Marysvale: Up Close and Natural

Rustic, Rural, and Real...

That's Marysvale!

Welcome to Marysvale.  See that green roof just beyond the yellow flowers in the distance?  It is our privilege to call that house our home.  Marysvale is a sleepy little town nestled at the mouth of Bullion Canyon.  I love the dark night sky here that doesn't compete with neon or city lights.  I love the pastoral scenes, and the good people.  I love the sagebrush, flowers, trees, and even the weeds.  I love the deer, the turkeys, the rabbits, the fox, and the owl that visit our home.

This old building is my ONE MILE turnaround spot.

Today, I just want to share some of the pictures I have captured trying to "live in the moment" here.  You may laugh at my weeds and "my" shack, but it's all good.  This place feels like home to me, even the wild, unkempt parts.  Every season captivates me.  I love the sunshine, the rain, the snow, the fog, the sunsets, and the sunrises.  Everything feels so fresh and clean here.  It is a good life.  A good life indeed.

(The pictures are in no particular order, and
some of the captions were written when the
pictures were taken.)

Several metal crafters live nearby.
Margaret, this one's for you!

Even the weeds capture my curiosity.

How can you not fall in love with this place?

"Grandma" lives on my friend Pam's porch.  She seemed quite perturbed
when I interrupted her nap to take her picture.

Wish I could identify all of the flora and fauna.  Queen
Anne's Lace?

Hiking to Bullion Falls is a favorite activity.

My goal is to capture the beauty of the Rocky
Mountain Bluebird.  This picture fails at that miserably.

When the fog settles over our mountain like a soft, white, winter shawl, I'm glad to be indoors, enjoying the view where it's warm.

It's not the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, but it has a beauty of its own.

The remnants of yesterday's raindrops are dripping off the eaves The sun slips in and out of the clouds as the thick fog that had settled over the valley floor and wrapped around the base of the mountains slowly rises toward the light blue sky. The trees have the open pasture surrounded in a halo of golden leaves. If only autumn could linger in the canyon a little longer.

Quaking aspens...the gold mines may lie empty and dormant, but Bullion Canyon is still full of gold in the fall.

Happy Fall, y'all! Everything I love is here...the golden aspens, the reddening Rocky Mountain maples, the cool mornings, the perfect days. I look forward to wearing sweaters with my jeans, sitting on the deck in the predawn hour, listening to the aspens flutter in the breeze, and taking pictures of all that makes me happy. Of all the seasons, I fall in love the hardest for fall.

When our owl came back, it felt like a blessing from nature that all was right with the world.

*Goodbye, Virginia!

As I watched the sun come up in the east, I realized I would be leading the sun home as I traveled back to Utah on Southwest Airlines.  I watched out the plane window as the treetops became smaller and faded from view, and finally closed my shade so that I could rest.

We had gotten up at 3:30 to make it to the airport shortly after 4:30.  At the time, I was worried Bridger would think I was crazy for making these travel arrangements the way I did, but when we touched down at the Salt Lake City terminal before 11:00, I was grateful to be home and still have energy to tackle the laundry that would spew forth from our luggage.

The week had been eventful:  sightseeing in D.C. with my youngest,  family dinners, a day at the spa with the bridesmaids, my sister's wedding, and a potluck luncheon with my high school girlfriends.

Our family is divided up across three states:  Idaho, Utah, and Virginia.  I love all of these people so much  We're all a little silly, slightly sarcastic, and very loving.  It was a wonderful gathering everywhere we went,  with hugs, laughter, and camaraderie.  It was so good to be "home."

It seems we would just light somewhere, start to get settled in, and it was time to take off for our next destination and event.  There is a part of me that realizes it is good to leave while still wanting more. That's so much better than the opposite:  being somewhere you wish you were not.  I never experience THAT when I go home, but there are so many places I wish I were.

Now that I have slept in my own bed with my  Boston Terrier snuggled in by my side, I am glad to be where I am this morning.  I woke up to clear skies and dry air and cool temperatures.  This southern girl has called Utah home for over three decades now.  The desert is mine now, but I'm always grateful for a trip to the oasis that is Virginia, for the people and my memories of that beautiful state made me who I am today.

Goodbye, Virginia, until my next trip "home."