Walking the Land: Jim Thompson Hike – Marty Rienstra and Eileen Nauman – Sedona, Arizona

Hi Everyone,

Marty Reinstra, who is an interfaith minister and a dear friend of mine, winters down here in Sedona from November through May. They are from Michigan and they don’t like the cold. Can’t say I blame them. Marty and I decided to hike once a week together. Our hikes are a little different. It gives us time to chat, catch up, talk about movies and good books we’ve read and want to share with one another. For example, I suggested MY STROKE OF INSIGHT by Jill Bolte Taylor (I feel everyone should read this book and if you are spiritually inclined, it is a powerful book with many insights other than just about strokes…) and Marty told me a lot about the Muslim poet, Rumi.

And then I told her she and John just HAD to see the movie Australia. Again, it’s a powerfully spiritual movie and I cried and cried throughout it–but then, I’ve been to Australia a number of times and Uluru, the heart of Mother Earth and the Aboriginal people, own my heart. To see this movie is so moving and beautiful. And then, I bring my tripod along and my Nikon cameras. At a certain point, usually 1 or 2 miles into our hikes, we stop, pull out our sketch pads, our pens, pencils and colored pencils and sketch a landscape. This gives us a true time out and we get to move into our wonderful right hemisphere of our brain.

So, come with us!

On this hike, you get magnificent red rocks and I love this one with the red in front and the white calcium dolomite in the back.

I don’t know the name of this bush, so I dubbed it the “Christmas Tree” bush because of it’s red berries on the sleek green leaves.

We noticed the growing moon as it rose over Sedona mid afternoon–it was a great ‘prop’!

And here is another breathtaking view.

I love the horizontal striations of red mixed with the white.

I loved the way the afternoon sunlight backlit the manzanita bush.

I liked this straggly dead pine tree as a focal point against the red rocks and deep blue sky.

I liked putting the rising moon hovering inches over this pine tree.

Here is Marty Reinstra, who is an interfaith minister, playing her flute–the music was haunting as it bounced off the nearby red rocks. A lovely way to thank the spirits of the area as well as Mother Earth, who dearly loves songs being sung or played.

I liked this shot positioning the rising moon between the two pine trees. The red rocks make an incredible statement.

Here’s another shot of the rising moon–different vista.

Here’s where we chose to sit and sketch. On our hikes once a week, I take the camera/tripod and we both bring our sketch books, colored pencils and pens. Marty knew about this glorious look out and we sat there and sketched. We love this once a week hike for many reason–among them, sketching, playing a flute all bring us into our right brain which is where the peace, connection, compassion is located.

We call these beautiful red sandstone sculptures the “Four Grandmothers.” When you get near them you can literally feel the energy powering through that area. It’s very uplifting.

On the way back after we got done sketching, there was some grass up on a rocky slope strongly highlighted by the low sun.

And a last look at one of the wonderful Sedona vistas. You can see why people want to come here and live. Or at least, visit 🙂

I hope you enjoyed coming along on our hike today.

In Spirit, Eileen