168. Magic Valley Camp

168.

Magic Valley, Lebanon:

I gather twigs and make a small campfire while the daylight fades. I heat some canned beans and make some coffee. Flickering firelight peoples the rough cliff above me with faces and when some of them seem to scowl, I turn them to smiles.

The night is silent except for the low chuckling of the stream. The moon rises like a white searchlight and I gather some more firewood, then drift peacefully off to sleep on the clean sand.

~~~

Morning: Cowboy coffee (coffee grounds boiled in a can-full of water), bread and honey for breakfast.

It’s great to be alone and in the wild again.

I exercise, hopping from rock to rock in the riverbed.

I am much weaker than I was when I left Hawaii but I am determined to regain my strength and health.

I discover a nearby pool paved with smooth stones; perfect for bathing with a natural stone ledge a few steps away just right for reading and soaking up sunlight.

The natural limestone blocks tumbled into this canyon have the appearance of the building stones of a construction so ancient that they can no longer be identified as worked stones, but to me, it seems that some uncanny energy fills this valley. I explore a little of the more of my surroundings and discover other caves tantalizingly sealed with rock walls.

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