"Hands Across Sunnyside" shows neighborhood solidarity

Principal Joe Gutierrez shows neighborhood unity in front of Killip School.

Today a human chain made its way along 6th Avenue in Flagstaff's Sunnyside neighborhood to show neighborhood solidarity. Citizens joined members of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, Killip Elementary School children and teachers in the event to show the power of community. Passing cars honked and neighbors waved.

"It was heart warming to hear the children say, 'We love our neighborhood'," said Coral Evans, Executive Director at The Sunnyside Neighborhood Association of Flagstaff, Inc. The group whose motto is "Blending Cultures, Enriching Lives" hoped to bring out enough people to link 4th Street with West Street, a distance of about 1/2 mile. "We could have had it, if we'd stretched out a bit," said one participant.

"This is a good start. We have next year," said Deb Hill, community organizer. About 400 people participated in this inaugural event.


Children from Killip Elementary School (Kindergarten though sixth grade) made up most of the human chain. The school has a year-round schedule. Principal Joe Gutierrez held hands with children and smiled as he was tugged along in line.

Deb Hill in foreground with Coral Evans (in background) watching for the gap to be filled.

Jamie Hasapis helps direct the human chain in Flagstaff, AZ.

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Is a Colorado River Rafting Trip on YOUR "Bucket List?"

Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy-drama film, "The Bucket List." They portray two terminally ill men on a road trip in a race to check off each of the things on their wish list, before they "kick the bucket." After watching the movie, many of my traveling friends have drawn up their own "Bucket Lists." Running the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is on many bucket lists. With bookings down, 2010 might just be the year to check this one off your wish list.

So don your wide-brimmed hat, pull on your Tevas and pack plenty of waterproof sunscreen. Head downstream for the ultimate family adventure vacation. With cold spray of the Colorado River on your face and the hot Arizona breeze in your hair, you’ll experience the magical grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

Hike to cool grottos or ancient ruins, experience thundering whitewater or dip into blue-green pools below bubbling waterfalls. The adrenalin rush and thrill of surging through fast-moving water may give you “Rapids Fever." Or you may simply enjoy the serenity of a personal journey that reconnects you to earth, family... and yourself.

The choice is yours. Perhaps a 15-day trip accompanied by a string quartet is the voyage for you. Listed as Sunset Magazine’s Top Ten Rafting Trips, the quartet performs in acoustically-perfect side canyons of the Grand Canyon along the way. Other specialty Colorado River rafting experiences include Arizona Highways Photo Workshops and Elder Hostel trips with Northern Arizona University.

Flagstaff River Rafting companies offer six-day to eighteen-day trips. You may choose from oar rafts, paddle rafts, motorized rafts and pontoon boats, or dories. Hybrid trips which include a combination of oar rafts, paddle rafts and kayaks create even more options.

Join people from all walks of life that make this incomparable journey down the breath-taking Grand Canyon every year. You may come as a solo adventurer or book your whole family for the unrivaled vacation of a lifetime. If a white water adventure is on your bucket list, contact any of the following Flagstaff river guides. Tell them Vagabonding Lulu sent you!

Arizona Raft Adventures, Inc.
4050-F E. Huntington Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86004

928-526-8200

Canyon Explorations/Canyon Expeditions
P.O. Box 310, Flagstaff, AZ 86002

928-774-4559

Canyoneers, Inc.
P.O. Box 2997, Flagstaff, AZ 86003

928-526-0924

Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter Marketing and Sales is a travel writer and marketing strategist. Let her help you with compelling web copy, email campaigns, social media and blogging.

Local Mountain Man Immortalized at Sedona Foundry

When Bill Pettit, artist and historical reenactment expert told Lee Henson, "I want to make a bust of you," Henson's answer was a flat out "No." But Henson's wife Ella Mae was there, and she gave the go ahead.

The three had gathered for the Williams Rendezvous Days which celebrates the rich history and lifestyle of 1800s fur trappers and Mountain Men. They were dressed in buckskins and authentic reproductions of the clothing of early frontiers folk.

Pettit desired to create a detailed bronze of a historically-accurate fur trader in trapper's regalia, and Henson had 'the look.' "In a week, he [Pettit] brought back a wax bust and set it on the kitchen table. He asked Ella Mae if there was anything that needed to be changed," Henson related. Soon the sculpture was on its way to the foundry. That was almost twenty years ago.

Last month Henson and his wife toured Artscape Bronze Casting in Sedona with Pettit's widow, Laurha Beveridge. The trio met with owner Rob Myers for consultation on reproducing the bust, entitled "Rendezvous." They were given a tour of the facility by Jeremy Ivy, an expert in bronze patinas, who explained the multi-step casting process.

"If I could, I'd still kill him," quipped Henson of the artist. He believes Pettit never did enough to promote his own art. "I appreciate his art a lot," added the living model. Pettit died of complications from Addison's disease in 2006. Pettit's last ante-mortem piece was cast at Artscape Bronze Casting.

Although the living model's face has lost some of its fleshy substance, the strength and confidence that Pettit captured of Henson's middle age will stand the test of time. Just as the Mountain Men of yesteryear.

Mountain Men were trappers, explorers and scouts who roamed the west from around 1810 to the 1840s. Most were involved with the beaver fur trade -- a demand that came from the popularity of the stove-pipe hat made of beaver felt. Many moderns celebrate the time period with historical reenactment of the dress and lifestyle of Mountain Men. Well-known Mountain Men include Bill Williams, Kit Carson and Jeremiah Johnson.

Photo: Youthful Jeremy Ivy describes casting process to Lee Henson, living model of historical bronze bust.
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter Marketing and Sales is a marketing consultant who works with museums and artists. This article appeared in a 2009 issue Sedona Red Rock News. Wittig is based in Flagstaff, AZ and helps small businesses with internet marketing, social media and good ol' stories and news releases.

Using Less Toilet Paper During the Economy Downturn?

Are you using less toilet paper during the economic downturn? Have you noticed the empty roll at your hometown restaurant? Are you squirreling away toilet paper from home to use during banquets at local hotels or, gasp, the gas station advertising "Clean Restrooms"?

Maybe its time to complain, as this could be affecting your local economy. Today SCA Tissue North America announced that the shrinking demand for toilet paper and other paper products is causing lay-offs.

The Flagstaff plant supplies toilet paper to hotels and restaurants in Arizona, California and parts of Colorado.

A press release blamed the lay-offs on a “softening in customer orders due to the weakened economy.”

I suggest that hotel management starts buying local, not just for their gourmet chef, but also for their hosekeeping departments. SCA Tissue uses recycled paper to produce their sustainable products. By Local - Buy Recycled Toilet Paper?
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a sales and marketing strategist based in Flagstaff, Arizona. She also enjoys writing about sustainable travel as a Flagstaff travel writer. Communicating from Flagstaff, AZ today.

NATJA Conference Celebrates Travel Writing

The North American Travel Journalists Association met for its annual conference in Cleveland last week. The above video was produced by Cleveland+ - the area's convention and visitors' bureau. You may get a glimpse of NATJA's newest member, Stacey Wittig, in some of these shots.

Good internet marketing, Cleveland+!
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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a marketing consultant and freelance writer based in Flagstaff, AZ.

Writers and Hikers Converge at Grand Canyon

Writers and hikers gathered to tell tales of Grand Canyon escapade at the annual Grand Canyon Hikers Symposium this past Saturday. Fifteen presentations kept the audience in shock and awe as those in attendance laughed, listened and gasped in unison.

PowerPoint presentations including maps and photo shots of 'exposure' (to tall heights) seemed to compete to tell the most thrilling adventure. Authors of books on the Grand Canyon, friends of Grand Canyon legendary characters, macho rope-totting canyoneers as well as a quippy 10-year-old girl shared their Grand Canyon backpacking exploits.

A fun day of story telling and photo sharing. If you, too, have been bitten by the Grand Canyon obsession, don't miss next year's symposium. Go to www.gchba.com for more information.

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Stacey Wittig of Wittigwriter is a freelance writer and marketing strategist based in Flagstaff, AZ. Subscribe to this blog to get FREE marketing advice and up-to-date information about Flagstaff, Northern Arizona and the American Southwest. She writes website copy, email campaigns and blog posts for small businesses.

Pilgrims, Art Walkers and Diamond Mines

Last night I swept around the streets of Flagstaff, AZ with two girlfriends. They in brightly colored southwestern ponchos and Indian blanket shawls. Me in a boring leather motorcycle jacket. Hey, it's Italian leather, bought during travel at a trendy fashion boutique in Perugia, Umbria. And no matter that I just saw in our favorite Silpada Jewelry catalogue a model wearing a similarly cut jacket, I was labeled "boring" by other art walkers. Art walkers? In the Navajo Lands we have "skin walkers" -- sorcerers of sorts, 'shaman' would be the ethnographic-sensitive term. But art walkers, what are those?

On the first Friday of the month, the art galleries and boutiques of historic downtown Flagstaff swing wide their doors offering wine and cheese, and other delectable nibbles to visitors and locals alike. So popular are the 'First Friday Art Walks' that the streets last night were filled with folks ambling, socializing and walking between Flagstaff's eclectic assortment of art galleries: art walkers.

I saw many familiar faces amongst the art walkers and was surprised at how many young people come out for the festivities. Northern Arizona University is just around the proverbial corner from downtown Flagstaff, and when I think back to my own college days, I, too, was always up for free food.

With wool hats and sweaters bundled against the mountain-town chill, walkers parade arm-in-arm up and down Old Route 66, San Francisco Street and over to Heritage Square. And then escape to mingle tightly -- old and young -- into warm galleries. I saw Ray across the crowd in one tightly packed boutique.

"Ray," I shouted. The local musician playing her amplified acoustical guitar among the racks of mod clothing (there's a metaphor hiding there somewhere) made it a little hard to hear. Ray is hard of hearing anyway. His wrinkle-grizzled face looks stately under his Indiana Jones felt hat.

"How was your pilgrimage?" he asked.
"Thanks for your prayers; I needed them," I answered. "It was a tough 180 miles. My Achilles tendons are still bothering me." I ended my pilgrimage in Northern Spain over 30 days ago and my 53-year-old body is still healing."
"I had a friend that visited South Africa many years ago," Ray explained. The quick-minded wisdom of this 80-year old sage always surprises me. "He met with the owner of a diamond mining company. The man took him into his office, opened the safe and pulled out a small bag. He emptied the contents of the bag onto his desk. There was a mere fistful of diamonds laying there. 'To unearth these diamonds, I had to move thousands of tons of rock and mud.'" Ray's eyes met mine with a piercing knowing. "'But it was all worth it,' the diamond owner said."
"Yes," I agree thoughtfully. "My Camino was like that: a huge effort, but worth every nugget."
"Well, you look good," Ray states welcomingly. "I like your jacket."