smells like the arroyo

There’s a distinct smell down in the Arroyo. I noticed it this morning on my run. It’s smelled the same down there for my whole life. Smells are pretty good for triggering memory and whenever I smell the Arroyo I’m reminded of a summer camp that I went to down in the upper Arroyo when I was like 8 years old. We mostly wandered around and built forts and rode horses and went swimming in creeks and such. Very Tom Sawyer-esque. I can’t quite place what the smell is – probably a combination of plants and water and horses – it’s sorta like a mild sweetness with just a touch of bitter. I hadn’t noticed it for a while. I think it was noticeable today because I was up on Brown yesterday and last week. And Brown smells different than the Arroyo. It’s a bit surprising because they’ve got a lot of the same plants and they’re very close to each other – it’s all the same watershed. But as soon as you hit the mountains it doesn’t smell like the Arroyo anymore. Heading back down there tomorrow. Arroyo Arroyo Arroyo…