The Grand Canyon

Our Friend Jema talks about our lives as a tapestry. StudioJemma
 I love that idea! It has never been as evident to me as it was this week, here in Williams AZ at the Grand Canyon. Who could have guessed meeting the Temme family in 2010 would result in our riding a train at the Grand Canyon? Permit me if you will, to do a bit of time traveling. A few years ago, I received a new student when I was teaching second grade. Ella came in and never left! I was lucky enough to have her again in fourth grade. The thing is, Ella and her family have been woven throughout the tapestry of my life in such unexpected ways. Soon her mother and I were teaching together and our kids had sleep overs. We shared ideas when troubleshooting my son’s learning issues, and oddly enough, during my travels, as I opened up any magazine article about the Grand Canyon, there would be… ELLA! Her father Scott works for the Grand Canyon railroad. So, as we approached the Grand Canyon this month we were delighted when Scott invited us to be filmed on the Grand Canyon Railroad. Scott took amazing care of us, setting us up in the fantastic campground near the station, and putting us on the train all the way up to the Grand Canyon and back! (First class and Dome car!) We had dinner and lunch and treated all around like celebrities! (Yes, deep down Aiden and I were fairly certain this was the only life we were meant to live. Jacob and Alan weren’t so sure about that part! ) It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences made even sweeter by the fact that we were able to spend time with Ella’s Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and cousins along the way.

We had a camera crew with us the whole way and they were fantastic guys, very kind. The train is THE MOST CIVILIZED WAY TO TRAVEL! For the life of me I cannot understand why this isn’t the way we all travel all the time. Even if you are not being served drinks, and snacks and have a private car, (Oh no? You aren’t traveling that way, hmmmm) it is so relaxing, so meditative, so soothing! I just can’t say enough about the Grand Canyon Railroad.

The customer service was fantastic, the people kind and caring. The actors that “robbed” the train and the musicians that strolled around were all top notch. It was an amazing experience.

For me one of the most inspiring pieces was standing on the back platform and watching the tracks speed away behind me. I hope when I finally die it’s just like that. Smooth, calm, letting the past slip quietly away, no struggling to hold on. It is something I will meditate on for years to come. Hard to describe but one of the most soothing experiences of my life.

OH! The Grand Canyon! I almost forgot! Yep, it was amazing too! I was a bit sad. I think as a product of my desensitized generation it was hard to interpret what I was seeing. It seemed like a movie or a setting and though I was sure I should be feeling some deep connection to all things, all I could think was, “is the camera getting my crows feet?” Ah, vanity! It seemed unreal! I think I need to spend some time at the bottom of the canyon to appreciate it.  Alan and the boys however were clearly able to incorporate what they were seeing as they were awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the Canyon. The colors, the contrast in the landforms, the levels of  rocks, were extraordinary.

There was an AMAZING Hopi group dancing there and some wonderful architecture by Mary Colvert. That was awe inspiring as well! She was a woman who made all these amazing buildings in a time when women were not supposed to work, in a place that was only attempted by the most hardy of our citizens. This woman, these Hopi Natives, The Temme family, people from all over the world coming together to see a giant crack in the earth, all weaving in and out of a bigger tapestry. We are profoundly grateful for all of you being a part of our tapestry!

Off to stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and see the petrified forest!!

Ranch Parade

Watching my children flourish at the ranch is fantastic. Jacob loves getting up at the crack of dawn to let all the dogs out and they follow around behind him like a fourth of July parade.  First is always Dually, or Doo-bug. He is the LARGEST yellow lab in existence and the very definition of a gentle giant.  His huge head comes up to Jacob’s  ribs and he follows everywhere with a dopey love look on his face.  Right up until someone comes up the drive and then he becomes the most terrifying of spectacles. Needless to say we feel very safe with a dog that is both a pillow and the terminator. Next in line is our Bridgeeta who has taken to ranch life and is constantly covered in a grim layer of horse poo. She is loving her current surroundings as the Wild Dog of Borneo. I don’t dare wash her until the day before we leave as I am sure it will only be interpreted as an invitation to roll in more poop. Behind her is Barney, the Basset hound. He is really just the canine version of Aiden. He rarely listens unless it suits him and when scolded he looks away out in the distance as if he is posing for an Olan Mills picture in the 70’s.  As a Bassett hound he is really just one long muscle and very strong and thick. He is also under the misconception that he is a lap dog so evening cuddle time is hysterical to watch.

Bringing up the rear is Miss Maggie May. She is ancient and has been kicked by the horses a number of times leaving her hobbling and arthritic but still so indomitably happy that the idea of sending her to the rainbow bridge is unfathomable.  She gets whatever she wants from us as we have been smitten from the time she stayed with us 11 years ago as a puppy. She decided to join me in the tub then, I was very pregnant and couldn’t get myself out of the tub much less myself and a water-loving puppy. However, days of hopping into tubs un-invited are long since gone, now she moves her position about the yard and house a few times a day. She hauls herself up to the barn on special occasions to watch the feeding of the horses. She is an incredible shedder and I am certain that one day as we brush her all her remaining hair will fall out and we’ll find a small Chihuahua beneath.

(I am re-watching Downton Abbey and I call her the Dowager Countess, I think she likes it.)

The parade winds its way up the hill to the barn and the pasture. It’s feeding time and Whiskey and Reba meet Jacob at the fence line. They won’t actually eat the hay he throws over, they bypass it for the sweet spring grasses in the next pasture over. But they seem to appreciate the effort and should. Jacob has horrific hay fever and despite a Singular and a Claritan he spends each day here unable to breathe, a snotty mess. It’s a cruel irony that he adores the hay, the animals and entire place but the price he pays for it is his ability to breathe. Still he doesn’t complain a bit, does it gladly and this morning has decided to wash his parade of dogs in the kiddie pool. I can’t see it ending well for any of them.

And where is Aiden in all of this, sound asleep of course. The human version of Barney is meant for the finer things in life. Clearly the joy of ranch life at sunrise is something he would rather leave to the ranch hands. We’ll gladly take it.

Maggie Making a liar out of me and jumping in the pool uninvited...
GO GIRL!

"This is soooooo not happening. If I don't look it's not real."

I love Bridgeeta's face in this one. This is Whiskey, he and Aiden are inexplicably attached at the hip.