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Short and Sweet

12/19/2012

The day began with me wanting to return to the sound healing center. When we arrived it was before opening hours, so we went for something to eat at the Red Planet Café, an alien themed restaurant. It was certainly an interesting experience. One of the waiters was full of information about UFO’s and other abnormal activity in the area. After lunch, we returned to the healing center, however it still wasn’t open, so we took this as a sign that the information I was going to inquire about was not ready for me to
receive at this time.

We decided to take a short ride. Judy found a wonderful, secluded area outside of Sedona with Oak Creek meandering along. After a short hike I felt the need to play Beverly.
The creek had such an inspiring flow that went so well with the Drum. My heart and spirit were one with Mother Nature and it felt great. From there we headed back to the hotel. A short day albeit a very blessed one.

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Would You Like to See Our Drum?

12/19/2012

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Our day started with a whisper and ended with a bang.

Today our plans included Montezuma’s Castle, Montezuma’s Well
and the V Bar V Ranch. Montezuma’s Castle is one of the largest and oldest cliff dwellings in the entire southwest. We took a very relaxing stroll to the ruins and spent some time with one of the rangers to ask some questions and gain some knowledge. The path took us next to the river and then led us back to the visitor’s center. While we were there, we spent some time in the museum looking
at artifacts, which were very interesting.

From here we went in search of Montezuma’s Well. It wasn’t hard
to find and was staffed by a very pleasant ranger who willingly answered all of our questions with a smile. The well itself is actually a very large sinkhole that provided water to irrigate crops. The maze of hand dug channels that were built is quite impressive. The water leaves the well and flows under (or maybe” through” is a better word) the mountain and comes out on the opposite side and
flows into Beaver Creek. The water in the creek is so clear that you can clearly see the fish hanging out on the bottom. The water that flows out of the rock sparkles and glistens like jewels and sings with a happy gurgle as it rushes through the aqueduct. The serenity of this area was punctuated by the sound of
birds singing and the rustle of the last leaves of the season clinging to the largest sycamore trees that we had ever seen. After we finally tore ourselves away from this quiet area, we explored more of the area. We found out that the V Bar V Ranch would not be open until Friday, so we will try to get there on that day. We found Beaver Creek Campground that we intend to remember for future use since it is quite chilly for camping in a tent at this time of the year.

We drove to the Ranger Station to get a map of the off-road areas with the intention of heading out for another trail ride. As we drove through Sedona, we passed a small shop that had singing bowls, drums, and flutes. Judy
asked if I wanted to stop and I told her, “No, I don’t think I do.” Just after
we passed it, I said, “You know, maybe I do want to check it out.” So, up the road, around the round-about, then down the road to the next round-about and then back to the shop. After parking the jeep, we realized that there was a sign on the door that said “Back in 10 minutes.” Since I don’t believe everything that I see, I went up to the door and checked. Sure enough, the door was locked. We decided to walk next door and look around until the shop owner returned. When we went into the shop, the conversation was about singing bowls and how sound and healing worked in conjunction with each other. Our talk then turned to drums. He had some drums in stock and I was able to play some of them. The tongue drum he had was very mice but seriously out of my price range. It had a very soothing sound and would be good for playing for meditation groups. We then discussed the “drum we had in the jeep”. After a few minutes, we were saying our farewells and Judy asked, “Would you like to see our drum?”Sadly, that thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, because the answer was, “Yes.” I brought Beverly inside, set her up and we began playing. As customers came into the shop, we simply handed them a beater and said, “Come join us.” And they did. We played, we talked, we shared experiences, we shed a few tears, we played some more, and then we played again. We met amazing, generous, loving people. 3 hours later, after many hugs between us all, we left the shop feeling that we have made new friends.

This is an awesome shop with a wonderful feeling of harmony that you can tangibly feel. If you ever visit Sedona, stop in and say hello at the Crystal and Sound Healing Center.

What a blessed day we have been given by our Great Creator.

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Honanki Ruins and a little bit more

12/18/2012

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Today was another day of exploration for us. We wandered our way out and around Red Rock Park to enjoy the many wonders of the area. Our first stop was the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a church built into the rocks. After we left from there we worked our way around to some of the more well know red rocks like Bell and Cathedral rocks. Both of these areas were so full of people that we decided to forego climbing up them.

Our next stop was Honanki Ruins. As we slowly drove along the road into the ruins the first thing we saw was a coyote crossing the road. We stopped to get a better look and as we rolled the window down to see if we could
get a photo he took one quick look at us and darted off toward the back of the truck and into the woods. Since we didn’t want to disturb him any more than we already had, we drove away. I looked in my rearview mirror as we drove away and noticed him move to the center of the road and a female popped out from the opposite side of the road. They greeted one another and then disappeared into the woods. These coyotes reminded us to have fun and laugh out loud.

The drive into the ruins is incredible. Any high clearance vehicle will have no problem getting there. The hike into the area again had an invigorating and uplifting feeling about it. These ruins are believed to have been occupied between AD 1130 and 1300 and the name Honanki means “Bear House”.Without a doubt, the Bear Spirits looks over this place very well. You can tell this by the serene feeling of the walk in to the ruins. As with many of the places we have visited, we were allowed time alone with no other human being around. We took in the wonders that were given to us. On our ride out, taking in our surroundings I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a javelina. As I stopped and backed up so I could let Judy have a look another one jumped and ran. We pulled up under the trees to see if we could get another look and more of them wandered out into view .We sat for a few minutes and watched them peacefully feeding.

We moved on with a thank you to Creator for letting us enjoy this moment.

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On Top of Sedona

12/17/2012

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We climbed out of bed on Monday morning and headed for Sedona for brunch at the Coffee Pot Restaurant, the place of 101 omelets. If you ever come to Sedona I highly recommend this place. After some delicious omelets, we drove to the visitor center for some information on local off road trails. These were a very helpful, informative, and nice group of people. Schnebly Hill road was the trail we decided on so after looking at the map, we headed that way. Because the road went up to higher elevations the upper portion of the road would be closed due to heavy snow. Go figure.

The road starts out fairly smooth with some nice views. As we eased along we came across an overhang in the middle of a dried creek bed. This looked like an excellent place to play the small buffalo drum. I keep hoping to find the spot that Beverly, the Awakening Drum, is needed but not as of yet. I know she will show me before long. However, I did have a very interesting experience with the small Drum. I should explain for those of you
who don't know me. When I play I never know what it sounds like. After about two minutes or less I hear nothing and everything just goes blank in a good way. When I am done I have no idea how long I have been playing and it takes a bit for me to figure out where I am. I do have the greatest feeling of renewal of inner energy. This time however, I could not get the sound of the Drum out of my head, nor could I get any type of rhythm happening to move me into the next plane. The very odd thing was, with my eyes closed I could see
myself sitting directly across from myself. I wasn’t seeing a mirror image. My other self was sitting on the rocks directly across from me. Even though I was sitting under the overhang, my other self was sitting out in the open. The whole time I was playing I felt as if I had never played a Drum before in my life. I could see the other me playing except I could never hear what the playing sounded like. I left this Drum time very empty and confused. We climbed back into the jeep and slowly crawled up the side of the mountain. The wonders of what God had created here was fabulous so I didn't think any more about my drumming session.

The trail continued to climb with many portions of it being muddy, wet, snow covered, and slick. We eventually reached the closed gate and could not go any further. Judy had not worn her hiking boots and did not want to get out because of all the snow and mud. I took a short walk for some photos and came back to the jeep for the ride down. We have seen a lot of snow, fog, and cloud cover in the days since we have left Knoxville on this trip. We were fortunate enough for the sun to peek out at us from time to time on our downhill run. The views are always incredible in Sedona and the views from Schnebly Hill Road are more than breath taking.

I am still pondering my drumming time. But the wonderful time I had with my wife out in the beautiful natural habitat above Sedona was priceless.

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The Sun is Shining

12/16/2012

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Sunday morning the sun was shining as we headed out of Monument Valley. We were headed to Camp Verde AZ. It was extremely cold and the roads were covered with patchy ice, so the morning drive was done very carefully. At one point, near Kayenta, AZ, we saw a sign that said Inscription House so we decided to travel the red dirt road to see what this was all about. After many muddy, wet, snow covered miles there was no sign of anything except snow and high desert as far as you could see. So, we turned around and headed back toward the paved highway
covered in red mud. (We found out later that Inscription House was closed at the present time, so we know it is out there somewhere, we just didn’t find it.) In Tuba City we ate at a wonderful restaurant called The Hogan. They served both traditional and non-traditional native food. I ordered the chili beans and fry bread and the young waiter said, “Oh, old school.” Thom ordered the roast beef and fry bread sandwich and the waiter said, “Oh, new school.” I think we all three got a kick out of that.

As we continued our journey, we got closer to Flagstaff where there was about a foot of snow on the ground. To be quite honest, I was glad to be heading farther south. The ride was very scenic and enjoyable. I believe some
of that had to do with the fact that we were leaving the cold and snow and headed for better weather. I have nothing against the snow; however, at this moment in time, I need a respite from the weather!

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The Road to Monument Valley

12/15/2012

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Today, we have left Moab and have headed to Monument Valley with a detour into the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. Our first stop on our way in was Newspaper Rock. This rock held many secrets to the past with its numerous pictographs engraved into the rock. This was very peaceful for me.

As we headed toward the park, the best Judy and I could figure, was that we were now driving in the area that the fog was covering the day before. We followed the road around to a 4X4 trail called Elephant Hill, a trail I had seen on YouTube. I was excited. Then, I read the warning sign. This is the most difficult trail in the park and one of the most difficult trails in the state of Utah. I thought to myself, really, can it actually be all that bad?

So I got out of the jeep and walked to the sign where I could see the trail. In the first 100 feet there were at least 20 places where I could see my skid plates ripping out from under the truck, not to mention all the rest of the obstacles that would destroy my drive line several thousand miles from home. We opted not to go on. I did, however, get the small buffalo drum and walked the trail for about ¼ mile. I promptly sat down and thanked Creator and all the spirits for keeping us safe and began to play my drum.

As we left the area and headed on to Monument Valley, we quickly went from the sun shining on us to a total white out as we climbed up the Abajo Mountains to an elevation of over 7,070 feet. To put it mildly, the driving was intense for the next 2 hours.

We arrived in Monument Valley on Saturday afternoon at about 3:30 PM. Our first order of business was to see if we could a friend of ours named Stephen. Sadly, he was nowhere to be found. We went to get settled into our room at Goulding’s Lodge. After we unloaded the jeep we decided to go for posole at the The View Restaurant that overlooks the Valley. We were informed by the Navajo ranger at the entrance booth that the restaurant did not open until 5:00 pm. So we decided to take a ride down into the valley. The day had been a dreary and overcast one so we did not expect to see much. It was just very nice to be there. As we drove along the snow began to fall hard and fast. It was quite surprising to see how quickly the snow covered the landscape. In a very short amount of time everything began to look the same and Judy and I were very glad we had been here before since the roads can become very confusing. As we started our acsent out of the valley we stopped to get a couple of photos. An HHR Chevrolet Panel Wagon pulled up beside us to ask if we knew the way out. Judy explained to the lady which route to follow and off she went. Although beautiful as it fell, after a few minutes we decided we needed to head out of here ourselves because the snow was really starting to drop. As we moved along, we rounded a curve only to find the lady in the HHR, turning around. She had become disoriented in the snow and had thought she was heading the wrong way. We asked her if she wanted us to follow her out and she asked us if she could follow us out. Of course, we agreed to this, so off we went. After about 20 minutes or so we made it to the top and out of the valley. We bid the lady and her friend good bye and went for some food. After a wonderful meal of spicy posole, we headed back to the hotel.

It was now decision time. After much discussion, weather checks online, and more discussion we realized that if continued our vacation as planned we would be doing a whole lot of hiking in the snow. This was not appealing to us at all. Although we were disappointed, we formed a new game plan. Hope your day was a
blessed one.

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The Day of Fog

12/14/2012

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Friday started out as a dreary day. We were seeing some light
rain with the occasional snow shower. We had hiked several miles in the last 2 days and this made us reluctant to get out of bed and get out early. The rain and snow made it very easy for us to decide to take a ride and see what else we could find to see in the area. We opted for the Islands in the Sky section of
Canyonlands National Park. As we left the hotel the weather seemed to be breaking up and gave us good hope that we would see a small ray of sunshine. However, the closer we got to Canyonlands, the heavier the snow came down. We decided to press on anyway. After all, the snow would just make it a different kind of beautiful. As we arrived at the visitor center the snow had stopped and a massive fog bank rolled in. We talked to the ranger, paid our entry fee and went to see what we could see. Basically, what we could see was the end of the hood and the edge of the road. We stopped in one of the picnic areas to have lunch, sat in the jeep and watched the fog get thicker. It felt as if we were sitting at the end of the world.

After lunch as we were easing our way down the road, a mule deer
sprang over a rock right to the edge of the road. When he realized the jeep was
there he sprang back over the rock and another, even bigger, mule deer appeared
with him. It was quite a sight to see as they disappeared into the fog. The fog
didn’t want to lift but we were ever hopeful and continued to ride on around the
park. We saw two small animals that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a
prairie dog. We still aren't sure what they were. After a complete ride through we decided to head back towards town.

We took a short ride along the Colorado River just outside of Moab. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

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More Than I Expected

12/13/2012

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Today we went to Delicate Arch. The hike was not an easy one. It was however;
spectacular with an even greater finish at the end. The spirits in Moab are a
happy bunch and you feel it everywhere you go. Arches National Park, like most
parks, has many things to see and do with short and long hikes. You can also
pull into a parking lot and view beautiful scenery and get wonderful pictures.
The thing I noticed here is that if you want the great experiences, the spirits
will sure make you earn them! The rewards are breathtaking. The hike into
Delicate Arch was, and will remain, one of the most wonderful experiences I have
ever had. With every step there is beauty, challenges, and a down right fear
that you could slip right off the 3 ft. edge of rock path you are walking along.
We were fortunate enough to be the only ones viewing the arch at the time. How
wonderful to have all of that beauty to yourself for just a small time in the
universe. We eventually pried ourselves away from the magnificent views and made
it back to the jeep.

Taking a short ride down a 4x4 trail, we found an area where we felt compelled to stop.
With Delicate Arch high on the ridge above us, I played my buffalo hand drum.
This was also a wonderful moment in the park for me as I could feel the spirits
dancing within my heart. I set up the Awakening Drum and planned to play for the
the spirits of the area. I realized these spirits were doing quite well and
there was no need for any type of awakening here. The spirits thanked me for the
playing of my small hand drum and informed me that Beverly, our big drum, was
not needed here. So we took some pictures, said our thanks, and headed out for a
ride in the jeep.

In our quest for more petroglyphs, we traveled by the Colorado River and found a wall of ancient wriitings. We eventually ended up in a place called Long Canyon on a jeep trail called Pucker Pass. We were fortunate enough to end up on the very top of the pass jut as the sun was setting and you could see the whole valley beneath us. It was an awe inspiring sight. There are so many places here in Moab that are harmonious.

There is such a great feeling here that it makes me never want to leave.

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Silence and hearts abound

12/12/2012

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We spent the day at Arches National Park, a place I have wanted to visit since I was a little girl. Although, the day was overcast and the breeze was chilly, it provided good hiking weather for the short hikes we took to several of the arches.

The thing that I noticed the most was the silence that surrounded us. It seemed that peacefulness was all around us. You could smell the clear air, and listen to the quiet. The very interesting part was that everywhere we looked, we saw heart shapes; in the rocks, in the puddles of water, and in spots carved by the wind. In my mind, this made the whole area feel like it was especially blessed.

It was a good day.....

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Not the day I expected

12/11/2012

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The day started with a bang, That bang was the sound the rear window in the Jeep made when it shattered. This is not the best way to start your day. I realize it could have been worse. We waited about 3 hours for the glass guy to show up and fix the window. After the window was reinstalled, with frozen toes and fingers from the 5 degree temperture outside we were on our way. The good thing was that by the time we got on the road the ice was pretty well cleared and driving was much safer. I do believe the Great Creator takes care of us in many different ways so I am thankful for our delay today. The drive from Dillon, CO to Moab, UT was wonderful. After we entered into Glenwood Canyon the scenery became incredible. We also discovered another reason for our delay. There was a tractor trailer wreck that was almost cleaned up. We may or may not have been involved if we had left at our planned time. We were safely passing the wreck so all was good. We are now in Moab UT tucked away in our room. We will be off in the morning to Arches National Park to spend some quality time with our Great Creator and the world he has given us. I look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

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