Ron and I are just back from a quick trip, one week, in the beautiful southwest of the USA.  This was more of an exploratory trip, with time spent in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, looking at places we would like to come back to and revisit.  My focus, of course is on Arts, Culture and History of the region, and Ron’s passion is sports and history, so we both have reasons to want to spend time in this beautiful region.

Travelling around Arizona, and in Sedona we had the opportunity to see the beautiful red rocks, and the opportunity to see how nature shapes the environment.  Nature, wind, water, and centuries of time have created this vista:

While in Sedona we visited the ruins of the prehistoric Honanki: Legacy of the Sinagua site.  Tribes of hunters and gatherers, the Sinagua occupied this area from as early as 8,000 BC to about the 15th century AD, building their communal homes under the relative safety of the cliffs.  this really defines “keeping the wall at your back”. Forgoing doors, the people used ladders to climb to the roof of their buildings, and ladders again to climb down inside.  At any sign of danger, the ladders could be taken in, making attack very difficult and providing safety for the families.  I stood in this spot and tried to imagine what life must have been like for the women, particularly, as they worked hard to provide food, clothing, shelter and comfort for their families.  It makes me appreciate even more the luxuries I have in my own life.

Next stop was Sante Fe, New Mexico,  a wonderful, artistic, beautiful, exciting book of cultural magic.  We only stayed overnight here, so I really only got to see the cover of the book.  I definitely want to come back here and spend more time to explore the volumes it has to offer.   Great food too!

Next stop was the Grand Canyon.  What can I say?  It took my breath away.

Then on to Las Vegas.  Hmmm, not really my cup of tea.  Too many people, getting pushed and jostled, and overwhelmed by the buzzers and bells and flashing lights.  I swear the hotels are designed to make sure you can’t walk directly from point A  to point B, but need to take a long circuitous route around designed to pass as many slot machines as possible.  I’m not a gambler at all. For me, I worked really hard to earn my money, and don’t want to throw it away on a five minute dream.  That said, our room was very well appointed, and we did get to see the Cirque du Solier Michael Jackson One show which I really enjoyed.

Back to Scottsdale for out last night, delicious food, great service, and then home again. Home with a pocket full of sights and sounds, colours and tastes and smells and a head full of artistic ideas.  Looking forward to seeing more of this area in the future.