We spent yesterday at Palatki, a Sinagua ruin, occupied from maybe from 1125-1300 a.d. north of the Verde Valley, west of Sedona, in a beautiful place called Red Rock Canyon. Love those canyons! The place is all over ruins and old fruit trees from an early Anglo settler's orchards and lots of wildflowers. I want to live there. Buy a Tiny Tumbleweed House (google it up and take a look) or a yurt and get permission to park it on the private land inholding near there. Dreams. We had a beautiful day. Today in Flagstaff it is snowing. This illustrates the difference between 4500 and 7000 ft altitude. Love to all. V&V

megan and i went to a baseball game yesterday. it was the perfect day for it and a great game. cardinals won and i was happy about that since i have never met a more obnoxious bunch of people than cubs fans. this may sound shallow but it is just a logical extension of the statement, 'severely drunk people are obnoxious,' which is usually true.

Well, Hank and I are coming down to check out the south of illinois today. we are so excited to get out of the city. love you! see you soon!
maya

Good morning! Sun coming up, Michael's tail-lights heading down the road...

We are doing pretty darn well, giving that life is one of those things that always whoops around and gets you in the end.

What is one to do?

Paddle hard! and rest... ;-)

Today Ayla is up early and even as I write getting ready for her first day on her new job. We are very excited! Went out yesterday and did a wardrobe ritual celebration at the mall and boy, did we have tooo much fun! Hehe...

I don't work with her until tomorrow, as I am stretched between three counties.

You certainly wouldn't suspect given a definite lack of wispyness in my appearance!

Michael is getting toes wet in the internet, and appears to be enjoying his new-found abilities. Unfortunately, we now time-share this computer and my gmail, until he is set up on his own. But then, if he wants to access his, we have to be logging in and out ad nauseum.

So I am looking at laptops. I need one for my occasional wilderness forays, so I have someplace to dump my pictures.

Ayla could use one to go to school and get out of the house more.

And Michael could use it whenever he wants, because if one of us has the laptop, one of the two computers is obviously available.

So it would solve lots of problems, except the problem of money. Which is okay, because in my long and fruity life, I notice that money is like a roller coaster, ups and downs, lots of willy-nilly excitement but usually sort of ok in the end, somehow... whew!

So, off and away!

love you guys. Hey: keys to longevity I learned this morning: plant-based diet, keep moving, invest in family, friends and community... Increases chance of hitting 100 fourfold?

at least, that's what the guy said on the news this morning.

and we believe everything on the news that we want to...

bye! gotta keep moving...;-)

This weekend's adventure was a tour of the volcano field northwest of Flagstaff and a hike through Wupatki National Monument, my favorite local ruin. This is Sunday Morning, which means I'm getting my weekly dose of unwanted political commentary from Vern while I am trying to watch CBS Sunday Morning. It's an oppportunity for me to practice exercising tongue control. I need to remember: I picked him. Love to everybody. Post to me, post to me .....

Hi people. This photo is from a permanent spring along the historic Beale Camel Road west of the San Francisco Peaks where Vern and I were hiking last weekend. You can see the words "Laws Spring" engraved on the rocks to the right by one Breckinridge, a member of the survey party, in 1858. Water in the desert: a miracle.

Since my RMUSD e-mail address is no longer functional -- they seem to be off the air for some reason (perhaps they didn't pay their bills) -- I have switched to vbtrail@gmail.com, effective immediately. I will try to figure out their switching notification procedure in order to notify everyone I know.

Love to all -- V

HAPPY EASTER!!!

early dawn
awakening
with snow whiskers
on dandelions
and violets

and squirrels
bask on sunny side
unaware
of slipper-feet
beneath the pines

hand-painted china egg
revives old, musty love
with fresh patina
and luster
resurrected
and beautiful
memories of shiny shoes
yellow-ribboned hats
and hankies
lacy pinafores with satin bows
and skipping up the giant steps
of a church bigger than god
and almost as big as grandpa

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

this is an article about the water wars going on right now in the west. looks like its going to be a low-water season for me. (this just means i will have very big muscles when i get back.)

maya