Winter in Arizona

For the last month nothing too exciting has been happening here. I got cut twice so I haven't been able to do a whole lot of physical activity. A couple weeks ago the dermatologist had to cut some skin out of my back which led to a bunch of dissolvable stitches and four big ones. Last Monday while getting the sutures removed in my back I got cut up again right below my chest with almost a dozen dissolvable stitches and 3 big ones. So basically I have been spending a lot of time sitting on my butt. I had just started a daily kettle belt routine which was doing wonders for me and had to stop that as well.

 

Anyways these are the most exciting events we've had in the last month. About a month ago I took Adri hiking at Cave Creek. At the visitor's center they have snakes, scorpions, spiders, tarantulas, etc but this day they also had a show going on with a lot more snakes. After looking at all the critters I took Adri on a 3.5 mile hike through the desert on the Slate Trail.

 

A couple days after my first surgery I decided it was time to take Adri up the peak behind our house. I work from home on Sundays so after work I decided to go. I couldn't carry her so I wasn't sure she would make it. Natalie was sure she wouldn't especially since she was already tired from the playground. It's a pretty tough hike as it's 400 feet in elevation gain, there is no trail going up, and it's climbing one rock at a time trying to find your way up and hoping you don't hit some loose rock and go sliding down. Well I'm proud to say the kid made it up. She had to hold my hand the entire way but other than that it was all her. She did fall a couple times and got some bruises on her butt but other than that no injuries.

 

Once we hit the base of the hill she was already saying she was tired and wanted to stop. I kept on pushing the kid though. She needs to toughen up for the zombie apocalypse. I just told her I'd be really proud if she makes it up. Of course her response is "If I make it up there do I earn a popsicle when I get home"? When we got to the top we called Natalie and had her go out to the middle of the street so we can wave at her. All I could see from up there was a black shadow in the street. We took a trail down the back side because it's too dangerous going down the way we came up. It was longer, still a challenge, and Adri was crying that she's tired long before we got home. Most of the way down the hill Adri kept asking if I am proud of her for making it to the top. Actually two weeks later I still here it from her every day. When we got back to the street we saw a baby gopher snake in the street so I grabbed a stick to play with it.

 

A couple days later we went hiking again at Cave Creek. This time the whole family went. On the hike back, almost at the car, we ran into a rattlesnake. This one wasn't nearly as aggressive as the one I almost stepped on at Daisy Mountain. This one about 2/3 the size of the one at Daisy and we heard it when we got about 7-8 feet from it. It was on Adri's side and stopped rattling after just a second or two so at first I didn't know what it was. I looked in the bush and could see him all coiled up. Natalie with her expert (sarcasm) outdoor experience started yelling for Adri to go back to her, 150 feet back in the parking lot. Luckily when I yelled at Adri to stop and get her butt back next to me she listened. This thing was so timid that when I chucked some rocks it's way it wouldn't even rattle.  So after taking a couple pictures of the snake he decided to retreat. Once he was far enough away and on the retreat I snapped a picture of Adri with the snake in the background.

 

After this hike my feet were very sore. I've been to a specialist a couple times in the last two months because of my feet not thinking the problem was my boots since they still appear to be in good shape. I had x-rays done and the doctor couldn't find anything except the fact that my shins were really tight. Well a couple days after this hike I went back to the doctor and told her it appears the hiking is what is irritating it. She told me to see if I can bend my shoes. Sure enough my boots bend like a taco and the front can touch the tongue. Had to invest in some new hiking boots and they weren't cheap.

 

 

At the top of the peak

Anthem behind her

Behind Adri is Daisy Mountain

Adri with our neighborhood in the background

After hiking down the backside.

Zach at Cave Creek.

Playground at Cave Creek.

I found this nice comfy cactus to sleep on. I felt like a monkey laying there.

Rattlesnake in the bush.

Rattlesnake taking off.

Adri showing me she's scared of the snake.

 My hike with Adri on the Slate trail.

The rock on the trail looks pretty cool.



Well it's been a really busy month. After getting back from California we had to pack up to move out of the valley of hell. Moving became a lot more fun when I ended up on call the week before the move and we had the biggest SNAFU of all time at work which is still an on going issue.

 

On Friday June 20th my dad, my twin, and her family came out to help us move. I thought for sure we were going to be unloading the truck until 5 the next morning. But we started up at 3 and had the apartment all packed up by 8:30. Did a quick shampoo of the carpet and out the door by nine. This is when the fun part started. I had the worst rental truck in my history of moving. The U-haul I drove from Florida had some messed up steering but it was nothing like this one. I had picked it up earlier that afternoon in Anthem and drove it down to Chandler. I've still been having problems with my neck and this truck really set it off. I couldn't move the seat up, the door frame was busted so air was getting in, and the truck was drifting. So I was sitting far back with my arms stretched out at 10 and 2 holding on for dear life. 10 minutes into the nearly hour long drive and my hands started tingling. By the time I got to the apartment my neck was on fire and both hands were numb. About half way into the move I couldn't take it anymore so I laid down and had my dad pop my back. Immediately all the pain was gone. So now for the drive back. I didn't have my arms go numb on the way back up but the truck kept drifting. I was only driving about 60 most of the way because the truck would drift to the left, I would try to correct it, it would drift right, and I would go through trying to correct it at least five times each time slowing down into the 40s while trying to do so. It was a little nerve racking. I think it's time for them to retire that truck.

 

Anyways we got up to Anthem at around ten that night and unpacked in just 90 minutes. Of course half the stuff just went in the garage so it was all the much easier. About 15 minutes after we got there Jeff found a dead scorpion on our front porch. I guess it was there to welcome us, I haven't seen one since. I had the truck back before midnight and was in bed before 2 Saturday morning. I thought I was gonna get to sleep in but I got work calls starting at 8 even though I was no longer on call. Us guys went back to Chandler and got the apartment cleaned up and turned in the keys. Then we came back to the house and put in a misting system on the back patio. The most redneck part of the day was when we went to the grocery store in my Honda and bought a kiddie pool. We considered buying the bigger one and my dad and Jeff would hold it above the roof of the car when I drive. Instead we got the smaller one and crammed it in the back seat with my dad.

 

The plan was to go shooting Sunday morning but Jeff didn't want to get up at 4 to go shooting. Just as well. I spent a couple more hours on the phone with work that morning using my hotspot as a phone.

 

I think it was that Sunday that I took Adri on our first hike. We live right up in the hills so we only need to walk a block to be out in the desert. Adri and I have taken quite a few hikes already looking for rocks, bunnies, and coyotes. So far, no coyotes.

 

So now we're mostly moved in. We finally got internet yesterday. That was a hell of a task. I ordered it a few days before we moved in hoping it would be hooked up the day we got there. Didn't happen. Century Link blows. SNAFU after SNAFU after SNAFU and we finally got internet yesterday.

 



 

Chub-zilla

She loves holding baby brother.

First lychees of the season. So far the best lychees I've had. A hint of raspberry flavor.

I think this was her second to last night being 3 years old.

Adri came in one night wearing my punisher t-shirt. She comes up with the craziest things. This time she came in the room and told me "Look at me. I'm a Mexican Scott Bone".

Zach being funny. I really should have got video. He was dipping forward moving left to right then back up looking all around.

The grumpy face is because Natalie wouldn't make her oatmeal.

"I came out of where?"

Adri and I taking our last hike in the valley of hell.

 



 

 

The new neighborhood. I finally made it to the top of that hill tonight. It's harder than it looks. Especially when it's over 100 outside.



Our first hike. Of course she had to take pony with her.

A cool quartz rock we found.

We found a blue crystal on our first hike. So far I haven't found anymore.

I thought this was cool.  A battle between a fish hook barrel cactus and a cholla cactus. Looks like the barrel cactus is winning.

Natalie and Zach have made it on one hike so far.

Our neighborhood.

Another rock I found.

Zach's first time eating cereal.

Adri took these pictures of me.

A big dead Saguaro cactus. We found a tortoise shell right next to it.

And that's all for this post. I'll post pictures from my hike to the top of Anthem on the next one.