Photo by Jessica Fryman/Originally published in the Las Vegas Review Journal's View

I have lived in Vegas my entire life, so naturally, I have visited the nearby Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area dozens of times.

But today I really noticed its beauty.

I don’t mean I’ve never thought the canyon was remarkable before, but today — I really soaked it in.

I drove past the canyon on the way to Blue Diamond, Nev., for an assignment about the town’s humble history.

I spent the nearly hour-long drive listening to Band of Horses and Iron & Wine through my headphones, unable to stop staring at the red backdrop as I grew further and further from the cityscape.

A little early to meet my source, I stopped at the Blue Diamond park and played with the wild burros.

Photo by Jessica Fryman

At least a dozen were out this morning and the babies came right up to me, nuzzling their faces into my shirt as I tried to snap photos. I swear some of them even modeled for my camera.

The weather was perfect, a sunny day but much cooler being off the city’s blacktop. Not a cloud touched the sky.

After my interview, I drove up the street to the gypsum plant for another meeting before heading back to the narrow highway toward the conservation area. A separate assignment would take me through the canyon in the afternoon.

This time, I turned my headphones off and just took it in: the moon still glowing in the afternoon light, the desolate road, the birds skipping alongside the gravel and especially the enormous red, red, red rocks.

I stopped to take some pictures, wanting to savor the moment and beauty around me. I got a few decent shots, but they still don’t seem to do the scene justice.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m older now, or if I just was having some Zen connection with nature this time, but I was just completely taken aback. Maybe it’s because it was my first visit to the canyon alone, unable to be distracted by conversations on other topics. Maybe it was a combination of all that.

Photo by Jessica Fryman/Originally published in the Las Vegas Review Journal's View

Whatever the reason, I really noticed.

The grooves wound across the rocks in a hundred shades of red until they met the pure blue sky. It was perfect.

I thought about a concept one of my favorite college professors really focused on a few months ago: There is only one today. There is only one July 21, 2011, so pay attention, soak it in — be present — mind, body and soul.

It’s true that too often, we’re not really living in the moment — preoccupied with thoughts of work or planning something for tomorrow — too busy to notice nature’s true beauty, or a friend’s inner disappointments, or maybe our own.

Today I visited a place I have seen too many times to count. But today I finally noticed it — I finally experienced the majestic Red Rock Canyon in its full beauty, for all its worth.

From now on, this is how I will experience my life: by soaking it in. Really living.

—JDF