SFM #80: USA. Rock Mimicry

Star Ferry Musing #80:  Rocks Mimic Life

Written by Robert Wu for his family and friends
To read all articles, please access:  http://www.starferrymusings.com/

If you wish to discontinue receiving SFM articles, please drop me a line.
如您不想收這些文章, 請告知.

******************************************

Three days after a long driving trip, Sally and I are getting accustomed to living in our own home and sleeping in our own bed.  The trip drew a big loop around the western part of USA, took 4 weeks to complete, and added 7,000 miles to our car.  It will be a long time before we take another grueling trip like this again.

We traveled through many national parks in dry raw lands.  We saw outstanding rock formations in Arches, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and Petrified Forest National Parks.  Many of them are gigantic pieces of rocks that are hundreds of feet tall, and they have shapes that mimic people, scenes, animals, and well-known characters.

1. Animals

This rock has already been given the name of sheep rock.  It looks like a tame sheep taking a nap.

This outcropping looks like a sharp beaked hawk staring down at unsuspecting tourists.

This piece of rock looks like a hare with its long ears lowered.

But from a slightly different angle, the rock looks like a pig with a flat snout.

These look like three emperor penguins huddled together suffering from sub-zero Antarctic wind.

This looks like a T rex dinosaur on the prowl.

2. People

A regal lady seems to be viewing the landscape with her two companions.

A distraught man lies on a hill and buries his head in the sand.

A bar scene where a group of friends laugh at a joke.  They should share the joke with the rest of us.

Another bar scene where some laughed and others grimaced.

On top of a cliff, one man is ready to commit suicide as his tough-looking friend behind him says: “don’t jump, don’t jump”.

A retired boxer still suffers from his broken nose.

This old man carried his big mole on his chin all his life, and is oblivious to its presence.

A mountain-sized Gulliver lies quietly in the land of Lilliput, being tied down by invisible ropes.

Gulliver looks half amused, half angry.  Baking in the hot sun for a million years can ruin one’s good humor.

His raised hand seems to be asking for water or some relief from boredom.

Getting no response, his other hand gives the finger to the Lilliputians holding him down.

This man sits on his throne and seems to be suffering from constipation.

While a relieved man walks away from a big dump he just made.

3. Mimicry

This slender rock reminds us of Queen Nefertiti.  She seems to be enjoying a snack.

This beautiful 3,400 year old bust of Queen Nefertiti is being kept in a German museum, and Egypt is asking for its return.


(From web)

A natural statue hundreds of feet tall stands on a hill top, resembling the armless statue of Venus de Milo.

From another angle, she appears very well endowed.

The real statue of Venus de Milo pales in comparison to the gigantic natural statue.


(From web)

This pile of rocks look like a congregation of scholars dressed in the graceful traditional Chinese hanfu (漢服) robes.

These young men are trying to revive hanfu in the Chinese culture.


(From web)

This rock reminds us of a famous landmark in Hong Kong.

The Amah Rock (望夫石) stands on a peak in Hong Kong, according to legend, waiting for her husband to return from his fishing trip.


(From web)

An ominous outcrop peers from behind a cliff, reeking with malevolent intentions.

It reminds us of Gollum, the Lord of the Ring character with split personality.


(From web)

Another ominous rock formation reminds me of the Star Wars villain, Darth Vader.

Darth Vader, in his evil presence.


(From web)

Another evil character of Star Wars, Jabba the Hut, is accompanied by Princess Leia in stone.

The real, as real as the movie is real, Jabba the Hut and his slave Princess Leia.


(From web)

But these ominous feelings are erased by this cute rendering of Snoopy and Woodstock.

Snoopy and Woodstock.

(From web)

This sculpted hill with its extended claws reminds us of our trip to Egypt where we saw the statue of the Sphinx.

The real Sphinx.


(From web)

The most astonishing piece of rock we saw is this cylindrical column balancing on a tiny pedestal.

It resembles the weird bronze sculptures recovered in SanXingDui (三星堆) in SiChuan (四川).  The origin and history of the culture that created these weird sculptures are still unknown, and they were very different from the Han Chinese culture of China proper.


(From web)

Author: Robert Wu

Two engineering and one business degrees, all from NYU. National president of Organization of Chinese Americans, two terms. General manager of a multinational corporation in China. Retired but still active. Married to a wonderful wife, one son & one daughter.

2 thoughts on “SFM #80: USA. Rock Mimicry”

  1. Whatever it is you are drinking (tequila?) in order to imagine these images…I’ll have a double!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *