high country chronicles

Did my post yesterday put this into anyone’s head?

Chris and I often quote from those movies, and it makes me laugh every time. We took Mae up to the mesa again yesterday and although we prepared for rain, it ended being a lot hotter than we expected.  Chris, dressed in slacks and carrying a heavy backpack, quoted this:

Oh my lord, that makes me laugh.

Over the summer, Chris and I took a weekend camping trip to Durango, Colorado.  We have been camping together many times over the course of our marriage, but this time was different:  we actually purchased a tent that would fit both of us comfortably! Our old tent was so small that when we blew up our air mattress the ceiling was about 6 inches from our faces.  And when we had to pee in the middle of the night, we’d have to shimmy out a tiny hole and basically fall onto the ground.  So we were very excited to purchase a new tent that not only fit us, but also allowed us to stand! The luxury!

The new tent

It was super easy to put up, and it was a lot of fun setting up our bed and things.  The campsite was really nice, too-indoor showers and bathrooms and a creek that ran through the middle of it.  We were lucky in that we also didn’t have any other campers near our site.  After we set up camp, we drove into Durango and walked through their downtown area.  It’s very old-fashioned and quaint, and we stopped into an olive oil tasting room to pick up some gifts for our neighbor who was watching the cats.  They had a ton of different varieties-parmesan and garlic, black truffle, and chipotle to name a few.  We decided on the habanero oil-spicy! Back at camp, we made spaghetti and garlic bread (made with some of our new olive oil) and drank wine.  The next night, Chris made salmon and roasted potatoes.

Fixing dinner

So good! It’s such a wonderful feeling to be outside without the ol’ telly or worrying about cleaning the house.  Our tent worked out fabulously, too, although we did have to make a run to a Super Walmart one day to get a cheap comforter (it was freezing!).

The creek near our campsite

We went hiking and the landscape was totally different than the areas around here.  At one point we saw an unidentified critter checking us out.  It looked a bit like a fox and a bit like a cat-we still don’t know what it was.

The trail in Durango

Ok, so I have to admit that I’m not quite in the habit of posting frequently. I find that I keep waiting for something truly exceptional to happen before I write a post. Today was a reminder that it’s the little things in life that you sometimes lose focus of that truly matter. A definite cliche, but true nonetheless. The day started much like any Saturday. I got up and quickly ate breakfast before meeting up with a few friends for a mountain bike ride. After a few hours of fun in the woods, I came home and got cleaned up. I dashed off to work to grade some lab notebooks, pick up a few things and to send off a couple of emails.

A couple of hours later, I returned home. Within a few minutes of my return, Holland got home from work and wanted to take Mae out for a walk. We quickly made our way to the back of our neighborhood and proceeded to follow one of the many trails that lead from our neighborhood up to a mesa. Within 15 minutes of leaving the house, we found ourselves completely alone in the forest with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.

The view from the mesa

It just goes to show that special moments are always right around the corner if you’re looking for them. Right, now I need to go and fire up some power tools and regain some since of manliness!

Us

Although it’s been a few months since my birthday, I didn’t want to miss out on the chance to share some of my pics and the fun we had! I decided that this year (especially since my b-day fell on a Friday) I wanted to get out of town for an evening.  I researched and researched some inexpensive destinations (all within driving distance) and finally settled on Cave Creek, AZ.  Why, you ask?  Because Phoenix in July is unbearably hot and hotels were extremely cheap.  And I love me a good deal! So I was able to score a room at a swanky resort-The Boulders Resort and Spa-for a good price.

The Boulders

The day of my b-day, Chris and I took the scenic route to Phoenix.  We took the switchbacks down through Sedona, and stopped at one of our favorite little home decorating stores, Mexidona.   We purchased a couple of hand-painted postcards by a local artist, and later I bought some frames from Michael’s.  Afterward, we drove to downtown Phoenix, stopped at H & M (we love us some H & M!), and had lunch at P.F. Chang’s.  We drove to The Boulders around 2 for an early check-in, and yes, it was indeed swanky.  The resort sits on several acres, and features bungalow-style rooms instead of your usual room by room by room hotel-style format.  Our room was huge!

The room

After checking out the digs, we went down to the pool for a couple of hours.  Because it was exceptionally hot, we were only one of three other deranged couples. After lounging in the pool, we freshened up and went out to dinner at a nearby small Italian restaurant (recommended by the concierge).

Not the most flattering pic of me at the Italian joint

The next day, we left pretty early (gotta get home to the critters) and decided to stop at a famous winery, Alcantara, on our way back.  The owners of this winery live on the land, and their house is the winery’s tasting room.  It was a little strange sitting in someone’s kitchen with a bunch of strangers tasting wine, but it was really a beautiful house and setting.  After a shared tasting, we drove home in plenty of time for dinner with our four legged friends.  All in all, a pretty fantastic way to spend the ol’ birthday!

Well, we finally got a youtube account and now we can post videos from time to time! I’m particularly excited because this means I can show some footage of the many different and often distant places that I visit on my bicycle. This video shows a little portion of the Arizona Trail. The Arizona Trail is a singletrack trail that traverses the state from the Mexican border all the way to Utah! I can access the trail from a number of different places in Flagstaff, but one of the best parts of the trail starts right across the street from the house! Pretty awesome.

I’ve seen tons of wildlife on the trail and it cuts through incredible aspen stands, spruce and fir forest, and countless old growth Ponderosa Pine forest. As for the riding, the trail is very smooth and clean. Most of this video shows the climbing portion of the ride (really, I don’t go that slow downhill!). I apologize now for the long length of the video. I’m still learning how to edit the footage during and after the ride. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, the footage of the alpine lake was edited out, but I hope to post lots of video in the future! Thanks for reading. (Just click on the link below to see the video)

Can you name this flower?

Mystery flower

It blooms in our backyard during late summer, and it has the most amazing smell! A combination of lilac and something else.  You can smell it when you walk out our back door, and our particular bush has grown to a height of three feet.  I planted in when I first moved in, during a time when I was planting things all over the place hoping something would stick.  And this one did, even with my brown thumb.  So if you can name it, please share!

For those of you who have known me a while, you know that I have never been what you might call “an athlete.”  Physical sports were never my, ahem, forte.  I have always had my nose in a book, not my feet on a track (check out my mad metaphor skills).   It wasn’t until I met Chris that I started really pursuing the delights that can be found in the forest (oh, let’s be honest-I spent lots of time in the forest, usually around some type of bonfire).  But actually using my own two legs to go outside and discover what I had been living around for most of my life…that I hadn’t done a whole heck of a lot.

Spike in his element

As I mentioned before, Chris had a very lovely dog when we first met.  And this dog had a great love of the outdoors! I quickly learned the joys of walking him, and soon I discovered how much fun it was to romp in the woods with an insatiable furry friend.

Spike and I went on many wonderful hikes together (except for the time he ran away on me, but that’s a different story).  And now hiking is one of my favorite things! There’s nothing like heading out on a trail with a fuzzy companion and not seeing anyone.  Especially when said fuzzy companion has a big grin on his face!

Happy Dog

Well, summer is nearly over and fall is in the air here in Flagstaff. This morning, we awoke to hail covering the top of the mountain. Last evening we experienced a classic monsoonal storm, complete with intense lightning, thunder, and rain. This storm was particularly nice because our monsoonal season was fairly weak up until this point. The storms over the last week have provided some much needed moisture. The weather has been a perfect recipe for big storms, with a serious mix of warm and cold air masses. The other day the temperature went from 80 degrees to 59 degrees in 20 minutes! Pretty dynamic. Another sign of late summer is the sunflower.

Meadow near our house

Fall is a great time in Flagstaff. Soon the aspen leaves will turn yellow, orange, and red and the forest will take on a different feel. The fir and spruce trees somehow appear to be more suited to their surroundings during this time. The wildlife are particularly visible in this season, with regular sightings of large groups of elk, deer, wild turkey and the occasional coyote and bear.

The Peaks

The change of seasons is incredibly nostalgic for me, and every time I go for a mountain bike ride or hike, I always reflect back on previous years. Change can be good and the seasons are a definite reminder that it’s a natural process. Guess I’m really just trying to tell myself that shoveling snow this coming winter will not be a bad thing!

Last year, Chris and I traveled to Monterey, California for a few days right before the Christmas holiday.  We chose Monterey because the flights were pretty cheap and I have always wanted to see the giant redwoods.

The first day, we drove up to Santa Cruz to see the mighty beasts.  It was unbelievably gorgeous! We took a hike through a state park, and it was truly magical.  Unfortunately, I had accidentally set our camera to some strange setting and all the pictures we took were too blurry to post.

The next day we drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway, through Carmel, and down to Big Sur.

Bixby Bridge

The highway here provides one of the most beautiful drives in the country. Some of the views were a little steep for my taste, but I just made sure I was driving.

At one of our stops, we took a short hike on a path that meandered by the ocean, and we saw whales migrating south! The only word that comes close to describing it is celestial.

The coast near Carmel

Chris spotting the whales

Carmel itself is such a quaint town.  We strolled around the (rather pricey) shops, grabbed some lunch, and then drove back up to our hotel in Monterey.  This hotel, by the way, was quite special-they offered free wine in their lobby every afternoon! If you know me, you know that this was quite the good deal.  🙂

The Queen of the castle, the apple of my eye, the big cheese…

Yes, the leader of the pack: Fanny Mae Peabody, aka Big Bear or Big Rhonda.

Miss Fanny was the first pet Chris and I decided to adopt together.  At first, Chris had told me that he was allergic to  kitties, so I didn’t think we’d ever be able to have one of our own.  But after witnessing my tremendous devotion to the feline persuasion, Chris surprised me one afternoon and suggested we take a trip to the local humane association.  There, we met a beautiful orange tabby and her sister.

In retrospect, Chris and I both feel as though we should have adopted them both, but at the time we weren’t sure how Chris’s allergies would be.  It turns out that whatever allergy he had he has since outgrown, and Fanny was introduced seamlessly into our family.  She immediately took to Spike, and he didn’t know what to think about the tiny kitten who didn’t run from him.  And once she began climbing on him and kneading him like he was her mama, he was really confused.  But the two were true friends, and it was wonderful seeing them sleep together.

Now, Fanny has another sleeping buddy, although the two have yet to actually touch.  But I’m keeping my fingers crossed!