bucket list curated by
#32
“And what about the so-called real world of money and taxes and disease and death and war? I prefer to ignore that insignificant world and concentrate instead on the world of ideas, on the quest for understanding. Instead of looking down into the mud, how about looking up at the stars!” Gregory Chaitin, mathematician and discoverer of the Omega number
Paul Friedlander Light Sculptor and Scientific Artist What
Climb down a crack in the ground and discover a hinterland between cave and sky. Slot canyons are not caves but valleys carved by flash floods through sandstone. They come in many sizes from so thin you have to squeeze sideways to larger and magnificent with monumental sculptural forms carved by the occasional rushing water. Antelope Canyon is the most famous.
Where
On Navajo land east of Lechee, Arizona.
How
If visiting Antelope Canyon, pay your ticket and follow the crowd. However, in the region there are many other canyons, some almost as remarkable and very peaceful. Use your initiative to find them, be prepared to drive long routes along dusty dirt roads and then walk into a tranquil other world as if you have arrived on another planet. Often you will be the only soul around for miles.
When
Anytime a storm is not brewing. The dangerous storms and flash floods tend to occur in the height of summer, but they are rare so any time of year can be good.
Why
As a child I always dreamed of being a space traveller going off to explore other worlds, not realising our own is full of marvels. We are all space travellers, enjoy the natural wonders of our planet while there is still time. www.paulfriedlander.com 138 / 139
Image: courtesy of Paul Friedlander