Traditions, Moab style

I love traditions! Thanksgiving is normally shared with family and friends and since my kids were not home this year, my friend Kathy and I decided to share the holiday with a bunch of potential friends in Moab, UT. We didn’t even tell them we were coming – we just showed up! The folks at the Arches National Park and the Moab restaurants were all happy to see us and made us feel very welcome.

We all have many hopes and expectations leading up to holidays, and all of my favorite traditions were fulfilled wonderfully! For example…

My mom always made the most wonderful yams and marshmallows and we kids always thought we were getting away with something by having ‘dessert’ during dinner. For Thanksgiving this year, I had this same feeling of cheating as I was surrounded by the yam-colored red rock reaching into the sky, accentuated by the snow-covered La Sal Mountains to the south. Hiking around and through the amazing arches of the national park and in between and over giant sandstone fins left me feeling like I was having the dessert of life (in the desert, no less!). At some point the exclamations “Amazing” and “Beautiful” became repetitious but no less meaningful. On the other hand, the outbursts of “Ouch!” when I brushed against the cactus by Navajo Arch and “Ahhhh! (thump)” when I tripped going down the sandy hill near the end of the Devil’s Garden trail were, fortunately, more rare.

Traditionally, while dinner is being prepared as well as after it is cleared from the table by hungry eaters in a scene that reminds me of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, sports on the television is a big part of traditional activities. I had the chance to continue this tradition by sitting back in my seat and watching kayaking down the mighty Colorado River. The competition was intense, as was the taunting…

“Huffyman is chicken!”

I was NOT afraid to point my kayak into the rapids! It’s just that the current and my paddle were taking me the other, less scary, direction. Not wanting to endure any more teasing, I aimed for the biggest rapids where waves crashed 8 or 10 inches high in some places! The bow of the kayak bounced through the semi-white water and at one point actually dove into a bank of water that washed completely over me!! And when I say “completely over me”, I mean it washed over the bow and some water fell into my compartment, enough to make me a little wet. It was CRAZY! Kathy and I kayaked through this crazy and lazy section of river in the deep shadows of towering stained walls of Moab rock and enjoyed sharing the time and space with our new friends, the hawk and the crane. You know how sometimes at the end of a great Thanksgiving meal, you look around at the remains of the feast and the smiles on family and friends and you just think how good life is? That’s what it felt like on the peaceful river with a terrific friend surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery on Earth.

The holiday pies that come out of the oven bring wonderful aromas to the air and the sight of the myriad varieties can be overwhelming to the senses… That’s exactly the feeling after the 2.4 km hike (it was only 1 1/2 miles, but 2.4 km sounded more impressive) to Delicate Arch. We arrived as the sun was just contemplating falling below the horizon and were greeted by a view of the white La Sal range seen through the majestic Delicate Arch. Exploring a little, we found an impressive view of a rock face littered with nature-carved holes and patterns, as well as a rock bowl the size of a football field. Two jets created art in the multi-colored sky and the magnificent arch stood powerful and tall, soaking in the changing colors for photographers and entranced sightseers as if it knew and enjoyed the role natyrally bestowed up it. We sat overlooking the surrounding landscape and just like trying to identify one’s favorite pie, our eyes were drawn from one favorite vista to another. We breathed in deeply of all we could inhale in our surroundings and thought that pie never looked so good.

The turkey meal is a tradition we hold dear and one we look forward to and power through with gusto! Kathy and I had the opportunity to be part of a meal that brought out radiant smiles and heartfelt laughter and even a few wonderful tears. There is a special place in Grand Junction CO that makes sure hunger is satisfied every day of the year with not only gourmet food but with love and hope. We found ourselves chopping and slicing and opening and stirring and frying and following orders from Andy, the chef with the perpetual smile. At a time of reflecting on blessings, ours that day was to partake of the love and gratitude of countless angels who made us laugh and feel like our lives all had a shared purpose. We were served and taught and went away with tears in our eyes for the love and heartache of humanity. When I say there were tears, I meant tears from chopping onions – 26 cups of them! Huffyman would not have tears from anything else!

So, all in all, it was a very traditional Thanksgiving with all the expected trappings and adventures. I kinda missed Uncle Louie and his traditional knife juggling act and the traditional trip to the emergency room, but it’s good to mix things up a bit every once in a while, right? I hope all your holidays were wonderful as well!

p.s. to Bryan in Littlestown PA who is in the battle of his life… Tradition says Bull Dog Tough, just as tradition dictates a podium spot for the toughest guy I know in one of the toughest races on earth. We are ALL in this together.