March, 1999 Another magical hike in the enchanted forests of Sedona! I can't believe I've driven past Fay so many times before. Fay is pure bliss, warm heart energy, and raw power. I hiked back into the woods, missed the trail to the archway and found an overlook high on the red rock buttes instead. An ancient juniper offered me a place to lie among her branches so I stared at the rocks and the sky above until I nearly dozed off to sleep.

Farther along the main trail I discovered a perch overlooking heaven and spent a few hours back here with two other women I met on the trail. We were like three peas in a pod, lying on a "Pride Rock" reminiscent of the one in Disney's Lion King. We shared our life's stories and our laughter echoed against the canyon walls.

Early April, 1999 I needed healing today so I drove to Sedona and hiked Fay while the clouds loomed ominously low overhead and a real windstorm kicked up the dust. I made my way up the butte to the grandmother juniper and asked her for healing. While laying on her flat ancient branches, the wind whistled above me and cleansed me. Not a soul passed by. I had the whole canyon to myself. Fay, I love you. Thanks for the grace.

Late April, 1999 Talk about magic. . . I thought I'd seen it all until today. I joined a friend for an afternoon hike in Fay even though the clouds were dark and gloomy. We were the only souls hiking back into the canyon and other than the sound of the wind whistling through the trees and the dog crunching through the forest, there was dead silence. Just as we turned uphill toward the back of the canyon the snow began to fall. Snow! In Arizona! Can you imagine our luck to be only three minutes away from a sheltered rock ledge? Surreal.

We sat high and dry watching the magical scene unfold before our eyes. Snowflakes pelted the rocks until the water began to run down then in dark quicksilver streams. The normally-orange spires turned a deep brick red and the forest hummed with a vibrant life force. For two hours the snow fell, until finally, getting cold, we did a prayer ceremony and kindly asked the weather angels to let up on us. The snow quieted down a bit and I whispered a prayer of gratitude.

We left our sheltered spot and as if it were on command, the sun broke through the clouds and shone like diamonds on the wet forest and snow-coated buttes. I think I stood there with my jaw hanging wide open gasping at the beauty and the wonder and the synchronicity. Surely I have been walking in a dream today. Amazing. Who says our prayers go unheard?