Flagstaff Memories, Thorne Pond Mornings

While locked down here in Jackson, limiting myself to walking trails within either twenty minutes or twenty miles from home, I wonder when the time will come when road trips are safe to undertake again. I cannot help but think of last year’s 71-day trek around the west and how it would not be possible this year. There are moments when sitting here at my desk, I consider where we were on this day in 2019.

One year ago, we were walking gentle rolling hiking trails in Flagstaff, Arizona. We started the day in the Page, Arizona with a dawn visit to Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River makes a dramatic curve through the canyon below. As was typically the case, we rose before the sun and were the first ones there. It was eerily quiet, save for the call of a soaring raven and the hushed whispers of the wind riding over the cliff faces.

Horseshoe Bend is one of the places I was determined to see on our trip and it was perhaps the most disappointing stop. Although it took a while for the …