miles - 100 or so - is a hop, skip and a jump, the landscape is different. Markedly so. Ditto for the area in the southern Hills near the Badlands and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands where I've set a new mystery.

Along those lines, since both Devil's Tower and Bear Butte are considered Holy places to many of the plains Indian tribes, I snapped pictures of both. And of the valley surrounding Devil's Tower where you can you see for 100 miles.

                               

I've hiked to the top of Bear Butte several times. It's close to a religious experience for me and I can see why it's a pilgrimage for Natives. Devil's Tower is a pilgrimage of sorts too - not only for Indians, but for rock climbers.(Devi'ls Tower is closed to climbers in June in observance of Native American religious ceremonies, same for Bear Butte) Yesterday we watched several groups of rock climbers ascending the different craggy faces of Devil's Tower. The weird thing about Devil's Tower is is doesn't look that big until you're standing at the base of the 1300 foot giant. The other bizarre thing is you can hear everything the climbers are saying - even when they're 900 feet above you dangling from nylon ropes. I'm not a risk taker, I'll stick to the trails. So, for better or worse, I'll probably stick to writing about ranchers, cowboys, Indians, and the joys and frustrations of rural living...and how it can lead to murder.

Where do you go locally to recharge your batteries?

Comments

[Mary Stella]

Sounds like a terrific day, Lori. When I need to recharge, I can go out onto my private beach, stare at the water and veg. Nobody get all impressed about the private beach. It isn't what you think. I got tired of wasting water trying to keep grass growing in the Florida Keys and I hate the white pea rock that's so prevalent down here. So I ripped up the grass and dirt and put down beach sand in my yard. The dog and I love it, but I have to regularly discourage neighborhood feral cats from treating it like a gigantic litter box.
Problems aside, it's a peaceful refuge after a busy, tiring day.

[Sasha]

When I used to live in BC I used to do the same as you. The mountians and lakes are heavenly. If I really need to recharge, thats when I fill my back pack and take off for 3 or 6 months. Nepal and South Africa are the two places that stand out in my mind as the places that truly helped remind me of who I am, and what I want out of life.

Alberta is nice, But I really miss living in BC.

[AlisonGaylin]

What a great Mother's Day tradition, Lori! (And so much healthier than the brunch my family treated me to!)As for me, the Catskill Mountains are a beautiful place to get out, hike and recharge. I, too am very lucky to have so much beauty in my own backyard. (Of course, a day in New York City gets me energized as well, but in a different way.)

[Charlene Teglia]

Heh. We took a Mother's Day hike, too. We hit trails in the woods around our house (currently featuring a field of wild orchids), but we also will head for Rialto Beach or Olympic Nat'l Park trails to hike and enjoy the beauty.

[Allison Brennan]

Our gas is more expensive, the cheapest about $3.29, but that's California for you.

My husband would be SOOOO jealous. He loves Devil's Tower. We had a picture he took and enlarged in our den for years and years, you guys must have been standing in the same spot because it looks close to yours! The trees look different, though. Maybe different seasons . . . Anyway, sounds like a lovely day. I do the same thing when I'm out with the family. Only I tend to do more people watching than scenery, which is why I add setting in at the end because I almost always forget it.

[Jeff]

I paid $2.79 yesterday.

Well, in California, it was just spending a day in the water that did the recharging. In Colorado, it was a day of golf in the mountains in the early fall. I don't know yet what it is in TX.