Uluru

How to start a journal entry after having just watched the sun rise on one of the natural world's best known, and most majestic sights...

As red as the desert soil, Uluru dominates the landscape.

It looks settled and comfortable after its awkward exit from the earth so many years ago...
It's a giant.
In the dark it seems to be curled up, taking a nap before the heat becomes too much to sleep.
The slightest nudge could wake the giant, and who knows how it will react to that!
As the sky lifts, the giant warms to its surroundings...greeting the scrub bushes, morning birds, and camera-happy tourists with a wide, red smile.
It has gotten use to this routine.
Shining so evenly in the bright sunlight - giving up few secrets as eager early-risers clamber to its side.
The giant shifts, and massive wrinkles form on its' surface, folding years of wind and light into deep waterfalls and practiced smile lines.
The sun is hot, but the giant makes sure to shade at least one part of itself at all times. It rinses its toes in the shallow pools that collect at its base, and looks to the faint desert breeze for cooling.
Creatures of all kinds come to the giant for one purpose or another. Some for energy, some for adventure, some for healing, and some to simply be proven wrong.
The giant has been witness to the goings-on both above and below the crust of the earth for centuries.
There is mystery in nature, and the giant understands that this is why it exists: to stand as an example of the power it took to create this world in the first place, and to testify to the glory and might of it.
It's a big job, but this is a big giant.
And although it looks as if the giant is resting, its job is continuous.
From the break of first dawn, to the deep, crimson sunset - the giant is a beacon of majesty.
It is proof to all who gaze upon its' written ridges, caves, and pools, that this giant is an emotional canvas.
One that will continue to guard the red sands and early risers for years to come...

-A.L