I’ve dreamt of visiting this place since I was a kid... never did that dream involve rain! We started the hike from our campsite and less than an hour later we were at the trailhead. 3,000+ steps carved of stone, ascending more than a thousand feet from the valley floor. Every step slick with morning rain. The rain never stopped that day. It was a lesson in letting go. Every 15 minutes or so, the clouds disappeared and we caught a glimpse of the whole site. It is even more beautiful than I’d imagined all these years. I took surprisingly few photos, my attention focused on feeling the place. I’ll never forget what it felt like to stand on top of that mountain carved of stone, perhaps the largest work of art I’ve ever seen, built in only a century. This llama seemed to be taking it all in, too.