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.