I arrived Sunday afternoon into Albuquerque Sunport and headed west on I-40 in my rental car. I had done this drive nearly 6 years ago so I didn't have any plans to stop and see sights along the way. But if you do this drive, there are a few neat things I can recommend. In Albuquerque there is Petroglyph National Monument which takes a short time to see a bunch of rock carvings from Native Americans and Spanish settlers that are hundreds of years old. Further down I-40 into Arizona {and off the highway about 80 miles to the North} is Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This canyon isn't as big as the grand canyon, but it is lesser known and therefore, I think, more interesting to check out. When I went years ago there were Native Americans hand carving local stones with Native scenes and selling them canyon-side. They were beautiful pieces of art and the people were friendly and easy to talk to. Lastly, and right on I-40, is Petrified Forest National Park. I was honestly not terribly impressed with it. But, this was probably my 12th or 13th park I had been to in as many days and maybe I was burned out. Or maybe I was just too excited to get to the Grand Canyon - which was next on my adventure list for that trip.
But.... back to my 50 States of Yoga trip! I drove past all of these places and straight to Flagstaff. I had worked an overnight/graveyard shift the night before. I had slept 3 hours, gone to the airport, flew 3 hours and then had to drive for 5 more hours. I was tired. Very tired. Once in Flagstaff I checked into my motel and crashed. I don't even recall eating dinner that night. I did grab some fries on the road though. - I suppose that was dinner!
Good Monday morning Flagstaff! After being well rested, and very disappointed with the coffee {and food options in general} at my motel's continental breakfast, I stopped at a coffee drive-thru for a strong cup of joe and headed West once again on I-40. 30 minutes later my GPS had taken me on a dirt road, through a forest and out onto a lovely prairie dotted with a few homes. I thought for sure my GPS was playing tricks on me again and vowed to be better prepared with a map next time. But my GPS was right - my yoga class in Arizona was at a home studio. Flagstaff Yoga had recently relocated to Parks, AZ. And I'm so happy they did! What a beautiful little journey I was given that morning. A slice of Arizona I would have never seen had I chosen a studio in the city.
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| The drive to Flagstaff Yoga in Parks, AZ |
My 6th state yoga class was Hatha Yoga with Heike Hensley. It was a small class, 3 students total, but it was a nice departure from the overcrowded city studios that I've experienced lately. Among other places, Heike studied and taught in Korea and the influence of that training in her class was exciting. I love to participate in things that I've never experienced before {don't we all!} and appreciated her sharing these experiences with her class. Heike uses a gong during savasana that has such a beautiful feeling! The vibrations of the gong through my body were so warm and grounding. An intense feeling... but in a good way during the calm down. After class a student had asked a question about chakras. Heike taught us an easy way to remember the color order of our chakras that I love! She compared the colors to that of the Earth. Starting with the Root Chakra - being red, like the core of the Earth's fire... and rising up through the Heart Chakra, green... the trees... and up through the sky... you get the idea. It was beautiful and I had a bit of an "A-ha!", then a "D'oh!" moment when I realized this connection just makes so much sense! Anyway, if you're in the Flagstaff area, it is so worth the drive to Parks to take a class with Heike. She has a warm, kind spirit and is a very attentive yoga teacher.
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| The amazing view of prairies from Flagstaff Yoga in Parks, AZ |
On my way out of Parks I stopped at the little country store/post office between the highway and Old Route 66. I bought some munchies for breakfast and a couple of postcards - because both my husband and parents pointed out that I have yet to mail them a postcard from my 50 SoY trips. I LOVE to mail postcards! It's my thing. That and magnets. So I'm not sure why I hadn't been sending home postcards... but I thought it was quite endearing that as much as I love to send them, they are well received! When I went to buy a couple of stamps the postal agent looked me up and down and asked if I needed them for mail within the US. Uh, what? I look like a foreigner? It sort of blew me away. I didn't think I was dressed any strange way... but hey. I am a little odd.
Back on the highway I headed East to Flagstaff to catch Route 89 North then 160 East through Navajo Nation towards Four Corners. This might just be the most beautiful drive I have done thus far {in life!}. I skirted Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park while on Route 160. I was able to get a glimpse of what that park had to offer from from afar. But even without going into Monument Valley, I still saw so many spectacular natural pillars of sandstone and mesas with so many colorful layers it was hard to imagine counting the stripes. I took some photos... as you will see below, but I didn't take many. For a few reasons. I was trying to get to Durango for a 5:30p yoga class. I was traveling on a narrow highway with a speed limit of 70 and many semi-trucks with a small shoulder. There were not a lot of places to pull over safely. Lastly, the landscape is so overwhelmingly beautiful - I just didn't think my photos would do it justice. But I tried.
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| View back towards Flagstaff |
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| Navajo Nation |
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| View towards Monument Valley |
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| View towards Monument Valley |
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| Church Rock |
Nearing the Colorado border I stopped in Teec Nos Pos at the trading post. All along the route, in every town I drove through, there was a trading post. I had no rhyme or reason for choosing to finally stop at one, but I'm glad I picked the one in Teec Nos Pos. Although there were definitely a lot of kitschy and touristy purchases to be had, they also had a nice little array of local items - that I believe may have actually been for the Native Americans living in the area. They had a section of "medicines" - baggies filled with herbs, twigs, and I'm honestly not sure what else, labeled for specific ailments. I asked a few questions and learned that the baggies were to be used to brew a tea to drink to aid individual dis-ease. It was a lot like the bags of herbs I got from the Chinese herbalist in Berkeley when I had shoulder problems years ago. I figured I would give it a try and bought a baggie to take home with me. I also bought a couple of Ghost Bead necklaces because one can never have too much protection against evil spirits.
My stop at Four Corners was brief. Basically long enough to snap a few photos and step foot in Utah. My first time in Utah, however uneventful it was. The clock was ticking away and I still had to get to Durango. It's quite a tight schedule, but I didn't want to miss my evening yoga class in Colorado. Hello / Goodbye! And back on the road we go East!
Please see the other states from this adventure...
Colorado
New Mexico
...and you can see all my 50 States of Yoga adventures here!
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