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in a hurry with so much to do and not certain where to begin. love it, kick it (figuratively amen. namaste. peace it was a beautiful sunny day to arrive home to our resident country … tender fresh budding trees lined the highways and egg-shell blue skies welcomed us with the waving of a red and white flag (very much reminiscent of the swishing motion Burner, our beloved balloon pilot, often brandished in welcome), warming the cockles of my heart.
and with the return to home, i am blessed and at peace, calm as the breeze which flutters through the burgeoning trees. With a quick coffee break and driver switch-a-roo, we arrived in Illinois, first stopping at Skydive Chicago before segueing to my second-Mom Barb’s home in DeKalb. It was really cool to see Brian Germaine at SDC, especially having seen him in Eloy just a few weeks prior.  (photo possibly to be used for a Cypres 2 Ad!!) It was slaDE~s first time to this mammoth DZ … I have much history here, both at the new and old venue, so it was wonderful to come back and see old friends.  However, we also had a chance to visit another familiar local DZ which is just as splendid as the other – - Chicagoland Skydiving (Hinckley) . In fact, Doug and I had a chance to catch up when he let my fly the Cessna Caravan to altitude several times (trusting man, I’d say!). If you can’t jump, why not fly them?!  The whole weekend was splendid … So much fun! Watching movies, playing with the computer, reminiscing and catching up, walking by the lake, tree climbing,  getting together with Barb’s family, dancing,  laughing and eating to our heart’s content. And then homeward bound we drove, ready to face the challenges of another modal switch in lifestyle and familiar territory. In Albuquerque we were treated to a phenomenal tour of the Air Force base by a close friend (names withheld to protect the innocent), seeing the insides of all these wickedly cool special-ops planes and helicopters; how often does one get to walk through a fully kitted out C-130?! — I had fantasies of jumping out of this baby with night vision goggles.   Of course, I HAD to ask (tongue-in-cheek) whether it would be possible to slip in a couple of photographs during our jaunt through the restricted no-access area; I was politely refused. A gurls gotta try, right? ROTFL From New Mexico, we drove pretty much straight through to Illinois. The trip through Colorado was one of my most stunning road trip experiences ever … The weather was incredible and the billowing clouds made cool shadow plays across the winding mountainous roads of the Southwest. Leaving Las Vegas sounds much more melodramatic, but familiarity comes with leaving Arizona …. I’ve been here quite a few times during my skydiving career, but this departure is proving to be the most entertaining and adventurous by far. Departures are never easy, but with both my handsome co-pilot ::  and the gorgeous scenery surrounding us, giving me reason to smile and glow, I find it difficult not to savour the journey as it progresses fluidly through mountainous territories filled with desert sunrises and majestic limestone and sandstone cliffs and mesas. Travelling through Sedona was a truly spiritual experience, especially after climbing the Red Rock cliffs {known for its energy vortex sites} surrounding the Sedona airport (with a 5000 ft runway leading from end to end of the mesa it’s built upon) … the red of the hearty soil added a striking beauty reminiscent of my time in Australia. The local Sedona area magazine Four Corners had a transformational horoscope which seems to fit me to a ‘T’ at this stage in my life. Its closeness to home hit me like a rock:: LEO ~ July 23 – Aug 22: Arriving in Flagstaff and exploring the downtown core {with shadows casting mystical stories on the buildings which we wandered through} was a delightful prelude to what would lay ahead of us on this trip home. We stayed in a quaint and cosy hostel (Hostel Dubeau) where we lucked out on receiving both a free meal and an unused entrance pass to the Grand Canyon. It was an early morning departure at 4am for us to find our way to the Grand Canyon for sunrise. We were told that arriving an hour before official sunrise was best. On this particular morning, that advice held promisingly true.  Not only did the Canyon’s meandering depths and colours reveal themselves to us in stages and layers, the drizzle was light and the sun, a misty ethereal ball, provided the backdrop to a photographers dream. My query … how does one convey and encapsulate the beauty that a photograph can’t even portray?  Well try as I may, I am unable to at best, but nevertheless, I sure as heck was going to try! Trying to keep the camera from frying itself with the steady light shower was a difficult challenge which I was all too willing & eager to ignore, in the name of beauty of this one-of-a-kind moment. Bah … Haven’t I learned better, with my experience and luck with cameras?!  The heavens released down on us shortly thereafter so we decided to exit the park and watch the Canyon in all its beauty and glory from the seats of an Imax theatre, not far from the gate’s entrance. Wow, wow, wow. Don’t miss this film folks. Stunning! With having earned a free ticket entrance, we weren’t all that perturbed at championing the existential tourist stance of ‘splash and dash’ where one grabs the quick postcard shot and says ‘been there, done that’. There will be another time when a well-planned several day excursion within the Canyon’s depths will serve to provide a more vibrant experience of the spirituality of this grandiose phenomenon. After an expensive measly breakfast at MacD’s, we made our way to Albuquerque, revelling in the beauty of the snow that skirted the red-soiled tops of the surrounding mountains. Snow! In Arizona .. who would have thought?? Arizona = desert and saguaros, no? It’s amazing how sometimes lessons in life can come full circle. From my arrival in Arizona to my wayward departure, I have learned many incredible lessons that will hopefully be imprinted on my soul (if not the inner-workings of my random brain
Tim, an old friend from my packing days at skyDIVE chICAGo, offered me a lovely meal and home-away-from-home outside of the VW bus he was lending to me for the winter. With this most generous of welcomes came an introduction to his new baby Mira, an adorably frisky black Lab puppy. Never having the chance to live with a house dog, my initiation at Tim’s was to have my driving glasses confiscated and ‘go missing’ from the coffee table. The culpability of Mira has yet to be determined, but to this day, we haven’t been able to locate them! In parallel, last night before going to bed, I asked both Tim and his partner Andrea to sign my book of friendship before slaDE and I were to leave. As a small prelude, this is not just any little autograph book hand bound with homemade blue paper direct from the hands of an East Indian labourer, but rather a vessel than portrays the beauty and soul of those that have touched my travels, since leaving India. When I awoke, blissfully rested, slaDE~ came into the bedroom with a foreboding sad look in his beautiful blue eyes. I silently questioned what was wrong and he answered with a gentle hug and an appeal for me to take a deep breath. Leaving the room, he returned holding silent witness to my book of many colours. Laying it gently on the bed, It fell apart like a crushed butterfly, devoid of it’s wings. Tears of shock and sadness washed over me. Those little scoundrels (Tim has 2 Lab puppies at the moment). They did it again! After a brief moment of indignation, I mused that I couldn’t possibly remain angry with those beautiful puppy demons (who hold NOTHING sacred and believe everything is fair game — don’t even ask about my once-missing rubber-encased iPod!). The positive side of this otherwise not-so-funny comedy was that all the contact addresses were still legible and intact. Yay!!  In those moments of heartbreak and purposeful revelations, I came to the conclusion that holding onto something so tight and precious can only bring about loss in the end. By releasing the hold and power of those sentiments contained within the blue pages of my nomadic bible, I found freedom and empowerment in the words so lovingly written by those who have blessed my life with meaning and quality. Another gorgeous Saturday has passed here in Eloy, Arizona. And with the setting of a blazing fireball sun on this most notable of days, I have blissfully accepted the challenge of a future which leaves me lightheaded and excited, confused and afraid. I have come to the full realization that, yes, on Monday, me and my lovely slaDE~ will be leaving our winter haven and traversing the US countryside towards a home which we once knew in Kitchener Ontario Canada. In one months time, I will be on a flight to Guatemala City. Wow, so much travelling in such a short time. And I’ve yet to figure out the major components between here and there. Ah, the exciting life of a Wayward sKYdiVA.  |
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)and give it your all.