Day 65 - January 4th

Day 64 - January 3rd

A small memento given to us by Raymond Stanley, our cheeseburger benefactor

Day 63 - January 2nd

Day 62 - January 1st

December 31st, Day 61

Neither of us understands the reasons why, but John and I both were irritated today. For myself I can say I felt high-strung and anxious about time. I have struggled to accept how long it can take to accomplish a big challenge, especially winning all the fronts I am pushing on with this walk. Because I wasn't solely impatient about covering ground. I thought I would be better by now, less brain-cramped and more settled and at peace with myself. I didn't think it would take so long to grow, require so much time to repair over the past. And in wishing to arrive at some point in the future that may or may not be more than a theory, I inadvertently ruined my enjoyment of the day's journey.

We encountered a spry 89 year old man named Bill Jeffrey who lives alone on 6 acres amidst the most beautiful desert. A self-described naturalist and outdoorsman, Bill told us how he's seen the environment changing for the worse. The disappearance of certain animals and insects, the scorching and penetrating quality of the new heat which ravages his plants, essentially preventing him from cultivating any sort of garden. The native plants are behaving strangely, such as saguaros putting out flowers along their sides instead of at the top. I trust his observations because he's been here for decades and has witnessed every subtle change a passerby like myself couldn't be sensitive to.

Bill has also found the vegetarian lifestyle to follow more closely with nature. I watched his clear blue eyes as he told me he was ashamed to be human because we "humanize" everything and in the process cause destruction and I thought him a wonderful observing human that redeems the human race if we need redemption.

3 miles outside of Superior [John and I] stopped at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, a place that maintains and studies many plants from the world's deserts--not just the Sonoran--in order to understand their properties and how [they] could be of use to the people inhabiting arid lands. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to relax but even now, squirreled away in my sleeping bag, my mind can't seem to loosen its locked grip on whatever hangups I still have.

We are camped out on an old service road that shadows Highway 60 as it goes through a mountain pass. Tomorrow stands to be a brutal elevation climb but traversing this backroad stands to be safer and more fun as we make our way to Globe!

December 30th, Day 60

Undated Photo

John beat me up and took all my stuff, then stabbed me for good measure.

Just kidding, Mom! Love you!

***

I have something unfortunate to announce: I'm afraid our team name is Team Chevrolegs -groan-. John made a terrible pun yesterday then joked about how that would be a fitting team name. I adamantly rejected it but today I caught myself referring to us mentally as Team Chevrolegs. I'm afraid it's too late to avert an aesthetic disaster. In other searches for names, I'm toying with Tubby/Cubby the Rickshaw. 

We made more progress on Highway 60. An alternate route presented itself to us as more offbeat and beautiful so we branched off onto a gravel road which other people have confirmed reconnects to the highway close to Superior, the next town in our crosshairs. The Sonoran is really showing off now. The prevalence of water has given the land a means of supporting a broader diversity of flora. The size of plants has also dramatically increased as they are no longer stifled by the heat. The Saguaro forests are truly bewildering to behold. 

Around 3 p.m. we walked off the road and discovered a ruin of what could have been a cabin or a hunting lodge at one point. Stone walls and pillars are all that remain. It's good to have a wall to sit back against as John and I both hammer out words into the shape of sentences. The coals of tonight's fire are still smoldering but the cold is starting to creep back in along the sides. I have a feeling John's yowls of pain as he gathers fuel for fire are going to be a regular source of amusement.

December 29th, Day 59

John and I made a half day of it. We're looking out for his feet. I don't want a reenactment of my Day 2 on the road. With blister patches and frequent stops we managed to leave John's feet raw but free of blisters. We covered 10 miles and I'm pleased with that knowing more walking today would only cost us time in the future.

It's also good to have a traveling companion. Along Highway 60 there was a 40 ft. long gold ribbon of what looked like hair and John says, "Looks like Rapunzel met up with an accident." John also likes [making] fires, something I've never made a habit of. I'm enjoying one now as I sit here in my tent in the Sonoran Desert.

The desert has undergone some major transformations. As we head towards Globe, the elevation increases and the plants have more water to work with it seems because the land is green and flourishing.Cholla cactus look like they are composed of bottle brushes or silver pipecleaner. The great saguaros are strange green toothpicks planted in the sides of hills. In a video I took earlier (yes, I'm still making videos... it's difficult to find time to edit and upload them), I said the forms of the saguaro appear infinitely various. Indeed, it appears that way at a glance as you observe some with numerous arms, some without any, short, tall, fat, slim, etc. But on closer inspection a marvelous symmetry can be seen. Rows and rows of spine tufts run from top to bottom alongside canals; this is the shape of an exterior surface whose texture is vaguely squishable and if you cut inside, [you find] a green pulp stores the saguaro's water. The mountains are flat-topped and appear layered in sections exposed by geological movements that take place over eons...<-- unverified observation.

John and I stood around the fire speculating over various possible truths. One of his is: Freedom through surrender.