SNOW ON THE MOUNTAIN

This morning when I woke up the first thing that struck me was that my feet were warm. For over a week I had been dry camping in the Arizona desert and this was different. Then there was an ahh-haa moment and I remembered. I am visiting with an old, high school amigo at his home in Cottonwood, AZ. I was sleeping in a real bed, a real room while cold rain pelted everything outside. Had I been in my camper I would have been warm and dry but nothing like this. Life really is pretty good after all. We’ve had a great time calling up old memories and remembering things that only come around when you are young enough not to worry about old age or not caring about what might go wrong. 

Richard Majors and his wife Joyce live in a Southwest Santa Fe style home on the mountain side above Cottonwood. It’s scary how you remember bits and pieces of long lost adventures but between us we could reconstruct the whole. Nobody laughs like old men remembering, reflecting on the craziness of being young. We dredged up names and places that don’t exist anymore. There are no houses where his house used to be, only a bridge over Interstate 435. We’re still dredging up an unwritten history that doesn’t mean anything to anybody but us. 

This morning we drove up to Sedona for breakfast. Snow at higher elevations made the red rocks pop and photo opportunities were everywhere I looked. It’s been a terrific day and tomorrow is only a few hours sleep up the line. I wanted to drive up to Grand Canyon but there is a blizzard warning up there that will be dumping snow for the next week. I’ll have to wait on those photographs. They promised if I behave myself they won’t kick me out for another day or two. So I need to come up with a plan on where I go from here. I may go down to Yuma and venture into Mexico for the day or head for Tucson. I need to be in Memphis, TN on March 6 so I have some wiggle room. Waking up tomorrow should be easy, I’ll know where I am without revisiting my itinerary. Warm feet: you've gotta love it.