SUNDAY - A Day of Sabbath

Today was a day to worship, and to remember that God, too, wants us to play and be rested.

We began by "sleeping in" until 7:30 and then getting all dressed up for church.

We attended worship at the Church of the Red Rocks, situated on the crest of a hill overlooking Sedona and its surrounding rock formations. Quite a spectacular venue, and an even better welcoming. (These are the folks who have given us the keys to their building so we could cook our dinners and have meetings in the evening). We were welcomed by everyone, and introduced to the congregation. Emoli spoke from the pulpit on our behalf, and did a great job representing us. She thanked the congregation on our behalf for their incredible generosity.

The view at the front of the sanctuary (that is not a painting - those are big windows, and that's the actual view!)



After a quick lunch, we ventured up the Slide Rock canyon


We found ourselves a wonderful swimming hole and just played in those cool waters for a couple of hours. It was heavenly!

Seb struts his stuff!
Rachael just goes for it
Keir does it with style
And after much thought, Emma takes the plunge
Finally, the afternoon was capped off with a couple of hours of shopping on Sedona's main street.Ahhhh, the pleasure of it all!



GROUP LEADER'S REPORT

BENJAMIN LINDSEY-CLARK CAPTAIN's LOG STARDATE 2678.4 (Sunday the 3rd)
"Today began with a “sleep in” to the late hour of 7:45. We had already planned the day before (with my help). We ate and got dressed. In our formal clothes. Why we couldn’t wear our pyjamas like we normally do to church is a mystery to the whole group. (But we looked really pretty) Then, upon our momentous arrival, we were greeted by an onslaught of happy, heartwarming, church people. We sat near the front and listened to a “fairly” liberal sermon. (More than I expected) Then Emoli gave what can only be called an awe-inspiring speech explaining our group, journey and to thank them for their generous hospitality. Then we left for a quick jaunt to the bookstore where we collected our remaining books and ate subs. Now comes the interesting part. The journey to slide rock. As you can see from the pictures this is clearly not the place in the postcard because the slide rock was so incredibly packed that we had to relocate downriver. Thereupon we had fun. We swam, we laughed, we jumped but most importantly, someone conquered her own terrible fear of height. Emma climbed to a rock twenty-five feet high and jumped into a pool which you could see the bottom! We all cheered her on and felt especially proud of little Emma. Also Wendy jumped too. Then we went to the edge of Sedona for shopping. Of course the shopping was magical, but during the trip a flash storm rolled by, drenching the majestic red desert in the promise of continued life. A day of rest was just what we needed. This is the Captain, signing off."

MONDAY - Grand Canyon

Today we experienced one of the true wonders of the world: the Grand Canyon. To come upon this massive, huge, phenomenal gorge is literally breath-taking. The scale of it all is almost too much to take in, so you just sit and look ... and look ... and look.

We arrived at the Canyon in later morning after a smooth and lovely drive from Sedona. We continued to see how diverse the Arizona climate and topography really is: we went from desert at about 4000 ft up through a national forest, then across grasslands at almost 6000 ft elevation. The climate changed as well, and the weather at the Canyon was more typical of an Ottawa summer day than a Phoenix one. We should be so lucky.

The Canyon is a major draw for tourists from around the world, and many languages could be heard along the crowded paths. We walked along the edge (some of us closer than others!) and took in the view. Unfortunately, many of us were feeling tired from the previous days' hikes and so we contented ourselves with driving along the south rim of the canyon and stopping at various lookouts along the way. Each offered its own unique panorama. Here's a sample:















The award for best photo of the pilgrimage goes to Koley Freeman, whose timing was just right to get this shot of lightning hitting the ground.

TUESDAY - Rafting on the Colorado

We rose at 5 am to catch the early rafting trip down the Colorado River, beginning at the foot of the Glen Canyon dam and going 14 miles downstream


The canyon was beautiful, with cliffs as high as a thousand feet looming above the river. The canyon is a home to a diverse array of wildlife, including golden eagles, condors, coyotes, and beavers.



We stopped along the way at a beautiful red sandy beach. Some people hiked a short trail to view some pictographs, while others contemplated the idea of swimming in the icy waters of the Colorado River

Rachael was the first to brave the frigid waters when she volunteered to wade in to search for some eye glasses that one of the other passengers had dropped. (She was successful!)
Pretty soon, several of the other J2A youth were also making a big spash
Emoli

Keir
Rachael
Emma
Seb
Koley

Wendy and Robyn


Murray and Josh

Click on this image to read details about the canyon and the cruise

GROUP LEADER’S REPORT

HALEY: "We had an early morning and woke up to go on a rafting trip in Glen Canyon. Some of us decided to go swimming in the 48°F water and some were lucky enough to be thrown in. It was freezing. The rest of our day we had a picnic in a park and then drove to flagstaff to stay the night. We are becoming closer as a group and have never worked together better. We are definitely growing."


Don't forget to post your comments! Just click on the Post a Comment link (below) to send your thoughts to the youth.

WEDNESDAY- Back to Sedona

Wednesday was not a day of high activity. We stayed in Flagstaff overnight on Tuesda night, and Wednesday was spent getting rested up a bit, doing laundry, and then driving back south to Sedona.

The day definitely started on the right foot with our best breakfast ever: vanilla and chocolate ice cream, milk (for milkshakes), chocolate syrup, sugar and cinnamon buns. A bit of fruit was thrown in just to keep things legal. Clearly the food police had had the day off. Here's Keir, Josh and Asha reveling in their opportunity to experience such fine cuisine

Much of our drive south Flagstaff was through the Navajo reservation. While much of the land was sparse and dry, like everywhere else in Arizona, the proper sunlight could bring out its natural beauty.

It felt ironic to see rain storms over the desert, but August is a time when they have monsoons almost every day for a short while, usually in the afternoon. Given the expansion sky and the flat terrain in northern Arizona, it was always possible to see rain happening somewhere.

After driving through the national forest, we emerged into the land of the red rocks once again.


The view of Sedona. As the elevation dropped, the temperature soared back up, so it was a bit of a shock to feel it again after two days in cooler northern Arizona



Emma sets the standard for impromptu gymnastics
Keir does his best to meet it
We managed to squeeze in some much-needed shopping along Sedona's main street. Here, we gathered to compare notes on our findings
We wrapped up our day with a home-cooked dinner at the Church of the Red Rocks. This congregation has been SO generous to us, in letting us use their facilities so freely (literally and figuratively).
After dinner, we had some teaching time in the sanctuary of the church, where we looked back at the questions we had at the outset of the pilgrimage, and spent time journaling and reflecting on where we have each come in our personal journey so far.

Ottawa seems like such a long time ago!

GROUP LEADERS REPORTS

KEIR: "Today we were given the opportunity to sleep in. Then, one of use had the brilliant idea to have milkshakes for breakfast. That hero shall remain nameless. Cough cough KEIR cough (Koley helped). Anywhos, then we drove back to Sedona, and went shopping. After our brief excursion to the land of shops, we ate at the church. While the food was being prepared, some of us got to see a barbershop choir. The best experience today. One of us was even invited to sing, but she\he chose not too….haley…"

SEB: "We had a great morning because we got to sleep in and enjoy a good night’s rest. The breakfast with the cinnamon buns muffins and milk shakes was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. Then we drove back to Sedona, got new rooms and settled in. The “Foodies” got the food for supper and then everyone left to go shopping. The salad for supper was great and we got invited to go hear a barbershop choir and it was quite the choir."

Don't forget to post your comments! Just click on the Post a Comment link (below) to send your thoughts to the youth.