FLAGSTAFF ATHLETIC CLUB’S
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For 25 years, Flagstaff Athletic Club has been visiting FUSD elementary schools as part of an outreach program called Kids in Motion. We have donated more than $120,000 for FUSD elementary PE programs.
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Through the display and sales of art and goods, the eatery will return proceeds to the villages of origin to support communities and improve the work situation for agave farmers. Owner Don Hulen grew up around his mother’s catering, making tamales from scratch to sell at a stand. While looking for a downtown location for taco sales, he met Alex Velez. A considered leader, who pushes boundaries in cocktails and spirits, Velez merged concepts with Hulen. With plaudits, such as Best Bartender in Las Vegas and winner of 128 liquor competitions since 1993, Velez is a standing judge for the American Distillery Institute and Bandera’s beverage director. Tequila and tacos expanded to the inevitable margarita, Bandera’s menu presents a chronology of the industry classic. Learn the history and enjoy signature flavors “that will leave your tongue dancing la Macarena for hours,” the menu promises. Velez shunned the title of Margarita King, but as Bandera gained acclaim by pouring 4,000 margaritas in the first three months, he relented. Velez belts out a handsome baritone as he shakes up top seller Corazon de Flagstaff (Heart of Flagstaff). Vibrant color and appeal are the results of Salerno Blood Orange 16
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Liqueur and tequila blanco with a blended float of blood orange, passion fruit and pomegranate. “Mescal, an agave distillate, is the mother of everything,” said Velez. “It is smoked, earthy.” Raicilla, a distillate cousin, is offered in various forms, supplied by Mexican spirits co-ops. Bandera's bar is vast and well-curated with a long list of liquors. Unleaded beverages catalog velvety house-made horchata coco and stylish sodas, like Jarrito, in flavors of tamarind or guava. And don’t fuss over the straw in your glass; it’s naturally hay-based. The other half of the story at Bandera is craft tacos—global handfuls of quality cuisine. “Our tortilla is a canvas for the culinary experience,” said Hulen. “They are designed to be eaten as served, not dressed with salsa, on an edible plate.” Flagstaff’s Tortilla Lady furnishes that plate. Bring on the tacos! The carne asada goes upscale with tender outer skirt steak, red cabbage, radish sprouts, pickled vegetables and a squirt of chimichurri. Al pastor sizzles sweet and smoky with shreds of pork butt, onion, cilantro, cabbage and charred pineapple. Farmers’ stock receives the pineapple tops and
other compostable waste as feed. “The cows think it’s a treat,” said Hulen. The vegetarian options are also vegan. The portobello mushroom taco is hearty and textured with kohlrabi slaw, charred cabbage and scallions, topped with pickled carrot and jalapeño plus sage aioli for tangy nuance. Grilled, shaved Brussels sprouts form a stable base for hot citrusy togarashi aioli. Skip the tortilla and order the grilled avocado, creamy with a satiating blend of tepa bean, spices and infused chili oil. Extras include elote (grilled corn), scattered with cotija cheese and chili with drizzles of agave, chili oil and chipotle ranch. Nosh on coarse corn chips with fresh pico de gallo or guacamole and add humble pinto beans to fill your plate. For dessert, one perfect option—tres leches cheesecake, a moist sponge with generous layers of cream. Bandera’s blend of honest labor with superior ingredients yields a quality outcome for Flagstaff taco and tequila lovers, but it doesn’t stop there. Bandera plans to invite Mexican agave farmers to impart tastings and education about their industry. “The plan is to build a bridge and to save the agave,” said Velez.
Page resident Melody Billy started her classes at Coconino Community College while getting treatment for cancer. She graduated from CCC with a degree in PreHealth Careers and now works at Banner Page Hospital as a anancial services representative. Her cancer is in remission, and she has been accepted into the ASU Medi Studies program. Medical Her goal is to become an oncologist – a physician who aghts cancer. “CCC was my foundation to becoming a doctor, and started me out on the right foot. My classes at CCC really got my mind off being sick,” she said. “It was my saving grace.”
coconino.edu
CRITIC’S CHOICE
Favorite Arizona Food Town PHOENIX MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2018
WIPE the SMILE on your FACE
Root Public House
TASTE NEARLY 200 RESTAURANTS AND EIGHT AWARD-WINNING BREWERIES
#wipethesmile
THE ARTS
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HerArt By Nancy Wiechec
The femmage works of Rhonda Urdang
T Left: After Empress Josephine (1804) Below: Self portrait of Maria Antonia as Lola (1793)
he 129th members’ exhibit of the National Association of Women Artists will show in New York this month. Rhonda Urdang’s recent creation, Self Portrait of Maria Antonia as Lola (1793), a femmage piece of hand-cut found paper and metallic ink set in an ornate silver frame, will be among the works on display. “I'm very humbled to exhibit with these esteemed women artists, very pleased my work was accepted into the show,” the Flagstaff-based artist said, adding that the association “began at a time when women were not allowed to exhibit with men.” Patriarchal art history is not lost on Urdang, who began the Flagstaff Feminist Art Project to explore the feminist mystique and to ask questions like, “Have the rights of womyn advanced in the past 200 years?” and, “What kind of new art forms can be influenced by feminism?” Urdang has jumped many hurdles to reach the status she has as an artist. For example, in college she had a male art instructor smash her artwork, making a unilateral decision that it was too feminine. “Today, that would never get by,” Urdang said. “But back then, women were often told they were not worthy of the title artist. We were not taken seriously.” For years, female artists have persisted in putting their art on equal standing with that of male artists. And, they’ve even organized to do so. The National Association of Women Artists formed in 1889 to “create greater opportunity for professional women artists in a maledominated art world.” In 1976, a group of feminist artists formed the Heresies
Collective to examine art from a feminist and political perspective. Since 1985, the Guerilla Girls have made gender equality in art their calling card, producing demonstrations, exhibits, posters, books and more that question the way women and beauty are portrayed in art and elsewhere. One of their protest statements: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum? Less than 5 percent of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85 percent of the nudes are female.” These are just a few of the efforts to put female artists at the forefront. The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington puts gender disparity in the arts in numbers. It says that although 51 percent of visual artists working today are women, less than five percent of artworks in permanent collections at major U.S. museums are by women. And, the average annual income of women working in the arts is $20,000 less than that of men working in the arts. Urdang, who spends a lot of time creating and marketing her work, said she feels empowered to be involved in women’s art and liberation movements. “My work is a way to dignify women and empower women. … I dream of tearing off the chains of bondage from patriarchal systems of oppression that did not serve me well.” Although Urdang utilizes various artistic forms, her recent works are presentations of femmage, a word adopted in the 1970s by female artists to describe activities practiced by women to create art—techniques that include sewing, piecing, hooking, cutting, applique and the like. Femmage references works of collage september18 namlm.com
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MIND & BODY
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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine
“We are cross lateral in nature: the right brain controls the left side and the left brain controls the right side. This is how we use our eyes, and it’s literally how we walk in a straight line.”
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Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine
lateral, top and bottom, and front and back. For example, she says, “We are cross lateral in nature: the right brain controls the left side and the left brain controls the right side. This is how we use our eyes, and it’s literally how we walk in a straight line.” Through a series of exercises, her clients work on fluid transfer of brain impulses across the midline, or the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Some people have trouble crossing this midline, which can lead to difficulties with balance or other movements, to the point that they cannot reach across their bodies to pick something up. While these problems are sometimes present in a person from childhood, they can also result from aging.
“A stroke can do that for sure, as well as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s, because it has to do with brain signals that get a little confused,” she says. Structural changes such as kyphosis, which is also related to aging, may impact balance as the brain compensates, or does not compensate, to this change in the body. Also, if the front and back of the brain are not in balance, “it can activate the Achilles tendon guard reflex, which can throw the body off,” she says. “So, if you lean forward a little bit or trip a little bit, it can be more difficult to regain your balance, and that can lead to a fall.” While not everyone who comes to Boyd’s class is already coping with a balance issue, many are, and they are often people who might find it difficult to participate in a traditional balance program. “You can actually do the whole class sitting down,” says Boyd. “I let people know that the class is not about building muscle, although we do work on strengthening the core, releasing or strengthening the shins, and releasing and making flexible the ankle. Flexible ankles and strong shins are important, but that’s not the focus here. Even someone with very limited movement can benefit from the class.” One of the most amazing things, says Boyd, is how quickly her clients see results, usually by the eighth session. “It is very exciting to see people who have struggled for so long get better. I had a patient who had had a stroke come to class still dragging one leg. He’s not dragging his leg anymore, and it didn’t take very long.” It is not only the aging who can benefit from the exercises, says Boyd. Stress, a car accident, or a sudden trauma can also contribute to trouble in the brain-body system, and neural training can help people in these situations regain optimum function. Additionally, the effects of training often go beyond the physical, says Boyd. Neural integration can lead to an increase in physical comfort, release of tension and anxiety, better vision, improved cognitive control, and an improved ability to communicate. “We can bring the brain into whole brain function,” she says, “and as a result of that, many of the challenges people face disappear.”
OUTDOOR LIFE
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e start from the trailhead near the Kolb Studio, and as always, the transition between the South Rim’s busyness and the canyon’s tranquility is gradual, though no less affecting. It is past 7 p.m., and most lodgers still digest their dinner, down cocktails, watch nightfall at one of the viewpoints, or have retired, worn out from the day’s activities. We only meet one returning Polish family whose father asks me to snap a picture of them. There’s barely enough light left for that. While my wife Melissa soon 28
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switches her headlamp on, I hold off, relishing twilight, the brief window in which Earth’s upper atmosphere reflects scattered, residual sunbeams into the lower atmosphere. As a sort of personal challenge, I try using my night vision—like a muscle in training—as long as possible, the kind of opportunity not many of us have very often in these electrified times. We have reasons to start our July excursion this late in the day. During mild fall and spring, the Grand Canyon’s prime backpacking seasons, it’s hard to get short-term reservations for Bright Angel
Campground or Phantom Ranch cabins, and the trails are too crowded for those who love solitude. You can avoid this by going in the off-season, though winter days are short and often cold. Conversely, July, August, and even September can be lethal at worst and unpleasant at best. Night hiking is one way to reap all the advantages, preferably timed to a full moon. Less water and clothing are needed, so backpacks are lighter. And, equally suffering from the heat, wildlife is more active. As yet another bonus, moonlight
blind you momentarily, crippling the vision you’ve cultivated and which takes half an hour to regain fully. Melissa is, therefore, hiking far ahead of me—and promptly runs into wildlife. When I catch up, she tells me how she called out to me at one of the hairpin turns, addressing a black shape by the trailside, only to realize that “me” was a stately mule-deer buck. Fifteen minutes later she surprises a coyote trotting toward Indian Garden. Such a sighting would never occur in broad daylight, not here. Mesmerized by her headlamp, the trickster’s eyes shone neon-green in the gloaming, due to lightgathering ocular tissue, the tapetum lucidum or “bright carpet,” which we humans lack. 30
Northern Arizona's Mountain Living Magazine
From the top of the Redwall formation we see the Kolb Studio lights at our back (and those of campers at Indian Garden below), low-pressure sodium beacons that keep us on course and light pollution to a minimum. At the second set of switchbacks, four beamslinging, river-bound runners pass us, briefly ruining my cherished new skill. All of a sudden our outing doesn’t seem quite so crazy. Moonrise finds us at Indian Garden, where the mercury still hovers at 100 degrees. A full moon can sneak up on you in this country. A car just pulled up, I sometimes think when it first peeps over a canyon’s rim, mistaking its brilliance for headlights. Tonight it announced itself by silvering clouds and cliffs. We refill our water at the park service spigot and follow Bright Angel Creek down-
canyon. Before long, it entrenches, its voice a magnified babbling of almost-comprehensible tongues. Near the Tonto Platform’s edge, where it plunges into abyssal schist, Melissa, who again forged ahead comes rushing back up the trail. “I think I saw a mountain lion,” she says excitedly, out of breath. Her headlamp’s cone caught the cat’s rounded head, eyes ablaze, its tawny fur, its telltale gait like water flowing across rocks. The hairs rise on my neck. The night no longer feels safe. I’d feared snakes hunting or coiled up on the still-warm trail, but not this. The lion may have come here for a drink, or to stalk deer in the lush vegetation. We both feel relief when the trail winds through a final breach in the plateau and zigzags down ramparts to the river. While
Luna’s bald glare has washed out most of the stars, the inner gorge lies drowned in ink. The terrain appears simplified, like a woodcut or haiku. As clouds gauze the moon’s face its light dims, a visual chill. Shadows weaken or intensify, and ours escort us, whispering lines by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bo: I raise my cup to toast the moon on high. That’s two of us; my shadow makes it three. Like too much wine or that visage scarred by meteors, ancient light on ancient stone makes the head spin. We perceive the flickering luster of stars long extinct and compared to them and the galaxy milling around us even the canyon’s oldest strata strike one as young. Night’s appeal, however, exceeds the merely aesthetic or philosophical. Our need to perceive order in a universe baffling in scope and complexity led us to become diligent stargazers. Ancient civilizations personified celestial bodies, elevating them to the status of deities whose pacing governs human lives. Indigenous peoples
heeded the circling of seasons, the orbits of planets and stars. Their observations fixed dates for rituals, feasts, or pilgrimages, and schedules for planting, harvesting, hunting. They plucked medicinal herbs when the plants’ curative powers were most potent. They tied the four directions to cosmic processes. Moon halos allowed the forecasting of weather, and lunar phases, that of childbirths. Each new moon bore the name of momentous Earth phenomena, parceling out people’s days. Eclipses or comets broke the routine, spelling crisis or doom. Some river runners are camped at Pipe Creek’s pocket beach, an enclave of dancing terrestrial lights. Wave caps phosphoresce against the brown current, while another segment of river resembles aluminum foil. Farther upstream, the lower bridge straddles the Colorado with gunmetal-gray swagger. Dead-tired, we reach the campground long after midnight and don’t even set up our tarp, as all cloud shreds have melted away. The creek is too warm to chill our two beer cans, which we enjoy regardless. The next day we lollygag under tamarisks on the boat beach and sip iced lemonade at the swamp-cooled Phantom Ranch lodge after aborting a trip to Ribbon Falls, halfway up the North Kaibab Trail. The lodge thermometers read 109 degrees in the shade and 145 near baking stonewalls. We set our alarm to 4 a.m. the day we leave. When I awake, other campers already are packing, with faces blushed by their headlamps’ red cast. Anybody with any sense gets an “alpine start” this time of year. Strings of lights bob toward the river long before dawn, like glowworm processions or rope teams on summit day. Despite the South Kaibab’s barrenness and the need for a shuttle ride back to our car, we choose this way out. It’s much shorter, and the ridge route promises refreshing breezes. In the powder-blue dawn we switch off our headlamps and steel ourselves for heat’s onslaught. By the time we top out on the laminate sandstone of the Tapeats sunlight caresses the South Rim with rosy fingers. It falls upon us at the foot of the Redwall’s switchbacks, fingers curled into a merciless fist all too soon. Michael Engelhard works as a wilderness guide in the Grand Canyon and Alaska and resides in Flagstaff.
If you go … A backcountry permit is required for all overnight stays in the Grand Canyon. For the form and information on submitting a permit request, visit https://www.nps.gov/grca. Under “Plan Your Visit” navigate to “Things to Do” and then “Backcountry Hiking.” october18 namlm.com
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