02/09/2026
A love letter from the desert. A sacred moment in the midst of a beautiful, long walk in the sun. To see the Utah big horns always feels like rare gift, but this moment was something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
We hiked miles and miles without seeing a soul, but kept criss-crossing their pathways, pointing out prints and signs they’d been nearby. We’d marveled at the wonder of the desert; the way, at times, it feels like we’re being spoken to when we sit quietly with the rocks, trees, and the crisp air. We wondered aloud if maybe, somehow, we’ve spent enough time out here listening to begin hearing a language that often goes ignored.
Then, in the middle of a peak moment of awe, my brother froze, gasped, and pointed into the field. Startlingly close to us, nine Big Horn Sheep looked up unbothered by our presence. My body was instantly covered in chills. We spent the next 20 or so minutes in silence, watching, walking slowly down our trail. The females & younglings ran off in front of us, seeking safety in the scree. The four males watched, nonchalant but aware. We whispered to each other, and eventually to them, expressing that we were just passing through, thanking them for being here, thanking them for allowing us to witness.
In the final moments before we dipped below a hill and they left our sight, they were on the horizon with blue sky behind, back-lit by the sun. When they’d look directly at us, the white of their cheeks blended with the sky and they looked…not of this world. It felt like looking at a spirit, at a soul, more than a being or body. We both commented how at this angle, they looked exactly like the depictions of Big Horn Sheep we’ve seen in petroglyphs all across this area. It was like getting a glimpse into an artist’s muse, like seeing so clearly the exact views seen by humans hundreds of years before us, the perspective they saw that led them to include these creatures in their expressions on the rocks. It was phenomenal. A spiritual and yet fully grounded earthly experience I’ll never, ever forget. A gift.
thank you for the hike. Walking in the desert with you is one of the greatest joys of my life 🏜️
