Mitch and I headed out of town for another weekend away. This time it was for a fly-in, aka a hang glider and paraglider meet-up. The fly-in was near Flagstaff, out at the base of some of the old cinder cones and craters. The area was beautiful- desolate and serene.
We got in late Friday night, set up our tent, which luckily is quite quick and easy, and which we've gotten really good at, inflated our sleeping pads and spread out the sleeping bags. At the last minute, before we left, I grabbed two small blankets in case we got cold. We were so cold. The little blankets helped some, but we're not enough and trying to fit two people under what I meant to be a small couch throw wasn't easy. The night was spent tossing and turning and huddling together for warmth.
I had already volunteered to go into Flagstaff to pick up some grass seed for Mitch's dad, so I added a warm blanket to my list. I may have found a few more items while I was there... But that's neither here nor there. While I went to town, MItch went to fly. Unfortunately the winds were high and unfavorable for flying so there was a lot of para-waiting followed by a disappointed drive down the craters.
But that night everyone was in good spirits anyway and we had a giant Bon-fire complete with s'mores and everything. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday night- good company, good fire, enough heat to not freeze, and a super soft and warm blanket which led to a much better nights sleep.
The next morning the winds were still too strong for flying, so everyone packed up and headed their own ways. Mitch and I decided to check out nearby Walnut Canyon. I hadn't been there in over 20 years, but remembered getting to walk through the cliff dwellings. The park service has closed them off for preservation purposes, but you can still peak through the door openings and get a sense of what life was like all those years ago.
I did not remember the stairs. So many stairs. The views are stunning, the cliff dwellings incredible to see, but the stairs are brutal. It seemed like a million, but was closer to 300. If you want to see how out of shape you are, I recommend climbing 300 stairs at nearly 7000 feet. Bring water. Don't get me wrong though, it's worth the stairs.
After we left Walnut Canyon, we grabbed lunch in Flagstaff and drove south through Oak Creek and Sedona. The aspen are just starting to turn yellow, which made it an even better scenic drive and much nicer way to head south than the interstate.
From there we went to Arcosanti. Arcosanti is this weird little structure in the middle of the desert that was designed by an architect to be a more sustainable community. It has the feel of an oddly futuristic, utopian novel setting. The people were welcoming and kind and we took a tour, learning the history, how it was designed and built, and a bit of what they hope to be. The vision of the architect is certainly not one that will be reached anytime soon, he envisioned thousands of residents but only about 100 people live there at any given time. It attracts mostly artists and students of design and they offer 5 week long workshops to learn about the "arcology" that is their signature mix of architecture and ecology and "hand-on" experience (which sounds like free labor to me, but to each his or her own...).
They also make bells at the site and we got to see the set up for bell making. This is really their only money making venture. They are made of clay or bronze and decorated by residents. In addition, every helps out with the running of the place. They all have their duties in the community and live in small apartments, either as family units, individuals, or with flat mates. They rent rooms and have a nice pool as well as performance spaces that host plays, musical performances, and other entertainment. I won't be moving in anytime soon (or ever), but it was interesting to see and learn about.
After that we stopped for dinner in Phoenix with MItch's oldest sister, Alana, her husband, Nick, and their boys, RIchard and Alexander. Richard is in kindergarten and showed us some of his writing skills and commented that he was glad I still liked Mitch even though he has a beard. Kids are the best. And then it was back home, to a nice warm, real bed, and the week ahead. It was just enough time away to relax, and so loosely structured that nothing felt rushed or stressful- it was the perfect camping trip. And I'm getting pretty good at camping!
