San Juan Mountains, Colorado - By Ryan Dyar

“How do we forgive our Fathers?

Maybe in a dream

Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever

when we were little?

Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage

or making us nervous

because there never seemed to be any rage there at all.

Do we forgive our Fathers for marrying or not marrying our Mothers?

For Divorcing or not divorcing our Mothers?

And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness?

Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning

for shutting doors

for speaking through walls

or never speaking

or never being silent?

Do we forgive our Fathers in our age or in theirs

or their deaths

saying it to them or not saying it?

If we forgive our Fathers

What is left?”

-Smoke Signals

Big enough to be overwhelming, still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time, Black Canyon of the Gunnison exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock and craggiest spires in North America. This western Colorado landmark was sculpted by the Gunnison River and the forces of weather over 2 million years. Photo of a snowy and fog-filled canyon by Judd Clark, National Park Service.

Sverdrup Expedition Dogs on Deck, 1903

Marble throne chairs at the ancient theater of Oropos (Amphiareion archaeological site), Attica, Greece  

Silverton, Colorado - August 1981 by Larry Syverson Via Flickr: I drove Colorado’s ‘million dollar highway’ from Durango to Silverson and Quary in August 1981. Being a flat-lander, the highway was very scary. A couple of times I wanted to turn around and go back. Fortunately, I didn’t. Silverton, Colorado in August 1981. It was worth the drive up!

Distant Denali