Flagstaff, AZ

Yesterday we decided to put a day off to good use. I recently picked up the July issue of Phoenix Magazine because I wanted to check out the "30 Summer Hikes" article. Obviously there are a ton of places to hike right in or around Phoenix but it is too damn hot to do them this time of year. So Keeper and I picked one up in Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest to do yesterday. We weren't sure how Chloe would do on a hike (worst-case scenario: she gets tired halfway through and refuses to walk anymore and we have to carry her back to the car...) so I chose a shorter, 6 mile hike called Sandy's Canyon Trail. We hit the road a little after 7:15am and drove north to the mountains. We stopped for gas about 20 minutes south of our exit and noticed that...it was cool outside! The temperatures were in the 60s! I wondered if I would get cold hiking in a tanktop...
We found the trailhead and started hiking. Sandy's Canyon Trail is tailored to viewing ancient sand dunes (see right). We started the hike at the top of a gorge and and then quickly plunged down a steep rocky trail. It felt weird to be in a lush, green forest after almost 3 weeks in the dry and dusty desert. Chloe was very good on the hike. She was fine when she met other dogs (and their owners) along the way and didn't get tired at all. After getting to the bottom of the gorge the trail opened up for a mile or so through a grassy meadow. I knew the weather was calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon and we saw some clouds and heard some far away thunder rumbles, but we kept on. The turnaround point was marked by a cave at the base of the dunes. It was really cool (see right). We decided to give Chloe some water (and cheese) and eat our lunch in the cave. When we noticed lightning outside I was glad we had refuge in the cave. The storm was right overhead and we decided to wait it out. There was no way I was going to risk getting struck by lightning by walking back through the open meadow anyway. Chloe, like most dogs was not thrilled about getting caught in a thunderstorm. In fact, she royally freaked out. After a half hour or so, the worst part of the storm had passed us but there were more dark clouds on the way, so we decided to take our chances and head back to the car. The trail had now turned into a giant mud puddle, which Chloe loved. Too bad she had just been groomed the day before. We ended up getting back to the car safe, but drenched and muddy. It was a gorgeous hike and I would definitely go back and do some others in the Coconino National Forest. Chloe was a champ as well. She didn't slow down once and I can't wait to take her again. On the way back we stopped at rest stop and I took some pictures of the scenic view (see below). We were not thrilled to get stuck in the worst traffic ever getting back into Phoenix. The drive home from Flagstaff should have taken us a little over 2 hours and it ended up being well over five.

New Addition

We have a new member of our family. Her name is Chloe
(changed from Rosalind. Not sure who names a dog Rosalind,
but I digress). We got her from a great shelter called AAWL (Arizona Animal Welfare League, I think). Chloe was a stray who was injured at some point. You can't tell here, but her tail is short and lacking in hair from that injury. She had only been up for adoption for about a week and they estimated that she's 2 years old.

June wanted a dog she could run with and our apartment has a 35 lb. weight limit on pets, so our options were limited. There were some other dogs we liked, but once we got to play with Chloe our choice was easy. She's a Chow Chow mix and we were warned she might be independent and more interested in herself than she is in us. That has not been the case. She's very friendly and attentive, and she's pretty darn cute. I don't know if she had ever been housebroken, but after the intial shock of her new home, we haven't had any accidents. We were also warned that she may not get along with cats, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's been fun watching her test the limits of what she can get away with. Teaching new limits to a 2-year-old dog is challenging, but she's a good dog (even if she likes to jump on the couch on occassion).

Arizona

The final day of our journey was pretty uneventful. We drove from El Paso, Texas, through southern New Mexico and then to Arizona. The picture to the right is of some rock formations driving through Black Canyon in southern Arizona.
We got to Phoenix on Monday July 9th, in the afternoon. We went to our new apartment right away to get the keys and check it out. Some of you may know that we rented our apartment "blind" because of poor reviews (and a murder) at the complexes we HAD looked at on our last trip to Phoenix. Fountains in the Green, however, had a very good feedback/reviews on apartmentratings.com. We live on the 2nd floor again, and although the living/dining rooms and kitchen are a bit smaller than our place in NJ, we like this apartment better. We have a covered deck about 3 times the size of our deck in NJ, we have a guest bedroom, and the new carpeting and modern cabinets/flooring are so much better than the 1970s crap we had in NJ. We also have a dishwasher and our own washer/dryer for the first time. It doesn't sound like much, but we are super-excited about it. The complex itself is all shaded by trees/vines/plants. There are orange and grapefruit trees everywhere. It's all stone walkways and fountains-- makes you feel as if you somehow stumbled into The Secret Garden. It's a much smaller complex than the place in NJ and we like it. Our neighbors are really friendly and we feel really safe with the gated entries/ nighttime security. Althouth Phoenix is a pretty spread out city, its a city nontheless and walking just a few blocks over is not something I would do at night.
Our moving truck did not come until Friday, July 13th so we were very grateful to have friends of Keeper's dad who were kind enough to open their home to us. My parents got to town Wednesday afternoon and I don't know how we would have unpacked without them. They were such a huge help. To the right is a picture of my parents near the hotel they had to spend a few nights in before our stuff got here in Anthem, AZ.
So we're all moved in now and learning the ins and outs of Phoenix. Our apartment is unpacked, we found good grocery stores (Trader Joe's!), and I joined a nearby gym (cheaper than NJ!). We're also learning that AZ drivers are worse than NJ drivers. Yes, I said it. People here somehow earned the priviledge to never have to signal when they're turning and they don't know how to step on the gas when lights turn green. I cringe at the thought of the winter months when the snowbirds arrive to ass the roads up even more.

Texas

Our next stop was Dallas, where we visited a friend who is very familiar with the town. He took us out for some excellent Mexican food and some excellent beer. It was nice to see someone we knew after being on our own for a few days.

The next morning it was on to Austin, with a stop at Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor, TX. Definitely worth going out of our way for. If you ever find yourself in between Dallas and Austin and hungry, you know what to do.

The picture to the left is us at Stubb's in Austin, our second stop of the night, after we hit a margarita bar on 6th St. No one told us that we would be the oldest people at Stubb's that particular evening, but we saw some OK bands nonetheless. Austin is the proverbial "nice place to visit..." We're not young enough or hip enough to live there, and many dirty looks from those who are (even 15-year-olds who are) ensued. It also seems a nice living can be made as a bum, as many have chosen the profession in Austin.

The next day was not so eventful. Jose Cuervo and Jack Daniels did not get along. A Denny's breakfast didn't do them any favors and some time was taken to recover. After a failed attempt to hang out at some hot springs (closed) and a sculpture garden (closes at 4:30), we regrouped and headed out for an excellent sushi dinner and some much needed sleep.


Gas is expensive in the middle of nowhere. Make note. That is all I have to say about west Texas.

Tennessee

We spent 3 days in Tennessee. The first night was spent in Kingsport. Not much there but we did have a fun little walk and picnic lunch at Bays Mountain Park. They had animal habitats set up for bobcats, otters, wolves, deer, and birds. The picture above is of Broadway in Nashville. We were there on a Monday night but still found some live country music to listen to. Nashville felt like the 1950's. The following day we moved on to Memphis. Despite the less than stellar hotel I booked on expedia, we had fun downtown. We spent some time on Beale Street and saw this guy and his blues band in a park. They were amazing. We also ate at two VERY good BBQ places in Memphis. We tried The Pig on Beale for dinner and had lunch the next day at Nealy's. We both preferred Nealy's! We spent the 4th of July touring the American Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. We both thought it was worth the admission fee. We left Memphis in the afternoon on July 4th and drove through Arkansas. We spent a very disappointing 4th of July night sans fireworks in Texarkana, Arkansas. We didn't find anything interesting enough to take pictures of in Arkansas. Enough said.

Saturday June 30th: York, PA to Charlottesville, VA

We started our trip by spending Friday night with my parents in York. This is a picture of us in their garden on the morning we left.

We got to Charlottesville in late afternoon and had way too much fun (I haven't drank that much since college-- d'oh!) with Keeper and I's college friends who now own a bar there. It was nice to start off the trip with friends we hadn't seen in awhile.

Leaving NJ

Here are some pics from Friday, June 29th, right before we left NJ. I must say, aside from my job, friends from work, students, soccer players, and Rik, Lexi, and Aidan we were not sad about leaving the Garden State.