Getting to Know the Cactus

Being a lifelong resident of Alabama means cactus aren't something I see only a daily basis... or really ever.  Other than the random cactus at Lowe's my sister and I stupidly decided to rub our hands over as elementary school students, I don't have much experience with cactus.  Before I traveled out West, when I thought of a cactus this is the image that came to mind:

 

Since I have traveled out West, I have become much less naive.  This trip specifically introduced me to real cactus.  You know what... all cactus do not have two arms that are perfectly placed.

On the Sunday of our trip we decided to head down to Tuscon to visit Saguaro National Park.  When I say we, it was us three girls again but we traded in our boy.  Michael did not come but my father-in-law Peter joined us.  He had been in the Netherlands the entire time we had been out there so we are glad he got back just in time for us to spend some time with us.

The park gets its name from the Saguaro cactus which only exists in the Southwest region of the US and some parts of Mexico.  

Upon our arrival to the National Park, we checked out the visitors center where we were invited to join in the watching of a video.  I SO wish I could find this video somewhere on the internet to post.  I could not help but laugh during pretty much the whole thing.  I tried so hard to contain my laughter, which made it even funnier.

Some may call me disrespectful for my laughter and I by no means intend to offend anyone, but I found it hard to keep a straight face as the narrator went on and on and on about how the cactus in the Saguaro Desert are our relatives.  I'm pretty sure at one point it was implied that the cactus used to be humans.  I was also informed that as I was walking through the desert I was not to be concerned about stepping on a rock or running across a rattlesnake.  What I was to be concerned about was respecting my relatives and honoring the fact that a bobcat might have laid there.

After the video we headed over to the exhibits, where we got to spend a lot of time with our "relatives".  This is our cheerleader relative.

We really learned a whole lot about the cactus.  It really is a fascinating creation.

 

A cactus does not grow its first arm until it is 50-75 years old.  That was shocking to me!  Some cactus live to be over 100 years olds.

Some cactus have holes in them.  What happens is a bird basically drills a whole in the cactus and then leaves.  The cactus knows the hole is an injury so it creates an internal patch that prevent water from leaking out of the hole.  This patch creates what is known as a boot.  Once this boot is created, the bird returns and lives in the boot.

These cactus don't soak up any water during the winter rains.  They all soak up water during the summer rains.  That was surprising to me.  You'd think living in the desert they would soak up rain anytime they could.  I will vouch that it was quite hot out there in the 100 degree weather.  Obviously, though, this system is working quite well for them.

After our adventures with the cactus, we headed back to Phoenix but not before stopping at In N Out.

So this is the last adventure of our Arizona trip.  Sarah and I both had a blast and our so thankful for our awesome tour guides!

*Note: I looked up the plural use of cactus.  According to Wikipedia, you can use cacti or cactuses but in Arizona people prefer to use cactus for both singular and plural.  Since I was in Arizona I assumed I would do what the Arizonians do.

Oak Creek Canyon

Friday- Oak Creek Canyon

In 2007 I went to Arizona and discovered what has become my favorite place... Oak Creek Canyon.  Here we are then:

 

 

When Sarah and I were planning our trip to Arizona, I knew that Oak Creek Canyon had to be one of our destinations.  Unlike the Grand Canyon, the hike is very flat since you are already at the bottom of the canyon.  It runs along the creek and at times you even get to hike into the water. So fun!  Not only is it fun, but it is absolutely beautiful.

So, when we left the Grand Canyon we headed towards Oak Creek Canyon stopping in Flagstaff for some Chipotle.  Oak Creek Canyon is near Sedona.  Our original plan was to find a place in Sedona to camp and then get up in the morning and do a long Oak Creek Canyon hike.  However, it was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and apparently everyone wanted to spend their long weekend camping.  The campgrounds did not accept reservations so it was first come, first serve.  Apparently the campgrounds were full starting Wednesday night.  So, no camping for us.  

Instead, we spent the afternoon hiking Oak Creek Canyon.  Although we did not get to spend as much time as originally planned, I loved every minute.  It really is my favorite.  Sarah liked it too, but I'm pretty sure the Grand Canyon was her favorite... more hard core.

Sarah and I ended up hiking by ourselves most of the time as Michael decided to go slow and take pictures, and Julie stayed back at the trailhead due to her dislocated shoulder, which she dislocated right before the trip.  Bummer, right. But we were so glad it did not prevent her from coming!

After our Grand Canyon adventure the day before, I must say it was nice to look up and know that I didn't have to actually climb up.

 

 Sarah and I had tons of fun on our hike and playing in the water.  The only mishap was when I stepped in a huge ant bed... but we survived.

 

 

 

 

And this is where we turned around....

 As we made our way back towards the trailhead, look who we found...

 

I'm ready to go back!

 

After our hike we once again tried to find somewhere to stay with no success.  We stopped and ate dinner in Sedona at Cowboy Club.  Sarah and I split an antelope burger.  After dinner, we headed towards Phoenix.

Hello... my name is Fred.

 The old saying goes, "What goes up, must come down."  In our case, "What goes down, must come up." Once hiking 5 miles down into the canyon to Roaring Springs, it was time to start our ascent to the top of the canyon.

Now I'm not even going to pretend that I am in as good of shape as Michael and Sarah.  Michael is a track and cross country runner and Sarah is just in really good shape.  I am not -not in shape- but I'm not at their level.  So, I must say that I agree with the guy on the mule we encountered on our way down, "5 miles down, 20 miles up." 

I spent most of my time with this view (one of our friends we met with a big pack is in the picture too):

 Okay, maybe more like this view (If you look close enough you can in fact see them, and yes that is my finger in the corner because at this point I didn't care enough to pay attention).

Sarah and Michael at times would get so far ahead I couldn't see them.  They would stop every once in awhile to wait on me claiming they wanted to make sure I hadn't fallen off the edge.  I claim they needed a break.

To me, this was an incredibly challenging hike.  Up. Hill. All. The. Way.  I had to stop every now and again to catch my breath.  Michael and Sarah waited for me at the Supai Tunnel.  Remember the picture from the previous post? The second time we encountered this tunnel, I had long shed my leggings and added a hat.

It was at this point that we encountered a park ranger.  I immediately asked, "how much longer?" and she responded "1.7 miles.  You've done the hard part."

So I think to myself.... 1.7 miles.  I got this.  I got it alright but it was THE longest 1.7 miles of my life.  At this point there is a lot more foot traffic because a lot of people just go down to the tunnel and back up.  I told Sarah and Michael not to worry about me anymore since there were people around and to just meet me at the top.

That plan was going just fine until I caught up with Michael and Sarah because they got stuck behind these guys:

note: at this point taking pictures was the last thing on my mind so thank you source

You can only pass the mules at certain points deemed safe and they had not yet reached one of these safe points.  I learned a lot about a pack of mules.  1.  They smell. 2. They stop every little bit to snack on grass.

It was at these snacks where I earned my nickname.  The very last mule in the group was always the slowest one to get started once the mules started going after a snack.  The guy riding him had to make quite an effort to get him to move and keep up with the group.  He would say, "Come on Fred!" over and over again.  By the time we were finally able to pass the mules, we, along with the other people that got caught behind them too, knew who Fred was and that he was the slow one in the group.

As we passed them, I was deemed the Fred of my group.

Once we passed the mules, Sarah and Michael took off.  I ended up walking with a nice family from New York.  They informed me that I may be the Fred of my group but was the fearless leader of their group (I think they were just as worn out as I was at that point!)

Every person we saw coming down into the canyon I would ask "how much farther."  We passed one group of people who had to be in their late 60s or early 70s.  I heard one lady saying how it was such a pleasant hike down but bet it was more difficult on the way up.  I told her as I passed, "Look at me. I think I'm proof it is difficult!"

FINALLY I reached the end of the trail.  When I saw it was the end, I sprinted.  Sarah and Michael were already at the finish and Michael had left to go get the car.

My New York friend took this shot for us.  We did it!

Sarah and I both agreed that it was the most difficult hike we had ever been on.  Her response, "But I'm ready for more difficult ones."  She is ready to hike the 13.6 miles down to Phantom Ranch.  I'm not so sure about that!

It was challenging but I am SO glad that I did it!  I feel like going to the Grand Canyon and just looking at it is one thing, but going and experiencing it takes it to a whole new level.  Going down into the Canyon really made me realize how massive it really is.  It is truly amazing and shows the mightiness and creativity of God.

I would do it again... I would just bring a 3 liter Camelbak instead of a 2 liter.  I ran out of water with about 1 mile to go.

After our epic hike, we were greeted by my mother-in-law who had spent the day enjoying the sites of the canyon, reading, and dealing with squirrels who wanted to hang out in the Silver Bullet.  She has hiked all the way down to the canyon and back up in one day.  Makes my 5 miles down and up look at little shabby! We set up our campsite and ate yummy burgers.




We then drove to Point Imperial

Which was beautiful

But windy and very cold.

We next hit up the lodge for a visit to Brighty

And look at a few other views of the canyon.

My trip to the Grand Canyon was definitely something I will never forget.  I am so thankful I had the opportunity to see something I had always heard so much about.  Plus, I am so glad I got to make the trip with such fun people.

By the way- the next morning we ran into one of my New York friends at the general store.  She said, "Hey Fred!"

Graduation Celebration

In 2007, my sister Sarah graduated from high school and I graduated from Samford.

Four years later we had a double graduation again... with her graduating from Samford and me from UAB.   Sarah graduated on May 13 with a degree in accounting and will start working for PWC in the Fall of 2012.  During her off time she will be studying for the CPA exam, going to grad school, and hopefully doing some really cool things and taking some fun trips.

I did not actually go through graduation this time so did not have a camp and gown.  My sister's friend's mom did make me take a picture in Sarah's graduation hat though.

 
I spent the morning of Sarah's graduation with her and her roommates.  Because Samford's Business School (The Brock School of Business) graduated on Friday while the Arts & Sciences graduated on Saturday, two of her roommates did not graduate on the same day as her.  They did however put on their graduation attire to snap some pictures.
 

Sarah had many supporters at her graduation including:

Our parents...

Our sweet grandmothers...

Our Aunt...

And, of course, her favorite sister...

Note: JP was unable to attend because he had to work.  However, I know he was very sad he did not get to see his favorite fellow accounting major walk across that stage!

 After the graduation, we celebrated with a yummy meal at Do-Di-Yos.

 Other than her graduation day, Sarah and I celebrated her graduation both before and after.  The weekend before her graduation Sarah, her roommate, JP, and I went on an epic 13 mile hike at Oak Mountain State Park.  We also grilled hamburgers at her house.

After graduation we celebrated with a trip out West which also included an epic hike.  No worries, you will get to read all about this trip next week.

Thanksgiving 2010

JP and I traveled to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

We enjoyed eating here...

and here...




and climbing this mountain...

photo from here

but most of all, we enjoyed hanging out with these people...







ps. Michael took our Christmas card pictures...
This is the most normal picture we got of the two of us at any point in time during our trip. Our Christmas card will not be serious...