Jack Balas, 2021; PIKE'S PEAK (#2121); India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches

TEXT:
Back in high school I spent a summer at an aunt and uncle's in Colorado Springs, and one day my cousin and I drove up to the top of Pike's Peak. I was into souvenirs so I took some rocks from the tippy-top and put them in a film box, labeled it July 1, 1972. These days I don't live a thousand miles away anymore, so I can see Pike's Peak easily a hundred miles away, poking above the horizon. My plan is to next July take a drive back up there and put the rocks back. Thus will the peak be restored to its former elevation. (14,110 ft.)

additional texts:
Rocks from summit of Pike's Peak 7-1-72. Largest rock from the Very Highest point. Mosquito from studio, 7-31-2021. Splat. (Realood, B.T.W.)