May 4, 2025

I’m sitting in one of my favorite places in this world and reflecting on my journey so far.  I won’t write about this place today, Zion National Park, for I have a lot to experiences to catch up on that brought me here.  I have 16 days left on this adventure, then I will be home for about 6 weeks to refresh, take care of business, catch up with family and friends and plan my next journey.  When I think about where I’ve been, what I’ve experienced and learned – I’m awed.  Plus, on a level of personal changes.  I’m down about 27 pounds, my silver sideburns have taken root and grown as well as there is more sprinkling of silver throughout my scalp.  And while it may be frowned upon, even with my 50-block, I’ve got a decent tan going – that California girl inside is still alive, besides the great outdoors has been my living room and porch for months now.  And most of all, the concept of “employment” is very foreign to me.

Miracles Appear in the Strangest of Places – Fancy Meeting You Here*

So let me start with one of the greatest joys on my journey. Facebook has it draw backs and while my circle of “friends” on this media is fairly limited, I have connections to my past lives through this site.  And I was thrilled to see one of the kids from the old neighborhood in San Diego, Davi, who was my sister Mandy’s best friend and someone I used to babysit, posted that she was in Williams, Arizona!  I could not believe our paths were crossing so unexpectedly.  We were able to spend one day together before she moved on. 

Even thinking of this happy coincidence, that we both are living nomadic RV lifestyles and finally ended up in the same place, it still brings joy to my heart and a big smile on my face. It had been 51 years since I last saw this beautiful woman, who was a young teen when I first left my family and went to Alaska!  Memories shared, family stories with new endings, life paths discussed – and we only touched the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure!  My jaw hurt at the end of the day.  What a beautiful experience – my only wish is that it will not be the last shared moment, and that next time we can involve my sister, so these early age best friends can meet up again. (Mandy was still in diapers when she met Davi, and they were in their early teens when my family moved to Oregon.)

(_{*Lyric from Willie Nelson’s “Yesterday’s Wine”)}

Taos and People at Bus Stops

I spent a few days in the Taos, NM area where the desert clouds made for outstanding sunsets.  I used free public transportation while there, and you never know who you will meet and what discussions will pursue.  On the bus back from the town, after a day of browsing art, having a margarita for lunch (with a side of tacos – lol) and gift shopping, a fellow passenger at the bus stop struck up a conversation by asking me if I liked weed (and he wasn’t talking about dandelions).  He carried the appearance of someone down on his luck and wouldn’t normally be someone I’d converse with, but he was persistent and very apologetic for offending me by offering me marijuana.  (I shot that down fairly quickly).  My mind was telling me to move away, but I was also thinking about what a person like this might have to say.  He seemed fairly intelligent and introduced himself as a member of the local indigenousness tribe, waving at the mountains to show where he came from.  It was broad daylight and there were people milling about, so I relaxed and engaged.

Although most likely impaired perhaps with some addiction issues, he was fairly well versed in politics and not at all happy with the state of national affairs.  However, he also took the position that having a current president or government that lies and goes back on promises is not a new phenonium for the native Americans.  He was angry at supporters of this president.  His use of the F word was frequent when he talked of his anger, and he apologized every time he did – still respectful of his elders.  He shared a joke from his people – “Why don’t Indians like Halloween?  Because they don’t like to be tricked out of treaties”.  He also spoke of climate change was due to the earth’s disharmony – people had lost sight of being a part of it all, instead they were misguided in believing they were owners and users.

He apologized to me for talking negatively about white people, but I told him some of it was deserved.  He wasn’t quite sure about my feelings that we were all connected spiritually regardless of where our people originated and did not subscribe to the theories that we all originated in African and that his ancestors crossed over from Asian.  When we boarded the bus, he knew the bus driver and others on the bus that he sat with – end of conversation.  However, when he got off, he said good-bye, and I told him to not give up hope. (I won’t share his thoughts on what he would like to do to #47, but I related to his anger and felt sadness for his feelings that all was lost, hopeless at this point). 

You never know what you will learn or what connections you will find when you open up to someone really different that you are.  And not once did he ask for a hand-out, he started the conversation with a peace offering from his lifestyle – a little pot.

Ancient beginnings, modern problems – Taos Pueblo

This was the southwest moment I’d been waiting for – a trip onto the reservation of the Red Willow people to see the ancient community of the Pueblos that is still alive and in use.  The dwellings were up to 4 stories high and built 100s of years ago, with the ancestors living in the area long before that – the town square I visited most likely had Anasazi living there at one point. It was humbling to see this community thriving in the world built by their ancestors.  This was a Pueblo tribe. 

I started my day with cinnamon sugar fry bread and coffee, brewed over a wood burning stove.  Delicious. So much to photograph and such a calming place.  Upon entry, which was by fee, all guests were asked to not look towards the church or take pictures – there was a family in mourning there, holding vigil.  I saw them briefly, in an outside shaded area and heard drums of their mourning a few times, with very low singing.  I felt nothing but respect for this family in pain practicing their traditions to mourn the one the lost.

I look for commonalities when I meet people – where and how do we connect as humans, and in a spiritual sense.  I’ve always had something about me that encourages strangers to share their stories with me.   And this day was no different, it seemed to be focused on the worries and struggles of mothers with adult children.  I had discussions, or rather I listened to the stories of two native shopkeepers who were worried about their adult daughters. 

The first shopkeeper’s 40 something daughter had just been left by her boyfriend of 7 years and the mother, a gifted multi-media artist running her own shop, was concerned that the daughter didn’t understand she was lazy and messy and that drove men away.  We found some common ground because her father had been a decorated army vet, and she had a shrine to him in her store.  Her sons were also in the army – she stated it was one of the ways for them to get off the reservation.  We shared the hope that all people who have served our country, people of different cultures, colors and belief systems, don’t get forgotten in our government’s purge of diversity and history.

The other shop keeper, whose store I was drawn to by her sign that said she “sold real Indian shit” broke into tears as she told me about how her adult daughter had recently hurt her deeply.  She’d lost her son to cancer a few years back and felt her daughter was thoughtless in a recent family situation.   I gave her a hug.  Being a mother is universal, our worries and our ability to be hurt by the ones we love transcends our heritage – it is human.  But our joy in the existence of our children conquers all – and I hope she and her daughter find a way back to each other.

And a third shopkeeper and I discussed our mutual habit of collecting rocks.  She told me of her little dog, who has now passed, who learned this practice from her and was also collecting and bringing her rocks.  We decided we were both members of the earth-clan, again connected by something within us that cannot be explained.  She had instructed her children to place her rock collection on her grave when she has gone to the spirit world, and then she laughed because they thought she was nuts!

There is something on this journey I am discovering or confirming, and that is beyond our differences, there is common and shared human existence.  If you close your eyes and don’t see the differences, you can relate to the spirit and emotions within the other person.  They are the same within all of us.

Santa Fe Cleansing and yes! Amazing sunsets.

This was my longest layover of my trip – 4 days and 5 nights in Santa Fe.  This gave me time to clean the red dust from the dust storms in Las Cruces out of my rig, find a mobile groomer to give Audy-wee a nice close shave for the trip ahead and finally, after months of carrying it around, drop off my bag of clothes that are too big at a local Goodwill!   

I rented a car for a few days, but didn’t use it as much as I could have.  I did get into the old town of Santa Fe, and as planned wore my impulse purchase at Walmart – a long summer dress to have a drink and lunch overlooking the plaza.  It’d been over 20, 25 years since I’d been there, and I couldn’t help noticing the changes.  I remembered older shops around the square, more colorful with a lot of Mexican influence– now all replaced by upscale clothing stores and art galleries.  Although a few of the original souvenir shops remain, the shops that were selling Mexican goods are now off on side streets.  The native vendors are still there, with their jewelry displayed on rugs on the sidewalk as I remember.

Although my memory may be faulty, I seem to remember very large old trees with thick trunks in the plaza.  There were still trees, and they were tall, but appeared to be younger, smaller trunks.  Not sure if it was natural aging, ailment or disaster but I think the ancient trees were replaced at some point?  Anyway, it was another fun way to spend an afternoon.  But it also demonstrated the hazard of revisiting a place you’ve been too – for me, I am comparing what has changed and judging if it is a good or bad change.  It puts a lens, a filter on the current adventure.

Funny thing, I liked my dress and had on my mind that I should ask someone to take a picture of me – but then forgot about it.  My wish must have been in the universe because while walking back to the parking garage, I found a spot and was struggling to take a selfie – two people appeared out of the blue and offered to take a photo for me😊

Travel Back in Time

After an overnight stay in Gallup at an RV Park that honored veterans, bears and Route 66*, I spent a day driving through the Petrified Forest National Park.  This place was awesome – starting with the Painted Desert at one end and coming out at the Rainbow Forest at the other end. A 28-mile drive with multiple places to stop and see or hike, including the ruins of an ancient Pueblo village, petrographs including Newspaper Rock where travelers left messages about the area and of course the actual petrified forests.  It boggled my mind that they looked like trees but felt like rocks. 

Nature is wonderous – I try to wrap my mind around the fact that millions of years ago, in what is now a desert, there was a forest with swamps and creatures that no longer exist today.  Something happened to disrupt this environment, and millions of trees were buried and eventually turned to stone.  And then through the effects of wind and rain, they were revealed again.  The earth tells us things we may not understand but should heed for the lessons – things that are here today can be silenced and disappear overnight, and then at some future point revealed with a message we need to understand. Our existence is a speck in time that can be blotted out by the destruction of our earth – and unfortunately, we have learned how to bring this about on our own.

^{*This general area is big on Route 66, lots of tourist shops dedicated to it. I just wonder if the newer generations have any concept of what “Get your kicks on Route 66” meant?}

So that brings me almost up to date.  I’m saving the canyons for my next blog, my most beloved part of this trip so far before I begin the final ascent into home.