We came upon a sign today reminding us that 'Life is good'.

Even though we may not have perfection in our lives at the moment, so far in Arizona we have had nothing but good experiences. From the kindness of the people to the beauty of nature here, one can easily see why it can be very enjoyable to live in Arizona.

In Tuba City we stayed in two wonderful hotels. The Quality Inn and the Moenkopi Legacy Inn and Suites were both very generous in giving us complimentary rooms for the night.

After leaving our wonderful accommodations in Tuba City and running through some more desert like environments we were on our way towards the higher elevations of Flagstaff.

Along the way we always meet all kinds of people who stop for us on the road to share the torch with us and express their own hopes and dreams for a better world. Since they make an effort to stop for us we like to include them on our site. In this way they are now a part of the ideal of harmony being shared and spread one person at a time, for which we are always very grateful.

This cowboy has been sitting in one place too long but still managed to hold the torch with Tom.

Upon entering Flagstaff, we were met by two students, Cheyenne and Chino, from the Project New Start School. They ran a couple of miles to the school from the city line with us and at times we had a hard time keeping up.

Principal Dane Gruver was very kind to invite us there and introduce us as we made our presentation to the students.

Haryaksha Gregor Knauer, a resident of Arizona and our local coordinator there, offers his enthusiastic words of wisdom to the young adults. We are very grateful to him for organizing this event.

After the ceremony and the passing of the torch to everyone, we were treated to good ole' American root beer floats.

These two New Zealander friends really seemed to appreciate and enjoy the fullness of their newly discovered treats.

After the school ceremony we set up tents at the local KOA Kampgrounds. These two runners seemed to figure out the complexities of setting up their own temporary shelters quite well.

These two runners would have rathered stayed in a traditional teepee which looked quite a bit roomier and more comfortable.

Meanwhile I was busy hooking up the RV to water and power as we always have to do when we settle in for the night. But when the cell phone rings I usually have to answer it no matter what I am doing. Such is life on the road.

After our wonderful experience at the New Start School in Flagstaff, we had time to visit nearby Sedona. As we descended into the lush green Oak Creek Canyon I remembered that there was a real spring with fresh flowing water free to everyone. Not a common thing these days, I hoped that it was still there and flowing. We found it on our way towards Sedona and we filled all of our empty bottles with cold, fresh, clean and natural spring water.

We met some very nice people there also filling their bottles. This gentleman, Joel Gilchrist, was there with his wife. He is a massage therapist, personal trainer and nutritional counselor and was giving us advice on how to keep our bodies strong and injury free. It was a perfect setting to meet such a health oriented soul like him.

Some of us were able to enjoy the cold and fresh water of the Oak Creek here at this area called Grasshopper Point. One is able to swim and to jump off the various levels of cliffs into the deep and clear waters. A good way to refresh the muscles after many hard days of running in the mountains and deserts.

I happened to look for and find a nice trail to run on with lush green trees and plants alongside of large cactus plants in a unique environment of both wet and arrid climates.

Looks like Boijayanti found some interesting plants in her own exploration of this incredible canyon.

Once you drive into and through Oak Creek Canyon you come to the stunning beauty of Sedona. The red rock formations towering all around you and the architecture such as this church built into the natural surrounding red rocks makes for a delightful experience both visually and spiritually.

 

Once in the town of Sedona there were many interesting things to explore.

Wherever we had the torch there were people who were curious about our project and loved to share the torch and the sense of peace and world harmony starting in the individual and being shared with others. This family was visiting from Ireland.

These two seemed to already know what carrying a torch is all about.

In the evening we were given a discount on our delicious meal at Picazza's Pizza,'Where pizza is an art'. The food was delicious and healthy and the service very good. But being in such a idyllic place such as Sedona it seems one can enjoy a meal anywhere with such a perfect setting in which to enjoy it. It was the perfect place to enjoy the end of another long and event filled day of life on the road.

– Arpan

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Distance: 65 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Shobhavati Davies (New Zealand), Jana Duskova (Czech Republic), Tom McGuire (New Zealand), Katya Percheklii (Ukraine), Larissa Zub (Belarus), Matthias Eckerle (Germany), Priyala Carvalho (New Zealand), Dzmitry Kuzmich (Belarus), Daulot Fountain (Seattle)

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