On those occasions when Barby is able to travel with me, we are stealing a few days and going off together to enjoy the sights a bit. Earlier this week, after arriving in Phoenix, we headed up to Flagstaff (‘up’ is the operative word – 7230 feet up!). I had been there 38 years earlier when I took my $99 Greyhound Bus from Chicago to LA, after saying good-bye to Barby. This time she was with me. A welcome change.
After a day in nearby Sedona, we set off on the 3 hour drive up to Monument Valley, just inside the Utah border (where the first thing to be seen, almost, was a Mormon church). It is famous for providing movies and commercials with a memorable backdrop – but it is also a centerpiece of the Navajo nation.
My, oh my?! Reminiscent of the visit to Scotland last year (photos here and here), I couldn’t soak up the scenery enough. A visual buffet of substantial proportions. I gorged myself on what filled the horizon – and have spent a fair bit of time proseltyzing Americans ever since – because so many have never been there!
Each rock-mountain is named. This one is ‘the mittens’. I thought a little juxtaposition might help… |
This is ‘totem pole’. [Check out Clint Eastwood in The Eiger Sanction]. |
This is something like ‘snoopy-on-his-back’. |
nice chatting
Paul
About Me

the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Just when I thought that it could not be possible to have another first-hand account of the impact of John Stott’s life (d. 2011), along comes this book by his close friend, John Wyatt. I am always ready to learn more about John Stott, but also about friendship. It fascinates me. It keeps coming up…
Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be. They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d…
Apart from the eight years in which we were based overseas, Barby has been working at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Auckland since 2002. This year she is a ‘release teacher’, spending one day each week in three different classrooms, with three different age groups. Impressive—and demanding. One day is spent with 11-13 year olds—from…
Emma loved the photos. She said she'd never ever seen a real desert before.
It is quite different from the Desert Road – and it does have a beauty of its own. Much love to Emma from us both (and the rest of you!).
Wow! Great shots – love the comparisons: mitten and Snoopy. What a great Creator we have. So glad you have these moments to share together. Love to you both. RnD