I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.
Boarding a plane, relaxing in relative comfort while being fed, at the very least, palatable food and then landing thousands of miles away just a few hours later. There’s a certain magic in that for this Gen X’r that I hope never leaves me.
Flying from Minneapolis at this time of the year is always a crapshoot and this year proved no different. Our Delta flight to Phoenix made it off the ground just a few days before the largest snowstorm of the season made its appearance in the Twin Cities. They've declared a snow emergency and are forecasting nearly two feet of the white stuff.
As we made it above the clouds into that beautiful sunshine and blue sky my wife and I both let out a sigh of relief. After living through four months of the frigid darkness of winter our bodies and souls crave light and warmth. I shudder to think of how horrific it would have been this year if we made the five day journey by car as we originally planned.
As we made our way west, I noticed hundreds of these circles close to Denver, CO. Naturally, my wild imagination led me straight to the theory that these were some sort of military sensors but, as it turns out there's a much more boring explanation for them. Crop circles (not the alien kind), farmers grow crops inside the circles and irrigate them from the very center. Smart, but I think my theory would have made for a much more exciting blog.
As we cleared the Rocky Mountains and got further from winter's grip the landscape quickly changed. We began to see more color, everything seemed more alive.
The sun was setting as we approached Phoenix and the air temperature was nearly double what it was when we left the Minneapolis airport. Then we took a shuttle for the three hour ride up to Sedona in the dark of night. We arrived at the Airbnb exhausted, deciding that sleep was much more important than unpacking.
The next morning we awoke, raised the blinds and were greeted to this view. We had one good day of weather before we had a surprise. A winter storm warning, in Sedona! It seems like we just can't escape the snow.
Thankfully, the winter weather will just be with us for a week or so and it's not nearly as severe as it is back home. It's just as well, there's a film festival in town this week and the Enterprise rental car location in Sedona apparently gave our car to someone else so we're without a car until Thursday. If you ever make it here and need to rent a car I would highly suggest you steer clear of Enterprise.
As I sit here writing this, watching the snowstorm creep over the mountains, I realize these are only a few small bumps in the road. After all, these kinds of hiccups are to be expected when you travel. It's a small price to pay for the privilege of spending a month in paradise.
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
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Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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Let’s Keep In Touch
Not a bad view!!! Pretty funny about the snow following you. I'm glad you made it. I wish you deep and restful sleeps and adventurous sun filled days. Your photographs are spectacular! Love that blue blue sky.
Thank you! The views are amazing at any spot in this town, and change minute-to-minute with the light. You never grow tired of it. It looks like we have a least another week of snow and cooler temperatures.
I have never traveled by plane till date. My attempt is to travel by ship in 2024 and see how it feels. The way we saw that a person can see many natural sights while sitting in a plane, the way the plane flew above the clouds, a sky was visible. It is a good decision of yours to go somewhere far away from home because one gets tired of seeing the same place in a car. As the ship descends from a very high altitude, everything becomes clearer as we see the mountain, which is much more beautiful. One should plan such a trip once in a month, one's mind becomes very fresh and one enjoys a lot. Sedona is very wonderful and amazing place. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I didn't fly until I was 24 years old, 28 years later I still marvel at the beauty and time savings of air travel. Thank you for your comment. I hope you get to do your traveling in 2024!
Most welcome dear. Hope so.
Air travel is absolutely massive.. I haven't been on a plan before, but it's quite easy to begin to imagine what those white circles were. When you mentioned two feet of snow, I can't imagine. But then again, I know you both enjoyed the warmth on air, at least. I haven't experienced snow before, and hearing you talk about it is quite astonishing and exciting, o hope to experience it some day.
@tipu curate.
Air travel is really a wonder of our modern age. I think about how arduous this trip was by car last year. 5 days, 4 nights in different hotels, driving through an ice storm. I don't mind a good road trip but this way is so much better. I hope you get to experience it too!
A road trip is amazing, this is quite true, the experience and excitement is great, but nothing beat the comfort of air travelling, the awesome treat and great air view.
Sedona is so wonderful!!!
It certainly is! It's a completely different (and better) world here. This will be our winter home base for our remaining years, God willing.
I wish I could escape to your paradise as well 🫶🏽
Are you still in Vienna?
I was in Ibiza for a while and it was wonderful!
Now back in Vienna waiting for my surgery end of March!
This time it’s my spine and I am scared 😟 but all will be just fine
I wish you a great time in one of my favourite lots on earth
I'll be thinking of you and praying the surgery goes well. I'm sure they have excellent surgeons in Austria. Thank you! We leave at the end of March and I'm hoping spring arrives back home by then. Take care of yourself and let me know how things go with your surgery.
I'm always in some kind of misunderstanding. When I fly to my parents in Kazakhstan. This is 1000 km by plane, 3 hours of flight, three days by train, and if with a transfer, then 5 days. Magic:) You have a very beautiful view from the window. I hope you have a great time in paradise :)
It's totally magic. It gives us more of our time which, in the end, is the most valuable thing. Thank you my friend!
I just love the view from the plane you have shared. It's truly majestic. Snow, standing cars, zigzag road, all together makes it enjoyable. though they had the snow storm, they cleared the road with so much hard work that I can't any ice on the road. Every shot you took is wonderfully beautiful, were you alone on this journey ?
Thank you! My wife is with me on this trip.
You are welcome, it's a blessing to travel with your family.
You did get out just in time! I can't imagine if you would have tried to drive. I mean I am sure you would have done better than most people down south, we are kind of built for this, but it's still hell on the nerves. What an awesome view! That sucks that the storm is going to hit there too. It does seem much milder than here. I am watching the snow blow around right now. We are getting about a half inch per hour. That sucks about Enterprise. They are my go-to place to rent. That is the second bad thing I have heard about them in the past year or so.
We absolutely did. The Twin Cities is getting buried. I just saw in the news this morning the Governor has issued a travel ban. That's pretty much unheard of for Minnesota. The locals are completely freaking out here at the forecast of a few inches but then they have zero snow removal equipment here, they don't even salt. I guess they'll spread crushed charcoal if it gets really bad. I was just astonished at how nonchalant they were when we went to pick up the car. They didn't even call us beforehand to tell us our car wasn't available. Thankfully my sister-in-law didn't need her car and we've been using it for errands. Otherwise, we would have been out of luck. We're heading back in just a few minutes and they're supposedly going to have something for us. If I have an option I'll never use Enterprise again. Stay safe on those roads!
Thanks! You stay safe too! I have a feeling whatever snow you do get won't last too long. At least that is the hope anyway. We are supposed to get close to 32 today, so I have a feeling a lot of this will melt pretty quickly. The ground has already started to thaw too, so that should make it leave a little more quickly.
One major thing I am still looking forward to is travelling by air 😊
I hope you get to experience it!
Wow, looks like you're really enjoying your life, Eric. Thank you for sharing beautiful writings and pictures about the places you have traveled and visited. Even though I have never traveled but I can feel as if I was there through your pictures that are so real. God bless you Eric.
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed this Eliana! As always, thanks for your comments and many blessings to you.
Amazing photography during your flight!
The destination looks charming somewhere one will sleep well and enjoy the outdoors during the days irrespective of the weather.
!LUV to you and the wife, enjoy!
@ericvancewalton, @joanstewart(4/10) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki |
NFT | <>< daily
Thank you! This weather is mild in comparison to how cold and snowy it is back home so I'm getting out every day for walks. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
Being away from home for a break, always so good!
Hello @ericvancewalton !
What a pity that you could not really escape the winter. But the landscape is beautiful.
I have a place for you here, where you have sun guarantee. Have a look
https://peakd.com/hive-184437/@missagora/escaping-from-winter
Thanks for stopping by @missagora
Oh, Mexico! That looks amazing. We're really hoping it warms up soon. The average daytime temp here should be 60 degrees (F) but we're not getting anywhere near that.
I thought it is always hot in Arizona and around 80 Fahrenheit. I guess I was wrong about that.😂
But you will be rewarded by the beautiful landscape.
@missagora
I think around Phoenix it's much warmer than it is further North here in Sedona. This area isn't as hot, partially, because it's a higher elevation. The landscape is divine! : )
I understand. I always forget how big and wide everything is in America.
Hi my friend, have you started your journey? I don't travel during the winter as cold, rain, snow might break my travel plan. Therefore, I choose summer or autumn. However, the weather seems bettee in Phoenix and Sedona.
Hello! Yes, we arrived late on Monday. We travel here to escape the cold but it followed us this year!
The world looks totally different - and often so much more sane - from that perspective. Your view is really gorgeous! We just had a weather warning too - but summer for SA
This scene looks so much more beautiful in photos than how beautiful it must have been in reality when you were flying over it, there is no doubt that it will be a very fascinating scene. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and such scenes with us. Have a nice day 😊
Wow, what amazing pictures from the plane. Also, the view of the place where you are staying in Sedona is breathtaking!
I hope the snow doesn't chase you for too long and that there are good movies to watch at the Festival!
Enjoy!