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a trip to arizona

Bodhi and I just returned from a road trip visit with my mom in Prescott and a spring break well spent.  The best part of a mama visit is that there are always abundant opportunities for my heart to both sing and grieve.  Bodhi was such an amazing travel trouper.  We spent one night in route at a hotel in Moab and a day marveling at the splendor of the landscape.

See that tiny figure in the picture above. That is Bodhi right before I said "OH SHIT he isn't stopping and ran faster than I believed possible to his side. Breathless, we both stared with amazement at the valley below while I stubbornly clung to his collar.
We arose before dawn and took these shots just after the sun rose.
On the drive through Arizona we spotted a sign that read "Dinosaur Tracks" and made a u-turn to investigate.  We were greeted by several Navajo saying "We are real indians.  We'll show you real dinosaur tracks."  Thus began our rather odd tour of the landscape where Bodhi was less impressed by the tracks than he was by the various "artifacts" he kept discovering and loading into his pockets (all rocks).
The first day in Prescott, my brother Dave, took us to Garchen Rinpoche's Institute in Chino Valley where we spent an afternoon chanting and meditating.
Bodhi was happy to be there and sat through 45 minutes of chanting without moving much at all.  When  he met Garchen he was given flowers, a prayer scarf, a pick-up hug and the remains of Garchen's snack. When we left Bodhi said, "Garchen didn't know my Bodhi name but he knew my real name was God and Love".
Bodhi got to see some "real" dinosaurs with Grandma Oni on the property of a local metal oddity collector.
 We got several hikes in with several dogs and a doting Grandma.


It was a LONG drive but worth it and a wholly wonderful trip, the hardest part was, of course, saying good-bye.

Comments

Karuna said…
you should have come visit us!
:)
i love you.....
April 1, 2012 at 6:25 PM
Angelina Lloyd said…
I would have except those extra hours in driving were painful to contemplate.
April 1, 2012 at 6:27 PM
Angelina Lloyd said…
Back at you sister!!!! I miss you.
April 1, 2012 at 9:43 PM
wind said…
I wish I could have gone with you. One of these years let's do a Prescott trip together!!!!
April 4, 2012 at 9:46 PM
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