Days 64 to 66: Fantastic Family and Feasting in Flagstaff

Julie and Paul Lambert

Soon after getting out of southern Utah the weather started clearing up and so did the roads.  I was heading to Flagstaff Arizona to meet my dad's cousin (cousin once removed is it called?) Paul Lambert and his wife Julie.  I'd never met them before but back when I was in Wilmington, SC staying with Jeanie and Allen, she told me I should stop by to visit her brother Paul.  I called had called Paul from Colorado Springs and he was kind enough to invite to stay, even during Thanksgiving week, when I'd be in the area.  As it turned out, I arrived the evening before Thanksgiving, just in time to meet the family I'd be spending this delicious holiday with. 

Electricity is generated by solar and wind,
south facing windows and a wood stove
help with heat, and a zero-scaped lawn
conserves water

On Thanksgiving morning, Paul began my great day with a tour of his home.  Despite pylons carrying heavy duty power lines nearby, Paul and Julie live off-grid (strangely the power lines don't serve their area) meaning they generate their own power, get their own water, make their own heat and use a satellite for communication purposes.  From the beginning of the tour it was obvious that Paul had a detailed and intimate knowledge of his home and he should, considering it's the brainchild of his thoughtful planning and research. 



These circular plots come from a huge
plastic pipe that Paul acquired, cut and
partially buried in the ground

 Electricity generated mostly from solar panels is supplemented by a small wind turbine and backed up with a generator, which has been needed only a few times in as many years.  Heat for the house comes from strategically places southern windows and an efficient wood stove which is just the right size for the house.  Paul brings water from a nearby well to fill up large tanks buried partially underground and wood for the stove is gathered from the Coconino forest with a permit.  To conserve water, the lawn is zero-scaped, meaning it features plants that can survive naturally in the dry environment.  Paul also keeps a vegetable garden which provides them with much of their produce during warmer seasons.  Their home epitomizes conservation, efficiency, sustainability and renewable resource use and is a refreshing patch of green in a seemingly baron desert landscape.  Moreover, it testifies to Paul's cleverness and aptitude in mechanics and electrics, a trail shared by many Lambert men, author not included. 



Paul and Julie's house is somewhere
in front of these volcanic domes



A modern Native American
decoration (thing) found at
the top of the volcanic dome

 After a tour of the house Paul took me up to one of the many dome volcanoes that dot the area.  The full panoramic view from the high dome provided great views of the surrounding area.  Far in the distance to one side were the snow covered San Fransisco Mountains while opposite was the Navajo reservation, sparsely dotted with mobile homes.  The steep drive down the dome volcano kept me on the edge of my seat (literally) and on the way back home Paul suggested that we go check out Sedona for the afternoon.  I had heard from some people at Indian Creek that Sedona was a cool little town and so I was more than happy to go.

Some of the scenery surrounding
Sedona, AZ

Sedona truly is beautiful and as we drove toward it through a forested canyon, the sky only seemed to get more and more blue.  The touristy part of town offers plenty of souvenir shops, energy vortex services, and pink jeep tours while other parts were affluent, trendy and artistic.  From anywhere in the town, magnificent views of deep red rock formations rising above Ponderosa forests can be enjoyed.  To preserve this landscape a town ordinance requires new buildings to follow the established architectural theme of low structures painted in earth tone colors.

Paul, in great shape,
on the Wilson Canyon trail



Wilson Canyon in Sedona, AZ



Paul is an avid hiker so we decided to explore the nearby Wilson Canyon trail.  I was surprised to find such a diverse forest in an area I always associated with just dessert.  Along the trail we continued our interesting conversations, shared stories, and discussed some of our personal philosophies.  As it turns out, Paul and I have a quite a bit in common.  When  we were finished with the 4 mile return trail, my stomach was beginning to rumble.  We stopped in Jose's Cafe for what is supposed to be some of Sedona's best Mexican food and had a burrito to tide us over until dinner. 

Tall Ponderosa pines in the
Coconino forest

When we arrived home we were were greeted not only by Julie, but by the intoxicating smell of her Thanksgiving culinary masterpiece, which included sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, turkey and gravy.  If I wasn't in heaven I was in the next best place.  We ate and drank wine beside the fire until our stomachs were content.  In my mind I could think of dozens of things to be thankful for, but at the time nothing stood out more than Paul and Julie's generosity, without which that moment wouldn't have been possible.  It had been years since I'd had a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner.  In Taiwan, most of my friends weren't American and didn't the holiday had no significance to them so it was really nice to experience Thanksgiving again.

The entrance to the lava
tube cave

The next morning Paul asked me what I wanted to do, but I really had no ideas.  When I go climbing or surfing, I usually have a plan, but when I visit people I tend to rely on their suggestions and fortunately, Paul and Julie had plenty of good ones.  Paul's first suggestion was to do some caving in a lava tube in Coconino National Forest and that sounded like a great plan.  We hit the road in the Pathfinder and headed up into the snowy forests near the San Fransisco mountains. 



This was one of the tighter sections



Paul leading the way in the lava tube,
the flash of the camera gives a
deceivingly bright picture of the cave



The lave tube cave was formed 700,000 years ago when a nearby volcano began spewing out lava.  The outer lava cooled first while the center continued to flow out, leaving a cave a mile long.  Equipped with only our headlamps, it was exciting to be entering a cave without a guide.  Thankfully, it would be difficult to get lost in the lava tube cave since it just went one way with a short loop in the middle.  Unlike Mammoth cave there were no tight spots you had to squeeze through and no belly crawling although there were some sections about 3 feet high that required some bear crawling.  Other parts of the cave were as wide as 7 meters in diameter.  Throughout the cave various rock formations and textures gave clues to how the lava cooled and created the cave. 

We took a muddy road out of the forest and drove back to flagstaff to meet Julie for lunch at Wildflower bread company.  We had some excellent sandwiches and when they went home, I stayed around to use the internet and explore Flagstaff on my own.  After stocking up on some food supplies at a nearby natural supermarket, I headed downtown for some dinner. 

Flagstaff is a little different from the rest of Arizona.  It's a college town and more progressive than most other cities in the state.  There were lots of outdoor stores and when I stopped in one, I noticed an extensive selection of frisbee golf discs.  I asked the staff about some courses in the area and they suggested a few.  Finally, I had a plan for the next day, and it would be the first time I'd played disc golf on this trip.  Another thing I still had yet to investigate in the area was the local beer.  I asked around and got some positive recommendations on a place called Lumberyard Brewing Company.  When I got there I ordered a sampler and was well impressed with some of their beers, especially the Lumberyard Red.  After some beer and football, I headed back to Paul and Julie's place and made my best batch of granola bars to date. 

This is a piece of Anasazi pottery found
behind Paul and Julie's house



The next day, I did some laundry, packed up the car and asked Paul to show me around his house one more time so I could get some pictures.  As we strolled through his back yard he told me we should head back a bit further and that maybe we'd be lucky and find some Anasazi pottery.  Sure enough, along a dried up stream bed, we found some pottery.  There were a few pieces and I kept one to remember the trip by.  

Afterward, I headed back downtown to play a round of disc golf at Thorton Park. It was a nicely forested park with gentle rolling hills. The most challenging part of the course was finding the hole from the tee off.  Thanks again to Paul and Julie for their great hospitality. 



One of the disc golf tee spots in Thorton
Park, Flagstaff, AZ