Sand Dunes and Sedona!
Alrighty folks! We’re getting into the juice of the Howard, CO part of this adventure. The part where I was able to go exploring and see new sights and have new experiences and meet new people. Woo hoo!
One of the first things I experienced after getting settled into my Airbnb was meeting Honey! She’s someone I had worked with a bit and realized she was within an hour of where I’d be staying. She knew all about the area and suggested a cute cafe in a nearby town to grab lunch. Bunny and Clyde’s! *Side note - Bunny and Clyde’s has become one of my favorite spots in this area, so if you stop through Salida, check it out! She also took me to see my very first mountain lake, which, coming from Minnesota you’d think I’d have my fill of lakes. No way, man! This lake was so clear! And so beautiful. I loved it.
Honey and her husband also suggested we check out the Great Sand Dunes National Park so of course we did that very weekend. Y’all… did you know there are massive sand dunes in Colorado?! Cuz I didn’t! I immediately wanted to take my shoes off and get my toesies in the sand. So that’s what I did. It felt like I was on a massive beach with no water haha So I did what any kid would do and made a sand angel and a heart castle and froliced and had a wonderful time. I highly suggest letting your inner child come out anytime they want, cuz chances are, they have some pretty neat ideas for fun and creativity :)
Something I didn’t realize I’d be doing until shortly before I left fon my adventure was a trip to Sedona, AZ! Honey and I had been chatting about my arrival in Colorado and she mentioned going to Sedona for a few days. She asked if I’d like to join and I was like, “Yes! Let’s go!” I believe there is an older version of me that would have questioned the timing of this and been uncertain if jumping into an adventure within an adventure was a good idea. I’m happy to say that current me is all for it! My original idea was to stay in Howard for a month and take in as much as I could before moving along on my adventure. The really amazing part about ALLOWING is that you can be surprised with side quests and extra fun along the way!
If you know anything about Sedona, you’ve probably heard about the beautiful rocks and hikes and also vortexes and energy and various spiritual and crystal shops in the area. Apparently there’s a lot going on there! Even though I had heard about Sedona from a few different people, I did my best to go in without expectation of what I would experience. I took in the town and soaked in as much sun as I could :) I will say that I did experience some heightened energies in and around Sedona, but I chose not to dig into the specifics of what they were/are. I had a nice sit on top of some rocks during a hike and took some time to just breathe and be still. What I feel was really important for me during this trip was to notice and be neutral. Observe. Just because I feel something in my body or have an awareness of something that’s different than what I’m used to does not mean it’s bad or good. It just is. This is what I felt Sedona was about for me. Learning about observing from neutrality even more deeply than I had already practiced in my life. And it was challenging at times because I was confronted with some things that I’d typically label as “draining” or “annoying”. But those labels are just that. Labels. Beliefs that I have put onto something that without me there, wouldn’t have the label. So! If you were hoping for me to say something like, “Sedona was nuts! The vortexes are so (fill in the blank here).” Sorry not sorry! That’s not the experience I chose to have. :)
During my continued stay in Colorado (spoiler alert, I stayed longer than a month!) I built upon my learnings of neutrality in Sedona and about acknowledging the parts of me that don’t have neutral reactions. Ooooo what are those about and what are they trying to tell me? Keep following along for what I learn next on this adventure!
