On Easter Sunday, Aggie and I headed for "the canyons of home" to find some necessary solitude and time to clear a few cobwebs from the mind. We hadn't been there for a couple of years and just needed to look into those canyons to appreciate the beauty and to realize once again how very fortunate some of us were to discover the world from there.

As usual our first stop was at lma so we could walk to the canyon rim and look across at the remains of Grandmother's house. Of course, I don't see the remains because I travel back to the days when it was such a beautiful place in those canyons. I see the people sitting on the porch, hear the echoes of their laughter in the canyons, and just rejoice in a whole batch of wonderful memories.

We then drove to the road to that house and stopped there to eat our lunch. We walked  down that road only a few feet because one of us no longer does much climbing. As always, I had to throw some rocks at certain targets and became much aware of age as distance and accuracy seemed to have disappeared. While eating a snack, I looked across at Ima and could still see the old store and house in my mind. I could also imagine Uncle Burnace walking between those two buildings and pausing to wave at me to return the hello I used to holler across that canyon.

Calm began to descend as we sat there and became comfortable with memories.

For a few minutes, I could push a little tension aside and just relax in the surrounding beauty. Such feelings are to be cherished because they are rather rare.

We then drove to the rim of the Alamogordo Valley to look into the distance. I decided to drive down the lma Hill and chase a few other memories. Well, the last time I had driven down that hill, the road to the foot was paved, but the pavement ended shortly thereafter. I could see it extending into the distance and decided to follow that ribbon of highway. Much to my amazement, we crossed the valley, went up Jones Hill, and stopped on the West Plains to turn around. Obviously, I had missed a major happening in that area.

As I have pointed out through the years, I have always been just a little behind the times, but learning that I was over a decade behind really caused me to pause. I still don't know how I missed that bit of history or why I hadn't taken that drive in so long. I know I have looked into the valley almost every time I've been out home, but I was usually looking at various landmarks without noting that paved highway stretching into the distance. Actually, I am rather pleased that I am so slow because I was able to have an exciting drive across that valley and thoroughly enjoyed every mile and every memory along the way. Catching up can be great fun!

Lynn Moncus is a Tucumcari resident and can be contacted through the Quay County Sun at 461-1952.