Morning Run Observations

• Our hours of hiking didn't give me as much endurance as I'd hoped
• Snotsdale (just heard it, didn't come up with it) apparently likes to redo buildings, especially if they don't have a fountain in front of them
• The lemon, grapefruit, orange, and tangelo (what are they, anyway?) trees are full of fruit
• You can tell who is wealthy by their front yard setup; grass, two tones of gravel, or just plain gravel
• I saw a gansta' kid pick up garbage. It made me smile
• Down here, people clean up old cacti from their yard and throw them by the curb, instead of tree limbs
• Those plastic things that make the blinds open and close can make prisms on the wall

I rewarded myself for all those observations with a cookie.

Double-decker

When Pokes was here, we went to my first double-decker driving range. It was so neat! We hit off of the top level, and my hits looked way better than they really were. :)

Pokes crushing a ball.

Me, trying to crush a ball.

I learned that I can hit a golf ball over 150 feet :)

memorable moment in time

My dad called me last night, just to let me know that the recipe I asked for was being typed up by Mom in the big box on the 'send email' page. Was that what he was supposed to do?

I reassured him that it was. Apparently it takes two to send an email; Mom knows how to type, and Dad has the email address and login information (although when I tried to see if it was hotmail, gmail, yahoo, he wasn't really sure).

I was smiling when I got off the phone, pleased to be a part of their very first email experience.

And I did receive the email. :)

I am a survivor of the Superstitions Death March

dun dun dun.

We found out about this intimidating hike from a guy we met on our way down Flatiron (another hike in the Superstitions). He told us it was an 11.1 mile trek starting on one side of the Superstition Mountains and crossing many peaks to the other side. Pokes and I considered it, then decided we'd go for it, convincing roommate Sarah to come too.

I did a little research before we went out, and this is what I read:

An excerpt from an article on Trails.com

"This combination hike and scramble challenges even the hardiest of outdoor aficionados and earns its nickname of "Superstitions Death March." ... Despite the ridgeline's well-deserved reputation as the toughest hike near Phoenix, most hikers who tackle it love the experiece..."

As I packed my trail backpack, all I could think about was Uncle Ron getting lost in the desert, and I got a little nervous.

Morning of the hike came, and I woke tired, but excited. We left home in two cars, leaving one at Flatiron, and taking the other to our starting point.

Sarah gearing up with a Gatorade Prime.


I love the morning sun on the mountains!

Can you tell we were all pumped up to start??

About a mile and a half up our hike, the view was amazing. Our car is way down there somewhere.

We got lost a few times. The trail was marked by rock piles, or cairns, but we couldn't always find them, and were very happy to come upon one.

A windy day up top!!

Pictures can NEVER do it justice. We could see for miles and miles, as well as the mountain range and canyons spread out before us.

Pokes pleased with his find, after a particularly difficult search. At one point, we were off the trail for over an hour. I think this made us all slightly nervous, but we didn't voice our concerns, just our joy at finding a cairn.

A nasty slide down a desert mountain has acupuncture-like results.

This guy is something we called "huge and nasty". It was so rigid, and never let us pass nearby nicely.

We made it!!! It took us 8 and a half long, windy, cold, hot, thirsty hours. I am exhausted and my legs are sore, sore, sore, but I feel a sense of accomplishment. :)