orbis perfectus

We have arrived in Berkeley – not quite the terminus of our westward foray – we will be moving on to Chico soon – but we did make it over the great mountains. Magnolia chugged up and over as sure motored as she cruised the open deserts. It wasn’t all driving. We made time to explore the high deserts and narrow canyons, return to a favorite used bookstore, cook food, sleep, even to dream, AND complete a circle.


Three years ago in February while crossing the continent, we found our way to Tecopa hot springs on the California Nevada border. Since it was the feast of Bridgid, the traditional time for recommitting to one’s life on the pagan calendar, we lowered ourselves into a glorious hot pool of healing waters, and as the sun rose in the east, re-membered ourselves. Three years ago we were neophyte nomads, excited by possibility, inspired by freedom, sobered and a maybe a little tried by the layers of choices required in a single day of freedom. In that gray light, our bodies submersed in the steaming waters, we committed ourselves to something we called “being available.” To what? It was a somewhat naive dedication, I think. While the vision allowed that we were open, even eager for inevitable change, just what shape this would take remained blissfully vague and quite rosy, in our dedication to Bridgid that day. Now you and we know the story that really began that day. While it is true that the beginning of a story is somewhat arbitrary – at least the real lived stories of our lives, so the ending is equally arbitrary. Sitting in that same pool 20 months later, our ritual was one of Gratitude, and that circle begun in a simple re-dedication ritual had found its completion now. Orbis perfectus.

When you pay attention, when you have the time to notice, circles are being completed all the time. Sometimes I can feel a neat click as it closes – orbis perfectus- that you may not feel when one is begun. Yet with practice, I think it is possible. So lately I have been mumbling those words when one is completed – like returning to the intersection where a loop trail starts, orbis perfectus. Or seeing an outcrop of rocks that we passed years ago in the Mojave Desert while looking for a camping spot for the night. That place would have been perfect, but alas, someone else was already there. Yet that exact place took on a certain life whenever I thought of crossing the Mojave again. I could SEE Magnolia parked there, I could SEE the sun rising behind her whenever we considered driving her west. And we did find ourselves there, not camping for the night, but for a lunch break, and the feeling of completing the circle was there. Orbis perfectus.

We slept at Wal-Mart

As we drove into Flagstaff, already after dark, with errands to do, we drove past Wal-Mart and Ruby said, “Maybe we should stay there...” Our plan had been to finish our shopping, then head out into the Kaibab National Forest west of town, find a Forest Service road where we could sleep the night. But that takes time and we were both tired from hiking and driving. Friends had told us that Wal-Mart lets RVs and motor homes stay overnight in their parking lot and, sure enough, when we got there to check it out, there were a few camped out off in the corner.

It was a bizarre plan. The experience of shopping at Wal-Mart is strange enough, let alone camping out in the parking lot. But, after we found the 6-volt battery, the headlamp and the utility lighter we had been looking for (and after Ruby, infected with seasonal spirit, flirted with and ultimately rejected a string of LED Christmas lights for the bus) we found a spot in the brightly-lit, busy lot, near I-40, put up our curtains and...slept. OK, it wasn’t the wilderness. In fact, cars drove by us back and forth from the store, most of the night. But it’s nice to have friends in a strange city, n’est-ce pas? and I’ve harbored warmer feelings about Sam Walton ever since.

We got up early (but who can tell when it’s always as bright as daytime?) and went to the 50s-themed Galaxy Diner for breakfast before leaving town and heading on west.

Canyon de Chelly

Getting to know Canyon de Chelly is somewhat like getting to know Egypt: you don’t get very far into it unless you have a guide. It’s Navajo land, in the middle of the Rez, so it’s not like other national parks. The canyon is huge and multi-armed and, though it’s managed by the U.S. Dept of the Interior, the land is owned and farmed and inhabited by Navajo families. We drove along the south rim, armed with a slick NPS brochure and park ranger advice, but only got as far as schmoozing with craft vendors and peeking over the cliff edge, down to the canyon floor.


We spent that night at the park’s campground (free, unsupervised, home to lots of hungry dogs, source of water for many local families), then, the next morning, hired a guide to hike with us down into the canyon. James Yazzie, maybe in his late 40s, grew up in the canyon, went to trade school, worked as a welder in Alaska, does traditional dancing at pow-wows, has a big family. He knows the place. We hiked with him for 4 hours along the canyon floor. It was wonderful. We waded and hopped back and forth across the river, looking at petroglyphs and ruins, examining tracks, walking by peach and apple orchards and corn fields, getting a feel for the canyon. There were not many people, since the farmers move up to the rim in winter, but, as the sun got higher, jeep tours began passing us. Also, a park ranger and what James called a “livestock ranger” drove up looking for a “mean” brindle steer that had been roaming the tamarisks, Russian olives and willows. Why did they want it? What were they going to do with it? Both were unclear, even to James. He didn’t think they would find it unless they hired some local kids to run through the thickets looking.



After we came out, we went to the flea market in Chinle, then ate a Navajo taco and posole at the Junction restaurant. Then we headed west across the reservation toward Flagstaff. (Andy)

Hot Chile Tuesday

We just stopped for lunch at El Parasol (green chile chicken tamale, chile relleno burrito and a calabacita burrito – in case you wondered). This day, finally, it has felt like there is tremendous energy afoot, positive energy busily at work transforming the USA as we know it, making change, making magic.

This is a day of national celebration. Election Day has never felt so infused with real power, power that changes the course of history, power that stretches into the future. The huge voter turnout, the crackling excitement in the air, hope that we can taste. Tonight, we will celebrate the election of Barack Obama and a host of Democratic congresspeople, senators, local officials.

And yes, there is so much to do after the election, keeping these newly elected or reelected people focused on justice, peace, universal health care, women’s rights, tending to the Earth. But this one day – today – is a time to celebrate what we have done.

We are in the swing state of New Mexico and this morning we canvassed apartment complexes not far from the city center. We knocked on doors, hung reminders to vote, asked everyone we saw, “Did you vote yet?” Santa Fe is a decidedly blue city in a noticeably purple state, so most people we saw were Obama mamas or papas. The Obama headquarters here were JAMMED with volunteers, more than they knew what to do with. Phone banks were buzzing, canvass teams were being dispatched and groups of people (lots of kids) were painting signs then taking them out to busy intersections. The girl in the photo (Antarctica for Obama) kept happily shouting her slogan: “Obamanos Pinguinos!”

Here is an intention that our friend Starhawk has woven that expresses something of the magic of today:

Today we become the nation we dream of being, a place where everyone can rise to the level of their true worth, with no false barriers. Today truth triumphs over lies, hope over fear. Today we become the people who can do the great things that are needed to restore health and balance and abundance for all. Today we take the dream and make it real.

Here we are happy to be in the same place again!