spiritquest420666

NORAZ PT. III

Culture shock socializing, beautiful beautiful Bing, 40’s of Mickey’s, constant loud music, so much outdoorsing, Sedona disappointments, hiking in and out of canyons, hiding, lots of dogs, scuttles the skunk cat, sacrificial burning ceremony, Macy’s coffee shop, swimming in a cave, verde hot springs, parental kindness feasts, one working faucet, king sized bed, cottage house, hitchhikers returning home, Christian on ukulele, Grand Falls, Grand Canyon, everything so grand!, kickball, dogshredder, crystal magic, poetry “slam” van, sister “sissy”, surprise Stebbins. Loved Flagstaff.

-Rachelle

NORAZ PT. II

NORAZ PT. I

PT II

Tucson is a city of insane desert beauty. The heat sucked our hungover bodies dry, and we quenched our thirst with sandia agua frescas. The food was always delicious. Our generous kind friends Austin and Houston showed us around in the most incredible ways; we went to the desert museum, drove up the most beautiful mountain covered in crazy desert plants, explored every thrift store in town, got food stamps, discovered mexican grocery, grilled veggies in the park….pure pleasure! We lucked out and got to go camping with H&A and their perfect dog Paloma. At night they left to conduct bat research near creek beds and one evening we were able to join. Once in a lifetime opportunity to see bats up close. The Chiricahua mountains are full of naturally sculpted pillars tucked into tree growth. The pictures really dont do it justice. If Tucson weren’t so damn hot in the summer I would move there. The environment is like nothing else. 

After camping with Robin we met up with our next Wwoof host Steve, who picked us up in his truck and drove us through the river 25 times to get to Whiskey Creek Dude Ranch in the Gila Wilderness, the most remote place I’ve ever been. We stayed there 2 weeks mostly exploring and reading with the occasional garden work.

Steve is a hillbilly with a bad attitude and more vices than teeth but there was another worker there, Jaya, who saved our spirits by being one of the most caring and interesting people we’ve met to date not to mention one of the only women we have been able to interact with on our trip. She is an incredible artist and thinker and regaled us with countless fascinating stories, anecdotes and philosophies.

Highlights: designing the garden layout, daily meditation by the creek, watching the bats in the attic, ladies nights after Steve went to bed, seeing copious amounts of wildlife, and all our treks through the mountains.

On our last day there we woke up to a crazy snow storm but within 4 hours we were in 90 degree Tucson drinking Mezcal on the porch. 

-Carrie

Pt. II

Mesa hike in La Bajada, Gila wilderness, cliff dwellings and catwalk with R. Stein! Amazing break from farming…

Pt. II

For the past 3 weeks we have been living in a school bus on a beautiful farm in La Bajada, NM. Next to the bus is a geodesic dome built by an old hippie Roberto who is still very present and haunts the grounds. Our host Joe is a true anarchist and slightly crazy. His dog Violet loves ladies and cuddling and Rachelle thinks she is the best dog she has ever met. Typical day starts at 6 and includes hard labor, good food, lots of reading/meditating, watching one of Joe’s b-movies and listening to him yell at NPR. There are too many social injustices in the world. We are learning a lot about the cultural intricacies of a traditional rural village in New Mexico.  There are continuous disputes and we are feeling all of the strong energies from these issues and probably from the thousands of Nuke heads in Albuquerque. The farm site is located on an ancient site of the Pueblo indigenous people and when we till the soil we find 1000 year old pottery shards rumored to hold the souls of tribal members. Needless to say we leave everything we find on the ground… We have been lucky to spend some time with Chris in Sante Fe watching movies, going to the Zendo, visiting museums, and hanging out on the campus of his school, Institue of American Indian Arts. Next week we leave to go camping with Robin in the Gila Wilderness and then on to a dude ranch high in the mountains!