Northern Arizona's Mt. Living Magazine October 2017

FLAGSTAFF ATHLETIC CLUB’S

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Join us for our

14 Year Anniversary

CELEBRATION! THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26TH 11AM-2PM

Free BBQ Lunch!

Announcement of Photo Contest Winners

Hallmark Ornament Debut – October 9-14

Scare up H alloween Fun! HALLOWEEN CARDS, DECORATIONS, ORNAMENTS & OTHER TREATS AT JAY’S BIRD BARN! LOCATED NEXT TO MICHAEL’S

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Real Estate Services & Property Management 1900 N. Country Club Drive • Flagstaff, AZ 86004 928-527-3300 (Office) • 888-526-3232 (Toll Free) Each office is independently owned and operated

www.CENTURY21FlagstaffRealty.com

Calendar

ABOUT TOWN

Favorites of the month from the area’s abundant offerings in art and entertainment

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OCKTOBERFEST

Wheeler Park, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

It’s today! Grab your beer stein and some moola and head out to the Munich festival that Flagstaff squeezes into a day. There’s a beer garden, plenty of brats and a brat-eating contest, with entertainment from Polka Katzen and Sugar Thieves. The kids (12 and under are free) can sip on suds of their own in the root beer garden. Entry is $7 (cash) per person with food and drinks extra. Prost!

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WRITERS SYMPOSIUM

Firecreek Coffee Company and Bright Side Bookstore, various times The Northern Arizona Book Festival wraps up with a day-long series of workshops and readings featuring writers of indigenous origin. The symposium opens at 10 a.m. with a workshop by poets Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo) and Bojan Louis (Diné).

Hawaiian author Kristiana Kahakauwila gives a fiction writing seminar starting at 1 p.m. Visit www.nazbookfest.org for the full schedule.

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CELEBRACIONES DE LA GENTE

Museum of Northern Arizona, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

In the spirit of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the museum and Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces presents the 14th annual Celebration of the People, embracing local and regional aspects of MexicanAmerican culture. Peruse fine arts and crafts, including paintings, jewelry, bultos, retablos and tinworks. The museum’s central courtyard will be filled with colorful decorations and candles, as well as traditional ofrendas—altars with flowers and mementos honoring the deceased. For admission prices and other details visit musnaz.org/ heritage/celebraciones/.

REVEREND 24 PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND

Orpheum Theater, doors open at 7 p.m.

Get ready for the huge baritone preaching of Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band. The roots rock and country-blues group hits all the right notes with entertaining panache. A brilliant slide guitarist, the Reverend plays both the main and bass parts in the trio, with Breezy Peyton on washboard and vocals and Max Senteney on drums. Tickets are $1215 and available through www.orpheumflagstaff.com.

PUMPKIN WALK & FALL FEST

Arboretum at Flagstaff, 3-7 p.m.

Stroll garden trails lined with Jack-o’-lanterns. Sip hot cider or cocoa. Enjoy bobbing for apples, a hayride and spooky stories by a campfire. This is a family-fun affair.

Wear your Halloween costume. Entry is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children five and older. Free for Arboretum members. october17 namlm.com

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The Aesthetic Legacy of Turquoise The ocean gives fish.

Top, from left, a bracelet by Kee Jazzie Jr.; a cuff by Vernon Begaye and a necklace from Ray Lovato, shown courtesy of the Museum of Northern Arizona shops; and strands of turquoise beads at Colbaugh Processing.

Below, a turtle bolo by Kee Yazzie Jr. (Yazzie images are courtesy of the artist.)

The forest gives lumber. The lowlands give fruit of fertile soil. The highlands give clear water of mountain springs. What does the desert give?

By the oceans and forests, valleys and mountains, people are fed, watered and sheltered; provided the essentials. What does the desert provide?

Waiting for the earth-crack of an overdue dynamite blast, there is time to contemplate questions like these. It’s uncertain how long Chuck Colbaugh simmered under the sun of that Mohave May. Certainly, like a hungry coyote in shady refuge from midday heat or a rattlesnake timing a defensive strike, he knew impatience could be lethal.

What treasure stirs a person to sit still in the middle of the desert? How long is long enough?

For Chuck, the answer blew in on a silent wind. Time to get the bulldozer.

Shielded by the steel blade, at least he could return to work armored against potential detonation. As if enticed or intimidated by the 100-ton machine rolling onto the dig site, a cave opened, spread wide to greet him. october17 namlm.com

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“It was a mine shaft,” explains Marty Colbaugh, grandson of Chuck, recounting the events of that day in 1964. “He took his flashlight and went in there. He found hundreds of stone hammers, a lot of wood, some burned some not, and animal skin bags.” Chuck had uncovered the remains of a Hohokam mining operation dating back to 600 C.E. “What the Indians were doing,” continues Marty, “is they would sit there, start a fire on the rock, get it hot. The water they were carrying in these bags, they would throw it on the rock; crack the rock. Then 10

Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

they’d sit there and use their stone hammers.”

Witnessing the remnants of ancient labor broke a humbled sweat on Chuck’s neck. Unaided by the strength of heavy machinery, what could drive such unending effort? What need unites rapid-cool fractures, blasting charges and the arduous work of men and women over a thousand years apart?

What does the desert give?

In Medieval Europe, there were no deserts nearby. For Europeans, it did not come from their forests or oceans. It did not shelter nor feed them. It was unessential.

The extraction and processing of turquoise at Colbaugh is done mostly by hand.

But, it was precious. Sharing in a tradition held by Native Americans, Egyptians, Chinese, Aztecs, and others, Europeans traded bounties for the opportunity to embed it in their ornaments. Soon, time came to title the shatters of sky, the handfuls of ocean from distant dry lands. Europeans made a name referring to the Turks who had introduced the gemstone to Europe.

Turquois—French for “Turkish.”

It’s one of many names.

Dootł’izhii to the Navajo.

Duklij to the Apache.

Callais to the Romans.

Chalchihuitl to the Aztecs.

Coincidentally, turquoise is a misnomer.

The stones introduced to Europe originated in Persia, or modern-day Iran. To this day, many consider Persian turquoise to be the preeminent variety. Here in the U.S., we have contenders for the crown.

Outside of Kingman, Arizona, Marty and his team at Colbaugh Processing Inc. continue the work of the Hohokam and their hammers; of Chuck and his bulldozer.

To say the least, they are confident in their product. According to Marty, the mine in Kingman is “the only mine in the world that matches up 100 percent identically, in structure, color, everything” to Persian turquoise. So similar are the mines, claims Marty, that people “come here and buy this turquoise, and they take it back because the price structure of Persian turquoise is really through the roof when compared to the American material … and they turn around and sell it as if it were Persian!”

There’s big business to be made about this gemstone.

To understand how we place value in turquoise, it behooves one to understand its origin. Turquoise is a gift of the high desert.

Known as a secondary replacement mineral, turquoise gestates in arid, mountainous

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Marty Colbaugh shows a Hohokam stone hammer head used to mine turquoise circa 600 C.E.

regions where periodic water runoff carries a solution of eroded material into existing cracks in a host rock. Over time, this solution accumulates and crystallizes.

Marty said the relative blue-green color of turquoise is determined by amounts of aluminum and iron in the mineral solution. Typically, bluer stones have more aluminum; greener more iron.

Neither persuasion is inherently more valuable than another. In Chinese markets, green turquoise takes the higher price. In America, it’s more about the blues.

During the crystallization process, turquoise also develops its matrix.

Ranging from flecks of color to intricate spider-webs, turquoise matrices are impurities of other minerals, such as quartz or pyrite, embedded within the turquoise. Don’t let the term “impurity”

throw you; turquoise can be valued highly for a striking, prevalent matrix. On the other side of the spectrum, exceptionally clear, matrix-free, “robin-egg” turquoise also fetches high return.

Value placed on color and matrix is primarily personal preferences. A more objective measurement of quality is density.

Denser turquoise tends to have deeper colors and higher resilience. Amongst geologists, the Moh’s scale is a system for measuring hardness. Diamond, the hardest naturally occurring stone, measures 10 on the scale. A human fingernail measures about 2. Turquoise can range in hardness from a chalky 5 to a gemstone 7.

According to Marty, “maybe one percent” of turquoise mined is hard enough to keep its color and be polished as is.

Turquoise is naturally very porous, and

Visitors peruse treasures in the Colbaugh Processing showroom in Golden Valley, Arizona.

unless extremely dense, will dehydrate and absorb ambient substances such as body oils. Consequently, untreated turquoise will change in color as it interacts with its environment.

To combat this, most turquoise is “stabilized” to retain its color and character.

The process of stabilization involves saturating turquoise in a substance that fills in its natural porosity and locks the color in place.

Stabilizing turquoise is by no means a novel practice. In 1900, archaeologists uncovered the tomb of the Egyptian Queen Zer, dating back to 5500 B.C.E. When they analyzed her turquoise jewelry, they found that her gemstones had been completely impregnated with beeswax, thus stabilized. In modern times, turquoise is generally stabilized with some type of plastic or epoxy, yet the principle remains the same.

However, for some, the transience of natural, un-stabilized turquoise garners greater appeal. Kee Yazzie Jr. is a Navajo artist who has been making turquoise jewelry since 1995. His work has been showcased at the Museum of Northern Arizona and is highly commended for its craft and originality.

“My buyers,” explains Kee, “prefer natural turquoise.” In part, this preference stems from the perception of a personal relationship that develops between stone and wearer. As mentioned, natural turquoise will absorb body oils and other substances. The resulting color shift is therefore somewhat unique to the body chemistry of the wearer.

This is not the only way in which personal relationship establishes value in turquoise.

“Everything,” marvels Marty, “comes down to ‘how does it make you feel?’”

As one of the oldest coveted gemstones, turquoise has elicited a romantic’s diary range of feeling. Every culture that has valued turquoise has cultivated a mystique surrounding the power of the stone.

Protection from disease or a fall from a horse, guidance of arrows, and good luck are but a few of the purported properties of turquoise. One widespread belief is that turquoise may “take” an injury meant for its bearer; breaking in place of flesh or bone. october17 namlm.com

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Nonetheless, it would be hasty to assume that everyone who values turquoise is in pursuit of magic.

“As a Native [Navajo],” Kee accounts, “we’ve always had turquoise in our ceremonies.” But don’t confuse sacred with supernatural. “I’ve had people come up to me who say turquoise talks to them.” Kee, who boasts more contact with the stone than most, laughs, “I tell them I don’t know … it doesn’t talk to me.”

Talkative or not, somehow turquoise has called out to humans across the generations. No other gem has commanded the attention of so many cultures for so many years. Here in the American Southwest, and Arizona in particular, we have the privilege of existing in one of the most productive regions in history. Our local artists are among the elite in the industry. Our local mines contest for the world’s best. For now.

There are a few threats to the supply of turquoise in the Southwest. For better or for worse, increased governmental regulation of mining stands to render turquoise extraction as unprofitable. Due to frequent overlaps between copper and turquoise veins, the need for copper looms menacing.

Marty laments: “When a copper mine gets in there, they go after copper and they tear that mountain down. They don’t care about turquoise. They crush it up, it’s gone.”

Copper is essential to our society. It is used in the manufacture of everything from plumbing to electronics. Even Marty, who makes his living off the gemstone, recognizes the difference between desire and necessity. “Is there going to be anyone that dies because they didn’t buy a piece of turquoise? ... No! It’s not essential.”

Turquoise may not directly sustain human life, yet humans have refused to live without it for thousands of years. What does the desert give? In turquoise, it gives us the elegant unessential. In turquoise, it gives us a connection to an ancient aesthetic legacy. In turquoise, it gives us the sky and ocean made to fit in the palm of a hand.

What is the value of this gift?

Whatever we give to it.

Top, raw turquoise is shown next to a stabilized and polished piece. Center and below, the Colbaugh Processing showroom in Golden Valley is open to visitors and buyers each weekday.

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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

Sean Golightly, a Flagstaff resident, musician and amateur adventurer, writes from a background in cultural anthropology.

MATTERS OF TASTE

Spirit of

By Gail Collins

Photos by Nancy Wiechec

SONORA

Casa Duarte honors tradition with authentic flavors

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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS,

Gardner. MartAnne’s, previously owned by Anna Martinez, as well as Casa Duarte are now both owned and managed by Anna’s daughter, Tina, and her husband, Gonzalo Duarte. The Mexican café above downtown serves MartAnne’s famous breakfast menu, including its chilaquiles—a piled plate of corn tortillas, sauce, eggs and more.

“We’d already created the perfect menu there, so we kept it and added on,” Tina said.

Casa Duarte also features Gardner’s paintings of saints and Spanish settings.

With blue banquettes and wood tables, plus a coffered ceiling and a salsa bar, it projects an eclectic family feel. Coincidentally, Nov. 1 marks the first anniversary of the café’s opening.

Casa Duarte’s menu channels authentic street food items. “Our original concept was a food truck, but we realized quickly, we needed more,” Tina said. Keeping it all in the family, the recipes come straight from casa abuela in Sonora. For instance, the tortillas are imperfect, hand-rolled rounds creating a softer texture. From lunch on, Casa Duarte becomes a taqueria, offering classic Mexican dishes.

Apparently, people everywhere love hotdogs, even south of the border. Casa Duarte’s Sonoran hotdog is loaded within

a pocket of sweeter bread. “So all the good stuff stays put,” Tina said, boasting of a secret bakery connection that supplies restaurants throughout Phoenix. The hotdog is baconwrapped and topped with beans, grilled onions, diced tomatoes and cucumbers, ketchup and mustard. It’s also ladled with an avocado crema that adds a lively lift.

Begin a classic meal with Casa Duarte’s mango chili Jose Cuervo margarita on the rocks. Like suckers sold in Mexico, the

Photos by Nancy Wiechec

Mexico’s celebration of the dead, sounds a lot like Halloween, but there are no pumpkins or witches—skeletons rule the day. The departed souls of young and old return to eat, drink and be merry, as they had done in life. Falling on the first two days of November—All Saints' and All Souls' days— the annual holiday blends the traditional beliefs of indigenous people with Catholic feasts. Parades and parties shut down cities and feature macabre skulls in arts and treats, like pan de muerto, a rich coffee cake with meringue decorations resembling bones.

Despite the skeletons, Dia de los Muertos focuses more on life than death and its natural continuum. Some people build an altar to their loved ones in their home, but most people decorate gravestones with marigolds and personal items. Families gather in the graveyard in the evening to pay respect to the deceased. Candles are lit, incense is burned and prayers are intoned. Bells toll each hour to summon the dead. During the vigil, the family hosts a festive picnic, telling stories about the departed and enjoying their favorite foods and drink.

MartAnne’s Burrito Palace has long showcased Day of the Dead themed paintings

by Flagstaff resident and artist Emma

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signature flavor adds heat to fruit for refreshing, piquant sipping. Or cool things down with horchata, a traditional handmade drink of rice milk laced with cinnamon and brown sugar, served in a tall Mason jar over ice.

The stacked enchiladas are cooked and plated according to tradition. Fried tortillas are dipped in sauce and stacked. The deep red corn layers meld with fresh crumbled queso fresco, tomato and cilantro.

Elote is street corn on the cob. The tender, charred kernels are brushed with butter, then given a generous grating of cotijo, a sprinkle of chili powder and a slather of mayo, with a squeeze of lime for corn extraordinaire. For a side, try the elote dip, cut from the cob and served in a bowl.

The camarones chipotle, bacon-wrapped shrimps, swim in a creamy chili and corn sauce and are served with classic rice and

beans plus avocado for smoky, sweet heat. The accompanying veg is Tina’s creation of pepe de gallo, made with cucumbers for a bright taste.

The house ceviche provides another swim in the sea with crab and shrimp, plus tostados to scoop and the usual sides.

Casa Duarte offers nine tacos for handheld happiness.

The asada is real skirt steak from local ranches for the best quality, piled with onion, cilantro, cabbage, queso fresco and the pepe de gallo. Three vegetarian tacos provide options.

Save room for the sweet stuff, like choco flan. Tina calls it impossible cake because it inverts during baking. The cocoa cake and custard in its burnt sugar pool tastes subtly sweet and is adorned with fresh strawberries.

Whether you celebrate the dead or dine only with the living, Casa Duarte provides a festive meal anytime.

Casa Duarte, 1000 N. Humphreys St., #243, Flagstaff, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, (928) 606-1500.

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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

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TREKS & TRAILS

Taking in the colors on the Inner Basic Trail in early October last year. (Nancy Wiechec)

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY October is Peak Time for Inner Basin Hike

G

By Larry Hendricks

reen aspen leaves quake and make the sound of running water flowing through the sky. Soon, the dropping high country temperatures will bring a change in the chalk-bellied trees alighting the mountainside a fiery glow.

The first two weeks of October calls crowds from miles around to see the change of the aspens on the San Francisco Peaks. One of the best (and first) places to marvel at the autumn turn is along the Inner Basin Trail on the north face of the peaks. The trail starts at Lockett Meadow and heads into the remnants of a volcanic caldera that reminds visitors of the area’s violent past. From Lockett Meadow, hikers travel through thick aspen groves to get a good glimpse of the fall colors.

Warning: Because this is one of the first areas on the peaks to ripen with color, it has become extremely popular. Avoid going there during the first two weekends in October. There are only 50 parking spots in the meadow. In the past the Forest Service has instituted a lottery on getting access to the area on the first two Saturdays and Sundays of October. As one auto leaves the full parking area, another is allowed to enter, which could mean a long wait.

I decided to pick a busy day—the Sunday of Labor Day weekend—to see what the hike was like. When I arrived at 9 a.m., there were still plenty of parking spots available, and the journey to the Inner Basin was relatively solitary to my surprise.

The two-mile trail starts at the campground and is rated 26

Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

“moderate to strenuous” because of a nifty elevation gain—from 8,800 feet at Lockett Meadow to more than 10,000 feet if you explore farther up the basin.

The first mile and a half is filled with giant aspens, their leafy crowns rising high to catch the mountain sunlight. I’ve been here in the fall and the sight is incomparable. Falling leaves blanket the ground with orange and yellow, reminding me of imaginary fairy tale lands.

After the first mile and a half, the trail connects with Waterline Road. According to a sign next to some weathered wooden buildings, the “road serves as the route for the waterline from springs in the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks to the city of Flagstaff.” As a result, no camping is allowed in the Inner Basin. Waterline Road connects to several hikes on the peaks, including Abineau/Bear Jaw, and can even lead hikers to Schultz Tank nearly nine miles away. Off the Inner Basin Trail hikers can connect with the Weatherford Trail, which eventually leads to the path that takes hikers up to the top of Humphrey’s Peak, the highest point in Arizona at more than 12,600 feet.

The Inner Basin trail branches off from the Waterline Road after a quarter mile, and the rest of the hike is uphill past the wells and pump houses that supply water to the city. After one last rise, the Inner Basin comes into view and at the bottom of the basin’s slope is another well, with a small resting station for hikers to escape the elements. Green grass and yellow, purple and white wildflowers fill the sloping meadow.

The Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks with its open meadows and peak views.

rail ec)

Fremont, Doyle and Humphreys Peaks dominate the sky. I continued up the basin for about another mile leaving the aspens behind. Only high-elevation pines appeared before me. In a clearing, I stopped to catch my breath and looked north toward the high desert expanse where the Grand Canyon cuts deep.

I ate lunch down at the well and pump house at the lower end of the Inner Basin, watching hikers emerge onto the meadow and bask in the beauty of the place.

As I hiked back to Lockett Meadow, the numbers of fellow hikers grew, but there was still plenty of alone time on the trail to enjoy the quiet babble of the aspens. Once I returned to the parking area at Lockett Meadow, the area appeared full, and people drove around in quiet circles waiting for spots to open up.

When I come back for the fall change this month, I’ll make sure it’s on a weekday. Happy hiking!

IF YOU GO: Inner Basin Trail Distance: 4 miles, roundtrip Time: 3 hours with a good exploring of the basin Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous Directions: Take Highway 89 north about 15 miles out of town, turn left across from the Sunset Crater National Monument turnoff (Forest Road 552) and take the road for about a mile. Turn right at the Lockett Meadow sign. The campground parking is about three miles up the mountain on a narrow dirt road. For more information visit Coconino National Forest at www.fs.usda.gov/coconino. october17 namlm.com

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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine

“I wanted to bring it back to its original glory, as well as update and modernize it."

rental for nearly a decade.

The two-bedroom, onebath, 1,000-square-foot cottage sits across from Josephine’s restaurant and is listed as the Downtown Crown on Airbnb from $145 per night. Its location gives easy access to downtown dining and fun.

“Part of our mindset was to create something a bit cutting-edge and fun to attract young people and couples,” Renee Rosales said. “A place for restoration and enjoyment.”

Duncan saw in the house an opportunity to forgo country and rustic styles popular in mountain towns and do something more appropriate for the time period of the house and its new purpose.

“I wanted to bring it back to its original glory, as well as update and modernize it,” she said.

Duncan sourced tile for the kitchen backsplash from TileBar in New York City. Furnishings, accents and linens came from Wayfair.com, AllModern.com, CB2 and West Elm. For the bathroom, the original tub was saved and

refurbished and Duncan added white subway tile stretching from floor to ceiling, chrome fixtures and a black, white and gray filigree-patterned tile floor.

The galley kitchen features original open framed shelving as well as sleek new cabinets and counters and stainless-steel appliances. In one corner, a retro cocktail cart stands at the ready with gold-accented barware.

Original wood floors throughout the home were refinished to reveal their oak splendor.

Renee stocked shelves in the living area with books on peace, renewal and restoration. She said artwork was chosen to give a sense of calm and joy.

“All the little special touches made it such a comfortable and memorable stay,” one guest wrote in a recent review of the Downtown Crown.

(Full disclosure: Kim Duncan also works as an advertising executive for Flagstaff Publishing, which owns this magazine). october17 namlm.com

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How & Why

F

lagstaff mother of four, wife, speech pathologist, cancer survivor and racer for life Laura Wilson gives us some insight into why she wrote about overcoming a rare carcinoma. Her book, Strength to Run: Hope and Strength in the Race of Suffering, was published this year

by WestBow Press.

Q: You compare your battle with cancer to running. Why did you use that parallel?

A: I talk about this in the book and admit that I actually do not like to run. In fact, I kind of hate it, which is ironic. I was called to “run a race” in February of 2013 that would require much of me and of my family. There were a lot of unknowns and I knew I couldn’t run this race with my own strength. Hebrews 12 talks about running with endurance the race that is set before us. I used the running parallel because of the many similarities illness and cancer have to running a long, hard race.

Q: How can we help a person facing serious illness? What should we say, or do?

A: I don’t think that there are any set rules or guidelines for what to say or do when someone we know is facing death or disease. In fact, most of us don’t really know what we should do in this situation. It is often hard to find the right words.

Sometimes, because we don’t know what to say, we don’t say anything, or we might even avoid someone who is hurting or suffering. I have learned that what most people need in that moment is simply to know that someone cares and is there for them. It helps to know that you are not fighting the battle alone.

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Laura Wilson with her husband, Mark, and their children, Avery, Carter and Danica. Their son Kyle is away at college. (Photo by Jake Bacon)

Q: You cite God as giving you the strength and provisions to overcome trials. Where does your belief come from?

A: I was raised in a Christian home and I have attended a solid church most of my life. My parents gave me and my brother a picture of what it looks like to trust God when life is good; and also when life gets hard. They provided the foundation for me. My relationship with God over the years has taught me to trust him no matter what life brings my way. I would say that my unwavering faith and trust in God is what truly carried me through this trial.

Q: When was your faith tested the most?

A: Under the mask. My specific type of cancer required seven weeks of daily 30-minute radiation treatments to my head and neck.

A thermoplastic mask was molded to fit over my head, face, neck and shoulders and was then attached to a table to make sure the powerful radiation beams hit their targets.

The “dreaded mask,” as I have

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come to call it, is privileged to have its own chapter in my book. The chapter describes my emotions, and more specifically, my anxiety and fear, during those long moments underneath the mask.

This truly was one of the most difficult experiences of my life so far, and although I knew God was in control, I still battled fear and anxiety.

Q: Why did you write the book?

Who did you want to reach?

A: I never really set out to write a book, but when I heard the words “cancer free” I knew in my heart that I was called to write this story down so that it could help others. I am hoping that it reaches not only those affected by cancer, disease or illness, but anyone who is going through something hard. It isn’t just a book about cancer, but is also about God’s strength in the midst of pain, fear and uncertainty. My hope is that sharing my real struggles can give strength and encouragement to someone else who is hurting.

Q: In your book, neighbors and the Flagstaff community are mentioned several times.

Do you have a different view of community after your fight with cancer?

A: Absolutely. So many people in our family, our church, our work places and this amazing community rallied around our family during this period in our lives. Our children were cared for and supported, my family was fed during a time when I was unable to prepare meals, and we were given gifts of all shapes and sizes through our journey. In such a difficult time, we were surrounded by love and support. Our burden was literally shared by those around us. That is what true community is all about.

Q: Where is your book available?

A: I am so excited to say that my book can be found downtown at both the Bright Side Bookshop and the General Store, and it is currently in the Flagstaff Medical Center gift shop. It is also available through WestBow Press, Amazon. com and barnesandnoble.com.

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