The Authentic Eclectic

Tigress of the Shrubland (6)

Now when I lowered myself onto a rock, for I had been some time in gradual descent and far in the distance, like a mirage, a green haze rose with promise, a small grey lizard, like an anole, scriggled ahead of me in flight and disappeared down a crack.

Tigress of the Shrubland (1)

Tigress of the Shrubland (5)

I began to look beyond to the next boulder when something about the crack snared my gaze: it was too uniform. On closer inspection, I found a perfect square cut into the rock. There was no end of rock slivers and chunks of varying sizes, and with a quick search I was able to find one thin enough to fit into the crack to use as a lever and raise the slab, though my tool snapped before I achieved my end. Returning with two similar rocks, I managed at last to pry the hatch upward and get my hand around it. I only had to move it a few inches before dropping its heavy weight and sliding it aside.

Public Domain: https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-henry-twachtman/morning-glory-pool-yellowstone