Party, Sedona II & Prescott

Today I greet you warmly from Prescott, a small, incredibly sweet town in the middle of Arizona. I don't know about you, but before my trip, I had never heard of this town. I'll tell you how I ended up here in a moment.

First of all, let's talk about my birthday evening: it was much, much better than expected, and I have to admit that I completely forgot about my homesickness and longing for my friends. And I have Kevin to thank for that, who made this birthday unforgettable for me. 

I met Kevin in Phoenix while we were both traveling alone. Kevin lives in Phoenix but happened to have the same travel plans as me (Vegas and LA next week), he was equally crazy to hike in the heat, and we discovered that we have almost the same birthday. With so much shared destiny, we exchanged contact information and actually wrote to each other a few times (which is sometimes atypical for Americans, as they can be a bit casual). I don't know what I did to deserve Kevin being so incredibly kind to me, but since he travels a lot himself, he knew how it feels to celebrate your birthday alone in a foreign country. So he visited me on my birthday in Flagstaff (almost a 3-hour drive for him after work!) and convinced me to do something nice for myself on my birthday. So I had a great hotel, a comfortable bed, and a pool on my birthday evening. Kevin even brought me a birthday cake and a birthday card, and the best gift of all: a foot bath to relax my Achilles tendon.

So I didn't miss anything on my birthday: a card, a cake, and even gifts. Also, of course, your super awesome words from Germany, thanks again for that! Kevin and his friends from the area showed me how to celebrate a birthday in America: I had a sushi feast and way too much beer, wine, and whiskey. But maybe that's why the evening in Flagstaff was so much fun ;). Anyway, I'm infinitely grateful to have found such great, selfless, helpful party company on my birthday.

The next morning, I had coffee brought to bed to quickly forget about the hangover, and there was no mercy for aging Kathrin: Kevin wanted to show me the beauty of the area where he lives, so we went back to Sedona (I could go there 1000 times).

Sedona doesn't lose its beauty, even after seeing it multiple times, and I hadn't seen Sedona's main attraction live yet, which I had admired so often on YouTube before: the Devils Bridge. So we hiked on a secret path to avoid all the tourists to Devils Bridge. I have hiked with many people, but no one like Kevin :D. I always thought I was crazy about sports, but this man surpasses everything: he went on a hike with a 25 kg kettlebell, and despite that, we overtook all the other (annoying) tourists. Unbelievable, so there are also athletic Americans.

The Devils Bridge itself was another marvel of nature: incredibly beautifully shaped, in bright red colors among thousands of other beautiful rocks in Sedona. And Sedona itself is incredibly diverse: there are red and white rocks, rivers, and even many trees growing on the rocks because it rains here quite often. So I had a completely different view than in Utah, super exciting.

After Sedona, we drove through a ghost town that we admired (there used to be a gold mine here, but most of it is now in ruins) until we reached Prescott. 

So why Prescott, of all places? Kevin used to study here and said that as an outdoor enthusiast, I absolutely had to see this town. And he was so right: it's a great place, where I fell in love with it at first sight! And experiences like these make traveling exciting and authentic for me: not just following a guidebook and visiting the places that every tourist sees. Following insider tips, meeting interesting people, and discovering the real America are much more exciting for me than rushing from one sight to another. I am deeply impressed by every corner of Arizona and its diversity, of course, also by the people here. Kevin had to go back to work today, but he introduced me to some of his friends here, who, typically American, were happy to help me with advice and assistance on how to spend my time in Prescott. Truly incredible, Kevin and his friends surpass the hospitality I have experienced in the USA so far... even though we spontaneously drove to Kevin's friends on a Sunday evening, they were incredibly happy to see us. They told me so much about themselves and American life, but at the same time, they were incredibly interested in me, so we ended up talking for hours. It's amazing, this connection with people who are actually complete strangers, it feels so good! Even though I only met these people for a very short time, I am sad to leave them so quickly. 

So what did I do today in Prescott? I hiked up a small mountain and had a wonderful view of the valley: in addition to mountains, Prescott also has a lot of forest and therefore a lot of wildlife. Seeing mountains surrounded by trees all around is a completely different image than desert mountains. As I trudged through the forest, I once again realized how much I appreciate it and how much I even miss my beloved forest in Saarbrücken. This lush greenery, the peace and strength emanating from the trees, simply magical. Additionally, it's wonderfully warm in Prescott, so I just enjoyed life here.

 During my hike, I had the pleasure of meeting a retired couple who were walking their two dogs on the trail. After the dogs followed me, we started talking about everything under the sun, a really sweet and interesting couple. After chatting for an hour, they simply invited me to their home for lunch. Infinitely hospitable and kind, plus I really loved their dogs, so I couldn't refuse the invitation. Once again, I wondered who in Germany would just invite a complete stranger to have lunch at their place. I probably wouldn't come up with this great idea myself, why not? The couple asked me the same question after I asked why they were so incredibly nice to just take me along. For them, it seemed natural, and they asked me for reasons not to do it. After some thought, I mainly came up with two main reasons, which the couple was able to refute.

The first one was danger: sometimes, I do have a healthy respect for just letting any random person into my house. Always having the thought in mind that the person might have bad intentions and maybe wants to steal something. When I brought up this reason, the homeowner started proudly grinning and showed me his gun, which was hanging from his belt. I hadn't noticed it before, maybe I'm already so used to it here... He also had a gun collection at home, which he proudly showed me. For him, owning a gun is the greatest form of freedom there is. Everyone should be able to protect themselves however they want. With that, the couple felt less threatened and could be kind to everyone. It made me swallow hard, I just can't get used to the American euphemism for guns, and I see so many disadvantages in it. Nevertheless, counter-arguments are pretty much useless here in Arizona. Here, almost everyone owns a gun and is infinitely proud of their baby. For Americans, guns are truly the greatest symbol of freedom, which they don't want to give up for anything in the world. They see the world as so dangerous that they always want to be protected. I wonder if the world wouldn't be much less dangerous here if nobody had a gun. But I had this discussion with myself in my inner monologue, as I noticed that counter-arguments had no chance with the couple. On the contrary: they were deeply concerned about me when they found out that I didn't carry any weapon with me, not even a knife. They really wanted to give me a knife for self-defense and couldn't understand why I didn't want to leave their house with a knife. Amazing, two Western cultures that think so differently in this aspect.

Well, counter-argument 1 remained on the table for now.

The second counter-argument that occurred to me was time. How relative time is and that we all determine it ourselves, the couple explained to me, and later my Couchsurfing host explained to me again. At the latest after work, we all have 'time'. But day after day, we keep telling ourselves that we don't have it. We 'MUST' do so many 'IMPORTANT' things all day long, like cleaning our house, keeping the garden in order, exercising, styling ourselves, working overtime, watching TV, .... But we often forget that in every minute, we actually have the free choice of what to do with our time. We are so in the mode of 'functioning' that we give up our freedom for it. It's crazy...we forget that every single day 'time' would offer us the opportunity to talk to strangers and invite them to us. That we could simply do something good for ourselves and live life freely instead of just functioning. With my current Couchsurfing host, I found a great example of how to handle 'time'. He has chosen to work 'only' 4 days a week and have 3 days off to hike, climb, ride a bike, and simply enjoy nature. He values the time in nature and with himself and loved ones so much that he is willing to give up money for it and prefer freedom. Of course, he can't afford expensive cars, go on world trips (except by staying on other people's couches), and buy the most expensive jewelry for his girlfriend. BUT he can live, he is free, and he enjoys every free minute. Just being out in nature, or with friends and family, to have a great time. All of that doesn't cost much, except time. It's becoming clear to me that we can decide every day anew: how much of our lives do we want to invest in work, how much money do we need, and what are we really willing to give up to have more freedom? Of course, everyone has different priorities, everyone values different things, and not everyone wants or can spend their life getting to know themselves or other people more intensively. Everyone is entitled to work as much as they want...but it would be a shame if there was never any time left to do something crazy and simply invite a stranger to have a meal with you.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the time with the couple. And it became clear to me once again that even if people have different views on certain topics than I do, we can still get along well and have a great time together. Not every gun owner is as crazy as we like to label them...

After lunch, I had an appointment with my Couchsurfing host. He was incredibly kind and taught me how to boulder (a kind of climbing without ropes). I had done bouldering before in a climbing gym in Germany, but that was nothing compared to what I experienced today: there are rocks in the middle of nature in Prescott where climbers can simply try things out. As beautiful as the scenery was, you can't imagine the fears I went through. Even though the rocks you climb aren't infinitely high, it's incredibly intimidating. When you look down, it's pretty scary. Especially as a beginner, you fall off the rocks again and again and can hurt yourself pretty badly. Daniel, my host, had incredible patience in helping me overcome these fears and guiding me step by step through this climbing experience, and I'm infinitely grateful for that. Boulder climbing requires above all trust in your body. Trust that your foot will support you, that one hand can hold your whole body. Trust that you are strong enough to conquer rocks. And above all, let go of fear. The mental part was the most difficult for me...knowing that you can really hurt yourself if you fall drove me almost crazy. Trusting my big toe, being able to hold my entire body on a rock, was a completely new experience for me. Not looking down and completely trusting the instructions of other people was very difficult. But I did it. Although I fell over and over again, I rarely hurt myself (thanks to Daniel, too). I managed to climb two rocks mainly through willpower, even though I slipped off again and again. And for that, I really risked a lot and endured damn many fears. But it was worth it: reaching the top and knowing that you made it is an indescribable feeling!

And it teaches you so much about life: yes, risk is often shitty and very scary. You can fall flat on your face when you take a risk. But that's also what makes life exciting. Risking something new, experiencing yourself anew, and maybe eventually reaching the top. After all, anyone can take the familiar comfort zone route!

In any case, I enjoyed my time with the couple. And it became clear to me again that even if people have different views than me on some topics, we can still understand each other well and have a great time together. Not every gun owner is as crazy as we like to label them...