It’s been tooo0 hot to do much more than dust and in the process refamiliarize myself with my books which are stacked everywhere. (Even now at 9 pm sweat is dripping down my face as I write in my un-air conditioned basement!) Anyhow, today I uncovered a beautifully done book–Women in the Wilderness: Writings and Photographs, selected and edited by Susan & Ann Zwinger. On p. 92, there’s a gorgeous photo of a slot canyon followed by an excerpt from Unspoken Hunger by Terry Tempest Williams, a wonderfully descriptive & evocative nonfiction writer. The piece begins with: “Few know her, but she is always there–Stone Creek Woman–watching over the Colorado River. Over the years, I have made pilgrimages to her, descending into the Grand Canyon. . . .It is always a pleasant journey downriver to Mile 132–Stone Creek, a small tributary that flows into the Colorado.” With the thrill of recognition & connection, I exclaimed, “I know that place. I’ve been there!” Jumping up, I retrieved a copy of my account, Grand Canyon Magic, of my long ago paddle-raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. On p. 28, I read this: Day Nine, I woke up feeling more rested this morning, maybe it’s because I dreamt that I was being towed down the river in my tent. We spent the morning hiking Stone Creek Canyon. The trail wandered back and forth across the creek, over red rock and multi-colored boulders, through lush vegetation to about a thirty-foot waterfall, surrounded by a profusion of greenery.
Williams describes Stone Creek Woman as emerging “from behind a veil of water. . . with her redrock face, her maidenhair ferns, and waterfall of expression.” All those many years ago, did I see Stone Creek Woman? Not according to my written record, but I do now through the connection via William’s vivid writing.