"The China Pattern..."

...on my bread plate

at the historic El Tovar Lodge

seductively enticed me to capture her in my Zen journal.

The El Tovar, opened in 1905, as a Harvey House

and

is picturesquely situated just a mere

twenty feet from south rim of the Grand Canyon.

The hotel is one of only a handful of Harvey House facilities

that are still in operation,

and

it is an wonderful example of

National Park Service Rustic architecture.

Our table, dressed in crisp white linens, was fireside.

(Ahhh...so romantic!)

Crystal glasses, white china, and silver flatware

sparkled in the sunlight.

It was like stepping back in time.

The room was quietly bustling with activity.

It was elegant, yet, familiar.

Lyrical sounds of various foreign languages

could be softly heard here and there.

Our table instantly became

a welcome, warm and cozy respite from

our hiking along the rim.

It was a

a place to linger...and imagine...and wonder...

about the stories of the travellers

who, decades before us,

sat in our very same places...and, like us,

came here to

enjoy the majesty and inspiration of the canyon beyond.

It was an amazing experience.

We wanted to stay and continue to soak it all in.

I just had to have something

to take back home with me as a remembrance.

Hence, this simple drawing.

She was drawn "ink straight in" (a bit wonky in places)

during our wonderful little lunch and,

by the date,

you can tell that it was made

last fall when we visited the Canyon.

I cannot believe it is just now that this piece

is seeing the light of day!

November seems like eons ago...

funny, how this drawing brings back memories

that feel like

they happened only yesterday!

Time certainly has her way with us!

"Faith is trust

in what the spirit learned
eons ago."
~B.H. Roberts