Mother Nature's Fury

Those of you who know me know that I love anything outdoors-y.  Hiking, camping, skiing, snowshoeing… if you can name it, I probably do it.  There is just something about being in the wild that clears my head and makes me feel alive.  And, while I know that all of my favorite activities involve a certain level of risk, it’s easy to forget this when I’m out there having fun.  But then, something happens to reminds me that bad things can happen.  While Mother Nature is beautiful and amazing, she also has an unpredictably vicious temper.  Two of my friends were recently canyoneering in Zion National Park and found themselves caught in an unexpected rainstorm and, subsequently, a flash flood.  By pure luck, they were OK.  If they had been rappelling, or even near the edge of the cliff, they wouldn’t have had a chance when the water came.  Thank heavens they were able to climb to higher ground!  The party behind them wasn’t so lucky.  They were swept over a 120-foot drop, and had to be airlifted out of the canyon.  Scary!  Anyway, I’m including this link to the YouTube video of the incident.  Check it out.  It’s a great reminder that we need to respect Mother Nature’s power.