This was on a summer play list from a few years back. The song uses the Arizona town as a metaphor for a place that traded its authentic identity for commercialization. The song pays homage to Sedona’s history as a major Hollywood filming location for Westerns in the mid-20th century before the industry eventually abandoned it.
Educational travel. It is what I live for.
As I write this, I am on a plane, homeward bound, drinking a double shot rum and coke zero. It has been a long day of travel-- 2 hours from the Canyon to Sedona, 2 hours from Sedona to Pheonix, and now the final leg to Indy and then on to BTown.
I feel sluggish not getting my 14,000 plus steps in and eating way too much on this trip. The training has to commence tomorrow! Still, I know that slowing down on running has helped the healing process of my knees and is a blessing in disguise.
Funny how we get into our bubble of routine that keeps us monitored and on track. A person can live perfectly content within the constructs of their daily lives without any detours or alternate routes... I pity them.
This week I was so fortune to commune with 34 other like minded souls who love learning and exploring. The cool thing was these people were all WAY older than I was. The oldest Scholar was 94 and still hiking the trails.
I was humbled by these geriactric geniuses who challenged me in my ways of thinking. Who imparted wisdom, just as the Hopi of the area did to their kin, who made me slow down when my impulse was to forge ahead.
The trip gave me pause to consider what is next, and many of the women suggested I become a tour guide for Road Scholars, a Flight Attendant or even a Mule Riding Guide down the Canyon.
Being the youngest person (Besides our AMAZING GUIDE, Kyle) I was there to help offer up seats on the tour busses, give hands when climbing steep stairs and just listening to their travel stories, which makes my travel miles pale in comparison.
I saw the sun set over Grand Canyon with hundreds of people who cheered when it happened. I woke at 4 am to hike to the Canyon to watch it rise in 40 degree temps with blankets over us for heat, to see hundreds of people waiting, as if this was the second coming, I felt the vibrations in the rocks and trails of Sedona, I danced in the darkness in the wee hours with octogenarians as we watched the stars- as bright and brilliant as I have ever seen in my life, naming each one with a person on the tour. I howled with so many others as we passed through a tunnel on a train in Verde Canyon, I sang songs in harmony with my fellow scholars( "Country Roads" and "Happy Trails" to name just two) with a traveling minstral guitarist) on a train up to the Canyon.
It was a blessing being away from the noise and negativity of daily life-- to unplug and spend time in a place that rejuivinates and invites opportunity to connect to the land, the people and myself.
What a magical experience. What amazing people. I am forever changed.
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