Reaching out, and branching out...

Thursday December 23rd

Before bed on the Wednesday evening I had sent out a few couchsurf messages, and arranged to stay in Flagstaff for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Amanda and Scott were themselves Jewish and said they were happy for me to stay over for Christmas, and give me a chance to visit the Grand Canyon. I had also made contact with Joy in Tempe, she was in the middle of moving and going back home for Christmas but said she could probably find me somewhere to sleep somehow. I replied to her with my number and told her to call me Thursday if she was around.

I decided I wanted a day off from driving so made a gentle stroll into Tempe, and the main drag called Mill Avenue, where all the bars and restaurants were. As I was strolling down the street my phone went, but I didn't recognise the number. I answered, and for a few seconds was mightily confused as I couldn't work out who Joy was. Then the penny (or cent) dropped. She explained she was now home for Christmas, but extended a very kind offer for me to join her and her family. Her parents lived 2 hours north from Tempe, pretty much on the way to Flagstaff. On a ranch. That rang out in my head. "On a ranch. On a ranch. You're being invited to a Christmas on a ranch". Despite my inward excitement, I explained I had planned to stay in Flagstaff, so I would think about it and get back to her. I went for lunch as I was starving, then made my way to the Hayden Butte, a small 20 minute hike that gave an outstanding view over Tempe and much of Arizona, including Phoenix to the west. During my walk there I called Scott and asked if it was alright if I pushed my stay with them by a couple of days. He said that was fine, and I planned to reach Flagstaff by Sunday, opening up Christmas Eve and day. I ventured to the top of Haden Butte (or 'A Mountain' as some call it, due to the large A on the side). I stayed up there for a couple of hours, taking in the view, enjoying the Chanukah Menorah that was still up there, listening to music on my ipod & people watching as others came and went. By 4pm I decided to return to Mill Ave for a Chai Tea, to check my emails and surf the net, then return to Hayden Butte for sunset. This I did, and took in the wonderful bright orange as it disappeared behind the distant mountains. I started coming down as it was almost dark, and rang Joy. I said I would be delighted to accept her offer to stay with her Family, and would arrive mid Friday afternoon. I ended the call, and walked back to James' house with a tingle of excitement in anticipation of the next few days. I knew nothing about the ranch, nothing about the family, and only what I had learnt about Joy on her couchsurf profile. But something inside me burned. Burned like a warm glowing fire on a late winter's night. Some how I knew I was going to enjoy my Christmas. I just hoped it lived up to the expectation I had set for it.

Going up...

A up...

A view...

The view...

The end...

That evening James had other plans to meet up with a friend of his, whilst I had seen another couchsurf meeting that was taking place at the Four Peaks, so I returned there and had a very pleasant evening with a number of new faces, namely Hytham, Mike, Richard, Charlotte, Angelique, Shirley (from Taiwan) and a few others. I had two beers over the space of 5 hours as I was driving (I had to drive to get there) and also in preparation for my drive in the morning. I went to bed, still with that warm burning feeling inside. In fact, my excitement was a bit too much, and I couldn't really sleep. It was almost like it was Chanukah. Or Christmas. Except it was, in approximately 24 hours. And I was heading to a ranch...