“Freedom on Both Ends of the Leash” is now available autographed through us for $24.99 [$19.99 + $5 S&H, Continental 48 States] by clicking the above photo links. [PayPal accepting all cards]. It is also available through Amazon in paperback or as an electronic download. The same with all other electronic formats. You can also order it from any Bookstore.  
The flat shipping rate for outside the 48 States or International is $15. Please e-mail me [link above] for those orders as you will have to get into directly our PayPal account bypassing the normal procedure. If ordering more than one copy through us you will need to place each order separately.
Thank You.

"It’s a very gentle, flowing tale, a nice mix of autobiography and travelogue. Less introspective than I anticipated, I’m having a hard time putting it down actually. The fun you had writing it certainly jumps off the page. It’s poignant but not sad."

It is 30 degrees this morning and we are nearing the end of June. We are doing well this summer so far staying on the cooler side. A few storms passing by through Gunnison, nothing major, actually perfect for some photos with clouds in the skies. A bit north of us is Crested Butte and a bit further Kebler and Ohio Passes are now open. I needed to get a bit lost this past Sunday on a Father’s Day and the Farmers Market in Crested Butte was enticing, well worth the walk through. As most Farmers Market the prices were way up there. I did not buy anything, only took photos. Those are free!

We then on met a Friend we had connected through e-mails years ago. The coincidences while being on the road! as we finally bumped into each other while each fueling our vehicle. It was a nice lunch, conversations about the area, each other’s Life and while sitting on a bench all of us in the shade we watched the world go by on the main street at a leisurely pace. That is what we do while the footsteps move up and down the pavement including many dogs as I think everyone has one in Crested Butte.

Yesterday was of different colors and the mood was to get lost throughout another long ride. Saguache County is bigger than the State of Delaware. There is less than one soul living per square mile and 72% of it is public land. After some browsing throughout the Historical District of Salida, while heading south and making a right on the "Bonanza Off-Highway loop", we did get lost while coming up onto many intersections not on the map or GPS, and if they were, the names and numbers did not match. It did not matter as I was also scouting for our next campsite. For miles and more miles the roads went on as we found ourselves in the middle of some beautiful isolation surrounded by more greenery and mountains I could ever imagined.

While taking a couple phone photos, I noticed the reception was up to 4G 5bars which surprised me and an e-mail was awaiting from a reader of ours. Through some tests they have discovered a form of bone cancer, he was going through another round of chemotherapy and his last paragraph read

"I am taking my time reading the two of your lives on the road, as it’s just what I need to perk me up.  It gives me hope that I will come thru this time of testing and once again be off to see the beauty of our west.  Your book has become my best medicine and I thank you for it."

Our book flashed by me, our past years including the months spent writing, editing, proofing, navigating into cul the sacs while trying to find a printer, someone that would help formatting, set up our cover photo, so many details, a whole new arena for me. The efforts suddenly made them all worthwhile as if I had written this book just for one person, for this reader willing to share his own present moments and give him the hope he so well deserved, well, this is what made it all worthwhile. Sharing.

How could we go through Life without sharing? How could we otherwise learn about the stepping stones awaiting at each curve? I am not referring to publicly announcing a broken nail or divulging on four squares we had a cheeseburger and maybe our hair is out of place. Life did not come with an instruction book. We are the the "books" and yes, everything we need, we share, we cannot buy it, lease it or rent it. We cannot even borrow it. It is all free if we are willing to open up towards each other.

That evening closed while stopping at the I Bar Ranch for some Music and meeting more kind locals. I did not feel like a stranger while moving around listening to the tunes so harmoniously played and taking some photos. Again as it happens often that evening was another prize for being on the road. The end of the week now is near. We had a book signing last evening here at camp and I must say while also showing some videos and sharing my thoughts as to why we are on the road, all was rewarding. Francie here put it together for us including some nice cheeses, bread and fruit. So kind.

 

Who would have known years ago the path would lead to this? Life is always so full of surprises, we just need to have our hand on that door knob and be willing to turn it while peaking through the so many doors as so rarely a cement wall is the sight. And even if it is, even if the view is of those bricks sometimes laid out, we can chip them off one at the time because behind it all and in the big scheme of things there is always some sunshine which will come through in the form of hope, trust, respect, love of Friends, honesty… All those aspects that indeed we cannot again purchase. 

 

Stay well,
              Ara and Spirit

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2014 at 7:46 am and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.