Giving thanks to Nilch’i…

As we head north toward home on the last leg of our sojourn, I am re-living this experience in my mind not wanting it to end. The reason is simple, it has been a powerful spiritual path we have been on. Frequently I found myself drawn to a commonly displayed symbol that is simply a swirl of a single line, beginning in the center, spiraling outward in a circular pattern never closing off the o at any point. Yesterday I had an enlightening encounter with a navaho woman as wes and I stood overlooking the grand canyon at sunset: per the navaho belief this symbol represents the whirlwind or (nilch’i)in navaho tonque. The wind is one of the most powerful forces that communicates between the elements of nature, a spiritual essence that pervades nature. Every living thing is touched by and communicates through (nilch’i). One of its main functions is to give life and motion to plants, animals and objects in our universe. There is no doubt that we surrendered ourselves to nature and that we were taken good care of. The weather gods were attentive to our needs and mother earth revealed her beauty to us in many different forms, it moved us to a different plane of being. (sorry, too much time in Sedona.) the whirlwind or (nilch’i) moves us, we breathe by it,
we live by it. For this we give thanks and appreciation; and to eric, terri, gregory, brandi. Charlie, sharon for sharing this golden good time with us.

Wes & Lorie at Broken Bow Arch

Love u all
Wes and lorie

Mucho Caliente…Day 16

For those of you interested in a long drive through the desert, take US Hwy 93 North from Vegas and you’ll have the longest drive ever! If we ever buy another Mopar (the new Challenger…hint hint) we are definitely coming back here to open up a big can! Perfect spot to race as you have hundreds of miles of nothing but straight aways and not much else. Anyone ever see the movie Vanishing Point? They may have filmed some of this movie somewhere very similar to this area. After eating at the Windmill Ridge Cafe for dinner we drove into a “little” town called Caliente, Nevada. If you love the sounds of trains going by at all hours of the night you may want to stop here. We woke up to the sounds of all the engineers fixing their engines, found out real quick we were parked in the Railway Station yard. Hmmm, might be the reason for all the trains! We didn’t have problems sleeping as we were real tired, so I’m sure we would have slept through an earthquake.

Winding it down…Day 15

After spending two nights in Sedona all parties said, “until we meet again.” Uncle Charlie & Aunt Sharon headed to Lake Havasu. Uncle Wes & Aunt Lorie headed toward their homestead, but not without spending a few more hours shopping and sight seeing in Sedona and Jerome. That was quite a road headed up to Jerome wasn’t it Wes?! Eric and I decided to take the Road less Traveled and headed toward home via Vegas. Once we arrived in the City that never sleeps we just made a quick exit…too big for us! We’re now out in the middle of nowhere Nevada in a little town called Alamo. Talk about a dark sky! Goodnight all…

A moment of Fun…back in Zion

Okay I meant to put this on the blog when we were in Zion staying at the Ponderosa Ranch. It was truly beautiful and as you can see we were staying in a pretty nice place. The pool however was not heated! Contrary to what the staff there said…70 degrees? I think not…and okay okay is wasn’t 30 degrees, but trust me when I tell you it was pretty darn cold. Let’s just say we had our own version of the Polar Bear Plunge! Good Times!!!!!

Seeking the Vortex…Day 13

Sedona at the foothills

After waking up at our amazing Bed & Breakfast suite: Sunset Chateau we set out to do some sight seeing. Sedona is a very spiritual place and you can tell right away that the town folk are very protective of their city. For instance you will not find a Walmart here…no sir! All the houses are the color of the earth, all street signs, including traffic lights are earth tones. Even the McDonald Arches are green instead of the typical “golden arches.” This is truly a very unique town. Beautiful just doesn’t do it justice. Are you into yoga, psychic readings, alien activity, spa treatments, Art??? Then Sedona is for you. One of the things that was truly a mystery to me was when I heard about the Vortex. What is a Vortex, you may ask. Well all we could guess was that it has something to do with the energy of the land or something to do with the energy of the earth that you can only feel here in Sedona. Okay, so what does it really mean? A vortex is the funnel shape created by the motion of spiraling energy. Huh? Well, even though you’re probably scratching your head the same way we all were, I was still interested in actually finding one of these spots in Sedona to see if I felt any differently after having been there. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be…not on this trip, at least…so we’ll just have to return and take one of the Vortex Tours. After giving up on finding these spiritual spots in this beautiful valley, we ate some dinner then headed out to a remote area in the Sedona Valley to join an Evening Sky Tour. If you are really into Astronomy you’ll absolutely love this. We saw Saturn, a few galaxies, and many many stars (don’t expect me to remember all of their names). It was a really fun experience, one that I would highly recommend!

I dreamed of Sedona…Day 12

Deborah Kay Parker 3/14/53 - 4/21/05

When we first started planning this trip, coming to Sedona was not on the list. It just kind of happened, “hey let’s go to Sedona!” I suppose it was all part of the plan all along since a very wise person once (okay maybe several times) told me, “everything happens for a reason.” My mother, Deborah Kay Parker passed away April 21, 2005. She was an artist who loved to work with beads and copper. Just like this wild and beautiful land of Red Rocks she was a free spirit and truely danced to her own beat. She would have fit in with all this color and carefree living. She had always said, “one day I’m going to go to Sedona!” Well she’s here in spirit and before I leave on Thursday I will lay the rest of her ashes to rest in this beautiful valley. My heart is in Utah so before we left this morning I spread some of her ashes in Utah. But it was always Sedona that she dreamed of visiting… Your dream came true mom!

Cheers!

I’m here with my best friend and husband Eric, your brother Wes and sister-in-law Lorie, Uncle Charlie & Aunt Sharon. We are having a blast and we sat around at dinner talking about life, family, and you. You’re still in our hearts and we love and miss you. (www.mem.com)

I wish I may, I wish I might…

Heaven on Earth

The night Brandi passed away was very surreal. I was very sad to have this beautiful soul leave my life in body, but she will forever be in my soul. We rescued her from the pound over 9 years ago, but in reality it was a mutual rescue. She brought so much joy to our lives. The souls of dogs are so special. No matter what you do, your dog still loves you at the end of the day. I always felt I was apart of her world instead of the other way around. The spirit of those no longer with us are is a very powerful thing. These pictures really depict the feeling of what I felt that night. I have never seen so many stars or the constellations as was laid out before us on April 19th. I think of her as being amongst the stars. Enjoy!

Starry Starry Night

Can you take me Higher…Day 11

Where Angels Land

Our plans to hike The Narrows were let down when we found out from the Zion Adventure Outfitters that the river was flowing too high for us to hike it. Not to be deterred we set out to hike up to Emerald Pools and Angels Landing. For anyone that is challenged by heights or extreme grades and cliffs you could potentially fall off of, Angels Landing will be a true test. At it’s crest Angel’s Landing is a little over 1400 feet. My brother Gregory and my Husband Eric were the only two to make it to the top. Wes came in a close 2nd and I was 3rd. Both Wes and I made it to approximately 1100 feet, Last but not least Lorie made it to about 900 feet, only because everyone else was already descending by then. She was a really big help of encourgement for me on the heights issue. No small feat seeing as how I am very challenged by heights. I just about lost my lunch when I viewed Gregory’s pics later and saw that he sat right on the edge of the cliff. The last leg of this hike you have to use the aid of a chain to hang onto. But oh what a view…

So lets go there
Lets make our escape
Come on; lets go there
Lets ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets (Creed..Higher)

Goodbye my friend… end of a journey April 19

The sun will shine upon you forever...

Today while updating our blog, my beloved Brandi died in my arms. I knew I did not have that much more time with her. She will forever be in my heart. From the moment Eric and I rescued her from the pound to her last dying breath she was a big part of our life. I love you Mama Girl.

Brandi and Nala at home - Best of Friends

When we first met.

Just Breathe…Day 10

Zion Ponderosa Ranch

Just a short little drive from Bryce Canyon and we found ourselves at our next stay, Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Resort. Zion National Park is yet another jewel in the great State of Utah. Before we head out on our trip through The Narrows tomorrow…We couldn’t have picked a better day to just sit back by the pool and just “be.” Not a cloud in the sky and it’s about 80 degrees. I just got out of sitting in the hot tub to relax my tired muscles. Ahhhh. Utah is such a beautiful state, so spiritual and inspirational all at once. You cannot help but sit back and…just breathe!