Little Big Town - things you don't think about

outsiders edge...

Outsiders Edge…

I remember the days when Richie and I traveled from Chinle  to Tucson…we were just young Chinle boys heading to the big city away from the rez…ready to start adventures at UA (in fact ready to start that next chapter).  Those moments were quite memorable; we talked about the future, friends, and whether he should speed up with a new car; (when you have a new car, both our dad’s shared a new car needs to be broken in before hitting faster speeds)…Richie understood this well – and I too,  yet I was more like the one wanting to go faster…the road from Show Low to Globe was slow …although it was scenic I wanted to fill the day with more… My thoughts on family lingered…my thoughts on choices lingered…after all, the previous summer I was at camp pendelton hiking up old smokie preparing for my after high school evolution.  I was thinking about my sister Trish at NAU, thinking about my grandparents…was thinking about Brian and his next steps as a cross country runner…

Richie’s car was not only our freedom, it represented how far we’ve come; how the work we did at Chinle High School, Chinle Junior High, and Chinle Elementary, and Chinle Primary resulted in us moving forward.   We’ve been dug in since the middle 70s…heading down that winding path pass mammoth.

My first driving experience….About 1979, on a road from Kayenta to Many Farms, I was traveling with my mom and sister, we spent the day in Kaibeto at grandpas…my mom was so tired, she ask me to drive! Ha…so there I was driving my mom and sister Trish on the dirt road.  At the time, the road between Chilchinbito and Many Farms was dirt graded road…I was 9 driving under the stars while they slept…that’s funny to think about…fast forward to 1981 (year Too Fast For Love was released), I was quite the driver…I would drive my grandmother on my dad’s side from her house to the cornfield.   I remember playing dad’s 8tracks Don Williams driving pretending to be big shot…dreaming of one day driving main street Chinle…haha…the road from Gram’s to cornfield at the base of the mountain was about one mile….i remember cause the song would end…

modern vintage

5th marathon

had a great race last month at PF Changs RnR 26.2...city to city...was great for the first 1/2...the 2nd 1/2 was tough..seeing Mavelle at 14 miles was great! she is a great inspiration...

day after sunday

listening to U2's Love Rescue Me...writing tonight with thoughts on a deadline i set for our team...Red Mesa CTE is due Friday...perhaps Monday will be teh due date for some...has quite the month managing & coordinate design efforts..

canyon de chelly

break

sessions 'jam on it'  - Part 1

listening to newcleus's jam on it (1984)...love this beat - reminds me of the guys over at santa monica pier we saw four weeks ago -they were hipping on the deck,battling...pretty cool moves.  it also reminds of the days at chinle bashas where guys use to battle to hip-hop/electro music..haha.  i was always fascinated by the music and the whole movement -quite the seduction.  it was evident, us rez folks tapped into mainstream through various conduits (mine was radio, hit parader magazines, word of mouth).  yay, we are all connected through music.  there i was watching dudes, like preston's crew and my bud, gerald charley battle.  (didn't know large format cardboard was valuable! ha)

i love listening to various styles of music.  being saturated by dad's country 8-tracks (charlie pride, linda ronstandt, waylon, buck owens, eddie rabbit, johnny horton, and the list goes on) - that plus my sister's disco & punk music will always ground me to a genre of music.

green column at newport beach pier...

1985 Ratt Invasion of your privacy

this was a great record...i remember purchasing it from record bar in gallup...we listened to it traveling back to chinle...mom and dad up front - trish and i in the back..i said...here, put this in...(at the time we had a tan colored cadillac) - we traveled through ganado listening to lay it down...i remember this..

carnival of celebrities 2014 at Casablanca

no more sheep or goats...

Last week, I traveled home for quick visit…the place has not change. Dzil Bahlakai Mesa is covered with snow…the cold air is clean!  The roads are muddy…there seems to be a place for everything here – like just the right amount (kinda like what Edward Abbey says).  Quickly, I learned the sheep & goats are gone…my aunt said one of my relatives visited my uncle one day.  Upon reaching the house, he notice the sheep dogs crying outside, as though very sad and lost.  He went inside and found my uncle emotional stating ‘dibe do lizi adin’ (no more sheep or goats). When I heard this, my heart felt heavy.  I could only imagine how my uncle felt with this lost…he has been tending to the sheep for decades – and when I think more about the livestock, I realize this sacred line has ‘ended’.  This is the first time our family has no sheep or goats since I can remember – perhaps since the return from Ft. Sumner.

My dad says my grandmother, at one time, had over 500 sheep grazing atop of Tselani Springs during the 1940s.  There was a summer camp up on the mountain and a simple structure at base of mountain. Dad and his siblings grew up among the scarcity of provisions, rather a time of difficulty - yet it was during this time they found the simple pleasures of living.  Living free, understanding the patterns of hard work, and the compassion of closeness - Closeness to family, the herds, the horse, and the place eloquently shared in ceremony.  

AIA Design Gala -

 

Phoenix 10K Weekend...

Running/training regiment: Phoenix 10K was super fun!  Happy with the finish  (always fun to reflect on my PRs..for Phoenix 10k – 34:10 – Obviously years ago!

Now Less than 6 weeks to my goal PR ½ marathon road race; looking forward to training fast and hard…setting a new PR for this distance will take plenty of dedication and positive recoveries…the key is staying super healthy going in...i have to say this year has been very good   – no ITB issues!  After my ½ marathon in Scottsdale, I will be running my 4^th marathon at PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Arizona –that one will be huge.  That race beats me down physically and emotionally.  I shall prepare passionately – after all, I am built for this… LDT!

It’s fall – Looking forward to cooler weather for my earlier morning trail & road runs…plus it’s nice to know I am part of an  AE team ready to work with a local tribe and hopefully a few more tribes; feels great to know we will greatly assist with their efforts in providing much needed facilities  to the community – DESIGN! 

-rkbjr architects

Run!

let's do this...

running YRace...october 2012...

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be. - George Sheehan

July...

july...heat is there...feel the power and responses - the deck (particularily camelback and the phx mountains) have been my stimuli...all good - towards a goal...
what will august bring?

rkbjr architects...preparing to arrive...

Vision: Richard K. Begay, Jr. Architects will be a leader in design excellence by delivering creative, well-manage sustainable structures and landscapes.


Our Mission:  Richard K. Begay, Jr. Architects seeks to deliver professional services through an open, integrated process beginning with engaging discussions to realizing ideas into built form. With each project our focus is the client, their needs, goals – their voice. Our clients become our team partners whom we share a journey. Our commitment to that journey is to listen and work collaboratively on creating memorable and measureable goals together!

Our expertise in areas of design, architecture, planning, and consulting engineering ensures our team partners they receive quality service and design excellence through proven best practices and innovative solutions.

Our goal is to exceed the client’s expectations delivering functional spaces and landscapes by blending creativity with the science of structures in a manner that responds humanly, sustainably, and positively contributes to livable communities. We are committed to educating our clients through an integrated process in an effort the measurement of success is improved productivity, innovative and efficient learning environments, efficient use of materials and systems, increased pride and ownership – and just as important – a deeper appreciation and awareness of the environment we live in.

With a multi-disciplinary approach, we are committed to delivering:

- A value deeply rooted in open communications. Communication is the key to our success

- Design leadership from principals to project team members

- Environmentally & site responsive designs

- Effective graphic and written communications utilizing latest technology; use of communication tools such as Building Information Modeling to advance sketch ideas & design concepts to full construction drawings under an integrated approach with our partners, stakeholders, and builders.

- A constant team approach at each phase of the project delivery ensuring consensus/buy-in.

- For culturally sensitive designs, implement a community-focus process aimed at building consensus



Our designs connect people and place; celebrate diversity through a forum of memorable landscapes where context, culture, and history become the framework on how places for living, learning, and working are appropriately shaped.


Richard K. Begay, Jr. AIA

Architect

the stronghold...

homeland...