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ARIZONA IS FITTING my circadian rhythms just fine! I was pleased as punch to awaken and toss back the covers at 5:42 a.m. (zipping through three time zones can work wonders for my bed-hugging body). And, after that...well, there's so much more about which to enthuse. My goodness, Dear Reader, all I had to do was walk out of the hotel and I was gushing over the flowers.
I caught a glimpse of a mountain in the distance and thought it so picturesque (ah...and then!)




My yard man and I set out for the home of his uncle,







and here was more proof that we weren't in PA anymore: those non-trees growing beside the road. Not to mention this: a sign at the rest area that makes me look nervously at my sandal-wearing feet-- POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS INHABIT THIS AREA!

So, anyway, we're heading up the highway from Phoenix, Arizona, my yard man and I. In between ooh-ing and ahh-ing about the scenery, I'm wailing about my non-adjustable seat in the rental car. "You're just towering above me!" I say to the yard man. "Look at you, up there! And I can hardly see a thing over this big dashboard!"







But that's only until we're approaching Jerome, Arizona (handily labeled with a "J") and we stop at a cowboy store for the sake of my yard man. Fortunately for me, there's a thrift shop next door, and a nice little pillow can be had for a dollar.

At Jerome (someone's great- grandparents lived in this tiny town on the side of a mountain when it [and they] were young and thriving]) there's a surplus of interesting things to see, but especially the prospective bride and groom and ten of the prospective guests for their wedding (all those nieces and nephews of the ring-buying Uncle John!)















They all met the yard man and me in Jerome, and we had a fine time eating lunch and shopping en masse (we'll be doing lots of things en masse in the coming days!) Later we all headed off for Sedona, Arizona, and a lovely afternoon of sightseeing.

By the time we had traveled through those fantastic red hills and wrapped up our perusal of Native American arts and crafts and taken lots of photos and shopped for items for the wedding reception and set out on the final leg of our journey to the home of Uncle John (that final leg being twelve miles of dirt roads),










the sun had set.









A full moon was rising over the ranch.




We'll have to wait to see this ranch, Dear Reader, until the sun rises once again. And that, you know,
will be Wedding Day!


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