More Rocks

Going on a hike around Fruita was a wonderful thing. Devil's Canyon where the rock is very dark and progressively changes color as it ascends is so visually pleasing. The rocks above the deep canyon are smooth with holes of strange shapes. We did a big loop and ended up in a nice open area where some rocks were carved like an amphitheater so we could hear echos of our voices. Pretty neat! Few Indian Paintbrushes pocking through the arid soil makes you wonder about nature once more. In the meantime Warren had picked up a couple of chisels at the hardware store so the "artists" could work on making faces on medium size rocks. Of course Nancy had hers nearly done in no time. I on the other hand slaved up for a while. They will be living in the yard maybe shading some violets.

I ended up staying another day in Grand Junction so we went out to shop in downtown in the morning then a great hike in the afternoon. Dominguez Canyon is really a lot of fun. Hot though. I would say that early morning or late afternoon might be the way to go but I still had a blast. We took an entrance that is kept a bit secret and crossed the river. We walked for about 2 hours one way but could have gone on for weeks.... There were some amazing rocks. Granite, basalt, quartz, sandstone, rhyolite and some mica. It was hard to resist taking pictures of every inches of the scenery around. We saw petroglyphs not far from a great big waterfall.Just on the main trail. Gorgeous little figures. Of course some people have added their own mark to those spiritual markings. It makes you wonder why? But from the beginning of times it seems that men have wanted to change, add and mark their passage to this Earth. We can't help it!

On the way back, just before crossing the bridge was a magnificent specimen!

A Big Horn Sheep. If the Horn wasn't a clue already that it was a male, its back end showed proof of it for sure. Since Nancy was the one to spot it I thanked her for taking me to the "Ball Game"... Bad crude joke I know... Sorry about that. Anyway it was just a special place that I would not mind seeing again. So this conclude my broadcasting from Grand Junction. It was a really fast fun week. The Dobson have a gentil way about them that is wonderful added to a good sense of humour. Nancy is a perfect hostess and a such a good friend.

Grand Junction, Colorado

Should I tell you about driving for 7.5 hours, crossing the Monument Valley, Mexican Hat, Moab with my little Gaia on my lap the whole way? It was quite a gorgeous ride. It was so nice to arrive and find out that Nancy, Craig and Katie were waiting for me with a fabulous meal of Jambalaya over penne pasta and a nice red wine. Just what I needed to forget the long drive. Since I got here my eyes have filled up with wonderful scenery. Red Rocks galore!. Nancy and I went hiking to a Mica Mine in the Escalante Creek. Hard to describe the experience of finding your arms covered with pixie dust. The path was just covered with some sheets of Mica and the rest of the rocks were pure quartz sometimes as white as snow some other times it was pink. We had a pique nique in a flat stone overlooking an incredible vista of Red smooth rocks with the most unbelievable patterns. We visited some wineries in Palisades. Took a ride in the Colorado National Monument. Yesterday was quite windy so we took a road trip. I could not talk most of the time because I was having the most incredible spiritual experience. It was as if I were visiting thousand of sacred sites in one day. What a beautiful area. I just won't forget this experience. Some of the North facing mountains were still full of snow adding to the decor a sense of mystery. We also took some time for Happy Hour in the back yard basting in the sun with the blue Colorado sky above our heads. Waou is all I can say! Sorry for the lack of words. Tomorrow another day of Hike. So fun! this is one of the sculptures on Main Street.

So it has been wonderful spending time with Nancy in such a decor.

Flagstaff, Arizona

So I made it to Flagstaff, Arizona where Emily lives from Ventura. I got a bit lost along the way looking for Hwy 18th. Oh well! Emily and I got to eat lunch where she works on Saturday "Morning Glory" a vegetarian restaurant around the corner from where she lives. The owner Maria is wonderful. It was her birthday, we had lunch on the house. Thank you!

We took Gaia on walks. Discovered the Library. Went to the Used Bookstore that has a huge selection of Graphic Novels. (Yeah!) We had Thai Food one night. I got to meet her friend Robert. Got to see Tommy. Had fun talking to Brittney. Went shopping a little bit. Emily cooked her famous sprouted grain burgers for me. Nice nutty taste of the garbanzo beans. Loved it. Then some other yummy grain and rice mix. Very tasty! Oh... we went to Target!. I know but we don't have one in Anchorage. Yet because it is suppose to happen soon. Emily got two scholarships and I got to attend the ceremony. Yeah! I am soooo proud of her anyway.

We also saw an exhibit of Recycled Artwork at The Coconino Center for the Arts Pretty amazing things that you can make with throw away things. So here you have it. Three days in Flagstaff. Now I am in Grand Junction, Colorado visiting Nancy. So more to come...

Surprising Bunny!

My friend Bunny that I know since kindergarten (our kids that is... Rikki and Paul, tee hee hee) was having a special birthday this year. Mimi another kindergarten friend (she has triplets, she is one of my hero) and I comploted for few months to surprise her with my visit. She lives in Issaquah, WA. So I flew in for few days from LA leaving Gaia behind. So Mimi picked me up and we started with a stop on the way to her house at Pit's Wine shop in Bellevue. Veuve Clicquot stocking (we had visited the "cave" in 2005) and also Roederer California, (a new one for me that turned out really good). Mimi has just moved to her dream house on Lake Samammish. She really looks like she belongs to a house like this. She has a gourmet kitchen with a 8 burners Wolf stove (with red knobs!!!!!!! love that), two full size oven, two warming trays, a steaming oven (Emily informed me that it really is best for fish), two refrigerators and all the storage cabinets any cooks would need. There is a nice Jacuzzi looking over the lake, a dock waiting to welcome their boat. The neighbors have a little platform where we saw an otter coming up few times at sunset when we were sipping another glass of champagne. Where was I? Well I was describing what a perfect house it is. I fell asleep looking over the glistening water and it had the shades of silver and platinum with floating diamonds. Nice....... Well when I woke up we were ready to surprise the Birthday Girl. Mimi has found a nice Bakery in West Seattle "Bakery Nouveau" ( http://www.bakerynouveau.com/) and she had purchased the most delicious croissants and pains au chocolat, baguette and tartelettes. There was fresh strawberries the size of apples that were tantalizing my taste buds and jam and oh we took some roses and plucked their petals to shower Bunny with their beauty. 8:30am and the deed was done. She was very very surprise and what was the most surprising of all is that I had not spilled the beans as we say . It had been so hard to talk to Bunny on the phone and not say anything. Really it is the hardest for me. Mimi, Rikki her daughter and Don her husband had been really quiet about it too. Anyway after feasting then opening her presents and much talk we went to "Palisades" with Sue for a very nice lunch... (more food) I had wonderful scallops with a nice risotto. We had the pots de creme trio (mocha, vanilla and passion fruit) This very popular restaurant by the Locks in Ballard on the Puget Sound side was deserted. We had a great table by the bay overlooking the marina. Seattle had been removed from the scenery by a very thick fog. Eventually it started to snow. By the time we left the sun was shining once more. Interesting weather patterns those days. The next few days were filled with food (Mimi made outstanding chicken wild mushrooms in Marsala sauce with roasted root veggies and Brussels sprouts, it snowed again and we came home with a real white out from Mimi's house), we ate lunch at the Boarding House (a favorite in Issaquah), we had Dim Sum in Bellevue, an Italian Restaurant in Snoqualmie Gianfranco http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=22120381,we went to check out the Frye Museum in Seattle (R. Crumbs has a show of his Comic strips and it was a treat to see the permanent collection too) They have quite a good selection of Fauvist paintings. I could not take pictures there but you might check on line for a peak. http://www.fryemuseum.org/pages/onview.htm We also spent some time at the new downtown's Library. The architecture is exquisite. Don's friend had painted a section of it. It is a red tunnel. It is such a glowing red. They had to use pure pigments in order to get the actual color right. I enjoyed taking pictures, lots of them. ...

I should make a different entry for what is next but I think that I might just continue in here. Bunny and Don's place is a magical place. An oddity in Issaquah (it has been wrecked with track homes one on top of another) and other places too I am sure. They have a house that has the effect to calm you down as soon as you set you foot through the threshold. Low light with very unusual decor. My favorite things in this house if I have to name them are their pets (Mr Monster and Elvira), then the backyard that is a sanctuary for bobcats, families of coyotes, deers, many bird species , squirrels (they don't like that... who does?), even a bear and a mountain lion have found it. When you are sipping your coffee in their kitchen your eye is turned to this fantastic open space where life is happening in the most serene setting. It is the picture that comes to my mind when I am meditating and need to find a calming place. So anyway here are some pictures of what is going on out there.