Desert Days

Life sure is random.
One moment you can be grocery shopping and folding laundry on a calm Sunday afternoon.
The next you can be halfway across the country hiking red rocks...


On Superbowl Sunday the TV kept mentioning Phoenix, Arizona.
I didn't think too much about it. I've never really had any desire to visit Arizona.
It was always just a random state that I would sometimes see cool photos of.
Sometimes see on TV.
Eh.


While binge eating spinach artichoke dip and laughing hysterically at Katy Perry's halftime performance, it would have never occurred to me that that very night sky she was shooting fireworks up into would soon be the same night sky I would instantly fall in love with...


...The very next weekend.

Monday morning after the Superbowl was like any other Monday at work. Started off calm, slowly sipped my coffee as I refreshed my memory from last week's work.
When all of the sudden I see an email notification pop up in the bottom right hand corner of my screen with the title: PHOENIX, AZ 2/9 as the subject.

I quickly opened it and realized that my work was requesting me to attend a mandatory, 3 week on site training class in Phoenix, AZ from February 9th until the 26th.

WHOA.
WELL THEN.
OK!


I quickly booked all of my travel, celebrated Mitch's 26th birthday with 4 dozen cookies, threw a bunch of tank tops in a suitcase and off I went that following Sunday morning.

I had absolutely
NO
CLUE
What I was about to experience.


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My weekdays were spent in an office 8-5 which really stunk. But luckily I work with an awesome team and they made it entertaining!
After work we would run to our hotel, quickly change into hiking gear, and go out to chase the sun....

Luckily my girls didn't mind me staging impromptu photo shoots either
;-)

I went out on my own a few times to do some exploring/meditating and found a few amazing, quiet places all relatively close to Phoenix.

Lake Pleasant had mirage-style desert beauty...

And my absolute favorite spot was Cave Creek Recreation area.
I went here and hiked probably 4-5 times and cannot wait to return.

This place has everything! Horseback riding, easy to moderate hiking trails, camping sites for the snowbirds...

...stunning mountain views, and the tallest cactus you will ever see!

I spent my weekend up in Sedona, AZ...and... WOW.

Have you ever heard of this place? The geography is like stepping  back into the dinosaur age. It's known to have extremely strong 'energy vortexes'  where you can replenish and recharge your spirit. Spiritual or not, the energy omitted from these vortexes was actually measured by scientists in order to track down the exact spot where they are located. So if you only believe in the physical objects you can see, then the Juniper trees are your proof.

This Juniper tree is located right in the middle of the airport overlook vortex.
Notice how the wood appears twisted? It grew that way from living in the vortex.
 So cool.

I only got to hike to two of the four energy vortexes. But I meditated and calmed my mind while at each.
Being alone in the wilderness is the best feeling ever. I always return to my social circles so happy and recharged. It balances your mind and helps ground you. It helps you focus on what's real in life and the few things that truly matter. I highly, highly suggest it.


If I left you curious about this mystical place, my favorite link to help further explain the vortexes in Sedona can be found  Here.

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I returned to Phoenix and spent Sunday with my beloved cousin who is more like a sister to me.
I haven't seen her in over a decade!!
We went to brunch,  drank homemade Moscow Mules, cracked up over the crazy stuff we did as kids in the Indiana cornfields, and went for a sunset hike with her husband Matt and their dogs.

They have two adorable, fluffy black dogs; Buddy and Dublin.
Buddy is an old dog that Matt found behind a dumpster near his work.
He used to feed him on his lunch break until one cold day in November he decided enough was enough;
He was bringing him home.

Buddy is now over 12 years old and slowly wobbles his way up the mountain.
Matt patiently stays behind to walk slow with him and make sure he gets up to the top.

While Matt & Buddy were taking a moment to embrace each other, I couldn't help but whip my phone out to capture the moment...

That night when I was editing my photos from the day I teared up looking at this one. It captures the bond we have with our fur babies, who are not pets to us; they're family.


________________


I still cannot believe I just spent half the month of February in ARIZONA.

It all happened so fast. And it totally made me believe in miracles. In the power of Life.


Remember my annual photo collage I create? I hang up 12 photos of some of my fondest memories from the previous year to remind myself on bad days that hey, even your worst days only have 24 hours.
Things always get better.
You will be happy again and go on another adventure!

Well I remember hanging these up on my wall the first week of January and stopping to just stare at them.
And thinking to myself.... 'There is no way you will go on this many adventures in one year again'

January I spent a long weekend with my Albro family in Florida, and had my very first real photo shoot.

February was spent meditating all over Arizona....

March: Montana? Puerto Rico? At this point, nothing would surprise me

Just last month, if you would have told me that I would soon be reunited with my old college roommate who I have always viewed as nothing short of an angel, and at times sadly thought I may never see again...
I probably would have teared up and said
'I wish'

My Monday looked like this:

Just last month, if you would have told me that I would soon visit Dierks Bentley's famous 'Whiskey Row' bar and have a much needed girls night out, chock full of belly laughs and beer, I would have never believed you and thought in my head:
'I wish..'

My Thursday night looked like this:

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Since we moved down South, I have always wanted a wind chime for our apartment balcony. The sweet sound reminds me of awesome thunderstorms blowing in from the West when I was a little girl growing up in Indiana. No matter what mood I'm in, the sound of a wind chime makes me smile.

So because wind chimes carry such fond memories for me, I refused to buy one from a mass produced department store.
I always envisioned myself picking one up in Key West or some roadside shack up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I wanted to look at it and hear it and feel some kind of emotional attachment to it...

Never in a billion, trillion years would I have guessed that my beautiful wind chime would come from my cousin who I haven't seen in 12 years, and bought from a free spirit at the cutest farmers market in Arizona.
Just blows my mind.

Pun intended.


_________________________________



Arizona now holds a very strong place in my heart.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't even considering moving there.

I don't know what my future holds.
But after my sudden adventure in the Southwest...I know it's a bright one.
Filled with many random adventures.

Not a middle finger. haha

Shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment below if you are curious about my Phoenix area hiking spots or my time in Sedona! Or if you just want to know how damn good the fried pickles at Whiskey Row were.

Until the next adventure.......