Well this day turned out to be quite the adventure! First, I wasn't sure who would be there as I had a cancellation at 7:29 am from Nita 1 -- she said "Dang, too blustery for me!" -- boy no sense of adventure 😕. Hope some others show up!
Yup, here comes Bob and right behind him Mike and his mug.
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| Bob |
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| Mike and his Mug |
Suzette came along just to say she was going to be at a slightly different area and then drove off again.
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| Suzette in her temporary spot |
Dona and Jimmy joined us soon after.
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| (L to R) Jimmy, Dona |
Things were nice and calm to start out, here's Jimmy & Dona on their leisurely stroll to find a spot.
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| Dona, Jimmy and great view of Thunder Mountain |
Mike was right about parking in that second lot, you pick up a trail to the left of the one from the previous week and it brings you pretty close to the Stupa and the Inscribed Blocks right near it. I asked Mike to show me where the brick dedicated to his wife, Peg, was as I didn't get a chance to see it the previous week when Ed had asked.
I mentioned last week that this park held a special place for Mike because of the pleasant memories they shared hiking around it together. This park is a great place to come and enjoy yourself and for those who have had bricks placed in memory of someone, I think it provides a beautiful and more uplifting environment for fond memories than other locations might. So several of us had a chance to view the inscription and were glad Mike was able to share it with us.
At this point, a bit of a breeze was starting to pick up. I knew it would get windy, but usually we're good until noon. Not this day however. You can see from the flags below that are starting to blow in multiple directions as Mike and another arrival chat.
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| Mike and Nori (the other arrival) |
Oh look, here comes Michelle!
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| Michelle |
Glad she was able to join us. I wonder how her ride back home will be if the wind picks up. Well, anyway she's here now and at a crossroads, looking for a spot.
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| Michelle at the crossroads |
As I walked around trying to find a spot out of the wind, the only place that was out of the wind was at the bottom of wash where you couldn't see anything - figured that wasn't going to work. But I did find a spot on a rock and Nori came to join me just down the path a bit.
I even have a photo of us and that's thanks to a very late arrival and it's someone who's usually the first to arrive. It was Ed!
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| Ed and my canvas holder sticking up |
Soooo, usually Ed always arrives with a smile and looking in general just happy to be there. Today he arrived and said "Well, I'm late!" Oh dear, I have a feeling there's a story here somewhere. How about the following (bold italics are Ed's words):
1. I was on my way to Stupa from my home in Cornville and realized I left my phone\wallet home and was running on fumes.
- Hmm, no wallet and running on fumes, ok that's not a good start, guess I wouldn't have been smiling either!
2. I had to turn for home when almost to Sedona
- OH no!! Didn't realize this until he was almost at the location - oh dear, now he's even lower on gas!!!
3. I got home, found my phone and went to Cottonwood praying that I didn’t run out of gas.
4. I filled up, by this time it was 9am
5. I had to go back home because I forgot my watercolor backpack because I didnt think I would have enough time for an oil painting
- Oh good, he got to go back home, Yet AGAIN!
6. I think by the time I got to The Stupa it was around 9:30
- Yes, Ed you were right, timestamp on that photo of you is 9:31
7. It was cold and windy and my set-up blew over a couple times but I was determined to do a painting hell or high water.
- Yup, windy and set up blew over, ok that explains why I later found him huddled down on a seat under a tree with rocks holding his stuff down and look at those flags flying like crazy.
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| Ed |
Ed, really glad you made it there eventually. You were certainly determined and as always, in spite of all the mishaps, you did a great painting.
Yes, it did get very windy and I too had to hold on to everything so it didn't blow away, that meant I couldn't really leave my stuff to go wandering and finding everyone in their spots.
But When Ed found us as I mentioned above, he was kind enough to get a picture of Nori and me, see
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| (Front to Back) Nori, Me |
The picture of Ed above in his spot was from when I was leaving. I also happened to pass Dona in her spot.
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| Dona |
Well after a morning of being beaten up by the wind, not us, but our paintings, they decided to just go ahead and join the flags and hang from a tree.
Most of us did leave at the same time though and while we couldn't all gather together and smile on 2, we did stand around talk and laugh together in the parking lot where we shared our paintings.
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| (L to R) Bob, Suzette, Mike, Jimmy, Dona We left Ed under the tree and Nori took off down the hill |
See, we really were laughing, as it was quite the adventure in Painting in the Wind!
Well, till next week and hopefully a calmer day in a different spot!
Cecilia