The open natural road-side artwork of the American West.

This is Deb and Di's verison of Thelma and Louise.

How can you pass up a 3,000 mile road trip with a good friend to visit her 93 year old father? Especially when she thinks this may be her last visit.

And we have been on this gallery crawl before. Starting in Nevada where the landscape hasn't changed much since the Pony Express rode through.

As night was falling we hit Elko and decided to call it a night. Had dinner at the Stray Dog Pub, which used to be a funeral parlor. We gave it 4 stars on Yelp.

The Nevada sky looked pretty darn big to Di and I. But when we got into the heart of Montana we were reminded of what Big Sky really was.

Just nothing quite like the Montana Sky.

After a nice visit with Di's parents we headed south to Lolo, outside of Missoula to Di's cousin's ranch— Dunrovin Ranch on the Bitterroot River.

I was lucky enough to cross that river...

on a Tennessee Walking horse...

And this was on the other side.

Too little time and like the geese we had to head south...

to Seattle where my friend Peg and I took a long walk through the arboretum.

And our last stop, Ashland, where we strolled through Lithia Park.

We arrived home and summer had turned the corner to fall.

Women at the Center: Preview of the Evening

Schedule

7 pm        Arrive punctually for a guided meditation (further information below); or else arrive at...

8 pm        Dave Saunders introduces Red Rhino Orphanage in Kenya; further reflections on our theme.

8.45 pm   Potluck and conversations continue (please bring a small dish or beverage to share).

If you'd like to attend, you can RSVP here.

Guided meditation at 7 pm

While this meditation is preliminary and optional, we think it will be very helpful. Its intent is to help us recollect moments in our lives when we've felt loved and accepted, particularly in a maternal sense—but maternal in a general way since it's not only our mothers who could have given us this sense of being loved and accepted.

If you have a moment to recollect someone who has helped you feel this way—and want to send us a photo— we'll include it in a round of images we'll show as part of our meditation. You'd have the opportunity to say a few words about this person—but only if you wanted to.

For example, above is a photo of Debi with Mother Miriam from San Vincenzo al Volturno in Italy. She's a person Debi might choose to talk about.

Dave Saunders on Red Rhino Orphanage in Kenya at 8 pm

We're grateful to have our good friend Dave here with us from Kenya. He'll introduce us to Red Rhino and also give us a sense of the need and challenges of doing this kind of work in Africa. For more information about Red Rhino, follow this link to Dave's own blog.

The evening will also feature the art of Nairobi artist Joseph Cartoon. The theme of Joseph's work is the centrality of women in keeping family, culture, and community alive. You can find out more about Joseph's work here. Joseph's paintings will be available for purchase at Women at the Center.

Red Egg prayer beads will also be available—as will notecards featuring the children of Red Rhino. All purchases will benefit Red Rhino Orphanage.

Recent news from Red Rhino

As we prepare for our upcoming Red Egg gathering on October 2—Women at the Center: Keeping Tradition and Community Alive—there is important news from our dear friends at Red Rhino Orphanage in Kenya.

The first news is deeply painful and tragic. And the second important news—the children's first day of school—is not only delightful, but shows all the good reasons why so many people have worked and prayed so long and hard for such a day to happen.

Read both stories in Dave Saunders' images and words. They're linked above. Start with the hard news first.

Dave returned to Kenya when the emergency struck—and that has enabled him not to miss the kids' first day at school. But he'll return to California in time for our October 2 gathering, which will make Women at the Center that much more full of hope and grit.

"The kids are here!"

Maybe you're already aware of Red Rhino Orphanage in Kenya on your own.

Or maybe you remember Red Rhino from our visit with Dave Saunders at the orphanage-in-progress last April. However, our blog from then only gives the smallest inkling of all the work, prayer, planning, "sweat-equity," and love that has gone into this project.

Or maybe you're only learning about Red Rhino right now.

But no matter what path you've taken to get right here, right now, you'll find yourself deeply moved at Dave's account of the first children arriving at Red Rhino just a couple weeks ago.