Guardian Angel

Got my Halloween decoration finished. 

Finally got the truck some bones. 

In New Mexico, the land of enchantment.

 

Sandstone Castles & 102nd Santa Fe Indian Market

 These are the Sand Caves just off highway 89 north of Kanab Utah. They are hand dug from  mining for materials to make glass, and so breezy and cool after a 10-15 minute hike.

Behind the only Shell gas station in Page Arizona is this gorgeous sandstone amphitheater. 

South of Sedona in Camp Verde is Montezuma's Castle, built and inhabited between 1050-1600 along the banks of Beaver creek. 

East of Flagstaff are the ruins of the Twin Arrows Trading Post, and the Two Guns Trading Post. Both were built because of the tourists along Route 66 who were attracted to the Apache Death Cave in Diablo Canyon. In the late 1870's 42 Apache were massacred by there adversaries, the Navajo, in a cave in the canyon the Navajo, AND the Billy the Kid hid out in the stone houses on the canyon rim. 

TWIN ARROWS⬆️ TWO GUNS⬇️

DIABLO CANYON

And finally I made it to the 102nd Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe New Mexico. 

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Rosario Cemetary

Plums in the graveyard and historical graves of nuns

Traveling across the country I have the chance to visit many First Nations communities, and have wanted to come to the market for a while. It was incredible and also overwhelming to be in the company of so many incredible artists and theirwork. It was beautiful to see so many proud First Nations people casually And joyfully walking the streets of this very old city in their regalia and outfits.

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 I wanted to find a special ring, to hold the place on my left hand ring finger, also to help protect me from a lot of the noise I receive so I can be more open to signal. After moving through the entire main market I finally made my way to un less official Free Indian Market set up shoulder to shoulder around the US District Court building. The very last booth was of Ben Begay, a fine Dineh jewelry and diamond setter who lives in Phoenix. 

As he was packing up I put this ring on my finger, a token of my companion. Yei' Bi'Chai', 

"The meaning of the Yei symbol represents the Navajo Yei Spirit who mediates between humans and the Great Spirit. The term Yei derives from the word Yeibicheii meaning the Holy People. Navajo Yei (Yeii) spirits, or deities, are believed to control elements such as the rain, snow, wind and sun and control the night and day. Most of the Navajo deities can be either beneficial or harmful to the Earth Surface People, depending on their mood or impulse or on how they are approached. The Yei is also believed to be associated with the rainbow goddess. Depictions of Yei were commonly created on Petroglyphs and Sand Paintings."

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 The eyes are closed in meditation, the mouth of poised in breath speech and song, the thoughts radiate upwards, and the bear claws along the side are for protection.