I have noticed that whenever we go on a hike, people always pick up and take interesting rocks home with them. In the past, I have done the same, but lately I have tried to restrain myself, because I know when I get home and unload the rocks, they will just sit there in the house. We really have enough rocks already, unused in the house, and we don’t need any additional ones.
On our hike up to McBride Peak, a couple of my fellow hikers did pick up rocks. One guy who had a complicated backpack (all tied together with cord), ended up carrying his rocks in one hand because he didn’t want to take off and undo his pack. I just shook my head and kept hiking.
Toward the end of the hike I did come upon the amazing looking rock you see in the center of the photo. That is just one rock although it looks like many. Fortunately the rock was so big (about two feet (60cm) in length, so I wasn’t really tempted to take it home.
It was unusual though. It was made up of layers of different types of rocks which over time wore down at different rates, making the layers appear to be separate rocks that someone had stacked up.
My favorite rock/hiking story happened when I was a kid. I was crazy about fossils, and our family went on a camping trip to Clifty Falls State Park in Indiana. One day we hiked along a river valley with lots of rocks showing fossils of ancient sea life. I found a fossilized sponge about the size of a basketball cut in half. I was thrilled and determined to have it, so I carried it for the rest of our hike.
When we got done with the hike we ended up on a roadside and sat on a railing while my father walked back to get the car and pick us up. I was tired of carrying my prize sponge fossil so when I sat down on the railing I put the treasure in the weeds at my feet.
We were so exhausted from the hike, we happily poured into the car when my dad arrived, and off we drove to our campsite. I totally forgot about my sponge fossil, and wonder how long it sat there by the railing until someone else picked it up and took it home.
Look at my paintings davidmarchant.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment