On The Road Again

After visiting our friends in Tucson for a couple of days we went out on our own to see what we could see of the big AZ. Unfortunately this meant about 5 hours of driving one day, 6 the next, and 3 1/2 the next. All in all, we ended up putting more than 2000 miles on our Ford Mustang before the end of our 10 day trip.

The portable DVD player was a godsend. We had bought it with this trip in mind. I thought we would get its best value on the plane, but that thing worked wonders on our long car rides. We watched episode after episode of Backyardigans until the notes of the theme song were etched into the wrinkles of my brain. But it was worth it. Ava wasn't screaming. She wasn't flailing. There were only a couple of times that she tried to get out of her 5-point safety harness.

She took some good naps in the car too. For the past few weeks she's been covering her head with her blanket when she sleeps during the day. We'd give her her blanket, she'd realize that a nap might not be such a bad idea, she'd throw it over her head, and she'd be out for a couple of hours. Heaven... I'm in heaven.... Next thing you know, we're there.

On our way to the Grand Canyon we drove through the Red Rock Scenic Byway. It looked like someone with a huge finger pushed up massive sections of earth from underground. It just occurred to me that I don't know why the rocks are red. Maybe they have high iron content and it is all rusted. Rusty Rock Scenic Byway doesn't have the same ring to it though.


After Rusty Rock we drove through Sedona. Sedona is the kind of place that seems artsy-fartsy and touristy. I don't mind touristy, but I'm not so much into artsy-fartsy. Also, Sedona seems to be Mecca for psychics and purveyors of similar voodoo. One building we drove past had a big banner up advertising their "Psychic Convention". Too bad we missed that.


To avoid backtracking, we needed to drive on a winding road through Oak Creek Canyon towards Flagstaff. This canyon had some views that rivaled those of the Rusty Rock Byway. The drive reminded me of when Doni and I drove up a volcano (Haleakala) when we were in Maui on our honeymoon. There were sections of switchback after switchback. Thankfully, this time Doni wasn't sick while we were making 180 degree turn after 180 degree turn. After climbing several thousand feet they had a lookout point where you could see everywhere you had just driven. We stopped and Doni bought a bracelet from the Native Americans hawking their goods.

Doing all this driving, I had a lot of time to think. I kept thinking that there's probably a road that goes straight towards the Grand Canyon. I bet there is some poor Joe Schmo' that wasn't paying attention and drove right off the edge. I didn't want to be that poor Joe.

A couple of hours later we got to the Grand Canyon, or as I like to call it, The World's Biggest Hole in the Ground. The National Park Service was kind enough to sell us a 7 day pass to the park for the short time that we would be there. I half expect them to let out a sinister laugh every time they make 90% of the people who will only be there for the day buy a 7 day pass. It was busier than I expected considering not many people willingly choose to visit Arizona in the summer. Apparently we're not the only gluttons for solar punishment. After finding a parking spot we went to check it out.

There were some small sections that had railings with chain link fence below to hold young-in's in. I was pretty surprised that most of the edge didn't have any railing whatsoever. This is Grand Canyon National Park. Shouldn't my $25 entrance fee pay for a few more railings? Of course, Ava wanted to walk around on her own amidst such splendor and nearby danger. I don't think so Ava Av'. We stopped by a small museum/gift shop that was perched right alongside the edge of the canyon. They had large windows facing the canyon so Ava could get down and get as close as she wanted from the safety of indoors.



I heard that 7-8 people fall off the edge and die every year. There was a book in the gift shop called Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon that chronicles these deaths. Doni were afraid that we were on the verge of seeing one. A guy wearing sandals got near the edge and squatted down to get a picture. I don't know how you're going to get a different perspective by squatting when you're taking a picture of something so massive, but he was the one taking the picture. Anyway, in the act of squatting his left foot began to slip and he leaned forward. We held our breath in reverence for this gentleman's presumed last, and possibly most spectacular, accident. Thankfully he was able to find firm ground with his foot. He didn't even end up dropping his camera or touching the ground with his hands. If I was in his situation, I would have gone to ground. I'd be holding on to anything and everything so tight you'd have to peel me off of that rock. He just adjusted his foot and laughed as his wife made a joke about him falling off the edge. I considered that my exercise for the day because my heart rate was surely at or above its target range.

Let's Go! Get your Tucson!

We had a great couple of days with our friends Seth & Kindra (and their little boy Brandt). They moved out to Tucson from Indianapolis a few months ago and, through a series of events, were looking at possibly moving elsewhere. I won't go into why, but they seemed a lot more comfortable with their situation than I might have been. I'm convinced that their faith has kept them strong during this time.


Seth & Kindra were a part of the small group at our church before moving out to the Wild Wild West (only 70 miles from Tombstone, AZ). We occasionally have game nights with our small group and they always seemed to be the "game" type of people. We had a good time playing Euchre and Hoopla. Maybe too good of a time. If you walked by the window of their house, you probably would have suspected we were drinking we were having such a good time. Who needs alcohol to have fun, right?

One morning Doni, Ava, and I drove up Mount Lemmon outside of Tucson. Tucson's elevation is about 2000 ft and Mt. Lemmon's is about 9000. Seeing how the high for the day was going to be, oh, about 104 degrees, I was hoping it would be a little cooler up top. We found our way to the start of the road to the top. There was a sign that said "Risk of Fire" with an arrow pointing to "High". Apparently it is someone's job to keep that sign up to date. I want that job. Let's just think about this. It's Arizona. It's so hot plants just wish they could spontaneously combust to end the pain. Allegedly there is a monsoon season in Arizona, but I'm not buying it. Even if there is, ten months out of the year that sign is going to read "High" or "Grab the Fire Extinguisher". Do you think that job pays well?

I learned that there are a lot of bikers in Tucson. We're not talking the burly, Harley-Davidson type. We're talking the spandex, put-your-foam-helmet-on type. Even if I was an environmentalist, it takes a lot of conviction to bike in 100 degree plus weather. Not only that, but there were people biking up Mt. Lemmon. I tip my hat to these people. At the bottom of the road to Mt. Lemmon you have 7000 ft to pedal straight up in addition to all the pedaling you'll be doing horizontally. Their quadriceps must be like Redwoods.


We got to the top of Mt. Lemmon and there was a little town called Summerhaven. Seth had told us about a pie shop at the top of the mountain. Apparently these pies are to normal pies what a filet mignon is to a round steak. I had to try this pie. As we pulled into Summerhaven there was a place on our left called "Mount Lemmon Cafe" with a sign in the window that said "Pies". Unfortunately there was another sign on the door that said "Closed". In the words of Donkey: "You cut me deep, Shrek. You cut me real deep just now." The sight of two guys exiting the door with bowls of pie in their hands brought a ray of hope to my weary heart. I ignored the sign and walked in the door. It turns out they weren't "officially" open yet. They wouldn't be able to run the cash register for another 45 minutes until the owner came in to open. However, if I had perfect change I could pay that way. Being early in our vacation, all I had were a bunch of twenties and a couple ones in my wallet. They must be really proud of their pies too, because they charged $7 a slice. I walked back to the car dejected. When I told Doni what happened we decided we should just buy three slices and take some back for our friends. I walked back in the store with a smile on my face and walked out with slices of Strawberry-Rhubarb, Red Raspberry, and Blackberry pie. To say they were good is an understatement.