Road Trip

Arizona Part 3: Sedona

Day 5: Red Rock State Park

We started our first full day in Sedona at the Coffee Pot Restaurant. Named after the nearby rock formation, this diner boasts a menu of 101 omelets. I had a wonderful omelet but was overwhelmed by the crowded space and endless choices. We had been in the wilderness for less than a week, but I was certainly not ready for the onslaught of civilization. We quickly ate and retreated to the trails.

There are lots of trails along the Red Rock Loop and it seems like you really can’t go wrong anywhere here. We decided to first check out Red Rock State Park. After sorting out the backpacks and gear and slathering on the SPF, Evie, perhaps feeling my uncomfortable vibes at breakfast, decided to have a complete meltdown in the parking lot when we tried to put her in the backpack.

We packed everything back into the car, including Evie, and went for a short drive to another trailhead. That did the trick and we were back on schedule. We let her walk on her own for a bit and after a short while she was ready for the pack and a nap. The trail started out in a lovely forest and crossed the clear Oak Creek. From there the hardwoods gave way to prickly pear and juniper as we got farther away from the water. I was super excited to find a bright pink hedgehog cactus bloom and even a lone yellow prickly pear bloom.

After climbing to some views, we headed back to the Visitors Center for some shade. There is a nice little patio outside next to a garden with several bird and hummingbird feeders. The birds were everywhere, the hummingbirds buzzed and we even spied a snake resting in the shade. Then we headed to a big picnic area to sit in the shade and made our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

It was still early afternoon but too hot to go for another hike. So we headed back up Oak Creek Canyon and stopped at Indian Gardens for something cold. The charming market didn’t disappoint with its selection of cold beverages. I peaked out onto the patio and decided we HAD to go back the next day for breakfast. Then we drove a bit farther and found a spot to pull off the road and access the creek.

The spot was shady and cool. We got Evie into her swimsuit and my husband took her out into the calm, cool water. She couldn’t get enough. She walked right in with zero hesitation and had no intention of leaving the water. She splashed around in the mud and collected more rocks. I lounged on a boulder and sipped a cold crisp cider. We decided this was the only way to survive here.

 

Day 6: Sedona to Scottsdale

The next morning we headed back to Indian Gardens for breakfast. We sat in the cool morning air on the patio surrounded by flowers. Evie dug into her massive toast with almond butter, bananas, and honey. She needed a bath after that! I savored my tasty chai latte and breakfast sandwich. I could definitely get used to this place.

Next we headed back to the Red Rock Loop and found the Margs Draw Trail. I love how easy it is to find a trail in Sedona, there seems to be an endless supply. Evie was more cooperative this time and my husband carried her as I pointed too a bunch of quails that took over a small tree. She looked at them stoically, unimpressed. I scoured the prickly pear for blooms and admired the minty green of the agave.

Rusty rock formations towered above us and I struggled to recognize the shapes they were named after: Snoopy, coffee pot, cathedral, bell, courthouse. Sure, I suppose you could make out the references if you looked really hard, but I preferred to just think of them as wild rocks untarnished of images of ordinary things. They deserve better.

The day grew warmer and warmer and it seemed we had hiked much more than the 1.5 miles one way advertised in the guide book. We dipped into countless washes and I scanned the horizon with eagle eyes looking for coyotes. I wanted to see one so bad! I knew it was unlikely they would be out in the heat of the day. We were getting tired and hot when we decided we had indeed gone farther than 1.5 miles and turned around. Not long after that we ran into a family from Florida who told us they were lost. The mother was convinced they were going the wrong way and we showed them the way back to the road. They hadn’t been out for long and were so close to civilization that there was no way I thought it would be possible to get lost. Right? They didn’t have any water with them but they were joking and having fun. Later we ran into another couple from Phoenix who also told us they were lost. Man, this was not a place where I would want to be even the slightest bit lost.

After what turned out to be closer to a 6 mile round trip hike, we found refuge in the air conditioning of the car. Our plastic America the Beautiful pass had warped beyond repair on the dashboard, but the water in the shade of the back seat stayed cool. As we headed south out of Sedona, I wanted something cold. We stopped at the gas station and they were completely out of ice cream and popsicles of any kind! I was outraged but then decided that it made sense in this crazy desert. I settled for a cherry Slurpee.

Our destination for the day was a hotel with air conditioning and a shower in Scottsdale that I was admittedly very excited to get to. We had a little ways to go though, and we decided to take the scenic route. We drove through the high little mountain towns of Pine and Strawberry and when we saw signs for the Tonto Natural Bridge, I looked it up in the book. It seemed like it might be cool and we needed a break anyway, so we stopped.

We hiked down a short and steep trail into a large canyon of travertine. The tan canyon walls looked like they were melting into the abyss. As we dropped down into the canyon we had to hop across smooth eroded rock to get below the bridge. When we finally saw it our jaws dropped. The bridge and tunnel below it were massive. Up close the massive and porous travertine boulders looked like dinosaur bones. It was one of the most bizarre and fascinating places I’ve ever been. I was so  glad we stopped even if it slightly delayed my cold shower. It was worth it.

As our plane descended into Seattle the next morning, my starved eyes were fed with the most brilliant of greens. While we were gone, the trees had leafed out into piercing spring emerald green. I felt so lucky to live in a place with so much green and water. I also came home with a respect for the desert, for the availability of drinking water, and frankly a love of Arizona that I was not expecting. This trip made a lasting impression on me- I think of that man washing his dishes in such little water often and find myself scanning the road side for wildlife. I look forward to returning to Arizona. Always in the coolest of seasons, and always looking for coyotes.

Reading List

Reading List: Arizona

The first thing I think about when preparing for a trip is not what am I going to wear or pack, but what am I going to READ? I am a true believer that reading is the best way to get to know a place and to enrich any trip with an understanding of the land, history, and people. As I prepare for a trip to Arizona I wanted to share what books I’m reading. Hopefully you will find one to enrich your next trip to the land of desert and stone.

 

In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde

I love a good story that puts strangers together in uncomfortable situations. Twelve people come together for a trip of a lifetime; a two week long rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. It is a great mix of personalities including enthusiastic couples, parents with young boys, a teenager reeling with body image issues, a lonely middle aged female professor, and of course, some fun-loving, drinking river guides. The senior guide, though, is celebrating his 125th trip down the river. He was hoping for a straight forward and easy run, but these trips are never particularly predictable. This beautiful and subtle novel celebrates the impressions and developments in character that come with such epic adventures.

 

 

 

 

 

The Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen Meloy

This beautiful and original ode to color sucked me in on the first page. Ellen is grieving the loss of her brother as she travels the desert Southwest to make her art. While she waits for her brother to speak to her through her paintbrushes and crayons, she observes the natural world down to its bones. Science and natural history is so effortlessly placed in the stories that you won’t even notice that you are learning some fascinating stuff. Ellen was renowned in literary circles for her exquisite nature writing when she suddenly and sadly passed away in 2004. Shortly before she died she wrote, “…in the desert there is everything and there is nothing. Stay curious. Know where you are—your biological address. Get to know your neighbors—plants, creatures, who lives there, who died there, who is blessed, cursed, what is absent or in danger or in need of your help. Pay attention to the weather, to what breaks your heart, to what lifts your heart. Write it down.”

 

 

 

 

Pure Land by Annette McGivney

This fast-paced true crime story packs a punch. In 2006, a young Japanese nature lover named Tomomi Hanamure was brutally murdered at the popular hiking destination Havasu Falls in the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Her alleged killer was an 18 year old Havasupai. Annette McGivney traces both Tomomi and the young killer’s steps that led to the murder. But more than just a murder mystery, Annette dives deep into the history of the Havasupai reservation and its fraught ties with the National Park system and local authorities. She also gracefully builds Tomomi’s world as a young ambitious women who traveled to the US from Japan by herself and fell in love with the land of the American West and its native people. I could not put this book down and can’t recommend it enough.

 

 

 

 

 

Canyon Solitude by Patricia C. McCairen

When Patricia got a chance to raft the Grand Canyon and couldn’t find anyone to do it with her, she decided to just do it by herself. It is truly a grand undertaking and one not to be taken lightly. But she is a seasoned rafting guide and fiercely independent, and nothing was going to stop her from accomplishing her goal. She takes us along on her journey down the canyon, and also through her sometimes contradictory thoughts along the way. She knows the importance of solitude and certainly embraces it, but she also battles with the voices in her head that tell her she should be enjoying other’s company. It’s a state of mind that I can relate to, and Patricia does a lovely job of explaining these emotions while accomplishing something that has only been achieved by few.

 

 

 

 

The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko

Leslie begins this memoir by telling stories of her walks into Tucson from her home in the foothills of nearby mountains. It is a desert, but what she finds on her daily walks is the stuff of beauty. She finds turquoise rocks that appear out of nowhere, and so much life, a seemingly unlikely find on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. Geology, history, and Native American lore spider through these stories like the dark veins of a turquoise gemstone in this important memoir about life in the Southwest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the Hundredth Meridian by Wallace Stegner

This is the incredible story of John Wesley Powell, a soldier who lost an arm in the Civil War and then went on to lead expeditions through the Grand Canyon in wooden boats, and in the Rocky Mountains and surrounding rivers. During his explorations, he found intrigue in the Native Americans and was ahead of his time in considering the affects and detriments that people can cause to the land. He was a staunch advocate of conservation and discouraged settlers from establishing farms that would tax the little available water in this arid land.

 

 

 

 

 

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Trailblazers

Mary Colter

If you’ve been to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park, you have probably heard of, or at least recognize, the name Mary Colter. Born in 1869, she was one of very few female architects, not just in the company she worked for, but in the entire country. She is known for her love of Native American art and she made it her mission to incorporate it and the local culture into all of her designs.

When Mary was 11 years old her family settled in St Paul, Minnesota. At the time, this part of the country was considered the Northwest. Here she was introduced to the Sioux people. She acquired some Sioux art from a friend which spurred her lifelong interest in Native American culture and art. When a smallpox epidemic tore through the town, Mary’s mother told her to burn anything from the Native Americans fearing that they would contract the disease. Mary didn’t give up her Sioux drawings and hid them instead. She kept those drawings for her whole life after that. She later attended art school in San Francisco and then moved back to St Paul and became an art teacher.

The Lookout Studio, blending into the canyon

She began her career at the Fred Harvey Company when she did a summer job for them decorating the Indian Building at the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque. She fell in love with the southwest and the Native American art she discovered there. She later got hired on at the company and transitioned from interior designer into lead architect over her impressive 38 years there. The Fred Harvey Company was famous for building fine restaurants and hotels along the railroads of the West. Harvey started his grand endeavor after finding disappointing food and lodging along the young continental railroads. So he teamed up with the Santa Fe Railroad to bring in fresh food and to build luxurious hotels at stops along the route.

Mary decorated and arranged many shops at the hotels that sold Native American goods and art. She showcased the art and rugs by laying them out like they would be in a home. She wanted to make the shops feel cozy and inviting, a place where you could relax and mingle with the artists and ask them questions. She also encouraged guests to pick up and touch the artwork which was revolutionary at the time and made her quite popular.

Desert View Tower interior with Hopi Snake Legend painting

The Hopi House in Grand Canyon National Park was her first commissioned architectural work built in 1905. She designed it to look like a pueblo built by the Hopi people. She painstakingly oversaw every detail to make sure that the building sufficiently represented the Hopi culture. She continued her quest for coziness by including two fireplaces on the main floor. The Native American artists were housed in the second level of the building while they made their art. You can still find gorgeous displays of artwork there today.

Her other works at Grand Canyon include the Lookout Studio and Hermit’s Rest, both designed to blend into the fantastic scenery and built of stone straight from the canyon. The Lookout Studio was built to compete with the nearby Kolb photography studio run by the famous Kolb brothers. Hermit’s Rest was built several miles down the rim from the Village as a place of rest after a long day’s journey. It was named for a reclusive mountain man who lived in the area and helped to build the structure.

Mary meticulously planned the placement of each stone, not to look perfect, but rather to give it a haphazard, organic look. If it looked too planned or perfect, she would have the workers remove the section and start again. Both Lookout Studio and Hermit’s Rest showcase Mary’s strong belief in blending her work into the beauty of a place rather than compete with it. Mary also designed cabins at Phantom Ranch down in the cabin on the Bright Angel Trail, as well as the charming cabins at Bright Angel Lodge.

Mary’s masterpiece at the Grand Canyon, though, was her last commissioned work there, the Desert View Tower. Built in 1932, the tower was inspired by similar, although much smaller, towers she saw at ancient pueblos at Mesa Verde. This was not a direct replica like the Hopi House, but rather a celebration of many southwest Native American cultures. Mary included little touches like ornamental rocks modeled after Choco Canyon and a rock stacking style from Wupatki. The interior opens up into a kiva-like round room with, of course, a cozy fireplace. The interior of the tower portion is covered in replicas of now destroyed petroglyphs and large colorful paintings of Hopi legend and symbolism. Mary spent six months researching and planning the artwork and even created a handwritten guide to the paintings. The tower beautifully represents Mary’s fascination and respect for the Native American cultures and displays her impressive attention to detail while maintaining an effortless air about it.

 

Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest by Arnold Berke

Between her time working at the Grand Canyon, Mary designed some gorgeous mission style hotels in New Mexico and Arizona that are depicted in this book along with many wonderful photos of Mary herself, her other masterful designs, and her inspirations. The book captures the spirit of the western romanticism that took over the country in the heyday of continental train tourism in the early 20th century. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more about this time or is intrigued by this wonderful trailblazer.

Road Trip

Arizona Part 2: Grand Canyon

Day 3: Grand Canyon National Park

The next morning was like Christmas. We woke up to the soft rays of the rising sun through the juniper and prickly pear. We bundled up, made breakfast (I rushed it as much as possible), and then headed over to Desert Tower, not far from our campsite. The sky was a dark, piercing blue, the kind you get on a crisp fall day, and just a few clouds lingered from the interesting weather from the past day. The strange-looking stone tower was not open yet and we had the place to ourselves. We took in the sweeping views, down into the heart of the canyon as the Colorado shined like a silver snake.

The scale of the canyon is of course difficult to describe. It is a thing that you have to see to believe. One could sit and look for days into the canyon and see a thousand new things. I know people hike rim to rim, but from here it seemed an impossible task. The north rim must be at least 10 miles away as the crow flies, if not more. I am used to thinking that the higher up you go into the mountains, the more remote it is. Here, though, it is the opposite. It felt kind of strange and voyeuristic to look down into the remote canyon, knowing that people were down there with little in the way of amenities tackling their journeys while we were watching cozy and comfy from above.

After we tore ourselves away from the gorgeous views, we drove to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center to start our hike. The vibe here was much different than what we got at Desert Tower. We pulled into a massive parking lot that was already almost full and we committed the red antelope on the parking lot sign to memory like we were in an amusement park. We followed the people to the visitor center and found the Rim Trail.

The Rim Trail is nice in that it is mostly accessible for anyone, is easy to follow, and you can walk as long as you’d like and then hop on a shuttle bus to get back to the car. I appreciated the setup with the shuttle buses and how it keeps cars off the roads and in turn keeps pollution and noise down. There were lots of people on the trail in the beginning but then the crowds thinned as we kept on. Our first stop was the geology museum at Yavapai Point in a little stone building perched on the rim. It wasn’t all that impressive to be honest, but as we left the museum and continued on the trail, we entered into the “Trail of Time” where time was depicted as golden markers on the trail.

We passed through a few hundred years quite quickly and kept into the thousands. After a while we passed by examples of the type of rock that was formed during that time period. Once we got into the millions of years ago, it started to get good. I enjoyed reading off the familiar names of the rock formations like Kaibab, Coconino, Supai, Bright Angel, Temple Butte. Then we got into the really fun ones, like folded Vishnu basement rock and Jupiter granite. These rocks were billions of years old! It was kind of mind-blowing.

Next we stopped to check out the Hopi House store. It was architect Mary Colter’s first work in the Grand Canyon and she modeled it after a pueblo. Native Americans were welcome to come and sell their goods here, and today it still serves as the best place along the south rim to souvenir shop. I picked up some things there including the gorgeous children’s book, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, and another one called Everybody Needs a Rock since Evie was in a serious rock collecting phase (we actually found little rocks in her baby pockets when we got home which almost made my heart explode with love).

We watched some hikers complete the long uphill climb of the Bright Angel Trail and then grabbed some lunch at the famous Bright Angel Lodge. Then we kept on walking. The views never got old and there was so much history to see. We checked out the Kolb Studio where the famous Kolb brothers showed the first motion picture from the inside of the canyon, filmed on their own journey down the Colorado. There was also its sleek rival, Lookout Studio. Unfortunately, both studios are now just souvenir shops without much reference to what they once were. We walked some more until we got tired and hopped on the shuttle to the end of the road at Hermit’s Rest.

There we basked in the sun and ordered ice cream at the little walk up store window. I waited in line while my husband and Evie went off to find a place to sit in the shade. Someone in front of me was asking where everyone was from. They answered: California, Australia, France, Germany. We Americans were in the minority and that felt kind of nice. I found my husband and Evie under a tree and Evie was making a little pile of rocks as became her favorite thing to do on this trip. We found respite from our day’s journey, as intended, and when we’d had enough, we hopped back on the shuttle to the village. On the way back we saw tons of elk along the road, just hanging out.

At the village we walked back the few miles to the parking lot. All of the sudden we noticed the clouds. Virga hung in the air in the canyon and it felt like you could reach out and touch it. Sunlight filtered through the openings in the clouds and highlighted ridges in the canyon, giving it even more dimension. We watched the clouds move around us and then we could see the hail coming down up ahead of us. It was only a matter of time until it hit us and turned to rain. It seemed that we missed the worst of it, though, as we watched people drenched from head to toe walking past us.

Later that night after dinner we headed back to the Desert Tower to watch the sunset. There was a crowd of people sitting along the edge. A few of the dramatic rain clouds stuck around for a show and we admired one as we found a nice rock to sit on among the crowd. It was quiet and we were all there for the same reason. Together we watched the blaze of yellow disappear behind the north rim and we experienced a famous Grand Canyon sunset. I have to say, it was quite grand.

Day 4: Grand Canyon to Sedona

The next morning we got a later start and headed back to Desert Tower. This time it was open so we went in to check it out. I didn’t know anything about the tower so when we walked up the stairs to the tower part, my jaw dropped. The inside of the tower was, from bottom to top, covered in Native American art. It was so beautiful and I wondered where it all came from. Turns out is was another of Mary Colter’s creations. I made a mental note to find out more about this woman (more about her later). I was so glad that we took the time to go back and see the inside of it. It is now one of my very favorite places.

Before we headed back out of the National Park, we stopped at the Tusayan ruins. The pueblo-like structures date back to 1185 AD and include the remains of a small Kiva. This is a room where the ancient people would gather for ceremonies, rituals, and meetings. Nearby, there was an open field where it is believed that people grew crops and collected water. The surrounding forest was full of useful plants. The information signs called it a “supermarket.” Pinon pines and Utah Juniper supplied wood for construction, heating, and cooking. The pine needles were used to make baskets and brewed into tea. The tree bark was used to make sandals and insulation, and pinon nuts and juniper berries were collected and eaten. The tough leaves of the yucca were braided into rope or made into shoes.

Next we headed back south toward Flagstaff and decided to stop and check out the Wupatki ruins in the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. This part of the park was much different than near the volcano. It was an open desert, prairie-like with little to no trees, just a few shrubs here and there. As we drove along the winding loop road we spotted some pronghorns watching us from a small hill. The loop road has several stops with short trails leading to ruins. These ruins also date back to the 1100’s and are pueblo-style.

The first ruin was Lomaki, meaning “beautiful house.” Evie fell asleep on the drive so my husband and I took turns on the short trail to let her nap in the car. The pueblo was situated above a small box canyon with views of the snow-capped San Fransisco peaks. These are the remains of a large stratovolcano and include Arizona’s highest peak, Humphreys Peak. It felt lonely there, out in the middle of nowhere, and I really really wanted to spot coyote or some more pronghorns, but no luck.

We continued on to the next ruins, Nalakihu and Citadel pueblos. Evie woke up so we all ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the blazing sun before tackling this one. Then she walked on her own all the way up to the top of the Citadel! I was so proud of her, even if we did have to stop and look at at least 500 rocks on the way. I’m totally ok with that.

Our last stop on the loop road was Wupatki, the largest and most impressive ruin. The National Parks paper says that life at Wupatki, “revolved around growing corn, praying for rain, and finding ways for people with diverse backgrounds to live together as a community.” The name Wupatki, means “tall house” in the Hopi language. It is several stories tall and contains over 100 rooms. This was a major trade center where traders would bring all kinds of exotic goods like scarlet macaws brought from tropical places and of course pottery, jewelry, and turquoise. Life here must have been very difficult, given there is little rain and vegetation.

In the visitor center you can borrow guide books that give information at certain locations along the trail. One of the most surprising things I read in the guide was that when this area became a National Monument, the rangers actually lived inside the ruins. They had kitchens and everything and often brought their wives to come live with them. Before that, it was common for sheepherders and cattlemen to live there too. I can’t imagine this happening now as it is so protected.

Back on road we drove for a bit and stopped at Walnut Canyon. It was getting quite hot outside now and the short trail from the visitor’s center dropped down 200 feet into the canyon and onto an “island.” The surrounding canyon was full of cliff dwellings. We pointed them out to each other and then pondered how on earth anyone could get to them. They were created roughly 800 years ago by the Sinagua people. They were most likely attracted to this canyon because of its abundance of plants and wildlife. It seems desolate now, but it is cool to think that long ago this canyon was full of people and you could just climb over to visit your neighbor’s dwelling.

It was getting late in the afternoon and it was also getting seriously hot. We drove to our next destination, Sedona, and found a campsite in Oak Creek Canyon. We set up camp and drove into town to find some food and refuge from the sun. We found some delicious Mexican food with lovely views of the surrounding red rocks. Then we came back to the campsite for our evening ritual of prickly pear candy and prickly pear tea before bed. There weren’t many rocks at this campsite, so I showed Evie that she could also collect pine cones. She went straight to work. When she was done we got her ready for bed and read her favorite Pancakes, Pancakes book and an adorable Native American board book about weather that I picked up at Brightside Books in Flagstaff. We were getting into a new routine now. I preferred this one and I knew it would be tough to go back to our old one.

Handmade

Desert Edition

I’ve been inspired by desert tones lately- sage green, dusty pink, and sandy tan. Here are some handmade picks I found to celebrate them. 🙂

 

Ceramic Cactus Mug by Pottery Lodge

Holy cats, I love these mugs. I bought so much prickly pear tea in Arizona and I want to do is drink it all from one of these sweet sweet mugs. The maker, Casi, is from Texas and learned to make ceramics by watching her grandmother make pottery. She learned the basics and then taught herself more advanced techniques meanwhile growing her own art business. She’s got a spunky style that I appreciate and each piece is made by hand with love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prickly Pear Enamel Pin by The Swanky Cactus

If you are obsessed (like I am right now) with prickly pear cactus, this adorable enamel pin is the best way to display your love. The talent behind the Swanky Cactus comes from a fellow Ashley who is inspired by strange forest fungus and moss. A girl after my heart! I fell in love with the prickly pear on our recent trip to Arizona and this fun pin brings me back to the desert with its bright colors.

 

 

 

Desert Nights Dad Hat by KaeRaz

Based in Phoenix, AZ, KaeRaz specializes in vintage southwest clothing and accessories for women. I love that the “dad” hat is back in style. This one has a particularly adorable logo that encompasses some of my very favorite things: big rocks, cacti, and the moon. Not to mention that any trip to the desert seriously requires a hat because, ugh that sun!

 

 

 

 

 

Sundown Chenile Patch by Eradura

There is something special about a desert sunset. The colors are unlike anything I’ve seen. This sweet little patch captures the golden and pink hues of those wonderful and awe-inspiring sunsets. The creator, Erica, says, “Desert imagery isn’t so much my inspiration as it is what comes tumbling out of me naturally. It’s the language that I know.” She also says that this patch can be a great way to keep the desert close to your heart. Love.

 

 

 

 

 

Cactus Print by Good Vibes Motel

What better way to show your love of the desert than with a print in your home. I love the elegance and simplicity of this dreamy collage print. The great thing about this is that you purchase the image as a digital download that you can print at home or send to a print shop. This allows for lots of flexibility in size and aspect ratio to fit into any space in your home.

 

 

 

 

 

Desert Zipper Pouch by Mama Bleu Designs

The creator, Laura, from Mama Bleu Designs, celebrates her mom, a person who loved giving “just because” gifts in all of her creations including these great pouches. My favorite thing about these little zipper pouches is that they come in several different sizes. I love to use these for traveling and hiking to store my wallet, phone, and other important items. They are also great for carrying along your journal and writing utensils, sketching supplies, or other art supplies and can be personalized. They make great gifts for any fashionable traveling lady and their crew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geometric Planter by Annabelle Taylor Co

The geometry lover in me has to have these chic planters. They are perfect for a cactus or two, or of course, some sassy succulents. Annabelle’s goal with her creations is to bring color into people’s lives, and with it, joy. She hails from Portland, Oregon and is a fierce advocate for animal rights. She takes care to research all of her mediums to ensure they are vegan and cruelty-free.

 

 

 

 

 

Chevron Pillow by Leah Duncan

This pillow screams SUNSHINE to me. It is bright and colorful and has a nice balance that is not over-the-top. Leah hails from Austin, TX (a place with lots of sun) and has an extensive line of textiles, stationary, and home goods. It is worth checking out her website to see her fun and colorful Scandinavian style. I want this for my summer hyggekrog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cactus Earrings by Elisabeth Space

These earrings are inspired by the feeling Elisabeth got when seeing a saguaro cactus for the first time when she was three or four years old visiting family in Phoenix: “WHOA!” She describes them as otherworldly and huge and says they left her awestruck. This is exactly the same reaction I had when seeing the mighty saguaro for the first time on our recent road trip in Arizona. They are truly impressive. What is also impressive? Elisabeth saws out each of these sterling silver earrings by hand.

 

 

 

Road Trip

Arizona Part 1: Verde Valley

Day 1: Phoenix to Dead Horse Ranch State Park

In the beginning of May we headed to Arizona for our annual spring road trip. (We did a spring road trip last year, so now it’s a tradition, right?) I was super excited because I had never been there and had been wanting to go there for a long time. We flew into Phoenix and headed north. Like last year, we didn’t have much of a plan. We stopped at REI and bought a map and a National Parks pass and I cracked open my guide book while my husband drove.

We headed to the small town of Cottonwood where I found Dead Horse State Park on the map. We found great camping there with gorgeous views. They even had showers AND a dish washing station. It was a little chilly and dark clouds threatened as we set up and got our bearings. We were in the Verde Valley and could see the “J” indicating the mining town of Jerome up in the mountains above us. Virga hung in the air toward Jerome and the smell of ozone overwhelmed us. We made a quick dinner and prepped for stormy weather in the tent. We bundled up and put Evie in her winter jam jams and sleep sack. It was not exactly the desert weather we were expecting!

Rain showers came and went all night but it was mostly dry when we woke up. We made breakfast and I took the dishes to wash at the station. An older man was already there, just getting started. I made myself cozy nearby and waited. It was a beautiful morning and it felt so good to just sit and watch a little yellow bird twitter around in a tree. The man finished with his dishes and I realized that I barely heard him use any water. Ah yes, of course, we were in a desert. Water is a valued resource here and not to be wasted. This was a good reminder of the importance of clean and fresh water and one that stuck with me.

Day 2: Tuzigoot to Desert View & Everything in between

We started the day at the nearby Tuzigoot Ruins. This ancient 110-room pueblo was built by the Sinagua people who lived there between 1000 and 1400. The stone structure sits atop a small hill with a view of the river valley below. We were surprised by how green it was along the Verde River, but should have guessed. We decided it was a nice place to make a home, beside the river and up high to see everything around. But it was exposed, and must get incredibly hot.

On this day, however, it was not hot. As we walked along the short path it began to rain and as each drop hit the ground it seemed to release every smell the surface had ever encountered. It smelled of coyote urine and dried grass. Ghosts of all the fauna that visited and all the flora that lived and died since the last rain were released all at once. The rain then picked up and converged into hail. We moved more quickly and covered up Evie. The marble-sized hail stung my exposed toes (I insisted on wearing my Chacos despite the weather) and we took shelter in the visitor center. We and the park rangers on duty watched the hail out the window. The rangers were stunned and told us we were so lucky to be there in the rain. I squinted my eyes and told them we were from Seattle. They laughed and told us it hadn’t rained a drop since October, seven months ago.

It hailed and rained a bit longer while we ran to the car and snaked up to Jerome, an old ghost town perched on a 30 degree slope at 5200 feet. The town looks much like it did when it was a booming copper mining town with its wooden storefronts and rough exterior. It once boasted a population of over 10,000 people before the depression of the 1930’s. A hardy group of 50-100 stuck it out after the mine closed in the 1950’s. It regained popularity in the last 30 years and is now touted as a tourist destination and art community. We wandered around the old mine while Evie had her morning snacks.

Our next destination was Montezuma Castle. The impressive cliff dwellings were also built by the Sinagua people. It is one of the best preserved dwellings because of the protective alcove it was built in. It’s name is misleading. It didn’t have anything to do with Montezuma and was not a castle. It was more of an apartment complex with many rooms that were accessed by ladders and stood high above Beaver Creek which frequently flooded in monsoon season. When it was designated a National Monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, visitors could climb up and tour the dwellings. Safety became an issue, though, and the ladders were removed to also help preserve the space.

We then headed north again on the highway toward Flagstaff. As we climbed up in elevation it began to snow. It snowed and snowed until we got into town where the sunshine melted it away. We found a nice little restaurant with delicious tacos and I discovered the local Wild Tonic kombucha tea. We also discovered the most adorable Brightside Books next door. I could have stayed there all day perusing the books and chatting with the friendly staff, but alas, we were hoping to make it to the Grand Canyon that day, so we had to keep on our way.

We had time for another adventure, though, so we stopped at Sunset Crater Volcano for a short hike to stretch our legs. The black and red cinder cone is the dormant remnant of the volcano that last erupted around the year 1085. The landscape seems little changed since then. Pumice covers the mountain and lava pillows on the ground below it. The lava beds are extensive and reminiscent of those in Hawaii. It is amazing how little has grown here in the last 1000 years. Another reminder of how harsh the desert climate can be.

The ancient Sinagua people that lived nearby were forced to flee their settlements during the eruption. The lava flows extended to six miles in some places and the area was covered in ash. We passed by a hornito, Spanish for “little oven” on the trail. It was a perfectly circular area, flattened in the middle and ringed by lava rocks. It was a spatter cone formed by lava forced up through a chamber and accumulated on the edges. It was huge and I wondered what it would be like to see it’s formation. The eruption affected the people of the area profoundly. The Navajo people believe this cinder cone and others around the San Francisco Peaks are guardians and protectors. They still come here to give the mountain honor through offerings.

After our otherworldly visit to Sunset Crater, we seemed to enter yet another world as we continued north. The landscape changed abruptly and become quite flat and rusty red. The highway continued in what seemed like a perfectly straight line with nothing around except for an occasional group of cattle. When we turned west we began to climb again into dirt mountains with no trees, only brush. We climbed slowly until we saw a crack in the ground.

If we weren’t on the road just slightly above the Little Colorado River Gorge, we may have never known it was there. We found a pull off and looked down into the canyon below. We could barely see the bottom and it gave me little butterflies in my stomach. The Little Colorado River is the largest of the tributaries of the bigger Colorado, you know, the grand one. We were getting closer.

We drove up and up. We were surrounded by a sea of funny juniper trees. They are not very tall compared to the giants in the northwest and it just felt like we were on top of something. It is hard to describe this feeling. I kept scooching up in my seat like I might be able to see something in the distance. It was dinner time when we finally reached the Desert View campground just inside the boundary of the National Park. We pitched the tent and made some food in the last of the day’s light and warmed ourselves with prickly pear tea I picked up at the Montezuma Castle gift shop. I also got some deep red sugar-coated prickly pear jelly candy which we had for desert. It was delicious.

The temperature dropped quickly with the sunset and we braced ourselves and Evie for a cold night in the tent. I couldn’t get to sleep right away, not just because of the cold and the tea and the candy, but because of the excitement. Here we were, just the shortest distance away from the edge of the Grand Canyon, but we hadn’t even the tiniest glimpse of it yet. I couldn’t wait for my first ever Grand views in the morning. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.

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