Here is what has happened in the past few days:
Saturday:
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park has the
largest natural travertine bridge in the world. They call it a
geological wonder, and so they should. It's wonderful! When we
were there, huge icicles hung from the 183 feet high ceiling of the
arch, and every now and then one would detach itself and bombard down
onto the rocks below. It sounded like a gunshot, which almost gave
me a heart attack. These photos don't do it justice at all.
Water is falling down the natural bridge. |
Big frozen icicles at the waterfall. |
Sunday:
Today, we met up with our dear, dear
friends Brandie and Bradley. They lived with us last spring and
summer, but moved to Flagstaff in the fall, and we miss them
terribly. It was quite a reunion, with the kids running to hug them,
totally besides themselves with joy at seeing their buddies again.
Brandie and Bradley are avid rock climbers, and they know this area
well. They are perfect tour guides!
We explored Fay canyon with them – we
Pacific Northwesteners wide eyed and awe struck at the beauty of the
rock formations, the shades of red in the rocks, the moon rising over
the cliffs, and all the dramatic scenery that goes with it.
Camping here is strictly regulated, and
since we wanted to camp wild, we had to navigate our RV on a
rugged forest service road to find a camp spot that would fit our rig
and Brandie and Bradley's home made trailer.
Brandie and Bradley hanging out with Kai and Lukas. |
Monday:
We spent the day exploring more ancient
cliff dwellings. The boys and I bicycled a few miles to the site
while the rest of the gang followed in Brandie and Bradley's car.
What a commute!
Every day I tell myself that the next
day can't possibly get any better or any more beautiful, and every
day proves me wrong. Frankly, I am lacking the words to describe all
this beauty, and since I am not a native English speaker, I should
just describe it in German.
We could only visit the cliff dwellings
by participating in a guided tour, since they are severely monitoring
over-use and traffic to these sacred sites. When we came to the part
with the pictographs and petroglyphs, the guide later told me how
impressed he was by Kai and Lukas. They listened to him attentively
and actively engaged in conversations and questions. The really
fascinating part about this part of the journey was the diversity of
the cliff art's age. There were prehistoric markings mixed in with
“newer” petroglyphs that are only a thousand years old. There
were symbols from the forefathers of the Hopi mixed in with Apache
cave art. I love the mystery surrounding all this... What exactly
do the symbols mean? How old are they really? Why were they painted
there? By whom? What kinds of ceremonies were conducted there?
I am falling in love with this country, not just because it is beautiful, but also with its energy. There really is something special about this area...
Later in the day, we just relaxed at
our camp spot, knitted in the sun, went for small excursions, shot
bows and arrows, and visited with Brandie's mom who joined us for
dinner. The sun tan is deepening, folks! May you all be as happy
and carefree as we are right now!
Brandie and me. |
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