Day 4: Wandering

Woo Hoo to GREAT Internet in Sedona!!!!!  That's where I finally landed.  I'll be here for four days seeing if I can "find" myself...whatever that means.  I am hoping to touch my soul here or at least have my soul nourished.  Confession: A little bit of me thinks I might not be as nourished here as I was in the Grand Canyon.  We will see.

Today was filled with the adventure of traveling in an unfamiliar place and doing fun things others might say, "Do we have to?" about.

Step 1 today: See if I could remember how to drive my rental car.  Check.

I really like driving a smaller car AND I really like driving the Prius.  I'm not so crazy about the visibility out of its windows, but I love the key less start and how the whole thing works.  I actually figured out the radio today and found an NPR station!  I have always known I love PBS and NPR, but another confession...I'm a public media nerd.  You might be a public media nerd too if: all the radio buttons on your alarm clock are set to your local NPR station.  Or, all your car radios have button # ____ (mine is 5) set to your favorite local NPR station.  Or, your computer home page is set to NPR.org.  But back to my adventure.  I did figure out the radio and I didn't have to read the manual.

Step 2: Go some place WILD. Check.

Bearizona

While researching my trip this place kept popping up.  The name alone enticed me.  It's a wildlife park you actually drive through.  Are there many of these in the US?  It was calling to me...come visit!  So I did.  Here's a TON of pictures from my time there.

Dall Sheep

American Burro

Bison

White Bison

Big Horn Sheep

Arctic Wolf

Sleeping Bears!

Scary when they are pacing!

 Babies

And other animals...

Javelina

Lynx

For Katy Perry!

Sleeping Fox

Badger...Very Cool, have never seen one of these!

Two different fox

Porcupine

Chickens

There was a Birds of Prey show.  Went to it and sat front and center.  I got hit by the wings of the last Owl as it was swooping back and forth over us.

Kesteral

Barn Owl

I love photo spots!

Step 3: Eat lunch and Travel on an OLD road. Check and check.

Did you know that Route 66 was the first paved road connecting Chicago to Santa Monica?  It was decommissioned in 1985.  

Some of the color of the strip in Williams, AZ

Cruiser cafe

Step 4: Go some place OUT OF THIS WORLD. Check,

Meteor Crater.  It hit Earth over 50,000 years ago!  Cool!!!

It is 6 miles off the beaten path...I had Prairie Dogs run in front of me as I was driving!
Wild Prairie Dogs, I was so excited!

"Vanna" at the Crater

It is one big hole, but it's really hard to fathom just how big it really is with nothing to reference  against.

Down at the bottom.  (Confession #3, not really. Were you fooled?)

Step 5: Re-nourish your soul.

Will be working on this over the next few days.

 Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ

One of the views from my hotel room

I do have a few things planned to fill my time here.  I drove around tonight to get a feel for the place.  Then I went to the store and picked up one of my favorite dinners...wine, cheese and some salami.  My next few days will be much more restful.  I wonder what I'll learn about myself next?

What I learned today: I can get to point A, B, C & D without a GPS!  And I like not being bound by a clock or "have to's".