To Jerome

Well, here we are, almost halfway through our journey and just now to one of my imperitive destinations... today we drove from Phoenix to Cottonwood, which is near both Sedona and Jerome, Arizona.. both on the list.

We probably would have missed Jerome, except my new friend Bruce enticed us to go by telling us that artists had settled there. We set off extra early this morning, which meant we got to stop for an excellent breakfast before visiting my first agenda item, the Phoenix Art Museum.

I had to see this exhibit, one that had gotten some press and I was a tad worried would disappoint... however...

it was entirely worth the price of admission, no matter how many people told me to stop taking pictures while I was there... a lot, just take my word for it. This piece is truly spectatacular, as an appreciator of the perspectives of light and also perfomance art... Yayoi Kusama's "You who are getting obliterated in the dancing swarm of fireflies" is simply too beautiful for words. You must live it to understand. I tried to bring a little home for those of you who will never go to Phoenix to see it, as I did... but it is inadequate. You have to be in this place to 3-dimensionally feel it all.

There were plenty of other parts of today's leg that were memorable. Some glass sculptures downstairs in the contemporary gallery of the Phoenix Art Museum made me giggle uncontrollably. One of which, the museum staff prohibited us from taking pictures of... sad.

We drove on north after the museum, to our destination from today, the closest place near Sedona to camp in a NICE state park... Dead Horse Ranch State Park... as the recommending park ranger put it: a terrible name for a really nice park. She was right. We have an open view of the sky, a campfire for the first time on the trip, and a good starting place for our explorations tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we head to Sedona, to discover the spiritual energy trapped by this part of the world. I'm serious, I'm not trying to make fun of new-agers... I really do want to take what I can from this experience. I've seen so many beautiful sunsets this trip, I think I'm on the right track. Today, we were facing east at dusk and still saw the most beautiful colors and contrast...



I'm headed to bed to be ready for a packed few days... stay tuned for the next few adventures.. I'm sure they'll be supernatural. As for everyday life... I can tell you showering in a state park shower is not impossible with a broken foot, but it is very frustrating. I feel like an astronaut, wearing boots that are entirely too big all the time, with normal tasks lasting 3 times as long. In fact, I admit, I was not ready for the care that yesterday's surprise would bring... I didn't consider that we would be camping after we picked it up, and that it would need care every few hours... certainly slows things down when you have an addition to your new schedule. In any case we're fine, and I adore the surprise as if it were my own little addition to the world, just means I can't be on my free, hippie schedule...

In closing tonight, a poem that has come to mind several times in the last few days... I have felt somewhat hedonistic, and admittedly, this poem has come to mind often in recent months, but has never been more apropos than now... since I am enjoying a rare time in my life when the present happiness is more important than tomorrow's promise:

Get Drunk

Get Drunk,

always be drunk.

That's it!
The great imperative!
In order not to feel
Time's horrid fardel
bruise your shoulders,
grinding you into the earth,
Get drunk and stay that way.
On what?
On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever.
But get drunk.
And if you sometimes happen to wake up
In the porches of a palace,
In the green grass of a ditch,
in the dismal loneliness of your own room,
your drunkeness gone or disappearing,
ask the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock,
ask everything that flees,
everything that groans
or rolls
or sings,
everything that speaks,
ask what time it is;
and the wind,
the wave,
the star,
the bird,
the clock
will answer you:
"Time to get drunk!
Don't be martyred slaves of Time,
Get drunk!
Stay drunk!
On wine, virtue, poetry, whatever!"

Charles Baudelaire

I hope to carry that enthusiasm, and grace, and intensity through to tomorrow's adventure... since it will be a new day to get drunk on, and enjoy completely. Today, I got drunk on a sunset with my best friend. Tomorrow, who knows what I will get drunk on... stay freaking tuned!
 
<3 all...    ,K