The myth of Arcosanti: are there angry naked hippies living in the desert?

You can live in Phoenix and totally forget Arcosanti is there, just an hour outside the city. And then one day you’ll be driving north on I-17 to somewhere cooler, and you’ll see the sign for the turn off with these mysterious concrete structures in the distance.

Then you’ll start thinking about where to stop for lunch, and it will fade again into the fog of your memory.

On the rare occasions it came to mind, Phillip and I both had gotten this idea that it was some kind of New Age hippie commune with unspecified weird stuff going down. Growing up, seeing that I-17 exit sign was as close as I got to Arcosanti. I remember my mom making a vague comment once about people there not always being clothed.

So New Age hippie nudist colony.

And then one day just a few years ago, Phillip and I spotted an entry in our beloved Arizona Family Field Trips guidebook for Arcosanti, which it listed as “suitable for all ages” with visiting hours and a cafe. Not many New Age hippie nudist colonies can say the same.

A little online research confirmed the visiting hours – and left us with the impression that people there were pretty hardcore about their environmental ideals.

Despite this image of the New Age hippie nudist colony improbably populated by militant environmentalists, our curiosity got the better of us, and we planned to stop there on the way back from an upcoming trip.

But we got behind schedule. By the time we stopped for food one exit away, it was dark out and well past Arcosanti’s published visiting hours.

Phillip still wanted to go. I almost choked on my chicken sandwich. “Now?!”

This, of course, is typical of us – his “We’re here, why not?” attitude and my fear of militant nudist hippies.

He finally convinced me we should just drive out there and see what happened.

So instead of safely getting back on the freeway to head home, we passed underneath it and eventually got to an open gate with an Arcosanti sign. With McDonald’s and the freeway now well behind us and an unlit dirt road through the desert ahead, it was like the border between the familiar glitter of fast food capitalism and the murky counterculture beyond. We glanced at each other and then continued into the darkness.

“Do you think they have a lookout?” I felt exposed now that our headlights were the only thing not blending in to the blackness around us. “Will they come out and stop us?”

“Probably not.” Phillip drove on, unfazed.

Finally, we reached an open space near some walled concrete buildings. A dim, eerie light emanated from somewhere in the complex. We stepped out of the car. I tried to close my car door quietly, but it didn’t matter. It still seemed to echo through the night.

It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, since Phillip gave his door a carefree slam a moment later.

We peeked over a wall and to see the top of one of the arced structures.

As the breeze shifted, we could hear this ethereal flute music. It was startling and yet exactly what you’d expect to hear when you sneak up on a commune in the desert. We looked at each other like, “Are you hearing this too?” We listened for a few moments. I was wondered if it was an after-hours concert, spirit-summoning ritual, or just what a lone militant nudist hippie does with his downtime.

The wind must have shifted again, because then we could hear dishes clanking from what must’ve been the cafe. The sound brought us back to earth. Even militant nudist hippie colonies have dishes to do after dinner.

We considered sneaking around a little more, but we knew that people did live there. Whatever kind of weird angry naked hippie mystical flute-playing stuff they were into, they deserve to have their privacy respected. Plus, the setting was just plain creepy. So we got back in the car and drove back towards the freeway lights and then home.

Even if it meant that Phillip was right, I was glad we went. I was still unsure if the place was filled with lonely hippies or New Age nudists or militant flutists or what, but I was relieved that we hadn’t been confronted by anything more than the sound of an otherworldly flute over the silent desert.

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Note: I don’t have photos from this first trip to Arcosanti, since it was so dark. Post photos are from when we went back in the daytime – and got some answers!

I’ll be posting about what we found out soon! Keep an eye out here, on Twitter, or subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it!

April 22, 2014April 17, 2014

Arts and Flowers 2014

For four days every year, flowers sprout up throughout the Phoenix Art Museum. Okay, they don’t literally sprout. But fresh flowers do appear one Thursday afternoon.

Leading up to the Arts & Flowers event, floral designers create works of art from natural materials – flowers, tree boughs, baskets, stones, and even vegetables. Each piece is inspired by and in response to a work in the museum’s collection. This year also included a floral couture show (Savage Botanicals) and a bonsai exhibit.

I’d originally heard about it from my friend Karin, who has participated the last few years, but I just hadn’t made it over there. So I was excited when my Craft Hack group decided to go during Phoenix First Friday. There’s nothing like having a set time and people to meet to actually get you to go somewhere.

I took the light rail over and met the group at the cafe just as they were finishing up there. Then we started winding our way through the museum, enjoying all the Arts, but also scanning for the & Flowers like we were on safari.

Some of them were very literal interpretations of the original work, others more abstractly captured a certain aspect of it. There was also this interesting contrast between the solid permanence of the paintings, ceramics, and sculpture – some which had lasted centuries – and the organic and ephemeral nature of the arrangements, which could only exist for a matter of days.

I did my best taking a few photos, but it was tricky to get good ones with the lighting, crowds, etc. If you want to see more photos, my friend Eileen posted a bunch on Facebook, or you can check out the Instagram hashtag #artsflowers14.

Phillip had planned to meet us after work. By the time he got there and found parking, we were on the second floor. I’ve been to the Phoenix Art Museum several times, but not often enough to ever remember that there are two parts to the second floor, and they don’t connect. It’s a statement on our modern digital lives and the disconnect with past generations – or some artsy reason like that probably. I actually have no idea why the place is so hard to navigate, so I made that up.

Anyway, while I’m on the phone with him, wandering around, trying to figure out where he is, I totally lose the group. I finally flag down a guy in a museum polo, who explains how to get him to where I was. The Craft Hackers probably thought I ditched them for my man. I love Phillip, but that was not my intention. I’m not a ditcher. I am, however, pretty good at getting lost. (Have I mentioned that here before? That could be a post of its own. Maybe more than one. I’m adding a getting lost tag now.)

So I showed Phillip the highlights of my wing of the second floor. I said hello to Karin for the second time that evening and spent more time checking out the details of her miniature Italian garden. Then we worked our way over to the second second floor, where there didn’t seem to be any flowers.

We did find more in the Asian collection on the first floor. We also talked with a couple more of the floral artists. They were eager to chat about their work and answer questions.

Around this time, we decided we really needed food. We’d checked out the menu of the museum ahead of time, and it had some solid, clearly marked gluten-free options. The thing we didn’t realize is they close at 8:30 pm, but they stop serving food at 8:00. From 8-8:30 (when we got there), you can only order drinks and prepackaged cookies. Sad trombone.

We wrapped up at the museum, and then finished off the evening at Pita Jungle, which is open until 11pm on First Fridays, has reverse happy hour starting at 9, and is awesome with dietary restrictions and substitutions. (They’re not paying me to talk about them. I was just super excited to finally eat!)

Anyway, I do wish a few things had gone differently. That’s life, though. It’s not perfect. But any evening that starts with friends, flowers, and an art museum, and ends with my husband, a plate of hummus, and perfect patio weather is not a bad one in my book.

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P.S. If you’d like a heads up on awesome cultural events like this, that’s exactly the kind of thing that goes into our new monthly newsletter. You could have even met up with us at the museum for this! And then I could’ve lost you while I was looking for Phillip. See? Fun times!

You can sign up on the sidebar on the right or on our newsletter page.

Things to know about visiting Phoenix Art Museum:

Photos are allowed (without flash).
First Friday evenings are always free, so they’re especially crowded.
Parking can be a hassle during big events. The light rail is your friend. (Post on this coming soon!) There’s a stop across the street from the museum.
Check the museum’s events calendar to find out what’s going on when you’d like to go. If we’d had time, we could have also bought tickets to see the Hollywood Costume exhibition, which was going on at the same time. Or you might choose to avoid big events and go when it’s less crowded.
The museum restaurant, Palette, has a menu that includes gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options, but they close before the museum and may stop serving food earlier.
The upper floors are in 2 separate wings that don’t connect. Walking from the North Wing to the South Wing on the second floor/upper level is not a thing you can do.
During Arts & Flowers there are tons of museum staff (or are they volunteers?) around, and they are super helpful!

April 18, 2014April 17, 2014

The moon and our shadow

As we watched the lunar eclipse Monday night, I joked with Phillip that I could see our two shadows on top of the earth’s up there too.

We had walked down our sidewalk to get out from behind the trees. A few of our neighbors were already outside, sitting in yards, leaning over balconies, or standing on the sidewalk like us. No one said much. They greeted us or just smiled. One commented “Crazy, huh?” And it was. A lot of the people I used to know have moved out, and I haven’t really gotten to know this new crowd yet. But there we were, hanging out together outside at midnight, craning our necks to watch the shadow of the planet we were standing on eclipse the moon.

I felt a sense of community with our neighborhood that I hadn’t in a long time.

I remember looking at the moon the first time I travelled outside the country. It almost felt strange how it looked exactly the same when so much around me seemed a little off. But there it was, on its journey across the skies of the world, tugging at the oceans, moving through its same phases.

This week a lot of people in a lot of places were looking up at it in the same moment – from sidewalks and balconies, through windows and telescopes – like one huge, sprawling neighborhood.

Whether you saw it or not, we all cast a shadow across the moon.

April 15, 2014April 15, 2014

Enjoying spring anywhere: 3 simple ways

I know there are some places where people are still waiting for spring. Here in Phoenix, our spring is drawing to a close as temperatures keep creeping up, and we are savoring it while it lasts.

I made this list of simple ways we enjoy the season that you can adapt to wherever you are, whenever it arrives.

1. Take a hike and look for signs of spring. We like exploring trails at South Mountain – there are tons of them! As the wildflowers fade, the cactus starts to bloom, so there should be plenty of color in the Sonoran desert throughout the month of April.

2. Go on a Picnic. Lots of parks have tables just waiting for you. We noticed a large picnic area at Estrella Mountain Regional Park. There’s also a great day-use area at Dead Horse Ranch State Park (I know! Terrible name but great camping and huge day-use area.) in Cottonwood, if you’re up for a drive – which brings us to #3…

3. Take a drive (or bike ride) and see what you discover. We’re big fans of taking the side streets just to see where we end up.

What do you do to enjoy spring weather?

April 8, 2014May 23, 2023

Southwest Maker Fest wrap up

So Southwest Maker Fest turned out to be eclectic and awesome. They had a street (or maybe it was two) in downtown Mesa blocked off for a live music stage and a whole variety of booths. In a matter of minutes, you could stroll by an open-source car, handmade flutes, geeks with 3D printers running, and an overalled man showing people how to weld.

There were presentations and demonstrations going on throughout the day at nearby venues. I gave my travel journal talk at an art gallery/event space.

Afterwards, I went to help out at the Gangplank booth for a bit. (Yep, I was one of the geeks at one of the 3D-printer-equipped booths.) I did my best to answer people’s questions about the collaborative workspace – but there’s really more going on there than I can keep up with.

By the time I was done there, I was so tired and hungry. Phillip and I took a quick tour of the booths on our way out, but we weren’t able to engage as much as we would’ve liked.

I’ll have to learn to weld another day.

All in all, it was a good start for Southwest Maker Fest and great to see a sampling of Phoenix’s diverse maker community come out of the woodwork and get together. I’m looking forward to the next event.

If you weren’t able to be there this year, you can get on the list to be notified about next year’s event. I’ll also be presenting about travel journals again at Craft Hack in May (watch the Facebook page or sign up for the Travelcraft Journal newsletter for details).

Photo of my talk by Trish Gillam.