Well I have been having a whirlwind of adventures since moving to the southwest. Two weekends ago I headed Phoenix for some fun times with fellow VISTAs. The adventure began with a 3 hour trip to Whiteriver, AZ to pick up my friend Allie (serving with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly). As soon as we saw each other, it was clear that this weekend was going to be a crazy awesome adventure. In no time at all we were in Allie’s car and on the way to Phoenix (just a short 4 hour trip away). It seemed like we were driving in the blackness that makes up the night in the middle of nowhere forever. We were so excited to see lights and as we pulled into Scottsdale we were about ready to burst with excitement. Shortly we enviously admiring our friend Jenica’s apartment (it has a pool and hot tub!!). Jenica is another VISTA from training. She is also serving with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly, but instead of being at the satellite site on a reservation she is serving in Phoenix in the main office. A short while later, our group was joined by yet another VISTA, Ryan who is serving with me on the Native Americans to Work Project but he is on the Hualapai Reservation in Peach Springs, AZ. It was really nice to see fellow VISTAs again, especially those who I have not seen since training.
The next day, one more VISTA, Liz (serving on the Tohono O’odham reservation in Cells, AZ with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly), joined us. Then we headed off to the Arizona State Fair. I am pretty sure it was the largest fair that I have ever been to! Right away we made a beeline to the back of the fairgrounds to attend the rodeo. Let me just take a minute to tell you where we are from: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and LA. I bet you can guess by that list that attending a rodeo was quite an experience for all of us. After the rodeo, we had a good time indulging in all the key hallmarks of a fair including homemade ice cream, lemonade, fair rides, and seeing prize animals. It was a great day not to mention very VISTA friendly; we happened into the fair on two for the price of one day!
Later that evening we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the hot tub and then a group spaghetti dinner in preparation for an epic Halloween night. Even though we are all in our mid twenties we felt the need to dress up. Our entourage included Screetch and Kelly from Saved By the Bell, a zebra (yours truly!), and Sammi Sweetheart and JWow from the Jersey Shore. It was evening of merriment and memory making that ended with a drive through trip to Jack In The Box. Overall I enjoyed my trip to Phoenix and I am sure I will be back sometime this winter for some tanning by the poolside.
While some adventures like Phoenix take an epic amount of driving, the cool thing about where I am living is that there are plenty of adventures in my backyard. This past Sunday, fellow VISTA Allie drove up from Whiteriver, AZ with some co-workers to hike El Morro which is about 20 minutes down the road from me. El Morro is a national landmark which many people know as Inscription Rock. El Morro is a large sandstone bluff with a natural pool of water at the base of bluff. Because of this unique body of water in a very arid environment, El Morro has been a place where humans have lived and visited for hundreds of years. At the base of the bluff there are petroglyphs left by some of the earliest inhabitants. Right next to the petroglyphs are the signatures of Spanish explorers and American pioneers who rested at El Morro on their travels. As history buff it was fascinating to see the evolution and change in the people and cultures that inhabited an area displayed in such a visual manner. After taking in the inscriptions, we continued our way up the hiking trail which swichbacked up the side of the bluff. Soon we found ourselves standing atop the epically tall bluff looking into a massive canyon. It was AMAZING! The hike then continued to circle around the canyon and on top of the bluff. Along with breath-taking views, the top of the bluff is a major attractions to hikers because of the remains of ancient village. Again, anyone who knows me would get that seeing that made my day! In fact, I think I might go back to El Morro again sometime and re-hike it again. Well, that is about all I have to write about this week, this coming weekend I am going to Sedona to do some hiking so soon you will be reading about that!
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