Kamp KOA, Part III

Let me jump into a tangent before I jump into the rest of the post.

I want to give a huge Heavy M shoutout to my cousin, Professor Grau, for pointing me in the direction of Edmund Burke's philosophy on the sublime and the beautiful. In essence, Burke argues that The Beautiful aesthetic evokes emotions of tenderness, ease, and relaxation. The Sublime aesthetic, on the other hand, is only ever experienced by humans when they behold something so grand, massive, even dangerous, that it strains the senses. The Beautiful and The Sublime can never be synonymous; one comes from comfort and guides the body into a state of affection whereas the other springs from a sense of danger and causes the body to tense up.

I will definitely be reading more into this because it really does explain the diminishment I experience while out in nature - specifically at Shoshone Point in the Grand Canyon.

Burke's philosophy can also explain one's draw into - and fascination with - the horror genre. Paradoxically, one can be drawn into the realm of fear, pain, disgust, and grotesque because they are decoupled from actual physical pain. Although one's body can physically react to the perceived realism of the horror of literature or film, our bodies also perceive its frame (the page, the screen) and its border; the body initiates the senses of self-preservation but also knows there's no real physical danger. The perceived peril coexisting with the knowledge of personal safety transforms the panic into a sublime thrill; a sense of euphoria for some.

And maybe that sublime thrill... that shrinking of myself... maybe that's something I'm chasing? I'll tell you what: to behold something so vast, so incomprehensible to the senses (landscapes that are so foreign to the everyday experience; physical features only seen in photos and drawings brought to life before your very eyes), so... alien... while also being of Earth?

It's wild. It's exhilarating.

I guess it's sublime.

Ok, tangent over.

Our next day was a trip into Sedona. What was a little unexpected and kinda threw off the groove? THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO HAD THE SAME IDEA WE HAD!

Holy smokes the traffic was off the hook! The crowds were wild. Just people freaking everywhere!

Which turned finding parking into not the funnest thing on earth. Especially in the heat...

We still got to climb on some red rocks and even ended the say chilling by a stream. "Chilling" doing some heavy lifting since we really found spots about five feet away from other groups who were also about five feet from other groups... It was a busy day!

I'm not implying in any way whatsoever, though, that it wasn't a great time. It was just a different vibe compared to the quiet day we had at the Grand Canyon (except at the visitor's center with the crowds). I do love my journeys into nature to be as minimally populated as possible.

But I also recognize that when I'm stuck in traffic, I, too, am the traffic.

Grateful for a chance to cool off in a stream because boy did it get hot!

We were good responsible folk who ate all the food we brought with us. I think if we tried to stop in the downtown area to eat it would have been practically impossible, however, because I am not lying when I say the place was crawling with people. Like... cars and cars and cars and cars just everywhere.

Sedona's infrastructure was not prepared!

We made it back to camp with enough sunlight to enjoy a nice campfire dinner, some s'mores, some games, and then a deep rest before the next day's trek back home.

And just like that, our camping trip was done.

Until next time, folks!