Friday December 24th
I woke up late, and had to set off pretty sharp as I needed to arrive in Chino Valley for 3pm to be a part of their early Christmas Service (they knew I was Jewish, and I had no problem attending any kind of service they were going to). James had left for work already, so I left his key behind and sent him a text message thanking him for his wonderful hospitality. I hit the road, with time for a petrol and food stop, grabbing an egg bagel for lunch. The I17 took me north until I changed onto the 69 and then 89, where the scenery got interesting. For miles around there was flat desert land, but in the distance there were glorious mountains, and as I got closer, there was even a fantastic snow peaked mountain in the distance. That warm feeling was still there. My GPS was trying to send me a different route to the one Joy had told me, so I stuck with the human advice, and followed her route. As I got closer and closer the roads narrowed, until eventually I was driving up and down over small hills, and finally the road came to an end and I hit the dirt track. I must be close. I went over the cattle guards, and through a gate, and further along the dirt track, and then I hit Skyhawk. I rolled my window down and asked a group of people where exactly the Somers Ranch was, and they told me right at the bottom of the road, on the right. Down I went, and there it was, I continued up the dirt track to the house, past the cattle and horses, as two dogs came running towards the car barking. As I pulled up Joy called me to ask where I was. "Right outside". "Well come on inside" she said.
Inside I met Joy and her two sisters, Grace and Sadie, her friend Daniel (a fire-fighter from Phoenix) along with her Uncle Marlin. Marlin immediately referred to my 'Beatles Hat', and coined me 'The Brit'. I knew this was going to be a fun few days. Half an hour later her parents returned, and I met Marie and Robert, who were wonderfully welcoming. They were heading to Church Service at 4pm, but Joy managed to talk us out of it, so instead I helped her with the chores. Within an hour of being there I was helping to clean up the horse poo, and was strangely loving it. There I was, Dave, from London, on a ranch, in Arizona, being a cowboy! Minus the hat. And boots. And accent. But you get the idea.
That evening we went to a quite amazing Christmas service. It wasn't your typical religious service. We entered a large room with a stage in the middle, surrounded on all sides by seats. There were three musicians singing Christmas songs. Following the songs there was a brief sermon basically going over the history of Christmas and asking everyone to be thankful for the sacrifice if Jesus. Whilst it meant little to me from a Jewish point of view, it was very similar to sermons I've heard in Synagogue. Once that was finished we went outside where there was an array of events. There was a chocolate room (where you could just eat chocolate), there was an outside garden with music playing and various passages from the bible hung up to read, there was a Christmas light show, there was a room where you could design your own Christmas ornament, and then finally there were the horses pulling carriages holding about 20 minute through a live re-enactment of the story leading up to Jesus' birth. It really was amazing to see it all and be a part of it, no matter what my religion. It was great to see a community dealing with Christmas from the point of view of it's origins, and not the over commercialised side of Christmas that we're so often used to seeing.
Christmas Day
We started with breakfast, and then a game of cards, called Pitch. Marlin taught us how to play, and I didn't really get it, but I persevered. I helped out again with the chores, even getting onto one of the horses in the process (I didn't exactly ride the horse, just sat on it), and then had a go at milking a cow. I wasn't exactly great at it but I did got some milk into the bucket. Presents were opened, and I was kindly given some chocolate and soup to keep me fed on my travels. Some friends arrived for Christmas dinner, and following that I was taught the classic cowboy game of Butt Darts. A mug is placed on the floor, and then you stand a few yards away from it, clench a quarter in your butt cheeks, then waddle over to the mug and attempt to drop the coin into it. Call it beginners luck, or good aim, I got it in first time. The entire room cheered and fell into hysterics, with Robert announcing "That's like winning the Superbowl!" No one else could match my aim, and I was crowned Butt Darts Champion 2010! Way to go! Later on we played more cards, and I was starting the get the rules. We played with two teams of three, and it looked like the team I was on was going to lose. The winner is the first to 11 points, and we were down 10 to 2. But the miracle of Christmas being what it is, we pulled it back to 10 - 10, and the final round was all to play for. Somehow the hand I was dealt was magic, and with my final card, we won the game 11 to 10. WAY. TO. GO!
Sunday December 26th
I got up at 7:30am to help Joy with the chores before she left to go back to Tempe. Luckily this was just in time to catch the tail end of a beautiful sunrise. Chores done, and Joy gone, I showered and prepared to leave. I desperately wanted to stay to continue my time on the ranch, but knew I should move on. My two days there could have been a week, and I felt I had really got to know the family, and genuinely hope I get to return one day. Marie kindly gave me some home made cheese to share with my next couchsurf hosts. Once I had traversed the mountain roads there...
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