Monday, June 23, 2008

Whistlin' Dixie

Wednesday we finally got on our way to St. George! Chris was reclined in the front seat, his mom drove and Lily and I kicked it in the backseat of Chris' parents natural gas car. That thing is awesome. 6 bucks to fill up! The downside is that you have to fill up every 200 miles. Way to go green, Susie!
We stopped in Cedar City and got to visit with Garrett, Chris' brother and his wife, Ruth and daughter, Addie. Chris and I also got to visit Erin and Beth. I called them when we got to Cedar and they were nice enough to make some last minute time for us. And I got to hold Beth's new baaaaaaaby. That was a highlight. Rori is so, so cute. She was so sleepy and calm and perfect. Lily was a bit jealous at first but Mikey soon distracted her. It was so good to see them, I wish I could have spent more time with you B and E!
In St. George, we went full speed ahead (restricted only by Chris' injury/illness) the whole time. Wednesday morning Chris' brother, Garrett, and family, joined us in St. George. We went on an amazing, hike to some petroglyphs. Chris' parents are part of the St. George club that studies petroglyphs and ancient cultures. They were able to interpret some of the glyphs and even tell some stories about the cultures that resided in the area. I really didn't think I would be as excited about this as I was, but there was something so awe inspiring about looking at these teaching panels that were thousands of years old. Stories of the creation, the life before this one, our purpose here and the next life seemed so humbling permanently carved in the rocks. I found myself pondering my own belief of what is important and why I am here for a long time after the hike.
I kept thinking that these people took time to write about religion, the meaning of life and water. I have a blog and I write about misunderstandings, embarrassing family moments and cute pictures of my daughter. Is this a reflection of my relative shallow-ness? Or is this just because carving stone takes more effort than tickling my MacBook? Did ancient cultures record less important things in a non-permanent medium? Should I take my own record keeping more seriously? All of these questions swirled in my head and actually kept me awake much of that night. Then I found out that there was an In-N-Out in St. George so my attention was shifted. Now that I can hold my beef, I do appreciate a good cheeseburger. I hope that last sentence isn't the one that is preserved for next 55 centuries.



5 comments:

Claudia said...

Meg, I love hearing the things you have to say! That's awesome that you got to see the petroglyphs. I always wanted to go, but never got the chance. (hmmm...I've recently been thinking about all the things I DIDN'T do when I was in Cedar/SoUT that I wish I would've found time/money/a way to do. Hindsight...) So what is wrong with Chris? Hope he--and all of you--are doing well and having a great time on your trip!

Beth said...

That looked like fun.Neat that Chris' parents actually know stuff about petroglyphs. Did you get to take Lily to that park with the water?

Brooke said...

Don't you just love southern Utah and all that HEAT! Looks like a fun hike.

Kate said...

So glad you made it through that week. Those petroglyphs are way cool. I love that my parents are always learning and love to share it with us. wish we could have spent time with you in St george. How was Aspen Grove? Hope we get to see you again before you leave. You are great!

Malia said...

Glad to see you are having some adventures on your trip. Those petroglyphs looked interesting! Is it know who carved them and when?