You know how they say “All’s well that ends well?” But, what if it’s the opposite? We all know that what happens last has a disproportionate amount of impact, and I regret to say that our vacation in Arizona, had, uh, some low points. But after I whine, I’ll get to remind myself of the best parts of our trip to Arizona through photos. I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way first, so we can concentrate on how lucky Jim and I were to go on a vacation to such beautiful places.
Okay, here we go: Jim gets sick first day we arrive, bad head cold that slams him into being bed ridden for a day in stunningly beautiful Sedona. He rallies the next day, and in spite of his cough and his nose running like a river during the spring thaw, we have two pretty good days at the Grand Canyon. And then, something happens that makes it look like my computer has been hacked and every one of my passwords has been stolen. I’m sick with worry, stomach in knots, don’t sleep much. (I connect with techie 24 hours later and all is well. Whew.) The next day, we come within a microsecond and an inch of being in a fatal accident, which shakes both of us to the core. The next day, while we are at dinner with friends in Tucson, the sitter calls and says “Skip is missing and I’ve called and called and can’t find him anywhere.”
I lost it. I mean, friends, I totally lost my S%*t. I would hereby like to apologize to our (fabulous) sitter, and to the diners on the Terrace at the Arizona Inn, for having to listen to a woman sobbing hysterically in the phone until her husband led her away, blubbering “this is my worst nightmare.” After what seemed like an eternity, (and wasn’t, maybe 45 minutes?), Skip was found. He’d been behind the barn the entire time, staring at the sheep. (Details to come in another post.)
The next day, surprise, surprise, in spite of our best efforts, I caught Jim’s cold. A bad chest cold in COPD/Asthmatic lungs turn out to be challenging combo, so I spent the last days bed ridden and had one of those travel days we all dread, of feeling like crap while getting up at 3:45 AM and flying home across the country.
Okay. Enough of that. I will survive (cue the music).
Here are some things that were GREAT, there was LOTS!
Sunrise in Sedona behind Cathedral Rock on our first morning of vacation:
I had a fabulous walk in Sedona the next morning while poor Jim was ailing in bed. This was just a 20 minute walk from the Inn where we stayed:
There was lot of bird life at the foot of the trail, here’s a Scrub Jay who came down to check me out:
We visited Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock once Jim was able to get on his feet. Slide rock is famous as a place where you jump in and let the water “slide” you across the smooth rocks. Here’s a brave young woman doing it in very chilly weather. (I have many memories of Slide Rock–I went to high school in Phoenix and Slide Rock was the go to place for “Senior Skip Day.”
One of the fun parts of vacation for me is taking photos of other people for them (selfies just can’t always hack it). A nice woman reciprocated for me and Jim.
The next day we were greeted at the beginning of the West Fork Trail by a flock of some of my favorite birds, Acorn Woodpeckers:
The trail follows the base of these ridiculous cliffs . . .
Our two days at the Grand Canyon were our best. Here’s sunrise at the Grand Canyon at Hopi Point:
A few minutes later, as the sun’s rays began to hit the peaks:
Speaking of Hopi, after growing up in Arizona, and living on the Navajo reservation when I was 19, (a story for another day), I was heartened to see how much respect and attention was being paid to the indigenous peoples of the canyon. Here is the Hopi House, designed by architect Mary Colter, a rare woman in a male-dominated field in 1904. Ahead of her time, Ms. Colter did all she could to make the building as authentic to the Hopi architecture as she could. The house now holds a treasure chest of Native American art. Don’t miss it if you go.
Sunsets at the Canyon:
I don’t think it’s possible for me to go to Arizona without visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and going to their Raptor Free Flight event. It only happens from December to March, and provides an outstanding experience being up close and personal with native raptors, who fly back and forth between handlers, often literally inches over your head.
Here’s one of my favorites, the Harris’s Hawk, one of the only birds that hunt as a group, Basically, the wolves of the bird world.
The Crested Caracara is rarely seen in the U.S., and only close to the border. Unlike most raptors, besides hunting live prey, they also eat carrion any chance they can get.
That’s me in rapture of getting to see my dear friend and colleague, Karen London, one of the smartest, funniest, and kindness people I know. One of her books, Treat Everyone Like a Dog, is one of the best behavior books that’s come out since Karen Pyror’s Don’t Shoot the Dog.
It’s time for me to get back in bed (or, rather, on the couch watching The Voice! or, whatever I can find). But I’ll end this with a perfect summary of Arizona: The dry, the prickly, and the surprisingly and stunningly beautiful!
Have a good two weeks, friends, I’m brimming with topics I’d love to talk about, “see” you then!
English (US) · 