Our little pack just returned from our first trip to the beach since May, a nearly unprecedented length of time away from our favorite place. This weekend brought us to Pacific City, a place we swore never again to camp at, but my little brothers wedding brought us back. My younger brother, Warren is six years younger than I, and we’ve always been close, so we were thrilled to still be in town for the big day!
During what has been a rather hectic summer for us, our camping plans diminished to almost nothing. Unlike our normal two-three trips per month, we were approaching mid summer with only our anniversary trip to Timothy Lake to talk about. But in spite of selling our house and family concerns, we were booked for a long weekend at the lake for the 4th of July, and we were NOT missing it!
Well, sort of. As I wrote out earlier in the year, for us 2015 represents transformation. Although several types of transformation were included in that post, one that was particularly linked to the success of some others, was the sale of our house. We could transform our bodies while still living there, but for our REAL transformation to begin, that of going from cubicle 9-5 to digital nomads, required the sale of those physical things that tied us to this place. The biggest, of course, being a home.
I am a sucker for a good UNESCO Heritage Site. Having explored dozens of them, all around the world, we were eager to end our birthday trip to Mexico on a high note with a trip to Paquime, in Casas Grandes. Easily the largest civilization in the Chihuahua desert, villages formed here as early as 700 AD.
We always love a good mountain town, whether it be someplace stylish a’ la Whistler, somewhere close to home like Government Camp, or the adventure capital of the Copper Canyon, Creel. Leaving our spectacularly situated hotel on the rim of the Canyon, we were circling back to the United States, but not before being lucky enough to spend a few hours wandering scenic Creel.
Time is always surprising; It seems like just yesterday, not nearly 27 years ago, that I first locked eyes with Jim, in Ken’s living room. Jim, full-bearded and scruffy, just off the boat from Alaska. Myself, fully focused on going to school for international law and moving to Paris. An unlikely pair? Apparently not~ Six days after our first date Jim asked me to marry him, and the rest, as they say, is history. Astonishingly, June 2nd we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. 25 years… it seems unreal, and presents a very literal example of how fast time moves by.
While a big birthday was the impetus for planning the trip, Mexico’s Copper Canyon was the draw. While we were very pleasantly surprised to fall in love with Alamos and El Fuerte on the way, the Canyon was the planned highlight.
I lowered my camera, sniffing the air around me like a dog. Jim and I looked at each other with the same silent question reverberating between us. Where was the smell of roasting coffee coming from? We wandered around corners and down cobblestone alleys, never quite finding what we were searching for, that elusive scent seeming to ebb and flow with each turn. Reluctantly, we returned to our hacienda for dinner, unsure that we hadn’t dreamed the entire olfactory experience. Tired, we called it an early night, sure that our quest for the coffee of Alamos was for naught.
One highlight of our Trafalgar trip to Mexico last month was our “Be My Guest” lunch at La Cava Restaurant in Guerrero. Guerrero sits high in the apple and fruit orchard region of Chihuahua, and is famous for it’s fruit and cattle ranching.
Cactus. Giant Cactus. Tree-like Cactus. Small, blooming Cactus. The drive to San Carlos is filled with Cactus! We began in Phoenix, driving south and over the border. The continuing display of cactus followed as we went, ebbing slightly at times, but a nearly constant reminder that we were not in Oregon anymore!
