In the mountains high above the hustle & bustle of Southern Cali, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the air is cool & inviting & a little boy with walking stick in hand, wants to take a HIKE!
He wants to lead an expedition into the wilderness in search of a HEART...
Ya wanna come along???
He considers himself to be a professional & has all & any emergency equipment that may be required, stowed away in his Star Wars backpack. He has packed an army thermos with water, a rice krispy treat, 1 fruit snack & some pizza sticks. These are the rations we will survive on in the event that we get lost in this wilderness, but fear not, I have complete faith in our guide. He just LOOKS like he KNOWS what he's doing!
In an attempt to prove his prowess on the trail, he climbs to the top of some towering boulders & yells out to the group, "Monga, take a picture of me on this rock!", which I immediately do. Now remember, he's got all the FOOD!
He shimmy's into a hollowed out area of a huge pine tree, thinking this could be the perfect place to hide if a sudden storm blows over us. We all agree it's a great shelter, but I am keenly aware that the only person who will be safe from the freezing winds & rain & lightening strikes, will be him.
He says "Listen, I here water!".
Looking down from the trail we see the river that will eventually lead us to...
Finding Heart!
Along the way, he took a minute to be photographed with a local LEGEND...
Jeremiah Johnson, who also goes by the alias of Grandpa.
After what felt like a mile or two of hiking forest trails, the sound of rushing water could be heard echoing through the trees. We stopped breathless for a moment, knowing we had to be close to
Finding Heart.
And then, there it was...
a piece of rock, made by time, in the perfect shape of a HEART!.
Magic, made by billions of drops of water over the course of millions of years,
in my own backyard.
Having arrived safely to our destination, our guide went off in search of the perfect skipping stone, leaving us to simply sit back & enjoy the view. Now these pictures are deceiving...the drop is probably about 75 ft & the other side of the river is about 50 ft across. In this picture you can see the wheels in Jeremiah's head spinning, as I had just commented on what a shame it was that the piece of wood was stuck in the pool, ruining the beauty of every one's photographs.
How was I to know after taking this picture & wandering away for a while to play in the river, that Jeremiah was hatching a plan.
Returning to my vista point, camera in hand, I was completely surprised to see this...no WOOD!!
Yes, my man had scaled down the rocky crag, crossed the swiftly moving waters, climbed up onto the rock wall above the heart pool, found a long, strong stick, sat in the hole in the rock above the heart & patiently & slowly worked the wood out of the pool & down into the river below, so he could take this picture of me sitting on the opposite side with a PERFECT Heart Shaped Pool behind me.
Now that's LOVE!
And I could take a picture of my baby with the perfect heart shaped pool behind her & she could take a picture of her baby with the...oh, sorry. Our guide shed huge crocodile tears cuz he was too scared to sit on the rock & was certain he would fall to his death into the river below. I have the up most faith in our guide, but I do have remember...
he's only 5! ;)
Tears wiped away with promises of no more death defying pictures, happiness returns to our guide as we gather up our equipment {Star Wars backpack} & head back out to where our journey began.
Discovering an ancient cave dwelling, our guide finds a rock just his size that works perfectly as a recliner & yells out, "Monga, take a picture of me on this rock!" I obligingly comply.
Thanks so much Sweet Hearts, for coming along with us on our quest.
And to leave you with the moral of this story, as ALL of my stories have some kind of moral, LOL
it would have to be this...
when in need of FINDING HEART, don't forget to look in your own BACKYARD!
There may be some MAGIC waiting there just for you to find it!
{having just read this story to Kai, he insists on one change...
THE END
& he typed it himself! lol}
XOXO
vintagesusie
