A Fathers Day Adventure

 

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, when we receive the biggest hit of the blessings from Father Sun for our health and spiritual evolution.  Of course, this is for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!  I did a bowl burning in my lovely little back yard last night, and also refreshed and fed my shaman’s mesa during the day.  The mesa gets run through the flames of the fire as an additional blessing. I do my ceremony quietly so as not to disturb the neighbors, but I am always astounded that at night, it is quieter here than at my previous home out in the country in Colorado. 

Today was Fathers Day.  My father has been gone for 25 years, so I honored him today with a few kind thoughts.  A number of years after his passing, during my shamanic training, I was able to do the Shamanic Death Rites for him as a class demonstration.  This was to ensure that he was not stuck anywhere on his way to the place where he could start to plan his next reincarnation.  I used to check in on him regularly, but in 2014, found out that he had reincarnated, as I could no longer find him in the world between lifetimes.  Blessings to you, Daddy, wherever you may be! 

So today, as I am still exploring all of the great hiking opportunities in my area, I drove up into the mountains to a trailhead that led to a place called Cascade Falls.  This is a well known attraction, and is usually crowded, so I got up to the trail by 9:30, and there was only one other car there at that time.  By the time I got back to the parking lot after the hike, it was totally full.  I was happy to see many fathers out in nature with their little ones enjoying an outing, and giving mom a break at home! 

The destination water fall is a drainage outlet for Navajo Lake, where water comes rushing out of a hole in the side of a rock wall.  There is an observation platform there, but this is where the trail dead ends.  The 3/4 mile trail starts out level enough through a forest, but the last part approaching the waterfall made me a little bit nervous.   It goes up and down in some pretty steep areas.  Look at the photos below to see why I was apprehensive.  In the first one, you can barely see the trail!

Here is Cascade Falls. 

On my way back home, I stopped at the Duck Creek Visitors Center, which is in the mountain town where the road to the trailhead begins, and had a nice chat with the woman manning the desk.  For summer hiking, this area is the place to go, so I will be coming back often to try different trails.  Even though the trails are not as high in elevation as the ones that I hiked in Colorado, it will be a great way to get out of the heat.