What I See...When I Look East

I have lived—off and on—on the same street for half a century. When you live in the same place for that long, you get used to the view. What we see looking west is incredible, the sunsets, the storm rolling in, but the mountains to the east are incredible, too—sometimes more so.

Tonight, the mountain displayed its autumn colors, not as brilliant as other years, but beautiful none the less. Ever since I was a little kid, there’s been some rock formations I’ve identified—they look like things to me. Maybe you’ll see them too, maybe not. That’s okay. We all see things differently.

Here’s what I saw tonight, and what I’ve seen so many times in the last five decades.

First...well, there’s Flag Rock. We have an excellent view of the formation. What impresses me most is that for a few miles north or south, if you’re at a certain elevation, Flag Rock rises like a huge stone pimple on the mountain face. It’s something many Farmingtonites know, like a stone lighthouse hundreds of feet above.

The next thing I see is what I think looks like an old football helmet. I call it the Football Helmet Rock Formation (original, I know...). The flat surface must be a shear wall, and big. I can’t see anything else when I look at it.

Then, there’s the rock formation above Patsy’s Mine. I’ve heard from many that the mine’s now sealed up. I’m sure they have their reasons for doing this and to them, the reasons are good. To me, I’m sad to know hundreds—maybe even thousands of kids—will no longer have the thrill of seeing just how deep they can venture into the mine before turning back.

There’s a couple of other things I see. A little south of those three I can spot what looks like an old craggy face. It wasn’t until the Harry Potter films came along that I realized the rock looks like a hat-less Sorting Hat. Still, it’s always had that crooked smile I love.

A little down from the face is another face. This time I see what could be a face—maybe a George Washington face—in the mountain. The eye socket and nose are definitely there.

And last, the hill is covered with huge fields of rocks, places where bigger rocks succumbed to nature and have gathered together. It’s hard to see from this angle, but I always thought this lower rock field looks like a running dog, some sort of terrier.

There’s so much I’m going to miss when we pack up and drive away later this week. This mountain and the things I see is definitely one of them.