This is what happens when the computer and the free breakfast are in the same place.
I'm sitting in the lobby of the Super 8 Motel on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Behind me I hear a group of Texans swapping stories. I wish I could capture their drawls adequately with words, but I tried and it just isn't working.
One of them is a Vietnam vet. The other is several years younger. Graduated high school in the same year as my sister.
That isn't why I am writing this morning.
I am writing because we have had such a spectacular couple of days here in the area surrounding Flagstaff my fingers are about to burst if I don't sit down to write.
I keep wishing more people would make their way out here just to experience it - and not only the Grand Canyon, sort of the Big Daddy of Northern Arizona - but explore the other public lands around the Flagstaff area, the urban trail system, the 'turn back time' downtown.
We've been geocaching in the Coconino National Forest and along the Zane Grey Highway. We've walked inside and alongside homes of the ancients and mystical cathedrals - well, to me they are cathedrals - that celebrate the movement of the stars in the sky.
Have you ever seen the night time sky in Northern Arizona? It causes speechlessness. Nothing short of speechlessness.
This morning we are on our way to take a train to the Grand Canyon. I have dreamed of taking the Grand Canyon railway for years. I finally decided the time is right so Samuel, Katherine and I will go back into recent time and not have to worry about driving our car or waiting in line for the buses at the entrance.
Another aspect of having this computer in the lobby of the Super 8 in Flagstaff is it gets noisy and there is just so much writing I can do accompanied by a discussion of the lovely flavor of powdered eggs.
Please watch for many more intriguing posts to come. Its as if I have traveled and collected stories to last many, many blog posts. Both off the beaten path and squarely on the path where most go, I feel nothing but blessed.
After all, there is even a Dunkin Donuts in walking distance from here, which is where I will go to escape these unappetizing conversations taking place behind me.
NOTE: I can't seem to edit well on this computer and don't have time to fuss, but the colors in this photo don't even show the glory in the greens I saw yesterday.
Emerald may be the closest word to describe the beauty, but that isn't even enough.
Thank you for reading - I'll be back soon with better posts about my recent travels - as well as a lot more.
