SANDIA WILDERNESS--Ken rests for a moment near Mickey's Tree. Near him is a small shrine that he left a month ago on the boulder: a few pine needles, a small rock. It is not a time to feel sad; it is a time to wonder, to be awed at the spectacle of life and change.

We can leave now. Some of us are refreshed, some purged, some just tired. All of us grateful to know that this part of our existence is forever ours.