Leftovers 5K Run

At the beginning of this rotation, Kim asked me if I wanted to participate in a 5K while we were out here! I thought it was a great idea. I assumed I would be able to run often while on the reservation but the wild dogs terrify me! Either way, I was pumped for the 5K! What was great about this 5K was that is was called the Leftovers Run! Not only did it occur after Thanksgiving but all the medals/tshirts were "leftovers" from past races!

My goal was to run less than 40 mins and I finished in 38:20!! I was 5th in my age group! I was super pumped! 

Kim placed 2nd in her age group with 24:09!! She's so excited :) 

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

Instead of staying at the reservation during our mini Thanksgiving break, we took our talents to Phoenix, Arizona!! It was about a 5 hour drive. Kim found an alternate route that didn't involve so many mountains! Driving to the reservation from Phoenix for the first time was a bit much because the highways are entirely too curvy for me. I'm driving and gripping the steering wheel for dear life! 

The trip to Phoenix was uneventful besides this spectacular view

Our first stop upon entering Phoenix was a store called Last Chance! "Last Chance is our final-clearance store for returned and overstocked merchandise from our Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom Rack and Nordstrom.com." One of the pharmacists told us about it so we had to check it out. It is literally a store with just racks of clothes, purses, shoes, and utter mayhem. The store was a bit overwhelming but I was able to nab a pair of gray uggs for $60! It was a deal I couldn't pass up!!! 

The evening got even better since I was able to try Pattie LaBelle's Sweet Potato Pie!! I was pleasantly surprised :) it tastes great with ice cream too!! 

I didn't take any pictures while we celebrated Thanksgiving in Tuscon because I was too busy being thankful and stuffing my face! 

As we explored Phoenix the next day, we saw Bashas! Who knew we would see it anywhere else besides the reservation! 

Kim and I got such a kick out of this because we spend a lot of time (read: money) at this grocery store!! 

Frybread and Friendsgiving

I always ask the patients what Navajo foods I should try while I'm here....the first thing on the list is always fry bread!! So I asked one of the pharmacy technicians about it and she said she would make some for us!!

So Fry bread is pretty much self explanatory; its flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

 Once the dough is made, it's stretched out and placed in hot oil!

In the end, we had a Navajo taco!! 

It was delicious especially when we added salsa to it!! Fry bread is also good with honey as well! 

Right before the other students and I left for Thanksgiving, we decided to have Friendsgiving together! One of the girls mothers sent her Thanksgiving in a box which was such a cute idea! 

I also learned how to play Phase 10!! 

You can't go wrong with a card game and chocolate chip cookies :) 

Petroglyph National Monument

We wanted to do a day trip so driving to Albuquerque to hike at the Pretroglyph National Monument was perfect. It's a two hour drive from the reservation. So we packed a few snacks and hit the road!

What is a Petroglyph, you ask? According to the National Park Service website, "Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers" 

Here are a few Petroglyphs that we saw during the hike up the Boca Negra Trail

Overlooking Boca Negra, 

Is an actual neighborhood!! This was completely different than our time at Mesa Verde.

After this mini hike, we decided to drive to another part of the monument that featured volcanoes. What was interesting about this national park is that each part was located in different parts of Albuquerque.

Some of the trails were closed for restoration but as we were leaving we got some great views of the sun setting! 

Mesa Verde

After basking in the sun at Four Corners, we woke up at crack of dawn to drive to Mesa Verde National Park. We really wanted to hike that day!! 

Once we got into the park, we had to drive another 20 miles to get to the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum! The roads were so narrow and winding. I was holding on to the passenger side door for dear life as Kim drove. This is the part where I should insert I am low key afraid of heights. I was sweating bullets and couldn't wait until we got on flat ground. 

Before actually hiking, we stopped at number of overlooks which had amazing views.

Although we are smiling, we were so cold!!! We got out the car and immediately regretted it. It was around 45 degrees and it felt like 28 degrees. 

This was the second overlook! We actually did a sprint down the mini trail. 

After this we went to another overlook which didn't have spectacular views. So we decided to take a jog around that area. I think we ran about 1.5 miles and headed towards the museum. 

We finally made it to the museum!! 

Here a few pictures that don't do the amazing views justice but I tried haha 

4 Corners

Last weekend was so much fun!!! We woke up Saturday morning and decided to drive to the Four Corners. Who wouldn't want to be in 4 places at once!! So I can now say I was in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico at the same time!! 

There were vendors there and I was hoping for fry bread! But the food vendors weren't there that day. What is fry bread you ask?! Well I thought it was a traditional Navajo food but that isn't entirely true. According to our pharmacist , fry bread began when the government began rationing certain food items they gave to the Navajos. By the end of this rotation, I hope to try it because every patient has asked if I've had it yet. Who am I to disappoint. 

Jumping for joy at Four Corners

Hiking in Crownpoint

Kim and I decided to go hiking on the mountain near the house we are staying in. It was about 39-40 degrees. Despite the temperature and the wind, we had a good time. 

We were trying to get action shots

That was one of my favorite pictures of me on a rock!!

happy Veterans Day!!