(near) Globe, Arizona

route 60, west of Globe

We visited Wind Spirit Community, located in the Sonoran desert about 30 miles south of Globe -- one of the oldest intentional communities in the United States.  It formed in the 1970s under the name Christmas Star Community.  The land was almost lost during the 1990s, but some clever hippies formed a folk band and toured the country to raise money to buy the land (somehow, it worked).

view of Wind Spirit from their mountain

Wind Spirit sees hundreds of visitors yearly.  The community also hosts yoga retreats and permaculture workshops.

I hoped Wind Spirit would have a variety of members - some old, some young, some kids, women, you know.  But at this point in time it is home to mostly older, retired men.  There is one young woman there who is skilled in crochet.  I bought these slipper-shoes from her.  They are a dream.

shoes by Sylvia 

We had a great time bushwhacking (cactuswhacking) through the nearby mountains.

I learned a hard lesson - WEAR BOOTS in the desert.  Since it was so warm we just had to wear sandals -- a painful mistake.  The moment I took my eyes off the ground I slammed my big toe into several spines of a Cholla cactus.  Ow.  Luckily, we had our sharp Geber(R) blade with us -- I sliced the embedded spines off the cactus and plucked them out one by one.  Simple surgery.  Another lesson learned -- relax and the spines come out easier.

The cactus incident was just the universe's way of giving me this lucky horseshoe.  It was on the ground right near the spot where I got whacked by the Cholla.  Amazing!

thanks universe!

On the outskirts of Wind Spirit's land we found this charming shack nestled in a canyon -- our Wind Spirit home (if we lived there).

simply charming!

close up!

There are two Indian ruin sites on Wind Spirit's land (and tons in the surrounding area, and in all of the southwest).  Here's one:

ruins

Wind Spirit is nicely laid out - there are no central buildings, unless you count the kitchen.  At night, in case you forget your flashlight, the little dirt paths connecting everything are lit at ground level by solar-powered lights.  All of the homes and structures are small and cute as if built for the gnomes that we are.

dome home

sweet privy

open air sink

igloo thing - toasty at night (collects heat from sun during day)

bus village

back of "media bus"

 large/awesome fire pit, wood-fired sauna in back

chickens

signage

Overall, we learned a lot about cacti, met a few characters, ate delicious meals prepared for us, went in the sauna, saw the milky way, & generally enjoyed the sky, the land, and being covered in dust.