First Half of September

Things I've Learned in Arizona and Arizona RID Conference

We've done so much since we arrived here that we needed a weekend off. So, instead of posting about something fun we've done, because there isn't really much to report, I will post about some of my observations and things I've learned while I've been here.

1. I. Love. Mountains! I never imagined that I would be learning to navigate a new city and using mountains as landmarks. I can tell which way is North by the shape of certain mountains and I can see how close I am to home based on how far away a mountain is. Also, mountains are beautiful. As the sun starts to approach the horizon, the shadows lengthen and each undulation of the mountainside comes into view. As evening falls, they turn from coppery reds and browns into royal blues and purples.

Labor Day Weekend Part 2

Fort Bowie and Chiricahua National Monument

Not a sign you want to see while driving.

Sunday we headed out to Chiricahua National Monument, which is an amazing area where, due to erosion, there are towering columns and balancing rocks. A few miles before the entrance, there was a pull off for the Fort Bowie National Historical Site. Not really knowing anything about it, we turned down the road. For 6 miles, we drove on an unpaved, rocky road, dodging potholes and bouncing up and down hills. When we finally arrived at the parking lot, we realized that the actual ruins of Fort Bowie were another 1.5 miles away, accessible only by hiking through desert scrub and rocky terrain. If we had planned appropriately, we might have done the hike. It looked like it would be a nice walk, but it was just too hot and we hadn't even gotten to the National Monument yet.

Labor Day Weekend Part 1

Kartchner Caverns

We stayed fairly close to home this weekend so we wouldn't have to pay for a hotel or a dog sitter. Saturday afternoon we drove about an hour away to Kartchner Caverns, which is an Arizona State Park. We had to wait around for over an hour to join the 4pm tour because the others were full. While we waited, we had fun taking pictures outside in the hummingbird garden.