Sometimes I’m curious what it is that draws me so strongly to some rock formations. True, I seem drawn to many if not most of them. That might simply be the universal human tendency to create stories. Studies of human intelligence tend to focus on two qualities that set us apart from other species, and one of those is our stories. So when rock formations like this draw me back again and again, maybe it’s because of the stories they stimulate in me.
1576 Story Impression
On the large slab, there seem to be petroglyphs carved into the flat surface. I’ve never noticed them before, but now I wonder if a fleeting glimpse of them strengthened my urge to keep returning for another look. Maybe it’s some enchanting quality of the stones themselves, that drew both ancient peoples and me to visit there? I wondered looking at the first pic, if it’s just a play of light. So I looked at this slightly different angle on the same spot snapped a moment later, and the enigmatic shapes still show up.
1579 Perspective Shift
But then I looked for pix from my other flights past the spot, and found this one snapped from much closer.
0424 Different Story
I can still see some of the shapes, but this detailed view magically transforms them into stories of life, weather, light and shadow as they dance with ancient stone that itself was once sand on an even more ancient beach. Maybe my urge to see human symbols there has the same origins as my own yearning to share the stories etched on this blog. Sharing where I was, what I did, what I saw and the effects Life had on me. It is this desire to create and share stories that distinguishes us from other intelligent animals, enabling us to teach and learn the things that produced technologies like space travel and the internet. …and airplanes like Tripp. 🙂
John & Anne Wiley 
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