We woke up cosily snuggled in our hotel beds; dreams of Canyon de Chelly’s stark yet captivating beauty lingering in our minds. After a filling continental and the necessary caffeine reboots, we hit the bus and were met with a bribed challenge: proper on-beat count offs for the day would result in ice-cream, courtesy of Marcia. The first count off went without a hitch and we started off for Glendale, via a national park. Taking the scenic route through the Coconino National Forest was well worth the extra miles, our bus careening around gorgeous mountain paths as we made our way through Sedona. Red rock burst from the earth, dusted in snow, and jaws dropped as we marvelled at the beauty around us and mourned our brevity there.
Mountains gave way to proud Saguaro standing guard as we entered the outskirts of Glendale. Stopping for lunch, we joyously shed our layers and basked in the warmth of long lost sunshine. Performance #1 of the day ended in a blast, singing Goshen’s Alma Mater with enthusiastic Glencroft alums. Having successfully kept on beat for our count offs, we were then treated to two scoops of frozen delight. Arriving shortly thereafter at Trinity Mennonite Church, the group rushed through set up in anticipation of the array of homemade soups awaiting us, and the call of bare feet and green grass. Spontaneous sprints, frisbee, yoga, acroyoga, dance practice, circles of hackey-sack, tree climbing, naps, and laughter filled our free hour. Preconcert meditations allowed space for sharing highlights of the tour thus far, and set the stage for a wonderful performance, also done barefoot. As the day came to a close, Yejin and I settled down with our hosts for shared stories and banana splits. Promising that we’d return now that we had « sand in our shoes, » we contentedly drifted off to sleep, excited for the adventures tomorrow is sure to bring.
– Naomi A. Peters
Senior Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Music Student.
