Video of the first month in USA

A full day off of running can be quite busy with other activities and just as exhausting. We started the day at the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort where we spent the night quite happily due to the kindness of Karen Oakley, the General Manager, and the generosity of the Havasupai Management who donated the rooms to us. It was the most exquisite place we have stayed in yet, complete with a nine hole golf course which we did not have time to take advantage of unfortunately. Karen met our whole team in the morning before we left for the Grand Canyon and she kindly offered us all a buffet breakfast. The food there was fantastic and the service excellent. We are extremely grateful to Karen and everyone involved in making our stay in Sedona a very comfortable and pleasant one.

Sedona is a remarkable place full of beautiful vistas, with striking red rock buttes, cliffs and mountains dotted with dark green pine trees and powerfully flowing streams. The air is very clean and the environment is one of vibrant energy and natural wonders. We even were able to fill our bottles full of naturally running spring water as we entered Oak Creek Canyon where Sedona is situated.

The trip from Sedona to the Grand Canyon is quite long, about 110 miles, but well worth it. Anyone who has not seen the Canyon in person and wants to experience its beauty and vastness should try to get there someday.

Photos, words and even film cannot convey the true sense of expansive consciousness and ageless splendour that this wonder of the world offers. At various times of the day, according to the position of the sun, the colors vary and the shapes of all the incredible natural rock formations seem to change shape and character.

As some of us hiked down into the Canyon along the well made trails, I was inspired just to walk in silence and absorb the tremendous beauty and power of mother earth itself. Descending further into the Canyon you can observe various ages of the earth’s evolution. One does not have to be a geologist to notice the different periods of time of millions of years displayed by the distinct and various colors of the strata or layers of rock and earth. It is like a trip back into the history of earth itself.

After a whole afternoon in the Canyon one can work up quite an appetite. Some of us stopped at the Spaghetti Western Italian Restaurant in the nearby town of Tusiyan. We were offered there a pizza for the four of us and we also had some other delicious items on the menu. Our waiter was from Slovakia, as was another waitress there. We told them that we have a Slovakian woman on our team now and we had another Slovakian runner earlier as well. Thanks to Alberto, the manager, and all the friendly staff there, our dinner there was a pleasant one.

Our long ride back to Sedona was well paid off by another night in the fabulous Radisson Poco Diablo Resort. Taking advantage of the ‘in-room’ jacuzzi, I slept like a baby and was ready for more running and ‘life on the road’ as our two day holiday came to an end.

Our good friend Mia, who had visited us the night before and serenaded us with her harp music, was going to come again to see us off. We unfortunately came back too late so we hope to see her again tomorrow when we sadly have to leave Sedona and travel west.

Eric ponders the Canyon’s peaceful immensity.

Arpan and the Canyon Trekkers

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