our trip to the USA part 6

as we started our road trip after parting from Martin and Alex and their amazing dogs, we got to see the road we came in on (it was already dark when we arrived at Martin's place) and it was SO beautiful!! we drove for about 5 hours and reached Klondyke AZ... i have not driven on this road for about 19 years but i remembered it perfectly!

the road to Klondyke... just a 30 miles of dirt road

arrived!

me standing next to a fairly large cactus

we drove a bit more to reach the church and once we got there i started to trip out a bit... this place was once one of the most amazing places i have ever visited... the most incredible things happened to me there and if i try to put it all on paper (or keyboard) it will be a never ending story which non of you, or at least most of you will find it hard to believe...

the gate to the church property

the church house

we arrived and were greeted by Kaneshka, a very sweet man from Afghanistan who lived there from time to time for long periods to help with the church and attend to the grounds. he was very happy to see us and said that the hippies told him we were coming and that they both went on a "town run" to get some supplies and should be back in a few hours... he was also surprised when i hugged the house corner and said that he has never seen a man hug a house before! hahaha!
when we introduced our selves he said: "yes i know you, there is a photo of you on the kitchen wall"
what?! a photo of me?!
i walked into the church, got overwhelmed by the flood of memories that came rushing in... and as i walked into the kitchen, lo and behold! a photo of me and my older brother Lior hanging on the wall! from 1999!!
it was taken by Emanuel back in the day and he hung it on the wall to remind himself of us.... oh boy... what a trip! hahaha!

me tripping out next to the photo

the two brothers back in 1999

we spent a few hours with Kaneshka as he showed us the grounds and what has happened over the years when i was not there... it was so beautiful and full of sweet memories.. what a pleasure!
as the sun started to set we felt a bit tired from the long trip over the past two days realizing that just 48 hours ago we got out of the retreat! wow, it seemed like a lifetime ago and it was only 2 days! so much was happening and so much emotions running through my system...
Kaneshka said that he is going to do some yard work and we leyed down on our bed and started to fall a sleep... Ayelet turned to me and said: "its only 6:43 in the afternoon, are we going to sleep now?"
the next thing that i remember was waking up in the morning and the time was 6:43... we slept for 12 hours on the minute! mmmm..... this is strange...i thought to my self, but here this is so normal :)

we got up and walked to the kitchen to find Kaneshka who was surprised to come from his duties and not find us... did they go to sleep so early? he thought to himself...
we had coffee and waited for the masters of the domain to arrive from their home at the other side of the property...
Mathew came through the door and my heart almost exploded from joy! i leaped out of my chair and we hugged for a long time.... wow, 20 years?! has it been so long? oh....
we sat and talked for about 2 hours trying to cover the last 20 years apart.. what happened to me, what happened to them... then Annie showed up and the whole ritual of hugging and laughing started..
we sat with them all for another hour or so and then we had to go... so short!
"are you leaving so soon? you just got here!" the most famous of all the sentences we heard on our trip.... again...
after a long goodby session with many hugs and gift exchanges we took some last photos with our hosts and got into the car to go, and then gave them one last gift, a small handheld prayer wheel with the Medicine Buddha mantra inside as we felt it would be helpful for those who come in search of a spirit walk... again many tears of joy and more hugs and we parted, promising to return again but not in 20 years hahahaha!

we got in the car and headed out to our next stop which was the painted desert and the petrefied forest... since it was too far to do this ride in the day time (it was 12 noon when we parted from Mathew and Annie) we decided that we will get as close as possible and spend the night somewhere... and so we did.
the trip was 272 miles and was so much fun! we sew some amazing views along the way... stopped for a burger and coffee and ended up in the Lexington Inn for the night.
in the morning, after a light breakfast we got back in the car, thinking we only had 25 minutes of driving to the painted desert (true on any map... you can check me) but for some reason, and for the first time on our trip i did not check the road on the GPS and just trusted it... and started driving.
after about an hour of driving we got to the point on the map that the GPS had taken us to and realized we have been driving in the wrong direction!
we doubled back and told ourselves that there is always a reason why things happen the way they do and that it is all for the best!
drove it all back and got to the visitor center of the painted desert... took some maps and started the tour.
whooooooh! what is this?! what am i seeing here in front of me?! wow! (Ayelet)
we stopped along the drive in the lookout posts and looked around on this amazing, most incredible view possible...

this face says it all.... whoooooh!

at one of the stops we got to talking with this elderly gentleman who told us that him and his loving wife have been retired and have been traveling for that past 25 years "and we haven't even left the west!" he said laughing! so much to see!
we drove to the petrified forest and took the tour... this is something out of this world! a whole forest that in the past 220  million years (yes, that number is correct) these trees have been turning into Jasper and quartz trees...! what?!?
trees made of semi precious stones? what is happening here?!

we ended up the tour and got back in the car trying to understand the time frame of this geological history of the land we were now crossing... so much has happened here on this land... it feels like the white man has been here for the past minute or so and that the natives have been here for 10 minutes... what has happened here for millions of years is unbelievable...
we got back into the car and started our way to Sedona, a 3 hour drive of 182 miles or so..
the view was breathtaking all along the road and we enjoyed every second of it :)
we got to Sedona in the daylight and walked around for 2 hours or so, had an amazing lunch and drove to the Stupa. we circled it a few times spinning our prayer wheels and reciting mantras, dedicated the merit and got in the car to drive up north to get as close as possible to the Grand Canyon while it was still daylight.

by the time we got to Williams AZ it was dark and we decided to stop for the night, but a moment of misscomunications between us and we decided to go a bit further in the dark to Vale to spend the night there since it was just a bit closer to our destination which was the Grand Canyon.
along the was there was no cellphone reception so we could not see if there were any places to sleep in Vale and as we got there we realized it was a tiny town with no place to sleep (or so we though being in the middle of nowhere in pitch dark and dead tired from a long day) so we decided to back track and return to Williams... (sounds farmilier? this happened this morning as well as we drove for an hour for nothing in the wrong direction)
and of course, as we got back to Williams after an hour drive and cellphone reception returned we realized that back in Vale, if we just drove one minute more we would have reached the Grand Canyon Inn! hahahaha!
two wasted round trips in the same day! (this was the only two times it happened on the entire road trip)
we told our selves that everything happens for a reason and went to sleep in the Inn we found in Williams...

more to come!