What we leave Behind

During my two year mission in the state of Arizona I have happen to take part in many adventures on our days off from doing missionary work, in which our days off were every Monday if I'm not mistaken. At the time I was serving in an area called Miami, one of the oldest mining towns in central Arizona, next to it was another mining town called Globe and not far from there was the Apache Indian Reservation. North of these lands is Lake Roosevelt, and with in these lands around the lake is the perfect place for adventures.

My companion Elder Dodds and I were assigned to a church ward there in Miami, and a man who was part of the Bishopric of that ward decided to take us on an adventure on one of our Mondays. This man I speak of will be called Doc in this article, because unfortunately I have forgotten his name. Doc first took us to a small visitors center off the shores of Lake Roosevelt, it was filled with the history and geography of these very lands.

We then after decided to stop for lunch in a lodge in a trailer park. At first I expected a regular restaurant in a near by town but surprisingly for a trailer park lodge the burgers and fries were great. After we had a bite to eat Doc took us somewhere as he originally planned, a place called the Cliff Dwellings. We later drove up to the national monument where there was another visitors center. Me being a lover of museums; visitors centers are just as a joy for me. Before we walked inside a view in back of the visitors center was the out skirts of a very large hill, and I could see that with in the walls of this hill it looked like a cave, I assume that was our destination.

Our time at the visitors center soothed my curiosity, every exhibit in this place educated its visitors of the ancient ruins with in these caves. The ancient ruins were built by hand over a thousand years ago by an ancient people called the Salado Indians. All around this region of mountains were filled with these cliff Dwellings, and they were said to be home to these ancient Indians long ago, and they used clay and concrete to build these ancient structures with their own hands. Not sure why they were built but my thinking was it was for their safety from any danger that they might have cross paths with down below these high hills. I learned all of this from the film exhibit in the visitors center, and it was indeed a warm welcoming presentation.

It was then that Dodds and I began our small hike, but Doc decided to stay behind and wait for us " I'll be here at the visitors center. Go on ahead boys, I want y'all to enjoy yourselves take as long as you like but not too long. Don't worry about me I'll be fine, I'm too old to be hiking anyway" said Doc. We proceeded without him, the path we walked upon was made of a smooth concrete which had a sand color to it.

If I recall correctly I believe it was a fifteen minute hike up to the structures according to my journal entrees, but it felt longer, but knowing my body type that would make sense, I guess for big people even the simple things are difficult. Luckily for me eventhough I been big for most of my life I was always active, that's the joy of being adventurous. As we hiked higher up the trail I could see the top of one of the tower structures of these ruins.

We were told that higher into this mountain range were even larger ruins, we were told they were so vast that it's view was of an ancient city carved with in the mountain. Unfortunatly we were only able to visit one of the smaller cliff dwellings because it was closer to the main road, and we also had a time limit, but no matter how big or small any ancient relic remains every one of them is worthy of being looked upon with wonder. Being the hot state that Arizona is, it was one of those moments where I had to tough it out and press forward for the exciting destination. As we made our way to the end of the trail the a jovial feeling got the best of me that I forgot how tired I was from this hike. There it was, an ancient relic of the very ruins that Doc and other Arizonians had spoke of.

I was marveled by the craftsmanship knowing that even for an ancient folk these Salado Indians were quite clever in the ancient days. These ruins had the look of a stone house with rooms and small windows. You can easily tell where these indians must of slept, dined, and worked, there were also thick wooden rods embedded in these walls looking as if they were used for roofing or hanging things like the rods you hang clothes on in a closet. These rods were a dark brown color and looked very ancient, unfortunately I couldn't tell what kind if wood it was made of.

The time that Dodds and I spent in these ruins was like a time machine moment just imagining what this home might of been like during its prime. Though there was something that amazed me about these ruins that many would see to be unimportant and small, what I'm about to share with you readers is no matter of little importance but it gives these ruins it's full purpose.

We were not allowed to touch the walls of these ruins, but as I looked closely to some of these walls there were fingerprints embedded in them. Every line and detail that you see on your own figers were the exact print in these remains. It looked as if these prints were put there right at that second when Dodds and I stood there, but these prints were here all this time during those thousand years.

It became very quiet upon that hill top, it was a peaceful silence. At that very moment Dodds and I had no words, but I never told him what I had heard in the air at that moment, but I will now tell you readers that what I thought I heard was a faint sound of tribal chanting, a chant in an ancient tongue that I had never heard before in which I assume was of an old language of the Salado Indians. Not sure these were my own thoughts but I kept getting thoughts in my head of a family that may have lived in these ruins singing this chant.

The feelings I was getting was a welcoming vibe, a feeling as of you were sitting on your grandpa's lap as he told you a story that made your day. It was a warm feeling that got the best of me as I looked out into the beautiful view from that hilltop of the Roosevelt Lake. The cactus valleys beyond the Lakes shore, and the mountains, and hills that stood tall and strong in the distance. As always even though it may have been blazing hot it was a beautiful day.

It was then time for us to depart from this unforgettable land. It was a slightly sad moment to leave the cliff Dwellings but as a way to remember this trip we stopped by the visitors center again to see the gift shop and I came across a plushy of a Javelina Pig which I purchased, I mean everyone loves stuffed animals. On our way home I pondered something very important, that what I've learned standing in those ruins gazing upon the finger prints in those walls is simply " Look what they left behind". Simple as that, the Salado Indians had left behind a peace of history of their time to tell a story, their story.

To look back and see where the world was and where it is now, this simple lesson that we can apply to our own personal lives. Many who lived before us left something for us to admire, could we do the same thing? That's up to you, what will you leave behind? Or, How would you want to be remembered? What will you leave behind that will benefit others? What can you accomplish that will help others in the future learn about life?

All these questions I ask myself everyday and just like you readers I still trying to live my best life, and that's all we can do. Despite all the sickening things that happen in our world today there are ways we can go about our business and see that there are good things in this world, I feel we should start by seeing it in a different perspective than our own. Many say we do the good things by building a foundation, something that will help us work our way up to build something grand, just like the Salado Indians, they built a home, lived in it, and who knows what else they have done other than what archeologists have taught us so far. We may never know. What we do know is that this ancient folk left something behind as a reminder to us.

What can we build now to continue to make it a unique world. Some say that we can't change the world unless we change ourselves, now that is a solid truth. I have found that we can change ourselves by counting our blessings, I mean not looking at what we don't have but to see what we do have, and sometimes that's hard to do, I know because I've struggled with it myself. I have found that when we do count our blessings that we will find the beautiful things in this world.

We also must be open minded and be aware that we may do things for the wrong reason, or we try to do good things but we end up doing it the wrong way. When that happens most of the time we don't notice it until the very last minute, we must be cautious. We can't control what other people do, all we can do is love them, or mind our own buisness, and most importantly work on ourselves. If we feel we have made a mistake there is always time to fix it and move on. I'm sure the Salado Indians had things happen to them that they tried to prevent, but seeing these ruins in this wilderness some how tells me that they endured so much, that can remind us that we can be strong enough to over come life's adversaries, and when you do just know that it is only happening to make you stronger.

I invite all of you readers to ponder on what was said in this story. I thank you for reading and coming along on this journey down memory lane with me, and I hope it was worth the read. I will conclude with this: What will you build? What will be your foundation? What will you leave behind? The adventure is ahead, stay on the path, and see what you find.