Today was Roger’s day, a best friend, a trusted elder. We headed to Devil’s Tower, WY, the first National Monument. I was never
all that interested to seeing the Tower, but it was on Roger's bucket list and it
sounded like something fun to do together. It felt like we still did.
On the drive there I was wishing that I'd taken Erika, his
daughter, up on her offer to send the feather that their family decided was meant for me to my
dad’s house so I’d have it for this experience. It was a beautiful feather adorned with colorful beads that
Roger used on me twice to do a feathering ceremony, cleansing me of all worries
and negative thought. It was one
of the most beautiful gifts he’d ever given me, a cherished memory. Since I'd been talked out of having it
mailed, I went featherless.
When we arrived, we walked around to the backside away from
other visitors. It was nearing sunset so there wasn’t much time to hang
out. We hiked up to the base, watched some climbers descent the vertical
wall, and found ourselves a nice spot to sit and take in the last rays of warm
sun. I sat, attempting to conjure up memories of Roger, his powerful words of
wisdom, the sound of his voice, thoughts of our time together. Nothing came. I sat longer.
Still, nothing. Then, coming down from the sky I saw a feather
floating in the wind. I watched it sail in the air, back and forth,
slowly, like feathers do. It landed right beneath a ponderosa tree (sugar
cookie tree, as Rich and I say) a few feet in front of me. I walked over
and picked it up. The feather was perfectly white, small and beautiful.
I looked up. There wasn't a
bird in the sky. Afterwards, memories came, his voice and love flowed
through my mind and body. I put
the feather in my bag and we started to walk out, now nearing dark. I heard a dove cooing in a sandstone
cubby and stopped to listen for a minute. I couldn't see it, but I have a
feeling it was white.
Hocus pocus woo woo shit. Yeah, I know. But it makes
for a beautiful memory. This stop was for you, Roger, con amor y gusto.
We drove to Keyhole State Park and slept on the lake that
night in a quiet little campground that we had all to ourselves.
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