loving the southwest

There is so much I wish to say, yet so little time! We have been having a great time since we left Santa Fe. We decided to stay in New Mexico for another week to WWOOF since we are both running out of money. It worked out really well. Despite making our arrangements very last minute, we found a great couple near Espanola who needed some help getting their place ready for sale. We did some painting, weed whacking, grounds cleaning and helped to improve a crumbling wood shed. Our hosts, Gloria and Liz, were so gracious and grateful for our help. We instantly fell in love with them, their land and their cats and dog!

After spending the week there, we had our first couchsurfing experience in Flagstaff. Once again, our hosts were gracious and incredibly open and welcoming. They fed us dinner upon our arrival and gave us awesome suggestions for bars, restaurants and sightseeing spots. I can not quite express how much I LOVE Flagstaff!! There is a great music and arts scene and everyone we encountered was really friendly and down to earth. I now plan to apply to Northern Arizona University's graduate program in sustainable communities. In addition to our hosts, we made some new friends, students at NAU from Saudi Arabia, who were really fun to hang out and experience downtown with. We also went on amazing hike yesterday in in Coconino National Forest.

Today, we went to the Grand Canyon. It was amazing, of course! We didn't have much time, so we just rode the shuttle around and checked out a few vistas, but hiking into the canyon is now on my list of life goals.

Now we are spending the night in a motel (with free wireless, yay!) in Utah, just south of Zion National Park. We'll be checking out the park tomorrow on our way to camp on Antelope Island near Salt Lake City for the night.

Burning Man starts Monday and I can hardly believe that Labor Day is just around the corner. Time sure flies when you are having fun! I should be back in Maine by the end of September for Common Ground Fair and a trip to hike Mt. Katahdin.

One of these days I'll post some pictures on here. We've gotten some great ones....