I walked in the desert this morning. Here I am in Arizona. After landing, I drove straight to a hike I found by googling hikes in Scottsdale. First, I stopped for water. Plenty of water. Then I drove to the trailhead of the Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve. I chose to take the four and a half mile hike – the Gateway Trailhead. The sun grew very hot and so did I; but I felt so stimulated by the landscape, the views, the Saguaro and all the unfamiliar plants. I felt the joy of being on my adventure, step by step, finding my way, being here now. Above, I chose this excerpt from “A Yellow Leaf,” because Alberto Rios was the first poet laureate of Arizona. And because I feel like this, often. That the beautiful, simple, natural things growing in the landscape I view come back to me later in the day. I carry them with me into the day. I let them nourish me, secretly, all day long. Sweetly, I received two phone calls while hiking: my youngest (who reminded me to drink water) and my husband. I carry them with me too. I found my hotel, I easily found my way to the Power of Words conference and met old and new friends, including a colleague from the International Women’s Writing Guild, whom I didn’t expect to see. So, even though we’ve never held this conference here in Arizona, I feel the sense of homecoming. I am still on Eastern time; it’s three hours later for me and I feel groggy and a little dizzy with exhaustion, and so I’ll sleep now, as I hope to wake early and go to my friend’s conference presentation: first thing. I am so grateful, so happy to have landed on this journey, into this wonderful habitat, where I have so much to see and learn and express and discover and share.