Texture...
Water...
And the best of all...
Horsin' 'round...
So, I was taking a day off my normal go-go-go (aka bike-bike-bike run-run-run) and was out off-roading in the truck, exploring an area southeast of home. Off the grid, I had already gone at least an hour w/out seeing another soul.
For some reason, I'd decided to throw my rarely-used cowboy hat on while in the truck today, even though I surely looked ridiculous with my running shorts and flipflops, but who would possibly even see me way out there? I rounded a corner and lo and behold I see a horse’s bootay sticking out from under a scrub tree. Poor thing was trying to beat the heat and at least keep his face in the shade. There were two more a few feet away, just chillin (in the 105F heat :)
Were they wild? I was on govt property (state/natl forest), but I hadn’t gone through any gates and I don’t think a cattleguard. But cattleguards are so common here that maybe I did cross one (or two or three) and just didn't notice. They wore no shoes nor had any saddle/bridle marks.
Of course, I’m a sucker and had to get outta the truck to make friends. And friends we became, all four of us. It took a bit, and by no means did they run up to greet me and ask me to saddle up. But they ‘knew’ I was a horse girl and saw that my eyes were the same color as theirs.
Turns out they were thirsty too. As soon as the one lowest down on the hill saw/heard me chugging out of my water jug, he stomped right up through the scrub and asked for some water -- more like demanded some. For a second, he drank out of my hand, but then impatiently nudged my hand out of the way and went straight for the mouth of the jug.
It was hard to leave those guys, but I’ll be back, with the hat.
A Big Ol' Half-dirty Loop....
A few days ago I did something that has intimidated me for years: rode up the twisty road in Oak Creek Canyon (89A from Sedona to Flagstaff).
It's not the steepness that scares me, it's the cars. If you've ever been on this road, you know that it's super tight, twisty, under the shade of the deep canyon walls and lots of trees, one of the most "beautiful scenic drives in the country", which inevitably means hordes of tourists who suddenly forget how to drive properly. The switchbacks themselves are even pretty remarkable, climbing their way out of this spectacular canyon alongside the ever-flowing Oak Creek up onto the Mogollon Rim toward Flagstaff.
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It's not the steepness that scares me, it's the cars. If you've ever been on this road, you know that it's super tight, twisty, under the shade of the deep canyon walls and lots of trees, one of the most "beautiful scenic drives in the country", which inevitably means hordes of tourists who suddenly forget how to drive properly. The switchbacks themselves are even pretty remarkable, climbing their way out of this spectacular canyon alongside the ever-flowing Oak Creek up onto the Mogollon Rim toward Flagstaff.
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| (Vintage postcards online :-) |
(Per Wikipedia, the canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty. The Oak Creek Canyon-Sedona area is second only to Grand Canyon as the most popular tourist destination in Arizona.)
While admiring the canyon's beauty, tourist drivers regularly swerve off the road, into the opposite lane, stop suddenly in the middle of the road to take photos, etc.. For myself and other locals who commute and/or actually have things to do in Flagstaff (like a job! appointments! etc!), it can terribly frustrating (sorry Lauren!), and we often despise driving through the canyon especially on the weekends or during tourist season. What could take 30 minutes with normal flow, can take 90 minutes of pure frustration. I often have to remind myself that it IS gorgeous in there and that it could be worse...WDC traffic...haha!
So, anyway, I've wanted to ride my bike up this for years, but feared being roadkill. So, a friend recommended doing it super early on a Sunday morn to avoid the traffic. Plus it's blazing hot this summer so the cooler temps at that hour would be nice.
I hate out-and-backs (I'm a loop girl!), so I opted to take the mountain bike with it's fatty tires and make a big day out of it...exploring dirt roads and singletrack up on the rim, then making a loop out of it and finally descending back down into Sedona via sweet singletrack (40-50 minutes of downhill depending). I doubled up the PSI in my tires for the paved ascent, then once I hit dirt, I softened them up a bit.
So, I did a few things that I normally don't prefer to do: set my alarm for 4am and wore a logo'd bike jersey (hoping that the bright colors would reveal me to any drivers). Downed some strong coffee and up I pedaled.
It was definitely slow-rolling as I knew I had a big day in front of me...guessed somewhere between 5-9 hours depending on the wide loop and on what new places I'd find to explore (and/or any mishaps). Water could be an issue as there are no stores along the way, but there is a natural spring (spiggot) half way up the canyon w/the fresh water from Oak Creek where I could refill my 2 bottles, as well as a lone gas station 30-40 miles into my route.
I hate out-and-backs (I'm a loop girl!), so I opted to take the mountain bike with it's fatty tires and make a big day out of it...exploring dirt roads and singletrack up on the rim, then making a loop out of it and finally descending back down into Sedona via sweet singletrack (40-50 minutes of downhill depending). I doubled up the PSI in my tires for the paved ascent, then once I hit dirt, I softened them up a bit.
So, I did a few things that I normally don't prefer to do: set my alarm for 4am and wore a logo'd bike jersey (hoping that the bright colors would reveal me to any drivers). Downed some strong coffee and up I pedaled.
It was definitely slow-rolling as I knew I had a big day in front of me...guessed somewhere between 5-9 hours depending on the wide loop and on what new places I'd find to explore (and/or any mishaps). Water could be an issue as there are no stores along the way, but there is a natural spring (spiggot) half way up the canyon w/the fresh water from Oak Creek where I could refill my 2 bottles, as well as a lone gas station 30-40 miles into my route.
 |
| (View from the top of the switchback (facing south). Finally saw the sun from here and started to thaw out.) |
Some tidbits and surprises:
-Saw very few cars in the canyon at that early hour. (West Fork lot was empty...gasp!)
-It's cold and windy in the canyon in the mornings. As in, I couldn't feel my fingers/toes til I hit the rim (roughly an hour and half later).
-Once up on the rim and on some of the old doubletrack jeep roads, actually did not see a single vehicle (2 hours?). (Hrmm, I wonder how many mountain lions/bears saw me??!!)
-Saw a few blonde elk.
-No mishaps on the bike.
-Was blistering hot by the time I descended back down the rim.
-Perfect amount of water and food for the day.
-And yes, Mom, I reapplied sunscreen, especially as I was up at over 7000' elevation for most of the sunny day. (Love my Kinesys travel-sized bottles!)
So, 70 miles, 4500' climbing (2500' in the first 18 miles or so; and about 1000 in a 2-3 mile section), and 7 full hours contributed to the fun log! The photos can tell the rest of the story, and you can see it was just a fantastic day on the bike....
 |
(Crossing an old dry lakebed.)  |
  |
(Had to hop on the interstate for about a mile to reconnect to dirt. Scariest part of the day, w/bigrigs whizzing by at 80mph, but not too bad.)  |
 |
| (Yay...alas the final Singletrack which descends back down...about a 1300 ft drop from here!) |
 |
| (Yes, we have non-red dirt here too :-) |
(On the final descent back into Sedona, down Schnebly Hill, via Munds Wagon trail/singletrack.)
Twas another good day on the bike!
In love.
No matter how tired I am after flying for months on end, there's nothing quite like that first glimpse out the plane window -- of a rugged mountain ridgeline or a deep dry river bed or a pristine forest carpet all so distinct to the Southwest to perk a girl up. And no matter how many fantastic places I've gotten to see around this globe, this is home. In love.
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| ( Click on this pic to enlarge, then scout out where YOU'D like to go! Trail or not. :) . |
Scouting the Whiskey, Testing a Lil' Injury & Takin' in the Views...
Bradshaw mountains, heading toward Skull Valley...
Tales from Crossing the Atlantic....
Like I shared w/most of you in January, my friend and #1 hero Dave headed across the Atlantic by sailboat (the Alexander Von Humboldt)...from Teneriffe to Barbados. Below is his initial recap (excerpt) of that adventure. Mind you, Dave does everything and I mean everything -- numerous times up/around/over Everest, Matterhorn, all sorts of sudamerica peaks, jumped naked w/a pacemaker (I heard!),, etc!. He's 70 (what?! already?!) and "forced" me on many of my own firsts: my first skydive, up my first real mountain (Whitney), and my first real bike
race (50 miles in Mexico...on a cruiser bike no less).
As told by Dave:
Well, we made it and the crossing was everything you could hope for . . .a wonderful experience on a beautiful old square rigger. . .I felt like I was sailing in and out of History. The Alexander Von Humboldt had neen retired and was destined for the scrapyard when an enterprising investor and his wife who had also been former crew members decided to save her. She couldn't meet the post 9/11 safety and security regulations for most of Europe and the USA but would be OK in the Bahamas. I was invited along by a friend of the new owners. . . "because you're a bit of a nutter and enjoy doing this kind of crazy shit"!
I joined the "Alex" in Tenerife after she had battered her way from Bremerhaven through the wintry North Sea and the Channel and then south past the Bay of Biscay to the Canaries.
We had a volounteer crew of some very experienced sailors. . .Cape Horners, round the worlders etc. Some had made more than 30 previous trips on the ship and were all basically "Alex Addicts", spending every holiday afloat . . and then there was me. . .the Junior70 year old unpaid, apprentice deckhand . . feeling the apprehension and excitement just like I did when I first saw the Matterhorn all those years ago.
I was the only Brit. . .everybody else was German so for me there was a bit of a language glitch since my basic knowledge of their native tongue was just a few words. . "Achtung". . "Schnell". ."Heil" etc. remembered from schoolboy comic books. They were however a grand set of shipmates and made me most welcome.
The ship has an engine which is used for emergencies and docking but we were under sail as soon as we cast off and clipping along at 10 knots within the hour. There were 25 on board including Captain Harald. . . a 6ft 6in. genial giant with a loud voice. . .When things got a bit exciting and we all had to move quick . .he was yelling his commands and I half expected them to be followed by the sound of a shot! When we had the last sail set. . .the "Spanker" sail at the stern . . .the Captain called everybody to the wheel area and produced a bottle of Bristol Cream Sherry which he opened and celebrated "Bisan Shot An". . .the first drink goes to the Ocean and King Neptune asking for good winds and fair weather. . .the bottle is then passed round ( a bit like the "Puja" ceremony in Everest Base Camp).
There was no self steering gear so the wheel was manned 24 hours a day and the deck duties split between three 'watches" . I was on the 8am til noon and 8pm til midnight which was great. They put me at the front of the ship as lookout for the first hour and on the wheel from 10-11. . .I figured that I spent over 90 hours steering her on a compass course and actually became quite good at it. After going off watch at midnight we had snack and a couple of beers or a glass of wine to wind down before crashing in our bunks. . . very civilized !
The first night was spectacular. . .a glorious sunset followed by an incredibly bright full moon . .I will never forget the view looking back from my watch position at the bow of the ship at the wind filled Emerald green sails highlighted by the moon . The "Alex" was the "Becks Beer" ship and the sails are green in deference to her sponser. We were carrying a few thousand bottles of Becks on board so we were probably the only ship that relied on beer ballast ! She has 25 sails and over 160 control ropes with various names. . clew lines, bunt lines, sheets etc. which I had to learn twice. . .once in English and then in German so that I could understand what everybody was yelling about. Our watch was usually pretty active. . .shortening sail for the night and then packing on everything for the daytime. . .This involved a lot of pulling and letting out of lines, sheets and I had blisters the first couple of days and sore hands for a couple more but now my palms are equal to any Irish Navvy.
Day two we had about 30 Dolphin tagging on to us and giving a two hour performance and later that day a pair of Orca. . .Killer Whales. . .something I never expected to see this far South. . .I thought that they were really large Dolphin at first until the rolled over and revealed the distinctive white underbelly.
On day three we met up with the brand new $20 million "Alexander Von Humboldt 2 " in mid ocean. . .She was built to replace our ship after she was retired . . we launched our lifeboat to take photographs. . Gotta say that our ship. . .the "Old Alex" is the better looking . . .Alex 2 sits higher in the water and has been likened to a "duck with sails". . . which is a bit unkind.
Day 4 was interesting. . .The Captain called a special meeting. . ."Ve haf some good news. . .und ve haf some bad news". . "First ze good news. . . ze vater maker is now fixed so you can all haf a shower". . applause, cheers. . ."Und now ze bad news. . .Ve are sinking". . .Oooops ! The106 year old steel plates covered in generations of paint had sprung a leak and water was pissing into the engine room. Not much of a choice really. . .we had a couple of thousand miles of unpredictable Atlantic to cross to Barbados . . . not a good prospect for a leaky old ship so we were heading for the nearest port in the Cape Verde Islands just off Africa. The leak was fixed in St Lucia harbor with an improvised saucepan lid and a washer cut from a divers neoprene wet suit bolted from the outside and then the inside section was filled with concrete. A Lloyds Surveyor flew in to check the patch and gave us permission for one last voyage to get to a repair facility. . .my home town and future home of the Alex. . .Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.! Now for the "mighty Atlantic "!
We had lost four days so it was "full sail ahead" and we were soon gobbling up the miles. I made my first sorties in the rigging climbing the 100 ft high main mast . . a totally exhilarating experience and not at all like rock climbing. . .rocks don't sway and heel over 20-30 degrees ! A fantastic situation. . .sitting on the very top yard arm of the Skysail with my legs dangling on the front of the sail and one arm wrapped around the windsock. . .my sailing Everest ! This and the top of the foremast soon became my favorite location on the ship.
The weather was generally breezy and fair with day after day of magnificent sunrises and sunsets but we did have our share of bouncy seas. . . .up to 20 ft waves some days with water pouring over the sides which meant clipping in the harnesses and sweating in foul weather gear. We all had our own bunks with wooden flaps that could be raised and bolted to stop you falling out during the wilder weather and I never had a problem falling asleep. As we neared Barbados the winds dropped off and we were crawling along so the Captain had a couple more "Bisan Shot An" sherry drinking episodes which were fun and seemed to produce better winds. The Chef's did their bit as well by serving cabbage on a regular basis to ensure that the crew could also function as a reserve wind by farting into the sails.
We arrived outside Bridgetown Babados on the afternoon of the 25th February and anchored. The next tradition was the "Captains Dinner" to celebrate the sucessful crossing and in this case say goodbye to Capt. Harald and the other crew members who were leaving. The Watch Leaders took over the serving stations and the Chefs produced an imaginative four course meal with various wines.
We docked in the harbor the next day just behind the biggest private yacht I have ever seen. . .a Mega ship belonging to the King of Bahrain. A visit to the Mont Gay Rum Distillery gave everybody a good alcoholic Buzz followed by a swim off the beach and a dinner of flying fish which is the local delicacy. We all stocked up with Rum again for the next and final stage of our journey . . . direct to Freeport.
Captain Ulrich (Uli) took over ( a two time Cape Horner) and we sailed out of Bridgetown on March 2nd to make an uneventful 14 day trip to Freeport heading through the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, along the North coast of Cuba and then into the Gulf Stream which actually pushed us a bit faster than planned so we arrived off Grand Bahama a couple of days early. A major welcome was planned so we had to drift around offshore until the 16th March ( drinking rum) and then entered Freeport Harbor in fine style. . . Everybody was dressed up in German Kreigsmarine Uniforms which was quite amusing . . .especially when all my family and friends saw me. We were escorted into the harbor by my son's boat and two Tugs that were doing a spinning dance with water cannons spraying. The Bahamas Defence Force Rangers Marching Band and the Bahamas Kids Choir greeted us with a rendition of the German and Bahamian National Anthems and then the speeches started followed by a dockside party. I spent that night in my own bed and couldn't sleep. . .I was so used to being rocked to sleep. . . finished up lying on the floor.
I made some really good friends on this trip. . . the sailing experience will never be forgotton and I have become an "Alex Addict". . .falling in love with this grand old ship. I think that one of my proudest moments was being presented with a "Crew" Shirt by the Captain and members of my watch. . apparantly I qualified. I seem to have learned something over the past six weeks and I am working to help train the new totally inexperienced Bahamian crew. . .At least I can show them that a 70 year old ancient can climb the masts and keep up with the best of them. .
We go out to sea for the first time tomorrow with the new crew and will be meeting another (British) Square Rigger the "Tenacious" for a race back to Freeport Harbor. . . should be quite a day.
race (50 miles in Mexico...on a cruiser bike no less).
As told by Dave:
I joined the "Alex" in Tenerife after she had battered her way from Bremerhaven through the wintry North Sea and the Channel and then south past the Bay of Biscay to the Canaries.
We had a volounteer crew of some very experienced sailors. . .Cape Horners, round the worlders etc. Some had made more than 30 previous trips on the ship and were all basically "Alex Addicts", spending every holiday afloat . . and then there was me. . .the Junior70 year old unpaid, apprentice deckhand . . feeling the apprehension and excitement just like I did when I first saw the Matterhorn all those years ago.
I was the only Brit. . .everybody else was German so for me there was a bit of a language glitch since my basic knowledge of their native tongue was just a few words. . "Achtung". . "Schnell". ."Heil" etc. remembered from schoolboy comic books. They were however a grand set of shipmates and made me most welcome.
The ship has an engine which is used for emergencies and docking but we were under sail as soon as we cast off and clipping along at 10 knots within the hour. There were 25 on board including Captain Harald. . . a 6ft 6in. genial giant with a loud voice. . .When things got a bit exciting and we all had to move quick . .he was yelling his commands and I half expected them to be followed by the sound of a shot! When we had the last sail set. . .the "Spanker" sail at the stern . . .the Captain called everybody to the wheel area and produced a bottle of Bristol Cream Sherry which he opened and celebrated "Bisan Shot An". . .the first drink goes to the Ocean and King Neptune asking for good winds and fair weather. . .the bottle is then passed round ( a bit like the "Puja" ceremony in Everest Base Camp).
There was no self steering gear so the wheel was manned 24 hours a day and the deck duties split between three 'watches" . I was on the 8am til noon and 8pm til midnight which was great. They put me at the front of the ship as lookout for the first hour and on the wheel from 10-11. . .I figured that I spent over 90 hours steering her on a compass course and actually became quite good at it. After going off watch at midnight we had snack and a couple of beers or a glass of wine to wind down before crashing in our bunks. . . very civilized !
The first night was spectacular. . .a glorious sunset followed by an incredibly bright full moon . .I will never forget the view looking back from my watch position at the bow of the ship at the wind filled Emerald green sails highlighted by the moon . The "Alex" was the "Becks Beer" ship and the sails are green in deference to her sponser. We were carrying a few thousand bottles of Becks on board so we were probably the only ship that relied on beer ballast ! She has 25 sails and over 160 control ropes with various names. . clew lines, bunt lines, sheets etc. which I had to learn twice. . .once in English and then in German so that I could understand what everybody was yelling about. Our watch was usually pretty active. . .shortening sail for the night and then packing on everything for the daytime. . .This involved a lot of pulling and letting out of lines, sheets and I had blisters the first couple of days and sore hands for a couple more but now my palms are equal to any Irish Navvy.
Day two we had about 30 Dolphin tagging on to us and giving a two hour performance and later that day a pair of Orca. . .Killer Whales. . .something I never expected to see this far South. . .I thought that they were really large Dolphin at first until the rolled over and revealed the distinctive white underbelly.
On day three we met up with the brand new $20 million "Alexander Von Humboldt 2 " in mid ocean. . .She was built to replace our ship after she was retired . . we launched our lifeboat to take photographs. . Gotta say that our ship. . .the "Old Alex" is the better looking . . .Alex 2 sits higher in the water and has been likened to a "duck with sails". . . which is a bit unkind.
Day 4 was interesting. . .The Captain called a special meeting. . ."Ve haf some good news. . .und ve haf some bad news". . "First ze good news. . . ze vater maker is now fixed so you can all haf a shower". . applause, cheers. . ."Und now ze bad news. . .Ve are sinking". . .Oooops ! The106 year old steel plates covered in generations of paint had sprung a leak and water was pissing into the engine room. Not much of a choice really. . .we had a couple of thousand miles of unpredictable Atlantic to cross to Barbados . . . not a good prospect for a leaky old ship so we were heading for the nearest port in the Cape Verde Islands just off Africa. The leak was fixed in St Lucia harbor with an improvised saucepan lid and a washer cut from a divers neoprene wet suit bolted from the outside and then the inside section was filled with concrete. A Lloyds Surveyor flew in to check the patch and gave us permission for one last voyage to get to a repair facility. . .my home town and future home of the Alex. . .Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.! Now for the "mighty Atlantic "!
We had lost four days so it was "full sail ahead" and we were soon gobbling up the miles. I made my first sorties in the rigging climbing the 100 ft high main mast . . a totally exhilarating experience and not at all like rock climbing. . .rocks don't sway and heel over 20-30 degrees ! A fantastic situation. . .sitting on the very top yard arm of the Skysail with my legs dangling on the front of the sail and one arm wrapped around the windsock. . .my sailing Everest ! This and the top of the foremast soon became my favorite location on the ship.
The weather was generally breezy and fair with day after day of magnificent sunrises and sunsets but we did have our share of bouncy seas. . . .up to 20 ft waves some days with water pouring over the sides which meant clipping in the harnesses and sweating in foul weather gear. We all had our own bunks with wooden flaps that could be raised and bolted to stop you falling out during the wilder weather and I never had a problem falling asleep. As we neared Barbados the winds dropped off and we were crawling along so the Captain had a couple more "Bisan Shot An" sherry drinking episodes which were fun and seemed to produce better winds. The Chef's did their bit as well by serving cabbage on a regular basis to ensure that the crew could also function as a reserve wind by farting into the sails.
We arrived outside Bridgetown Babados on the afternoon of the 25th February and anchored. The next tradition was the "Captains Dinner" to celebrate the sucessful crossing and in this case say goodbye to Capt. Harald and the other crew members who were leaving. The Watch Leaders took over the serving stations and the Chefs produced an imaginative four course meal with various wines.
We docked in the harbor the next day just behind the biggest private yacht I have ever seen. . .a Mega ship belonging to the King of Bahrain. A visit to the Mont Gay Rum Distillery gave everybody a good alcoholic Buzz followed by a swim off the beach and a dinner of flying fish which is the local delicacy. We all stocked up with Rum again for the next and final stage of our journey . . . direct to Freeport.
Captain Ulrich (Uli) took over ( a two time Cape Horner) and we sailed out of Bridgetown on March 2nd to make an uneventful 14 day trip to Freeport heading through the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, along the North coast of Cuba and then into the Gulf Stream which actually pushed us a bit faster than planned so we arrived off Grand Bahama a couple of days early. A major welcome was planned so we had to drift around offshore until the 16th March ( drinking rum) and then entered Freeport Harbor in fine style. . . Everybody was dressed up in German Kreigsmarine Uniforms which was quite amusing . . .especially when all my family and friends saw me. We were escorted into the harbor by my son's boat and two Tugs that were doing a spinning dance with water cannons spraying. The Bahamas Defence Force Rangers Marching Band and the Bahamas Kids Choir greeted us with a rendition of the German and Bahamian National Anthems and then the speeches started followed by a dockside party. I spent that night in my own bed and couldn't sleep. . .I was so used to being rocked to sleep. . . finished up lying on the floor.
I made some really good friends on this trip. . . the sailing experience will never be forgotton and I have become an "Alex Addict". . .falling in love with this grand old ship. I think that one of my proudest moments was being presented with a "Crew" Shirt by the Captain and members of my watch. . apparantly I qualified. I seem to have learned something over the past six weeks and I am working to help train the new totally inexperienced Bahamian crew. . .At least I can show them that a 70 year old ancient can climb the masts and keep up with the best of them. .
We go out to sea for the first time tomorrow with the new crew and will be meeting another (British) Square Rigger the "Tenacious" for a race back to Freeport Harbor. . . should be quite a day.
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Quick Shout-out....
I'm back in the red rock playground, so no time to waste on this blog. Just a few shout-outs from recent travels definitely worth mentioning....
- Safe travels
- Wild & crazy dogs
- Puppies (of same crazy dogs, who happened to be brother & sister...wth?!)
- Coffee....appreciated all over the world!
- Asiacell !
- New pink trainers
- Good friends who apparently enjoy shoveling snow (gracias!)
- Javelina tracks in the snow (in March? wth??)
And of course, my favorite day....the first day of Spring! Bring it!
- Safe travels
- Wild & crazy dogs
- Puppies (of same crazy dogs, who happened to be brother & sister...wth?!)
- Coffee....appreciated all over the world!
- Asiacell !
- New pink trainers
- Good friends who apparently enjoy shoveling snow (gracias!)
- Javelina tracks in the snow (in March? wth??)
And of course, my favorite day....the first day of Spring! Bring it!
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