Close Encounters

When I was a child, my family drove through Flagstaff one summer on our way to see family in Kansas. I have vague memories of traveling through the blazing desert sun in our old brown Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon (complete with rear-facing back seat and paneling on the sides) listening to the songs of the 80's. I'm sure I complained then, as most kids do, but I look back on that road trip fondly now. I have vague memories of roadside shops selling turquoise, silver, and giant belt buckles.  I remember seeing cigarette machines in front lobbies of local diners and motels. The exact details are lost to time, but the impressions remain, and they make me smile.

Being back in this part of Arizona as an adult has been a different experience. I find myself excitedly looking out the window to see what we'll discover and what I might remember. We try to spot things we wouldn't ordinarily see at home in the Pacific Northwest. I love talking to people who live here to get some sort of insight on what their daily normal is that's different from mine. Then I try to point them out for my kids, so they'll notice too.

Being here has been a lesson in changing preconceptions. We came to the Southwest thinking we might have to tread lightly to avoid scorpions. We thought we'd have to be careful of marauding javelinas or striking rattlesnakes. We envisioned dry, toasty days, and wide-brimmed hats. Needless to say, those fears were greatly exaggerated and inaccurate. Instead, we learned that scorpions tend to like the lower part of the state where it's warmer. Sedona has a cooler climate and we've been living in sweatshirts and coats. There is nary a rattlesnake to be seen at this time of year, in this locale, and javelina's do live in our neighborhood but we haven't seen one yet! Maybe it's because of our dogs?

Instead of finding what we anticipated, we've been discovering things we didn't. Things like how startlingly beautiful the scenery is here in Sedona every time you drive down the road. It's like a painting! Like how cacti naturally grow so that they almost resemble a forest. Like how amazingly huge the saguaro cactus is and how astonishingly long its growth cycle and lifespan are! Like how much we've missed having access to "real" Mexican food. We're enjoying ourselves, to be sure, and we've found a new appreciation for this part of the country.

Last weekend we started to explore beyond our own backyard and visited one of the tourist hot-spots, Meteor Crater. It's located just outside Flagstaff, so it isn't far from us. We were surprised to see cattle roaming on the roadside around the site. No fences or anything! It turns out the land surrounding the crater and the crater, itself, is all privately owned! The same family who owned the land when it was "discovered" owns it now and they run a cattle ranch around it.

We visited on a sunny, but windy day, and braved the elements to take the tour around the crater. It's a massive sight to behold and we learned that the terrain is so much like the moon that astronauts trained there for several missions. Outside the visitor building you can see a wall dedicated to them and a boiler plate from an Apollo test capsule.

Inside the building is an impressive museum explaining the history of the crater. How it was formed, how it became a tourist attraction, and things that have taken place around the site. It's all very interactive. You can view the site from the comfort of the building, or you can go outside on one of the viewing decks or take the free tour.

I would recommend the tour because the guide will show you and tell you about things you wouldn't ordinarily get to see and hear. Things like the ruins of a building on the edge of the crater where someone brought tourists at one time. Things like the shiny wing of a plane that crashed into the crater. Things like the cave that was built for people to take refuge from lightening storms. You just have to experience it for yourself to get the full effect!

Another thing I've mentioned before is that Arizona is famous for their energy vortexes and alien encounters. You'll find all kinds of shops that sell things like crystals and aura photos. With all this, you'll also find UFO themed restaurants and souvenir shops. My youngest son and I visited one of these places this week. He loved checking out all the alien decorations at the Red Planet Diner (also known as the E.T. Encounter Diner). We enjoyed milkshakes and the vintage sci-fi atmosphere.

I'll let you know if we see anything out of the ordinary while we're here. Who knows? That could be a whole other adventure! ;-)

- Jen

The Frigid Southwest

We've been exploring our new locale this week. The scenery has changed, to be sure, but it's a little cooler than we anticipated. We must have brought the chill with us. In fact, it even snowed! So much for daydreams of flip-flops and wide brimmed hats!

Ice on the cactus. Those yellow parts are the cactus flowers. They're very waxy.

Snow in the buttes

This is what it looks like when it snows on the buttes.

We've settled back into our homeschooling routine and made sure to get our temporary library cards. If you really want to immerse yourself in a community, always make sure to join the local library. They tend to be the place where you can find great programs and people post event advertisements. Plus, we love books and it's fun to earn about the history and food of where we are.

Another quick resource I've found is children's books.  Most places offer a coloring book made for kids with digestible bits of information. These books come in handy before day trips because they help familiarize you without overwhelming you. Then, when you find a subject you want to explore more, you can get the larger, more detailed books!

This past week we visited a Boy Scout troop. I love this because it really introduces our kids to other kids who know the area and local traditions. Plus, most scout troops do community service projects and they are usually very friendly and helpful. At this meeting the boys took the lead and walked my younger son through knot tying (he is now a pro at tying people up. ;-)) while my older son observed.

They also invited us to join them to help set up a traditional Southwestern holiday event. When they described it to me, I had never heard of the tradition! Needless to say, I'm SUPER excited to participate with the kids and report back to you. You'll just have to wait for the details until then!

My husband and I went out for a drive this past weekend and ended up visiting the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It's a Catholic Church that was commissioned by local rancher and sculptor, Marguerite Brunswig Staude. She worked with architect firm Anshen and Allen and it's very unique. It's also supposedly located within an "energy vortex". As a visitor, though, I can't say I felt any more or less "energized" by being there. Although I was pretty amazed by the architecture and landscape.

We learned that Sedona is not a name that comes from either the Native American or Mexican languages. This city is actually named after Sedona Miller Schnebly. Her mother supposedly made up the name, herself, because "it sounded pretty". Sedona Miller Schnebly was the wife of the first postmaster here. He decided to name the town after her. After reading more about her life, she sounds like a very interesting and hardworking woman.

Since Christmas decorations weren't on our list of things to pack for this trip, we headed down to the local Walgreens yesterday and picked up a tiny tree and some stockings. Now we're all set for the holiday season!

We also searched all over for, but sadly didn't find, an advent calendar. I thought they'd be everywhere right about now! I even looked online for Lego ones and it seems they're all sold out. Wow! During our search, though, we played some of the public instruments downtown. It's really a fun, artsy town.

We're still on the lookout for Javelina!

Wishing you all a wonderful month! Happy December!

- Jen

A New Landscape

We're still here, I promise! It seems that whenever I've had a second to work on the blog this week, someone inevitably needs something. And so, here it is, a day late (almost two), but still full of interesting things! :-)

When we left Washington to return to Idaho a few weeks ago, I accidentally forgot the camera....BIG OOPS- especially with all the scenery we passed on the way to our new "home" here in Arizona! Fortunately, the camera is still in a safe place waiting for my husband to bring it back. Until then, I'm making do with my phone. Great for documenting memories- not so great when driving through spectacular places like Monument Valley where you want to capture the amazing colors and definition. *sigh* Oh well, it will be back soon enough, and until then, I have no complaints. We've had a great time!

The drive from Idaho went well and the scariest weather we encountered was high winds. This can be a problem when you're hauling a trailer. We did see some snow and a thunderstorm, but it was all manageable and, thankfully, we made it safely through.

Along the drive we were able to see some very American-West sights. One was a cattle drive as we were passing through Idaho.

We had fun looking for unique features in each town, like the arch below.

We also noticed a lot of Mormon temples throughout Idaho and Utah, which means they have a large presence there. It will be interesting to see how the churches change as we move further into the South and in the Eastern Seaboard.

Provo, Utah, is the home of Brigham Young University, which we didn't know until we started seeing sweatshirts with "Y's" on them all over the place. Provo is a beautiful, humongous town with a lot of interesting buildings. I could have probably spent the whole day there just wandering the streets looking at the old houses!

We stayed in Park City, UT for the night, which is where the Sundance Film Festival is held and it was the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics. It's a trendy resort town and we enjoyed it!

Once we moved into lower Utah, we began to see the landscape change. It went from mostly farmland to Suess-esque red rock formations. We stayed in Moab and visited Arches National Park, which was amazing! The arches look like eyes! We also went through Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The only way I can describe the awe and wonder of that place is the way you might feel going to see the Great Pyramids in Egypt. It.was.that.amazing!

We made a point to drive to Colorado to visit Mesa Verde National Park and see the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people. Scientists have been able to learn a lot by going through their garbage heap, which is always the best way to get a glimpse of how people live (scary for us, no?). It was really interesting and I especially liked their pottery designs.

I have to say, having a fourth grader in the family has saved us a TON of money when visiting all these National Parks. If you have a fourth grader, I highly recommend you visit Every Kid In A Park and get a pass printed for them. This pass allows your family to get into the National Parks FREE for the whole year!! Be sure to check it out!

Last, but not least, we went to Four Corners National Monument. It's the point where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. So, you can stand in four states at the same time! My kids always laugh at me about how easily excited I am over things like this. What can I say?! I just love it! I also love that the monument is run by the Navajo people on their reservation. They sell jewelry and souvenirs that they've made, themselves. It reminds me of the Native Heritage Center in Alaska and how they featured artists over the summer. You can really talk to the native people and ask questions. Plus, it's wonderful to buy directly from the artist. They were really kind.

Now that we're all settled in to the house here in Arizona, we've begin to explore a little. Sedona is a beautiful tourist hot spot and has a ton of fun shops to explore. This also means that the traffic can get pretty congested. Apparently we're in an energy vortex (I had to look that up), so there are a TON of new age places here advertising an assortment of services, and selling crystals and the like. We've mostly seen native people, hippies, yuppies, tourists, and snowbirds so far. It's interesting, to say the least!

We're also surrounded by beautiful red rock formations, so there are a lot of outdoor activities, as well. We're planning on doing the jeep tour at some point, but you can also ride ATV's, go hiking, and more. Our house is not far from downtown, but it's also near "the wild" so we've been on the lookout for javelinas, cougars, and scorpions. With the weather as cool as it's been (sweater weather), I doubt we'll see many scorpions during our stay.

Speaking of the weather, I must say that having Thanksgiving dinner while it's bright outside is a little odd for us Seattlites. We're used to having a driveway full of wet leaves and a grey sky! In fact, here in Arizona, we've actually begun contemplating whether or not to decorate a Christmas cactus! I guess we'll see!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so many things to be thankful for this year, and one of them is you. Thanks for following along!

- Jen