Bungalow

Here's a shot of this morning's sunrise. Not nearly as colorful as the one I saw last week when I was up here, but still very beautiful.

I've really enjoyed having this private space to retreat to the last couple weeks - after a weekend on my own, doing whatever I felt like, and not having to tiptoe around anybody, I felt very recharged and ready to face the upcoming week. Last week flew by, too, and I think being up here had something to do with that. Of course, escaping doesn't make the problems go away - it just makes them more tolerable - I'm currently having problems at work with one of my roommates and I'm trying to figure out the best way to talk it out with her so that she understands where I'm coming from and will be more respectful of me in the future so that I don't have to keep getting upset by her again and again and again and again and passive-aggressively pushing it down.

Wish me luck. As kind and "accepting" as she is, I feel that she doesn't like to think she's ever in any way wrong about anything, so I'm really hoping she'll actually listen to me.

Anyway, I'm starting week 10 of my internship, with only 6 more weeks to go before my time is up. It's looking more and more like I'll be going back to Bodie this summer, this time as a paid employee. I'm really looking forward to it. My friend Cecile, who lives in L.A., is expecting me in the time between my finishing up here and my starting up there. I still want to plan one more trip to Tucson to spend time with my study abroad friend Caitlin before I leave the state of Arizona, but other than that, I'm pretty much set for the next few months. It's nice to be able to have some sort of peace about the next several months.

Granted, I'll be applying for jobs again soon and going through all of this all over again, but hopefully I'll be able to feel more confident and will find some sort of employment for the winter season. Somewhere. Otherwise, I'll be out on the road with my Volunteer parks pass, hitting up National Parks as I make my way back home, I suppose. Or perhaps I'll just go north from California - I hear the Pacific Northwest is a pretty neat place to be. :) Of course, all this is very much in the future, so I'm not even really thinking about it yet - just spouting off the first ideas that pop into my head!

I'm leaving you with a picture of me from last weekend, when I biked up the mountain to Jerome - 40 minutes up 5.0 miles; 15 minutes down 5.0 miles. I felt great that afternoon - I miss big biking. I think I'll try to get some more in this weekend. Until next time!

Mountain Getaway

A coworker of mine from Tuzigoot is on vacation in Turkey for the next month and asked me to water his plants while he's gone. The perk? I get to stay in their guestroom while they're gone! Yesterday morning I woke up and ate breakfast on the porch, watching the sunrise over the mountains. This place is beautiful - built on the side of the lower Black Hills, with plenty of scenic vistas all around. I'm taking my time for the next couple days: enjoying the scenery, riding my bike around, working on some projects, doing some reading, and just enjoying quiet time with God. I'm looking forward to it all, and I think it's about time to get my day really started here.

I'm sure there will be pictures to come...

Snow!

That's right: it's the middle of March in Arizona, and it snowed for most of the afternoon. Granted, it's almost all gone this morning (and probably will be completely gone by this afternoon), but still. That's legit.

I gave my first couple official "talks" now. They are entitled "Freshly Foraged" and they tell all about the plant uses the Sinagua could have had for the local flora in the Verde Valley and how they were able to do more than just survive, but also utilize plants to enrich their lives. To introduce the idea, I tell a personal anecdote about mushroom hunting and how you need to know which ones are good and which are bad so that you don't poison yourself with your food. So far it's been getting pretty good reviews.

I went to Flagstaff on my days off last weekend and couchsurfed. It was pretty fun. The person I stayed with was a missionary kid whose parents had been Wycliffe Bible translators in southern Mexico for one of the indigenous groups down there. They took my to a caldera where the tallest Ponderosa Pine and Fir trees in the area grow, pointed out all the places where tornadoes of the years past had crossed the road and snapped trees like matchsticks, and showed me my first-ever-stopped-at roadside chapel. It was actually really cool - I don't know why I've never stopped at a roadside chapel before!

I took the Oak Creek Canyon road back home from Flagstaff, the one that twists and winds its way down the edge of the Mogollon Rim to Sedona, then flattens out in its descent to the highway, where I get back on and head home. The one where you never touch the gas, but often touch the brakes. Here, let me show you:

And that's just the top part. I think if you look closely you can see three of the switchbacks in this picture. Needless to say, it was very fun. But I don't think I would want to drive up it anytime ever. Not in my little car!

Well, I opened with snow, and I suppose I ought to close with snow, too. Here's a picture I took on my way out from work yesterday at Tuzigoot, looking out at the Black Hills, which could more appropriately have been called the "White Hills" yesterday! :)