Hawk’s Cry

Journey Through the Depths and Heights of the Earth

After driving our family about 1700 miles (2800 Km), we have finally arrived and have settled a bit in our new home in the San Gabriel Valley of California. We arrived in the LA area on June 1 and officially moved into our townhome on June 2. Things are beginning to settle a bit, but our kids are still adjusting to the new place.

The journey from South Dakota to California was a spiritual journey, in addition to a geographical one. When you keep your heart and spirit open while traveling, you can learn a lot about yourself and the universe. It never ceases to amaze me how so many different environments, types of people and types of spirits all live on the same planet, or even the same continent.

We are mostly used to living in the flat plains, where plant farming is the predominant landscape feature. This is the case in both South Dakota and in Minnesota, where we previously lived. As we approached western South Dakota, a dramatic change happened. Once crossing the Missouri River at Pierre, the landscape became very hilly instead of flat.

We stopped on the side of the road at the Missouri River and buried the Peacemaker’s placenta in the ditch by a cornfield. It was kept in our freezer since his birth in the latter part of 2006, but we had not taken the time to bury it yet. The spirits (and lack of refrigeration) insisted that we bury it in South Dakota and the energy at the river was very strong. He is a boy who likes to go with the flow, especially if that flow is going where he wants it to. As a result, giving him a stronger connection to the powerful river was appropriate. As an aside, our other two children’s placentas were buried under a Rowan tree in south Minneapolis.

The Black Hills foreshadowed and prepared us for mountains to come. We visited the Sitting Bull Crystal Cave, which is an amazing cave full of raw crystals in beautiful chambers. Going inside was a re-entering the womb of Mother Earth. I could sense the slow undulating of the cave walls as it breathed. Climbing the long, steep and narrow staircase was a rebirth for us. The Diva had to face her fear of heights and trust that she would not fall down the stairs. The Warrior did not want to leave. He immediately felt at home, often walking with the tour guide to be as far ahead of everyone as he was allowed. The Peacemaker just wanted to get down and explore on his own, which we did not allow as we did not want him to become a sacrifice to the cave.

Wyoming is very large and beautiful. It reminded me of the steppe of Mongolia, which we saw in 2005. Instead of the monotony of plant agriculture, I was amazed at the beauty of the hardy grasses which live on the semi-arid land. The energy and spirits there were fiercely individualistic, where no government or social net will save you from the relentless winds and harsh foothills. The nearest town was frequently more than 30 miles away.

From the environment and the feeling of the spirits, I expect the people would be extremely friendly in the countryside. When one’s car breaks down, that’s when people come out of their ranch homes to help sojourners get back on their way. Luckily, we our vehicles did not force us to make use of their generosity.

Utah brought us the most adventure of the trip. The state greeted us with a steep mountain pass at the northeastern corner on I-80. The first test of our fully-loaded 17-foot U-Haul, which was also towing a car, was descending the 6% grade for 2 miles, without losing control. It made me a bit nervous, but the transmission and brakes were able to handle it.

As we drove through Utah on I-15, we realized that the freeway seemed to only follow the Great Basin, but avoided all the mountains. As we drove by mountain after mountain, their beckon became louder. We saw the depths of the Earth and now we had a chance to visit its heights. To do this, we had to leave the freeway and it’s implicit safety. We got off the freeway and took US-89 and state highway 143 to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument, near Cedar City. We didn’t know what it was, but heard from the locals it was beautiful and not too far out of our way. The steepness of the drive strained the U-Haul in many places as we ascended to what turned out to be an altitude of 10,460 feet.

The view at the top was breathtaking. The monument is a miniature canyon characterized by tall spires, intense colors and an energetic vortex where I saw a few winged spirits and dragons flying among the spikes and arches. The power was very intense, focused on such a small area. The majesty of the mountain kings rang loudly in the air as the living mountains themselves undulated and breathed, like the walls of the cave. We left offerings of tobacco to the mountain in a few places, as it is appropriate to leave gifts and offerings to spirits when visiting.

After leaving the Chessman Outlook at Cedar Breaks, we learned more about the test required to visit such royalty. The drive along state highway 148 down the mountain was as white-knuckled a drive as I’ve experienced in any blizzard during our years in Minnesota. Our loaded U-Haul + Towed Car was like trying to control a locomotive down the 6-8% grades that were common during that short drive.

It was definitely the short way down the mountain and I’m glad we didn’t try to climb the mountain using that road. The U-Haul could not have driven up it. There was frequently no shoulder at all and the lanes seemed narrower than normal. I’m sure oncoming cars were nervous when they saw me barrel around a corner at them, testing the quality of the transmission and the brakes. The total descent was about 15 miles toward Cedar City, but much of the intensity was in the first 5-8 miles. Naturally, I recommend anyone else wishing to visit to leave the U-Haul in Cedar City and just take a smaller vehicle up the mountain. And don’t even attempt it by car in the winter, as the signs clearly state that the road is not plowed.

The mountain offers a powerful experience but visiting royalty as this involves passing a test. You must be able to confront your fears and keep your head. The arrogant will make a fatal mistake and the mountain will have no mercy. Through this visit, I learned why many people are passionate mountain climbers. It is a life-or-death test between you and the mountain, though in our case the paved roads made it nothing like the test mountain climbers face.

After Utah, I-15 took us through a corner of Arizona that I think of as the Valley of the Giants (though it is officially known as the Virgin River Gorge). It was an exhilarating drive around the serpentine curves with the immense foothills rising up next to the road. It is a “forgotten” interstate in Arizona, as there are no paved roads that lead to it within that state. It demonstrates the awesome power water has to carve earth, as the road follows the gorge cut by the Virgin River.

After leaving the gorge at the Nevada state line, we were greeted very suddenly with dry desert (though it appears that residents of Mesquite and Las Vegas don’t know it’s a desert). In one day, the temperature for us went from about 50 degrees Fahrenheit at the top of Cedar Breaks to about 95 degrees in Las Vegas. It was quite a change.

The energy we felt there was that the spirits and environment are harsh and unforgiving, as in Wyoming, but that there is a much bigger fight between the people and the land. The people don’t want to accept the land as it is, but instead think they can irrigate their way into a tropical paradise. Unfortunately, I see the land winning this battle someday, as the desert will reclaim Las Vegas. Whenever people choose to fight the spirits or the land around them, they lose because of one thing Time. The land has millions of years to fight. The people have only scores. Though the people have the power of their technology to aid them, the desert has a power of its own that dwarfs the best technologies of man.

The Mojave Desert in southern California didn’t have such a conflict with the people living there as we saw in Nevada. It had a different sort of character. It almost felt like a surreal version of what we’re used to. For example, we stayed at a motel in Baker called Wills Fargo (yes, that is spelled as the sign said). Lunch at the Mad Greek restaurant (which was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) was a delicious and interesting comedy. The combination of their excellent food, strange and funny decor, and three kids who’ve traveled about 1500 miles made it into quite a lunch.

When we finally arrived at our new digs, we were more than ready to be done traveling. We now have electricity (which was turned off for a day due to a power company mix-up), internet access and are slowly adjusting to the new routines. We expect to start looking for a spiritual group soon as things finish settling.

Have you moved long-distance or taken a long trip with children? What was the journey like for you? Did it turn out to be a spiritual initiation for you? Feel free to leave a comment.