Faith, Folklore, and Friends

My parents took us to cemeteries regularly during my young years.  They taught us about our people and our past by reading the headstones, each one with a story. They taught us to never, never, walk on a grave, because it showed great disrespect for the bones beneath our feet.  Sometimes, in the old cemeteries, it is hard to tell exactly where the graves are, but I still try my best not to walk on one. Today marks 78 years since that morning when Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. Hundreds of men died, and our country entered World War II. The ship  Arizona was among those that sank that day .  In 1962, the Arizona memorial was built directly over where the skeleton of the great ship rests on the shallow seafloor. It covers what remains of 1177 souls lost in a few minutes on that Sunday morning. When we were there in October of 2016, it was a somber place. It felt like I was walking on graves. S...

My parents took us to cemeteries regularly during my young years.  They taught us about our people and our past by reading the headstones, each one with a story. They taught us to never, never, walk on a grave, because it showed great disrespect for the bones beneath our feet.  Sometimes, in the old cemeteries, it is hard to tell exactly where the graves are, but I still try my best not to walk on one. Today marks 78 years since that morning when Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. Hundreds of men died, and our country entered World War II. The ship  Arizona was among those that sank that day .  In 1962, the Arizona memorial was built directly over where the skeleton of the great ship rests on the shallow seafloor. It covers what remains of 1177 souls lost in a few minutes on that Sunday morning. When we were there in October of 2016, it was a somber place. It felt like I was walking on graves. Seventy-eight years l...

           Cibola Vista Resort in Peoria, Arizona.   BEST. RESORT. EVER.

Many years ago, we experienced our first Mexican food while we were in New Mexico. After eating barrels of refried beans, burritos, and guacamole in the days since, we still love it. When we were planning our vacation this year, we decided we would have Mexican food everyday while we were in the West. The problem wasn't finding a Mexican restaurant, it was deciding which one to go to.  It's all good. The picture above was from  Mariscos Altamar in Albuquerque.  Highly recommended; they had good food, live music, and freebies because we were staying at the Hampton. The one above was from Arriba Mexican Grill in Glendale, Arizona. The food was good and plentiful.  We went during the lunch special and this was $4.99. Here, we were eating at El Encanto, a unique place in Cave Creek, Arizona.  They had a pond with huge fish and turtles swimming just outside the windows from our table.  The entree above was a grilled chicken breast with spin...

If you take Highway 89A South from Flagstaff, Arizona, you will soon find yourself in Oak Creek Canyon, which is part of the Coconino National Forest. It was twisty, curvy road with a series of switchbacks that take you down to the breathtakingly beautiful canyon floor. The road levels out and continues to Sedona and the Red Rock State Park. The Red Rock State Park was completed in 1981, after the Arizona governor and others saw the need to preserve the area and make it accessible to everyone. Our volunteer tour guide led us down to the Oak Creek River, and told us about the flora and fauna that live in the riparian area.  No one there is allowed to use the water; because of laws made when there were few inhabitants of Arizona, all the water belongs to Phoenix, over a hundred miles south. All the water used in this area and Sedona comes from deep wells. We were there on June 18, and at that time, they had rec...