From 10/12-13   (pictures will be in a separate post)

Sacred is the word that comes to mind so often as I observe this land.  Especially today.

This land is sacred.  The original inhabitants knew that and they lived like they knew that.  But has that knowledge been lost on us…the ones that came after?  Do we live like we know the earth is a sacred place?

Our minds have become so full of the complicated cares of life that we tend to lose contact with  the sacredness of nature and the earth.

Today I realize that’s a big part of what I’m doing out here….connecting with nature, with the earth…this sacred sanctuary that is so easy to forget about when I’m busy.  At this point in my life to be able to seek out the sacredness on a daily basis is just about beyond my wildest dreams.

I visit Wupatki National Monument where the ancient dwellings of the puebloan people still stand.  My favorite is Wukoki.  As I wander the rooms my mind wanders also, back 900 years to  when families built this home and lived their lives here in this harsh desert climate.  With almost no water they grew their corn, beans and squash.  They knew about the healing plants.  They knew all about heating and cooling and they built their homes oriented to the sun and the seasons.

Talk about the cares of this life…they had them…but at the same time the sacredness of the earth was at the center of their existence.

Now we have technology in so many forms, but is there a way to balance technology and the sacred?  Is there a way to uphold the sacred through technology?  Why am I not seeing more windmills collecting energy as I cross mountain ranges?  Why am I not seeing thousands of solar panels by now, collecting the suns energy as I cross the deserts?

I think perhaps the inhabitants of the homes I am visiting understood more about the sacredness of the earth mother than most of us do today.  They didn’t need books or tv or the internet  because they learned from the earth herself as they lived with her.

I also visit Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.  This volcano and about 600 more in the area were erupting around 1080.  The ground for miles around is still covered with the crumbled lava…cinder…even the ground I camp on.

We return to our camp.  Joy and Shiloh were not allowed on the trails so they spent most of the time in the car.  We go for a long walk and as we are finishing it up I begin talking with Ron and  Kathy, some very experienced RV travelers camped down the way from me. We talk for over an hour until it’s getting cold and dark.  Such friendly warm hearted folks….I feel like we could have talked for hours!

The night turns cold reaching down to about 29 degrees.  We stay toasty till morning when we have to leave the warm bed, so it’s then that I turn on the furnace to take the chill off.  Coffee helps too!  The dogs water bowl is frozen over. Shiloh raises a ruckus outside and I rush out to find Ron had stopped by as he and Kathy are leaving the campground.  They want to make sure we stay in touch by email.  They have so much useful information and are willing to share it with a newbie like me!  Thank you Ron and Kathy!

Today we reach Gallup, NM.  My mind is filled with the red rocks and the painted desert that we passed through today….this sacred land… I am in awe! 🙂