A Sonoran Re-Do

Visiting Tsé Bitʼaʼí

The first light on Tsé Bitʼaʼí.

Wait! Weren't we in the Sonoran Desert a month ago?

Well, we're back after drawing a good-sized figure 8 through Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. For the second winter in a row, our stay in Kanab was mucked up by muck!

I have other letters to share with you, but it is essential to get you caught up first.

Dear, quiet, tranquil Kanab has been the February-long stay our coddiwomples are built around. It may not be as exciting as other destinations, but it has become a place to get centered, walk and write in, and even cook in. But all that is based around long contemplative miles on the forgiving red clay trails.

This February, however, the trails were not kind or welcoming. Miles of any sort, never mind long ones, took work. A snowstorm preceded our visit. And while most of the snow had melted before we landed near the Arizona-Utah border, we could not walk or even reach more than half the trails we meant to—too much mud—on both the walking paths and the dirt r…