Fab In Moab

It was a celebration of life in the land of plenty with a plethora of  beautiful ladies. It was Camp Aspen taking it on the road. Yup, the biggest group ever (17 of us!) but we needed every single one to complete the sacred circle of our shared intentions.  I haven’t been to Moab for at least 10 years and it was calling my name for this special 60th birthday feat. A testament to “if you plan it, they will come” combined with “if you turn 60, they will come even further”! So Thank you Sherry for making the combination so magical and bringing in the next generation…your daughters!  And kudos to Moab for bringing in a wonderful new addition to its surreal red rock landscape…the Sorrel River Ranch on the Colorado River.

  Boasting 2 incredible National Parks, Arches and Canyonlands, Moab is an outdoor enthusiasts paradise with a mere population of 5,000. And we took advantage of it all with our trusting guides at Rim who I’ve known forever and who know the drill. It just seemed to come full circle as they sized up our group perfectly and allowed us to proceed on a level we were comfortable. Mike certainly sized up Nancy with his “helping hand” if you look closely at the picture.  From our magnificent day of mountain biking at Dead Horse point to our hike up to Delicate Arch–Moab’s most famous icon– to our Fisher Tower finale, it was a profound experience for all. For some it was a first for everything, but for everyone it was the perfection of the camaraderie of this close-knit group of ladies who shared so beautifully some of life’s secrets. And no better place to share other than the BAR was in a powerful Lakota sweat lodge in the middle of Castle Valley on someone’s private land.  Karen, our lodge keeper, told us “she was chosen–it was not her choice” to lead scared lodge ceremonies and she was delighted to indulge us in our quest for clarity.  We sat in the womb of the mother and were blessed in the darkness, the heat, the songs, the truths and unspoken secrets released as we prayed and smoked the peace pipe filled with tobacco and herbs representing all our earthly relations. Sounds hokey right?  Well it wasn’t.  It was as authentic as it gets and we all made profound connections as we saluted the 7 directions. Us in the center, new beginnings in the east, the innocent in the south, introspection in the west, wisdom in the north, nurturing below, and all for the empowerment from above.  We prayed for EVERYONE with immense gratitude for all our own blessings.  Life takes us on a journey and these bonding experiences make us live in the moment even if it’s out of our box and appreciate nature in its purest form. We laughed a lot, we cried a little, we drank a lot while we ate a little, we hiked, biked, practiced yoga, left sarah at the visitor’s station…oops!, lost nancy’s favorite stuff all over I-70, met creepers at Jeffreys, but most important of all is that we created lasting memories that we can draw upon at anytime and it will bring a smile to our face. I honor you all in this circle of life with me today and always.

All my relations or Mitakuye Oysasin in Native American