After I ran down as fast as I could down the hillside, I happily went back to the apartment. Arturo and Elisa were preparing for our next adventure. One of their friends is a teacher in this small town. She had asked them to do a presentation on Alaska. They have done this frequently and were prepared with a slideshow. We walked through children playing on a playground into the middle school. They set up the projector as I looked around the classroom. They had a map of the world with some countries fun facts listed America's picture was Tom Hanks. I laughed that that is our claim to fame. Yikes.
The children funneled in from recess. The teacher introduced us all. We've begun to tell people I'm from Alaska because we've found out people don't quite understand why I know Elisa and Arturo if I'm from Colorado. I don't feel like I'm lying, just FYI. I've spent 13- since I was 5!- summers there. I feel justified. So anyway the kids were very excited an "Alaskan native!" I smiled at them and quietly watched Elisa and Arturo talk about my home. I'm not going to lie. I felt the strings on my heart being pulled a bit. I even teared up at some pictures. I laughed because I was remembering being younger and us kids desperately wanting to leave McCarthy. And now I was tearing up about how far away I seem from home. Oh, how the wheel of life turns...
But the kids absolutely loved it. They squealed with excitement at pictures of bears, Super Cubs flying over amazing scenery, and people climbing mountains. Arturo and Elisa confidently answered all questions and completey sold Alaska.
After the presentation and some lunch, we packed up and began our trip home. We went a different route than we came so I could see a little medieval village. The road wove through a canyon with towering rock walls diving into a rushing river. It was amazing. My face was glued to the window. I tried to take some pictures, but as you can imagine, being in a car and being that close to tall cliffs left for only decent pictures.
Just as I was getting cranky of being in the car, we came to our stop at Ainsa. We opened the doors to hear loud drumming. The three of us exchanged glances and laughed. What in the world could this be? Around a corner were a group of people loudly playing drums, dancing, and just in general loving life. I smiled because that had Boulder written all over it. We watched for a while as this group of people got lost in music.
Did anything else in that picture catch your attention? Because it sure caught my attention. We kept walking as we entered the towering stone walls of this town. But I was interested in the mountain behind it. So we climbing the stairs to the top of the walls. I took my time marveling in the majesty of these mountains.
After that we walked around Ainsa. It was the quintessential small medieval town. Stone houses met stone streets. Church bells rang out to the river running below the sturdy walls that enclosed the town. An open plaza area held restaurants and chairs to enjoy the sun. I can only imagine in the summer how crowded it must be. Arturo, Elisa, and I continued to explore. But I kept being drawn back to that one mountain with cliffs circling the top of it. It glowed in the sun. I couldn't help but smirk. That alone is enough to keep you going on the crazy wheel of life.
We continued to head home. I watched the sun set over the windy plains. As we drove on in the night, the radio started playing a special on Johnny Cash. I askd Arturo to turn it up. I smiled hearing Johnny Cash sing about love. That amazing deep voice lulled me to sleep. And the wheel's of life kept turning along as the wheel's of the car sped home.
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