Outdoor Recreation

utdoor Recreation

Enfolded in darkness, the child in my mind yearns to be startled. Tonight I'm unable to make out my own hands or the bumpy ground below me or even the nervous horse I'm riding. People are near, but I know this only by sound: the anxious snuffling of their horses and the murmuring meant to comfort the animals but belying human uneasiness. We wind slowly around Moqui Step Mesa in Monument Valley. I hear muffled cries ahead of me and strain to see, one half of my mind dreading the source, the child half hoping it is bizarre proof of Monument Valley's unworldly energy. Perhaps it is an Anasazi phantom like the humpbacked Kokopelli, beckoning with his flute; or a shadowy Navajo ghost, doomed to hellish wandering.

Suddenly, I know what stirred the cries. My horse is falling forward. We have come to the edge of something, and it's going over! Is it a treacherous ridge or no more than a wash bank? I don't know. Blind trust in my horse keeps me from shrieking while I wait to land. In seconds, it strikes solid ground, stumbles, but finally finds Its footing. After a deep breath, I readjust myself in the saddle and stirrups, then rein in the horse until I regain composure. The wind tonight is slight and comes in drifts of warm and cool. It carries an unusual fragrance: sweet but light, cinnamony and fresh; a desert bush blooming in the dark. I think of asking someone to identify it but decide talking will break the spell.

We move on, and I notice a silvery haze above the mesa. I keep my watch, and the haze brightens. Now it is a silver halo crowning a monolith. In minutes it is a veritable searchlight so shiny it dulls the stars. Then I see it what I came for: a beautiful full moon.

THE ULTIMATE ESCAPE: A TRAIL RIDE BY MOONLIGHT THROUGH MONUMENT VALLEY

After two days on this week-long ride, I returned to camp this Afternoon wanting nothing so much as a soft bed and a heatThen Don Donnelly, outfitter and guide for the trek, piqued my imagination.

"It's a full moon tonight," he said. "If you don't feel like a ride, you don't have to go, but . . ."

I could imagine it: on horseback in eerie Monument Valley, surrounded by strangers, each of us finding our way by the light of a full moon. What were the chances of this adventure coming my way again? Sleep could wait.

Now, the blackness before us is transformed and startling. With the moon above us but still behind the more towering monuments, the expanse ahead has life, and the child in my mind creates its origin.

WHEN YOU GO

Horse trails through some of Arizona's finest scenic country are being created continually in response to the needs of a growing community of riders. And along with this increasing interest in equitation, outfitters have developed a variety of horseback vacations. Singles, married folks, and families tour our parks and monuments for several days, a week, 10 days, or combine their ride with other special events, such as river running or just plain sight-seeing.

A State Trails Guide published by the State Parks Board can be purchased for $9.50, including shipping and handling, by calling (602) 542-4174.

Information about trails and rides also can be obtained from the Arizona State Horsemans Association at (602) 258-2708.

I see an enormous starry parlor in the universe. Seated in it are a dozen dark-haired maidens, their fingers busy with glinting needles, sewing together hundreds of giant patches. They finish and rise. Taking hold of the corners and sides of their work, they look down to Earth and find Monument Valley. They release the patchwork, and it falls gently. It finds its place before us, right here under the full moon. It is a giant quilt with alternating patches of deep black-ness and silver filigree. It blankets the world, shimmering where the moon finds the Valley and creating lengthy shadows where it hides behind the mountains.

Stroking my horse in the silvery light, the child in my mind is content.