Tucson doesn't suck as much as I thought//At least Mount Lemmon is cool.

I think the best way to get to know people is by sitting in the car with them for a long time.

You'll eventually either share your life story with each other, or completely shut down and not talk at all.

Right after finals ended (Thursday, December 12 will live in eternity as the final day of the semester of my JMC 301 class, which I got an A+ in), I got in a car with my new friend Morgan (I'd only known her three weeks at this point) and headed to Mount Lemmon, which borders the north side of Tucson.

I think it is fair to mention that there are three ill-boding parts to this: 

One, the date was Friday the Thirteenth. 

Two, we were headed to Tucson. The Dirty T. My least favorite city in Arizona. 

Three, I was running late. An hour late. And you know how I get when I run late for trips: crabby.

Basically, this could have turned into a horrible horrible trip, if you're the type of person to base present experiences on past experiences. Thankfully, it didn't.

The entire drive to Tucson flew by, as we (mostly Morgan, as she was driving) sped down the I-10 and ended up sharing our life stories. Maybe I should stop sharing long car rides with strangers, because this happened when I went to Pinetop with Alex in July, too. The drive probably also went by quickly because I made a mix cd including music by J Vern, Foreman, I&W, Sufie.

In fact, this might be the first entirely positive trip to Tucson I've taken. Ever. Usually trips to Tucson entail a certain amount of money spent, a few too many Mike's Hard Lemonades by the pool, or a little too much television, but this trip was different.

The entire purpose of it was to escape Phoenix, celebrate winter, forge a new friendship and spend time outdoors.

Which is exactly what happened.

Finals are over. The semester has ended. I can finally relax!

Winter is here! Sweaters are out of boxes and on my shoulders!

I now have a new friend (which to be fair, is nothing new). But this one reads the Bible with me!

Mount Lemmon was beautiful! I was able to take a lot of beautiful photos of the sunset, and even though my film camera broke (yeah, sad day) I think I was able to save my roll of film so the photos of St. Ranger and Ben and Raquel and the sunset and stuff were all okay.
After spending time talking, smiling, laughing, photographing, driving and talking some more, we headed down to Fourth and Congress (the downtown area), contemplated getting Friday the 13th tattoos, and ate burritos at Shot in the Dark (we tried to go to Mount Lemmon Cafe, but it was apparently closed, and upon further searching, it appears to be permanently closed.) All in all, it was the perfectly peaceful end to a semester, the beginning of a wonderful friendship, and maybe a small reminder that Tucson isn't as gross as I think it is.

Travel Bucket List

Not so much places I want to go, but things I want to do (related to travel) before I die.

1. Photograph Aurora Borealis
2. Go on a fancy coffee road trip up the west coast
3. Drive Ben's car (Did that! Nov 2013)
4. Hike rim to rim on the Grand Canyon
5. Backpack (some of) Europe
6. Visit 4th Ave in Tucson
7. Photograph more of The Painted Desert Project
8. Take a Greyhound Bus somewhere

Grand Canyon Hike, Round 2

I was able to take the second memorable trip of my life to the Grand Canyon two weekends past, October 25-27.  (I say "memorable" because I was 7 the first time I went, and all I remember was my mother yelling at me to stay away from the edge.) I've been waiting to do this ever since I left after my last trip, when I hiked to the bottom and back in two days May 2012.

To me, the Grand Canyon is a symbol of rest, refuge and close knit friendship. Every time I've gone,

May 2012

I've been with people I love dearly, and we've always had a challenging and beautiful time. Not to mention, I believe the Grand Canyon is the single finest specimen of God’s creation, aside from the soul.

This trip was only partially planned. It had been in the works since late September, but when the government shutdown occurred, we were hesitant to make camping reservations or to even solidify our plans.

My roommate can tell you just how excited I was when the government finally opened back up, when I realized that in fewer than 10 days I would be hiking in the most peaceful place on earth.

Granted, this trip was not without its roadblocks. We only drove one car up, and due to a lack of planning, didn’t even know whose car we were going to take until the night before (Ben thought I was driving, I thought he was driving…)

Ultimately, Ben elected to drive, and so we embarked upon a grand adventure to Flagstaff at noon on Friday the 25^th, which really means we left Phoenix at 2:30 pm. We arrived at our friend Melody’s apartment at 5 pm, where we planned to sleep on the floor.

Our night in Flagstaff consisted of a trip to Sprouts and to Bookmans, where Ben and I both did our first live open-mic poetry readings. I’m not sure if I’ll ever do that again. I felt like I did before my first big swim meet—nervous beyond consolation. We returned to Melody’s and cooked dinner, and got ready for bed. Once we were all in our pajamas, we realized we had forgotten to put the parking pass in Ben’s car. He came back after trying to put the pass in his car and informed us that the car had been towed.

One hour and $230 later, we were all asleep and ready to hike the next morning. This is why I always factor $50 emergency money into a trip plan, because sometimes emergencies happen, and good friends help friends pay towing fees.

October 2013

Due to the late night car-fetching activities, we didn't leave for the Grand Canyon until 8:30 on Saturday, but we were able to hike down beginning at 10:30 am.

At first, I was incredibly apprehensive to make it to Indian Gardens. The sign at the Bright Angel Trailhead says it is not advised for hikers to try to go down and back in one day, and that it likely would take eight hours (or longer) to reach Indian Gardens and head back up.

Before I knew it, we were at the three mile rest house. I felt fine. I was fine, even if my toe was a little sore. I’d already made it three miles; of course I could make it another one and a half.

All five of us—Ben, Jon, Melody, Marty and me—made it down to Indian Gardens at about 12:45 pm, safe and sound. It was there that I said goodbye to everyone when they continued on to Plateau Point (a mile and a half farther). I sat, ate a sandwich, journaled, shot photos, and enjoyed the shade offered by tall, green trees. At 1:30, I headed back up by myself, can of coconut water in hand.

I should sell C2O this photo.

How amazing is it that we live in a time where we can enjoy natural refreshment from the coast in the bottom of a land-locked canyon? Pretty amazing. I enjoyed every sip of that coconut water.

My hike out was spent in prayerful contemplation, drinking in the beauty that surrounded me. Seriously. It completely amazes me that I can enjoy pine trees, red rocks, gravel rocks, bushes and cacti in such close proximity to each other.

You really have to respect the Grand Canyon. Even if you’re in shape, you need to enter the canyon with the mindset “I am physically capable of doing this. Even so, I know it’s going to eat me up and spit me out and I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow.”

It took me exactly an hour to get from Indian Gardens to the three mile rest house, then 50 minutes to get from the three mile rest house to the one-and-a-half mile resthouse (I really had to use the restroom.) The final mile and a half was taken at a leisurely pace—one mile an hour. I took photos and stopped to watch the shadows set in over the canyon, wondering where my friends were.

I was really happy to see them.

Twenty minutes after I reached the rim, everyone else surfaced as well. Tired and hungry, we headed back to Flagstaff, with a stop for donuts (both the edible type and the I-lost-control-of-my-car type).

I don’t remember much about that night, except for the fact that I fell asleep before the brownies Melody cooked were even out of the oven. I must have fallen asleep before 10 pm.

I woke up slightly sore at 7:30 Sunday morning, and dressed for church. After church, Ben, Jon and I adventured around Flagstaff, looking at the usual music and book shops. We ate food and pumpkin sweets galore at Melody’s, then hit up Firecreek Coffee’s new Flagstaff location before leaving the town.

Stickin' my head out the window.

We took the Oak Creek Canyon 89A through Sedona, because Ben had never been to Sedona before. (Of course that means we decided we’re going to Slide Rock someday.)

We stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross outside of Sedona, right at sunset. The golden hour lighting mixed with the naturally red rocks made for a beautiful photo. I had never been inside the chapel before, and my breath was taken away by the views provided by

Babyhood friends.

As we left Sedona, we went to Firecreek Coffee’s original location south of Sedona and met Ryder, the barista. He let us know that Firecreek does coffee cuppings every Friday at 3 pm. I’m filing that in the back of my mind as a future weekend adventure.

Ben, Jon and I ended our restful weekend Sunday night at Lux, where we met Raquel, talked about our trips (she went to DC) and proceeded to do at least two hours’ worth of homework. Ah, the life of a college student.

Flagstaff, or the last getaway I'll have this semester.

The fact that it took me so long to publish this is proof of the little free time I have.
This weekend (September 20-22, 2013) was unique.
It was the only time I could escape from Phoenix without worrying about homework for my work-intensive journalism class.
I worked ahead in the beginning of the year so this past weekend was entirely free of homework, so I traveled up to my second favorite state school--NAU.
 I began my vacation weekend on Friday morning, stopping by my house with a latte in hand for my mama. (She loves Giant Coffee, so whenever I go home, I bring her a latte.)
We chatted for a while. I hardly get to see her now that I'm living downtown and combating homework assignment after homework assignment.
At around 11 am, I finally made my way out of the house and onto the road.

My cousin is beautiful.

When I arrived in Flagstaff, I picked up my cousin Christina and we headed out for a hike up Humphrey's Peak.
When I was in Payson on the Box Canyon camping trip, I bought a vintage San Francisco Peaks patch, with the idea that I would hike some of the San Fran Peaks then sew it onto my backpack. And, now that I've hiked some of it, I can sew it on!
Christina and I by no means made it to the summit--we are so painfully out of shape. But we decided that, come the end of this school year, we're going to hike to the summit after I get off school and right around the time of her final exams.
We headed back to her apartment (!!!) where I showered and she cooked me macaroni and cheese and beef. That's right, I broke my vegetable habits by eating beef with my cousin. That's how much I love her.
After dinner, I headed over to Hannah's apartment (what is with all my friends getting apartments?) where I met her roommate, the futon I would be sleeping on, and the refrigerator and pantry of my dreams. We unloaded a bunch of food stuffs her mother sent up with me (including a Honey Baked Ham) then headed downtown to shop, shop, shop and eat crepes.

Gluten free crepe? Yes, please. 

But really. We found a creperie that made gluten free crepes, which was perfect for Hannah. On a scale of Paris to Jobot (Paris being the best), this crepe was a little bit below Bellagio, but above Jobot.

Hannah and I finished the evening by driving up toward Lowell Observatory and parking on an overlook to take photos of Flagstaff at night.

I forgot to bring my tripod, so most of the photos are rather shaky, but I believe they turned out rather well, all things considered.

We soon headed back to Hannah's apartment, where we sat and watched The Little Mermaid and The Orphan (which really means sat, cooked dinner and talked with movies playing in the background.) Hannah and Gina cooked a full dinner of Honey Baked Ham, corn and mashed potatoes.

The entire highlight of this trip is that everyone took care of me and cooked me food (Hannah and Christina), made me free coffee (Olivia), or profusely offered to buy me breakfast (Nathan from California).

We slept. We woke up. Hannah made me breakfast before she had to leave to go do homework with her boyfriend (ooooh!)
I'm sorry guys, I totally forgot about this post! Chalk it up to massive amounts of homework.

Labor Day Weekend

Holy guacamole, I didn't make a post about my Labor Day weekend adventure!
Probably because this adventure was spent at the Peck's family cabin (Lakeside/Pinetop) without internet. I did loads of homework, and spent some wonderful time with Brenna and Raquel discussing life and playing the Barbie Game.

I'm 99% sure that game is rigged. Raquel had Ken as a boyfriend, won prom queen, and was president of one of the clubs.
Aside from the fact that the game seemed rigged, it's also incredibly sexist. It implies that self-worth is found in money, boys, and popularity. Which, I believe, is not the case.

Aside from the Barbie game, we did homework, cooking and reading. And went to a lake.

And it was incredibly peaceful.

Box Canyon? More like Trail of Tears.

As summer comes to a final and complete stop, so do my crazy adventures.
And to be honest, this is an adventure I should have opted out of.
Before I left my brand-spanking-new dorm room (I moved in!) I felt I should stay. There are a slew of bonding activities here in Taylor Place, and I want to get to know the kids in my hall. But the draw of nature, and the hope of a beautiful weekend awaited me. So I ignored that little voice in my head and just went on the trip anyway.
Big mistake.
Anyway. The plan was to leave at 10 am on Saturday morning. I, Andie and Natalie were coming from Phoenix, while Ben, Jon, and Ben's friends David and Austin were coming from Pinetop/Lakeside. Thankfully, our meeting point was halfway between us.
After telling Ben we were leaving at 10, he said that was a little too late. So, after waking up early to the sun shining through my window (I need to either buy curtains or just get used to this) and reading Ben's "If you can, leave earlier" text, I decided "Hm, let's leave earlier."
So around 8:30, I went to pick up Andie and Natalie, grab a few groceries, and grab my backpack from my house.
Two hours later, we finally left Sprout's and then my house, and left Phoenix.
Which I am okay with. (Minus the fact that my nearly only pet peeve is not leaving on time for vacation. I don't care if I'm running late to anything else, but I better be darn on time to leave for vacation.) The boys slept in and were running later than they expected, and we tried to run early at least, but it just didn't work. We ended up arriving at the Box Canyon Trailhead at the exact same time, nearly.
Introductions were made between all of us and David and Austin.
Cars were locked, Camelbaks were taken without cell phones for fear of water damage, and for the same reason, my camera was left in my car as well.
And this is where this turns from a travel post into a whining post. I apologize.
The trek started out climbing up an embankment on the other side of Highway 260, and finding ourselves in a thicket of mud and plants and stuff. The plants were everywhere and they were scratchy. Not fun.
So we get through that, I'm just a little miffed and frustrated because of the early morning events (aka, running late.) So I'm walking and talking with Natalie in the back of the group, Andie is in front of me. She looks back and says "Watch out, there's a wasp near by."
I think, "Okay, I'll just walk by, not bother it. I'll be good."
I walk by.
I'm not good.
I feel a stinging sensation on my back and wonder what it is, then realize. And the stinging turns into a searing. And then my arm starts hurting. And then I freak out and after enough angered dancing and screaming, it flies away and I am in tears. I want to go back to the car, but I can see all the beautiful rocks and trees and the river at the bottom of Box Canyon and decide to press on.
In tears.
Soon I realize this isn't just a hike, it is a full body rock-scaling adventure. And after I have scaled my fair share of rocks, all while trying to avoid all the wasps (read: hornets), I come upon a conundrum.
To get down to the next pool, I either had to jump down an 8-10 foot rock face, or jump off a 15-20 foot waterfall. To which I said "Nope. NopeNopenopenope. I'm done." and sat down in frustration.
On a cactus.
I sat on a FLIPPING CACTUS.
And then I stood up and yelled, "Andie COME GET THIS CACTUS OFF MY BUTT!!!"
Break from complaining: I probably would have died from a panic attack in this canyon if it weren't for Andie Miller. I am so thankful for this woman. Now, back to complaining.
So I'm standing there, crying, still and again, she comes over and takes all the stickers out, and we decide "You know what, nope. We're not continuing on. Let's just hang out here at this nice pool of water (where there are more wasps and one almost lands on me. My life.)
This is the part where the weekend gets a little bit better. We left the canyon and I didn't get stung by any more wasps. We got to the camp ground and took turns taking part in setting up the 8 person tent for the 7 of us, right before it began to rain.
It rained as it turned from day to night.

We sat in the tent and played guitar.
After it stopped raining, we made soup.
Pretty much your basic camping trip.
We went to bed, slightly squished close together even though it was an 8 person tent and there were 7 of us.
We woke up, played more music, played with bb guns and hatchets and stuff, and left.
Andie, who injured her knee, and I went into Payson while Natalie, Ben, Austin and David went to hike Box Canyon again.
We got back together around four, picked up Natalie, and said goodbye to the boys as they went back to Pinetop and as we returned to Phoenix.

To end this post on a positive note, here are 5 things I did that I enjoyed.

1. I waded through an incredibly beautiful stream at the bottom of Box Canyon. That was fun.
2. Scaling rocks is fun, just not when you've been stung by a wasp. But scaling rocks was definitely fun.
3. I got to play guitar while Andie played banjo.
4. I shot a can off a tree right after Austin placed it there. I wasn't even really aiming my BB gun well, either.
5. I got a fairly good night of sleep and didn't freeze to death.

Viva Naturaleza

Second Annual California Birthday Shenanigans

August 5, 2012

I did not make a post for the California adventure I shared with my best friend/nearly sister Hannah last year, so here is a photograph instead. 
The premise of last year's trip (and this year's as well) was to get together and go to Disneyland, a place we both hold near and dear in our hearts, to celebrate our birthdays and summertime.
Last year was stellar. We dressed in coordinated "Phelps" and "Lochte" tank tops (it was during the Olympics) and visited both Disneyland and California Adventures, as well as visiting the beach one day.
This year, the same premise was present. We set out early Thursday morning for California, only instead of staying in a somewhat shady hotel, we were set to stay in Tustin with the family of Hannah's friend, Nathan, who I had met once and who she had spent all of spring break with.
Around Blythe, we realized we were running much earlier than we had told Nathan we would arrive. I recalled a few friends of mine had visited the Salton Sea outside of Indio, and remembered a short documentary my future roommate (if I haven't already mentioned it, I'm living at ASU this year) sent me. We elected to take a detour to the Salton Sea. I had hopes of finding Salvation Mountain, Hannah and I both had hopes of finding some abandoned buildings to traipse through. Unfortunately, we only happened upon the actual Salton Sea--dead fish, flies, closed visitor center and all.

I'll spare you the photo of the dead fish.

When we pulled up, I noticed two other girls wearing bathing suits. They were about our age, and I posed the question "Who would want to swim in this?" Hannah replied with "Well, it's a lake. People swim in lakes." By the time we were on the beach trying not to get dead fish bones in our shoes, she understood my question.
Partially amused and partially displeased with the presence of dead fish in varying states of decay, we carefully walked back to the car where we decided to make lunch. It was quite the challenge trying to make sunflower butter and jam sandwiches while shooing flies out the the window at whatever chance we could, but we succeeded. Half an hour after we paid the $5 parking fee, we waved goodbye to the Salton Sea and began our return to the freeway.
We arrived at Nathan's house just in time to unload the car, greet his parents (they were incredibly hospitable!) and hit the road for dinner.
Nathan, his friend Connor, Hannah and I went to a burger restaurant at a predominantly outdoor mall. I'm usually not a fan of red meat, but I got a mushroom burger (with beef--we're not talking portobello mushroom, we're talking little sauteed mushrooms) and it was rather edible. We then spent time getting to know each other better by shopping around Urban Outfitters (the most expensive place in the world to purchase re-purposed, vintage and alternative style clothing), Forever 21 and a regional clothing store I had never heard of before. Soon, the mall began to close and Nathan dropped Hannah and I off at his house so we could go to bed early.
The next morning, Friday, Hannah and I awoke bright and early to leave for Disneyland! We didn't decide if were going to buy park hopper tickets or one day-one park tickets with the birthday money her mother had graciously given us, but by the time we were in line to purchase tickets, we were already yawning (oh, the life of a perpetually exhausted college student) and decided one park for one day was enough.

We had planned ahead and wore shirts that were matching in theme--our two favorite female Disney princess-esque characters! I made a Tinkerbell and an Ariel stencil for each of us, purchased spray paint, and had Hannah buy coordinated shirts, and we made them the night before we left! I'm happy to say we received a few compliments from strangers along with a very enthusiastic "I want your shirts!!!" from a friend of Hannah's on Facebook.
Our day at Disney could have easily ended after 11 am. We were able to ride all the rides we wanted to before then, as we followed the cardinal rule: Indiana Jones is always the first ride you take, after picking up Space Mountain fast passes, of course. And so it began like that. Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (I now remember why I disliked that ride as a child. It's so sinister!), Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, and then a select few all over again.

I took a very swell castle photo, if I do say so myself.

At 3 pm, we found ourselves in Downtown Disney after a Monorail ride (It's my favorite), eating ice cream and sorbet, shopping for dresses/swim suits, and realizing that we're nearly too old to open and close the park, and so we decided we'd duck back into Disneyland, hit up Tom Sawyer's Island, the Golden Horseshoe dinner show, maybe ride some canoes, and head home. We felt no need to watch the firework show as it is nearly the same every time, and we've probably seen it at least five times. We ended up leaving at around seven, tired as all possibility, and returned to our welcoming home base in Tustin at around eight after stopping at Target to purchase beach necessities.
As we pulled up to the house, we saw Nathan was leaving, and he invited us along to join him and Connor in whatever they decided to do. Hannah opted for calling her boyfriend and going to bed, while I decided to live by one of my three mottoes (in this case, carpe noctem) and tagged along to Connor's house, where we ultimately decided against going to the OC Fair and decided to go get 24-hour donuts and watch Clue on Netflix. One thing is for sure--if I ever find red velvet donuts anywhere else, I doubt they'll be as good as the one I had that night.
Hannah's alarm went off at 8 am the next morning, Saturday.

Loofah + Soap

We had two tickets for the filming of
Let's Make A Deal, and we had costumes planned: I was to be a loofah, Hannah was to be a bar of soap. Unfortunately, we snoozed the alarm. Then we slacked at putting together our costumes (ten yards of tulle is not enough to make me comfortable with the possibility of going on stage in what was essentially a ballerina costume from the depths of Hades.) Finally, we decided lounging around for the morning was a much more palatable idea than driving to LA for the possibly-guaranteed chance of getting into a studio for a filming of a television show.
We joined Nathan's parents for breakfast and spent two hours discussing what to do in the Tustin/Irvine area, where to eat, what our areas of study are. I tend to lean more toward being a social creature, and sitting and talking for a few hours was definitely much more enjoyable to me than driving to LA for a game show filming, at least after a nearly full day at Disneyland.
Around lunch time, we ventured to a local mall where we ate Pei Wei and shopped for hours at TJ Max. I found a pair of Birkenstock-style shoes, a phone charger, and a pair of yoga pants, which are all items I've been searching for the past few weeks. Hannah snagged a cute black blouse, and then we headed back to Tustin to prep for the Americanarama Music Festival which was that night.
After a much needed shower, I put on my edgy purple jersey dress, packed up a slice of the delicious gluten free cake Nathan's mom made us to bring to the show (featuring Ryan Bingham, My Morning Jacket, Wilco and Bob Dylan!) and left the house just a smidge too late.
When Hannah and I arrived at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine (it felt so strange going to a concert at a venue I wasn't familiar with) Ryan Bingham had already began playing, at the exact start time. We rushed up the hill to the top grassy knoll where we had purchased tickets for, and we laid down our picnic blanket and began enjoying the music.
Before long, it was extremely apparent that someone (or perhaps a few groups of people around us) were smoking both pot and cigarettes, and we were slightly annoyed. In fact, my sinuses are still very upset from all the secondhand smoke. But that didn't get in the way of me enjoying  My Morning Jacket's performance, and Hannah enjoying  Wilco's performance!

Our view wasn't the best, but the sound carried well.

By the time Bob Dylan took the stage it was nearly 10 pm. We had already been there for four hours and we were cold and tired. I had thoroughly enjoyed My Morning Jacket's performance, Hannah had enjoyed Wilco's performance, and we had been forewarned that Bob Dylan is definitely not as good as he once was.
I don't want to sound too critical, but everyone who told me that I would be disappointed was right. It's great that I can now say I've seen Bob Dylan live in concert, but I definitely enjoyed My Morning Jacket's performance the most. Dylan was slightly pathetic as he tried his hardest to soulfully sing songs from his new album, but instead of looking stricken by passion exuding forth from his music, he looked woefully out of breath as he leaned on the drum stand, shrunken toward the mid-rear of the stage. Once I found someone who leaked the set list on Instagram, and when I saw that all the music was from his newer albums, Hannah and I agreed it was time to leave (seven songs into the eleven song set list). All hope was lost for me to hear him perform The Times They Are A-Changin' live. We headed back to the car where we rolled down the windows, turned on the air, ate cake, and enjoyed the sound of Bob Dylan fading in the distance.
By the time we returned home it was 11 pm, the perfect time to travel to the Top of the World--a short drive, hop, skip, jump and hill away from Nathan's house, where you can enjoy the city lights. I came to the realization that nearly all cities look the same at night. The view from the Top of the World was strangely akin to the view from the top of my favorite peak at Dreamy Draw, with two parallel roads distinctly highlighted against neighborhoods.
 When we returned home, I had a new rush of energy, or simply a lack of desire to go to sleep. My former plans to go to bed and get a good night's rest changed into staying up until 3:30 am watching New Girl on Netflix while bantering on about school and how painful it is to see people strive to be hipsters all while trying not to wake Hannah up, as she was sleeping on the other side of the wall that was shared with the television room.
I slept in much later Sunday than I had in a long time. I woke up at 10:45 convinced it was only around 8 am. I soon woke Hannah up, as we had planned to leave for the beach at or before noon. We ate breakfast, packed a cooler, and headed out with Nathan, who directed us to Huntington Beach.

August 5, 2013

Oh, how I missed the beach. I always forget how much I love it until I return. It had been a full year since the last time I had been at the beach, and I missed it so much. We even found the perfect metered parking spot alongside the road.
We sunscreened up, lied down, chatted, snoozed, read books (or tried to at least) and eventually ran into the ocean. I was slightly braver than usual when it came to entering the water--neither Hannah nor Nathan had to use force to get me in deeper than my knees. However, when I mentioned I was returning to dry, safe land, I was met with a small amount of opposition, but nothing so strong that a little cold water splash didn't move.
We spent the remainder of our beach time playing frisbee, talking and walking down to the pier. Before we left, we dug into the other half (!) of the gluten free chocolate cake from Nathan's mom. Mmmm. There's nothing like sweets on the beach.

The US Bank tower is my favorite skyline icon.

Upon returning home, we showered off, packed up, thanked our wonderful hosts and headed up to North Los Angeles to visit my friend from ASU, Mitch. The drive was gorgeous, and we passed LA just as the sun was setting. Hannah was able to capture a few fairly decent photos of the LA skyline on my dinky little 7-year-old point and shoot camera. Los Angeles is my favorite large city in the western United States, and whenever I get the chance to drive in/through/by, I make sure to have a camera ready in my car.
We arrived at Mitch's parent's house, which was set back a ways and tucked in a few mountains. It was a challenge driving my car up his windy driveway, and I gave him my keys and asked him to get it back down the driveway when we soon left to get Hannah dinner.
When we returned home from our In-n-Out dinner run, our first request was that he give us a tour. He showed us the fireplace room, the old Macintosh computer, and his parent's balcony.
Oh yes, and then we got locked on his parent's balcony.
It was honestly entirely my fault, but at the same time, I am still flabbergasted that anyone would ever create a doorknob that would allow a door to be opened from the inside while still being locked from the outside. In all reality, that is only asking for trouble.

So happy to be stranded on a roof.

So Hannah and Mitch were forced to bond over the two hours we were stuck on the second story balcony and roof of his house in rural California.
We soon began testing our options of escape. We could jump from the second story roof to the first story roof and then to the garage roof, but it looked a wee bit too steep. Option number two was to phone the neighbors and have them break down the door, but they refused to do so. Option number three resulted in Mitch's friend coming and entering the house through an open window near the kitchen, then coming and liberating us from our six foot by 10 foot prison raised 30 feet off the ground.
We thanked his friend profusely, then set off to buy more food to replace the room-temperature In-n-Out Burger that had been locked inside the house for two hours while we had been locked out.
When we returned back, we stayed rather stationary in the family room with the television and junk food. We caught up on life's little nuances, gawked over the fact that we had just been locked on a balcony for two hours, and decided to go to bed at 2 am. Never before have I slept so well in someone else's house. It just felt good to be inside a building.
The following morning, Monday, we woke up at 8, dressed quickly, and went into Santa Clarita for breakfast. Mitch guided us to a restaurant called the Egg Plantation, which boasts 101 different omelettes. I was slightly overwhelmed by the menu, so I ordered a simple sandwich, which was listed as an employee favorite--egg whites on wheat toast with tomatoes, spinach and avocado. It was a delicious start to the day.

I'd be content working as a food photographer.

We then were guided to Starbucks, where I got a tall, iced, soy, dirty chai latte with one shot of espresso. It was nowhere near as good as Jobot or Songbird's chai latte, but in a tired pinch, it worked out alright. Hannah and I then said our goodbyes to Mitch, who I'll be seeing again in a short 10 days when I move into my dorm and he moves into his apartment.
The drive back was rather uneventful. We took the 210 to the 57 to the 10, which is a freeway interchange I shall never forget. It's the one Becca and I used to get from Phoenix to Oregon while avoiding LA, and the phrase "take the 10 to the 57 to the 210" may as well be burned in my brain because we repeated it so much as we prepared for that trip last summer.
Alas, I digress. We made it back in one piece, with my car in one piece, and with an overall sense of peace now that summer is nearly over. I still have an entire bag of laundry to do and a few hours of sleep to catch up on. Maybe I'll actually be amicably awake for work tomorrow today!

Technically, it's in Lakeside.

Before the 4th of July, I sent a quick text to a few of my friends in northern Arizona. All of them were either working or out of town, but one of my friends asked why I was asking. So I took the opportunity to note that Phoenix was hot as heck and I wanted to get out of there. So he invited me (and whoever else I could get to come with me) up to Pinetop for the long weekend.

It was a beautiful weekend filled with thrift shopping, western clothes, driving through the forest in the rain late at night blaring our favorite electronic music, biking on the wrong side of a barbed wire fence, impromptu hiking before church, cooking good food, eating good food, playing guitar and trying to keep tempo, singing with hoarse and tired voices, praying and thanking God for friendships like ours, sharing emotions and celebrating life.

                                                  It was honestly too wonderful for words.

Longmont, Boulder, Westminster, Denver

Have you caught Part 1 of this adventure yet?
Our route to Westminster was blocked due to wildfires. Surprise, surprise.

Chimney Rock!

Thankfully, the detour we gook gave us a chance to stop at Chimney Rock, which I am familiar with as a stop on the Oregon Trail. Long story short, after a far-too-long-and-boring car ride, we made it safely to our (swanky) hotel in Westminster. Unfortunately, our hotel royally screwed up and only gave us one bed instead of two (there are four of us.) Thank God Brenna was only 20 minutes away in Denver, because she came and saved our tired hinds from sleeping on the floor at the Westin Westminster.
I quickly became acquainted with Jake, the happy golden dog Brenna was watching for her aunt. We stayed up late talking, discussing our past month where we had hardly spent any time together. The next day was a busy one: The day of my Economics final, the wedding, and beginning my birthday!
I finished my final in two hours, and finished the class with an 87%. Becca and Brenna went on a few errands to walk Jake, visit the farmer's market, and  After my two lowest quiz grades were dropped, I had an A, which constituted a reason to party! But by then, I was out of time to party.

Me, Jen, Mom and Dad

Brenna drove Becca and I back to Westminster where we got ready for the wedding, which was absolutely beautiful. The garden was green, the sky was moderately clear with no threat of rain, Jen was beautiful, and the DJ was on top of the musical game.
After the wedding, Becca and I went back to Longmont with Brenna to start celebrating my birthday! We stayed up extremely late playing Apples to Apples (over 100 rounds!) and slept in rather late the next morning.
For my birthday, we went to Boulder, the "college town" of Colorado. It was absolutely and spectacularly beautiful. We first headed to Chataqua, where we walked around the many old houses that are available for summer rent. After we walked up and down the hilly blocks for a while, we piled back into Brenna's aunt's Jeep and headed downtown in search of Snooze, a breakfast place.
As luck would have it, we found a parking space right across from Snooze, and walked in the door forty-five minutes before they were supposed to close. 2:15 in the afternoon is not too late to have breakfast!

Chataqua is really green.

After eyeing their extensive pancake menu as well as their lovely healthy menu, Brenna and I decided to split a pancake flight and a basic egg, hash brown and toast dish. Our three pancake types were a pineapple upside down pancake, a toffee nut pancake, and a sweet potato pancake. While delicious, the pancakes were almost too sweet, so it's good that we ordered eggs and hash browns to go with them.
After my birthday brunch (yay!) we walked around Pearl Street, looking at local hand-made shops, book stores, toy stores, shoe stores, clothing stores--you name it. We eventually ended up at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, which was actually built in Tajikistan and shipped to Boulder, where it was re-built in all of it's intricate glory. Each of us ordered a pot of tea, and we traded sips of each other's tea. I really enjoyed my panda green tea, partially because it had my nickname in it's title, and also because I really enjoy green tea.

That's my obnoxious face.

Soon, my parents came to take Becca and me to dinner, while Brenna returned to Longmont to pack for her return to Arizona. I picked out an Indian restaurant named Yak and Yeti (sweet name, I know) to feast at on my birthday. Sad thing is, I wasn't very hungry. But then I realized "Hmm. Indian food. I like Indian food. Eating when I'm not hungry this one time won't kill me." And boy, am I glad I did that. We ate from the buffet filled with masala and palak paneer and all sorts of other things I can neither remember, pronounce or spell. All I remember is that they were delicious.
We headed back to the hotel, where Becca and I had an amazing view of the Flatirons and the pending thunder storm out of the window. The Westin had made up for their former mistake by switching my parents to a similar room on another floor and gave them an adjoining room with two double beds for free. My birthday ended with a beautiful thunder storm, driving in the rain to pick up Brenna, and then cupcakes and a card stuffed with gift cards (and a $20 bill for Zia) from my parents.

We left early the next morning for Pinetop, and decided late in the afternoon (when we were at the Arizona-New Mexico border) to drive straight through to Phoenix. I drove a large amount of the way, and when I wasn't driving, I was listening to This American Life with Brenna and Becca, or reading The Scientists: A Love Story by Marco Roth.

Hesperus, Durango

This is the first family vacation I've been on in two years. Last summer, I traveled a lot, but not with my parents. Last summer my parents traveled a lot, but not with me. This summer, we're doing some traveling together.
The vacation of mention is Colorado, to get some R&R, as well as to watch my childhood babysitter/next door neighbor neighbor's daughter get married. Also, to bring Brenna back home.

All four states at once. Utah and Colorado are my favorites.

The first stretch of our journey was from Phoenix to Hesperus. Hesperus is a little town outside of Durango, with a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast.
We took a pit stop at Four Corners, and I enjoyed the beauty of being in four places at once, as well as the Native American jewelry available (I finally got my pinky ring. Finally. Lapiz and silver.)
From Four Corners to Hesperus, I slept. The views were beautiful, but I was tired and slightly carsick.
When we got out of the car at Blue Lake Ranch I was amazed at the greenery and flora. I haven't seen this many flowers since...who knows when. There are gardens abundant. They grow their own vegetables here, and everything is a cheery shade of tan, yellow or green. All of the guest rooms/houses are private and distant. It really is a ranch, complete with a motherly figure to cook you delicious breakfast in the morning.
We arrived yesterday.
Today, we consumed breakfast, indulged in the spa-like shower, hiked down to the lake, and visited Durango.
Ahh, yes. Durango.
The beautiful, green, small town of Colorado. I first visited here four years ago (perhaps even five) for a Christ In Youth conference (basically summer camp) and really loved the area.

Next time, we're taking the train ride.

We spent a few hours touring the city after a large lunch. We split up into two groups (my parents, Becca and I) and did the usual touring, coffee stops, and train watching. Becca and I stopped at an amazing book store, snagged a book, and then got coffee from Durango Coffee Company, and then split chai latte from Magpie Newsstand Cafe, where "Nine out of ten mythical creatures say we have the best chai in the world!" I must be the one mythical creature that disagrees. While delicious and spicy, just as chai should be, there was far too much clove and not enough honey. Aside from that, it was delicious.
After we caught the train (my dad and I, along with all my cousins and uncles, have a serious obsession with trains) we headed slightly out of town to Ska Brewing Company, a gem I found on Yelp.
My mom was less than pleased with the amount of cars in the parking lot--she didn't want to wait forever for food, but we soon learned that their Thursday tradition is a Ska-B-Que, or barbecue food outdoors with live ska music.

Bob, Anne, their granddaughter and son.

We were in luck: The food was complementary today, too, and beer was $1 for a brew that had been shipped back from Texas (the can design featured a half-naked nymph and what I believe were marijuana leaves...too provocative for those Texans) or $5 for two cans of other brews. I, of course, was too young to enjoy the beer (I'm turning 20, not 21...) but definitely not too young to enjoy the company shared at our picnic table: two Durango locals named Anne and Bob.

Bob shared the story of Ska Brewery with us: Three college students brewed beer while at Fort Lewis College, but stopped after graduation. People came to miss their beer, so they brewed on a small scale. Eventually, the demand was so high they built a microbrewery and began running it full time. Currently, one of the three is designing and marketing a machine that cans beer as well.

Bob even got us an in with one of the owners: We got to tour the brewery. 

I'd never been in a brewery before. I've never even set foot in a bar (aside from one or two times when I

I learned one large tank = 90 barrels = 180 kegs

was little and accompanied by an adult.) But it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Listening to one of the co-owners (I think it was Dave) talk about the brewing process was enlightening and enjoyable. I love listening to people talk about things they're passionate about, and it is very evident these people are very passionate about beer.

It ended with a free sample of beer...for my dad. It was a lager of some sort. I'll have to go back and try a full can when I'm 21.

After a beautiful dinner with acoustic-country influenced ska music from Running Out of Road, and friendly locals, it was time to head back to the ranch, where I just finished my final macroeconomics quiz and started writing this blog post. 

So far, my favorite part of this trip has been kicking back and relaxing. I've been able to spend time in the beautiful outdoors, eat delicious food (albeit too much food) and enjoy down time I haven't had in a long time. I also really enjoy how strappy hiking sandals, dogs, knee-length skirts and Subaru wagons are the norm here. Durango has it's own newspaper...I may move here someday.

Still to come: Denver/Westmister/Longmont and my birthday. Stay tuned, adventurers!

Catch part 2 here!

Pinetop Part 2: The Cabin

Late Saturday afternoon, we arrived back at Ben's home from our backpacking excursion (see Part 1). We showered and changed into clean clothes. In the spirit of adventure and outdoors (and packing light) I wore my only clean pants: cargo pants from 7th grade. Gotta love that 2005 style.
Not to mention, before we even arrived home, we stopped at a sweet thrift shop and an equally nifty pawn shop and looked at goodies. I found some jewelry I really liked (didn't buy it, though. I left my wallet at his house, where we had not yet been that day) and a floral print hat which Liz bought for me (yeah, I washed it before I wore it. Don't freak out.)
Ben also showed us one of his only remaining pieces of street art. It's on a dumpster by the pawn shop, indoor archery range, and closed-down bank. It's of two wolves, and I'm pretty sure it used multiple layers of stencils. It was never finished because two cops drove by as Ben was working on it, and the danger was just a little too real for his comfort zone. I think it looks rather awesome, anyway.

After we got home, we all lounged around and watched the ed of Gladiator then The Book of Eli while everyone else showered (we had one shower to share).
Ben's mom (Betsy) and dad (Bruce) made veggie packets for dinner (4 or 5 different vegetables cut up, seasoned, oiled and wrapped into aluminum foil pouches then grilled) and his grandma made us chocolate drop cookies. It was the perfect dinner for the returning adventurers.
(Back story: It was really nice to see Ben's parents! I'm pretty sure I hadn't seen them in over five years. His mom seemed especially pleased to see us all, and she was very welcoming and accommodating.  She wins hostess points.)
After dinner, Liz and I sat and talked to grandma and Betsy while the boys continued watching The Book of Eli. Soon everyone else left for church, and Liz and I cleaned up the kitchen a little bit before we left for church (we're a messy bunch of kids, but we sure do know how to clean up after ourselves.)
Church was good. It met at Blue Ridge High School (the only one in the Pinteop-Lakeside area) and reminded me of what a small-town non-denominational church would be like, if it met up with a bit of a younger crowd. It was enjoyable.

The cabin.

After, we booked it to the grocery store and bought $36 worth of breakfast foods and headed up to the cabin through back roads.
The roads were dusty and dark. I was skeptical when Ben said that the cabin was in the forest--all of Pinetop that I had seen was rather developed. But after snaking through block after block of fancy vacation homes (as they became farther and farther apart) he made a quick right hand turn into a driveway, and I did the logical thing--I followed.
Soon we were in front of what looked like a log cabin, but I could hardly tell. It was pitch black outside. Ben opened the front door and turned a light on--it was most definitely a log cabin.
Upon entering, I noticed the quaint furniture, antique fire stove and perfectly sized kitchen. It is absolutely darling. We began unloading the car and then toured the upstairs area--two separated bedrooms and a common sleeping area with 5 twin beds. Downstairs, the living area, eating area, kitchen, extra bedroom and single restroom.
I really enjoyed reading the "Brenna was here! 2000" and other time-stamped markings written on the twin bunk beds upstairs. Betsy had warned us that spot-markers were there, and had told us not to add more unless we "do it on a plank of wood." And we respected her wishes.
Once the car was unloaded, it was time to chill. Liz and Ben and Jon worked on the fire for making s'mores while I took copious amounts of photographs. My favorite vantage point is from the second story looking down, because you can see the entire living room from there.
Soon after the fire was built, we sat down and began playing music. Ben brought his banjo (a birthday present from his parents) and his guitar (a 3/4 size steel-stringed thang). Having no experience on the banjo, I picked up the guitar.
Soon, we were playing a Sufjan Stevens song and singing at the top of our lungs. Liz and Jon seemed to be enjoying listening, and I was certainly enjoying playing guitar with Ben on banjo. Before we knew it, it was 1 am, and our friends Cassie and Sydney were arriving from Phoenix.
In a whirlwind of excitement, they unloaded their car and Ben set out to make more granola. Feeling utterly exhausted, I decided to pick up a knife and focus the energy I had left on dicing apricots to put in the granola. Once we stuck the oats in the oven for 50 minutes, Ben and I picked up the instruments once more, and we sat and played music until we were nearly ready for bed.
3 am, we all fell asleep. 6:30 am, I woke up when Ben woke up to go downstairs. I stayed awake once I realized it was light out, and finally got out of bed at 9 am when Liz decided it was time to get up as well.
To not rudely wake everyone else up, we turned on the coffee pot and left the building for a morning stroll. There were areas in the neighborhood where we could see a ridge of trees in the distance, between the pine trees already surrounding the houses.
When we returned, Cassie and Sydney were headed out for a walk as well, and Jon followed suit. Just as Liz and I decided to wake up Ben, he came strolling out as well.

Good food. Good friends. Good time.

Being the hungry woman Liz is (breakfast is her favorite meal, which is one of the reasons we get along so well) we set out to cook. Half an hour and half a Destroyer album later, we were all seated around the breakfast table with scrambled eggs/veggies, cut fruit, fresh granola, honey, coffee, orange juice and hash browns to fill our stomachs. We said a prayer of thanks for food, free time, nature and each other, and dished out the delicious meal that was about to ensue.
We sat and talked as and after we ate, discussing dream living situations. A good amount of us would eventually enjoy ending up in Portland some day, while the other half of us would love to stay in Phoenix. I'm divided.
After breakfast, we lounged around, did dishes, played music, and decided to go on a walk. The Apache Indian Reservation is walking distance from the cabin, so we decided to go check it out. Granted, it's kinda trespassing, but we weren't harming anything. In fact, I'm rather sure the walk harmed me more than anything. I got a really gnarly sunburn (all I wore over the weekend was tank tops, sans sunscreen) and every twig I stepped on stabbed me in the foot (I decided to wear my new hiking sandals.)
Nonetheless, it was a beautiful hike. And by that, I mean we found plenty of beautiful rocks and enjoyed the danger of being on Native American land, where "They can take any of your property and it would be totally legal." Or at least that's what Ben kept telling us. Other than that, the walk on their land was not particularly noteworthy.

The first horned lizard I've seen in real life!

One thing I noticed is that the trees were far more sparse on the reservation than they were in Pinetop. We found a few clearing areas with what logs fashioned into a rectangle on the ground, almost like a seating area.
We soon grew bored and climbed back through the fence to Pinetop. The forest on that side of the road was denser and greener, it seemed. We adventured a little bit more around the woods and found a horny toad lizard. That's right, folks. Two wild animals in one trip! I'd never seen one before, but he hissed at us just like my turtle hisses at me when I pick him up too quickly. We didn't corner him very quickly, but in an effort to get a good photo (and an effort on Ben and Cassie's part to catch him) he ran under a bush. Ultimately, this made him even more photogenic, as the shade from the bush  made it easier to see him.
We returned to the cabin around 2 pm and made sandwiches with some local bread, apricot preserves, bananas, honey and peanut butter. As usual, we tossed some veggies and/or yogurt on the side for a complete meal. (I really enjoy how healthy I eat when I'm with all these people!)
The aim of the day was to leave by 4 or 5 pm, as Cassie, Sydney and Ben had a night of backpacking ahead of them because they couldn't join us Friday night, and we had to leave Sunday night. Eventually, we got around to getting a few planks of wood to decorate and commemorate the weekend. Once we had successfully collaged one and signed the other, we placed them up against the wall on the second level of the cabin, packed our bags and said our goodbyes. By the time we left, it was 5pm. Liz slept most of the way while Jon and I discussed how we really enjoy Phoenix.
I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend spent outside in God's nature with a group of friends who enjoy healthy food, fresh air, backpacking and rest. I look forward to when I am finished with my summer classes and can go back with even more friends.

Pinetop Part 1: Backpacking

The most peaceful three days of my summer (thus far) have come to an end.
410 miles later, I am home with a backpack full of dirty laundry, a memory stick filled with photographs, and a heart full of contentment. I am also so full of stories that I'm splitting up my weekend into two posts: one for backpacking, one for time spent in Ben's cabin.
I may have had to work my hind off before I could leave for Pinetop early Friday morning (I anticipated not having internet for my summer online class) but that made my weekend spent with dear friends in the beautiful pines all the more meaningful.
Before a stop at REI Friday morning, I picked up Liz and Jon, two new but close friends. We made a pit stop at Recreational Equipment, Incorporated to get a sleeping bag for Liz, hiking boots for Jon, and a 4-pack of camping sporks for me. After that, we hit Shea eastbound, the 87, and eventually arrived in Pinetop! Our time spent in the car felt brief, perhaps because we used it to get to know each other better.
When we pulled up to the Peck family house, we were greeted by Ben's grandmother, who was out watering the lawn. We introduced ourselves and gave her hugs (who doesn't hug a grandma?!)
Before long, Ben heard the racket and came outside to find us. Hugs were exchanged, and before long, our camping equipment exploded all over his family's television room floor.
For three people, we sure had a lot of crap. When you add Ben's stuff to the mix, we had a lot-a lot of crap.
Once we arranged who was carrying what (I had Liz and I's tent, my mat, 4 liters of water, food and clothing) we caught up on life, ate freshly made granola, veggies and hummus, and hit the road. Our destination in mind was Mount Baldy--the second highest peak in Arizona.
Unfortunately, by the time we left the house, it was 4:30. Then we stopped and bought cans of soup to eat once we set up camp.
By the time we arrived at the Mount Baldy trail head, it was 5:30, and we realized we wouldn't be making it to the mountain that night.
We hiked until we realized the sun was going to set (about 2 miles, uphill) and went a ways off the trail to find a flat area to camp with our four tents.
Ben and Jon found a flat knoll with a few quaking aspens and large boulders. It looked good enough, so we set up camp, but not until we decided to put our packs down to climb around and venture among other rocks nearby.
Large and gray, the rock faces reminded me of Easter Island heads. Because all four of us are young and adventurous, we climbed on the rocks, trying to get a wonderful view of the forest below and above us.
It was absolutely amazing to take a moment and draw in the beauty that surrounded us. Green trees, soft moss, sticky sap, cold boulders, a blue sky, picturesque clouds. A lack of cell service. It was so beautiful and refreshing to be outside the reaches of humanity.
What was even more amazing was the owl that flew into our camp site and stared at us, curious. (S)he acted as if humans were aliens. And in a way, we were. Four kids from the city encroaching on nature's territory. After we got a few good photographs, the owl flew away and left us in astonishment.
Soon we set up tents, ate dinner and talked about life. I suggested we sleep in the next morning and not hike the 14-20 mile round trip to the summit of Mt. Baldy. I'm a terribly slow hiker when it comes to going uphill. Besides, I wanted to relax. Thankfully, everyone else was okay with my request.
After we set up camp and ate dinner, the boys went to hang the food in a tree somewhere uphill. They returned rather quickly, and joked that they had lost the food, thus turning our backpacking adventure into a new reality television show, "Starvation Island." Good thing they were joking.
Soon we decided to all lay on a rock and stare at the countless stars. Jon (God bless his city-slicker soul) hear the wind rush through the trees, and said "It's kinda comforting that we can hear cars from here."

The moon was very close to New Moon phase, which made for the perfect star-gazing experience. When we decided to go to bed (it was barely 10 pm) we took a long exposure photo, using our headlamps and lanterns to illuminate the camp site, and got an awesome photograph from it.
For being in the wild, we slept rather well. Jon thought he heard breathing outside his tent once, and I thought I heard a few twigs snapping in the middle of the night, but other than that, rest was uneventful. I was the last person to wake up (no surprise) once the sun had risen.
There was a strange amount of bugs in the morning. It was as if they only emerged in the cool dawn hours. We noticed they flew around, tended to land and then would not take off again. We called them morning bugs.

Forest / For rest / Faux-rest

After a refreshing breakfast of apples, granola and tea, we sat around and whittled away at sticks, logs, trees. Ben brought his slingshot, and we had plenty of rocks, so we found a strange-looking nest sort of thing in a tree about a hundred feet away, and proceeded to shoot rocks at it. In hindsight, it sounds like a terrible idea, but considering nothing flew out of the nest at us once I hit it, I'd say we were okay.
As for more destroyal of the environment, we carved a few things in trees. Nothing tacky, though.
Jon carved an owl. I carved a Hamsa , Liz and I carved "Starvation Island 2013." Ben carved "4 Morning Bugs," as well as the photograph you can see to the left. We kept them small, and hope to return to see them someday.

When we felt we'd been at our site long enough, we packed up our tents and food and headed up the mountainside we were on to get a glimpse of our surroundings.

A quick 10-minute uphill hike yielded a view of snow, tree tops, and more rocks. I handed my camera off to Ben so I could pose for photos for Liz, and so I could climb around on the rocks.

The view from atop the hill was absolutely exquisite. The clouds were my favorite shape--reminiscent of something from the Sistine Chapel or Toy Story. We sat down to each enjoy a granola bar in the shade, then we began our hike back down to camp.

We picked up our packs (we had already packed them) and headed out. We were aiming to be home in time for showers, dinner and church, and we were right on schedule.

The hike back to the car was much more pleasant than the hike to the site. For one thing, it was all downhill.
The meadow we hiked through was beautiful when we hiked in, but it was more beautiful when we hiked back out. There was a cool breeze, and rolling clouds. 

We stopped at the beginning of the trail and crossed the small stream we passed on the way in. To say I was cautious while hopping from rock to rock would be a joke, but my boots received no water anyway.

Before I knew it, we were back at the car. I took off my hiking boots, gave my feet air, and retreated to the back seat of Ben's XTerra with Liz, where we put our legs up, closed our eyes, and listened to Transatlanticism the entire trip back to Pinetop.

(Read Pinetop Part 2: The Cabin)