Spring Break

Spring Break! Could I have needed a break any more, I am not sure, but with basketball and teaching we escaped to Phoenix. We were staying with Jacqueline's Uncle Bob and Aunt Bobbi at their house in Scottsdale. It was a big beautiful house with an excellent view. We spent some time soaking up the sun, shopping, and trying to go to a spring training game, but of course we had to get out for a hike. So we took a drive to Tonto National Monument, a couple hours away from Phoenix. It was right near a very big lake, Lake Roosevelt, and the greenery in Arizona this time of year was a sight to see after the white of winter we had been seeing every day in Norwood. Today we had a large contingent of people to enjoy the day with. Along with Bob and Bobbi, Jacqueline's Aunt Kris, Jacqueline's dad Tom, Bobbi's sister Wendy, and the two dogs Bailey and Jasper joined Jacqueline and I. The temperature was perfect in the low 80s and there was only one hike to do in Tonto National Monument without a guide, so we took it. It was a paved path from the visitor center up to a set of ruins from the Salt River Valley Salado Indians. We were very ruin happy lately, but these were different because instead of being Anasazi Indians, these were a different group of cliff dwellers. Their home was high in the cliffs, so we had a short uphill hike to get there. The desert scenery was great with big saguaro cacti and other cacti to line our path. Everyone was doing fine with the hike and the pregnant lady was happy because she had the camera. She took many pictures. The other neat thing near the ruins was the Africanized bee hive. It was to the left of the ruins and they were very active. After seeing Discovery channel shows on Africanized bees, I was going to steer clear of annoying them. We checked out the ruins and laughed at the dogs doing silly stuff. We had to head down the same way to drive back into town and get some lunch. Everyone was happy that they got out and enjoyed the Arizona sun on a beautiful day.

Monument Valley

It was the weekend again and this time Jacqueline was being very ambitious. She had so much fun camping the last weekend that she wanted to get out of town almost immediately. So we got everything packed and were out of town Friday night. The problem with that in the spring, or even late winter you could call it, was that we rolled into the Sand Island Campground outside of Bluff, Utah, after dark. We found an area that would be all to ourselves except one vehicle. Jacqueline found it creepy though so we went to the other part of the campground where there were people and found a campsite in the dark. Jacqueline was not as pleased with this experience. It is definitely different to roll in after dark. 

When we awoke, though, we had some good stuff to check out. Sand Island has some neat petroglyphs. There is actually a huge panel unknown to most out there unless they manage to surf the internet looking for a campground near Bluff. We walked a short trail and took quite a few pictures. It was looking like it was going to be a good day to be out and this was just the beginning. We got in the Xterra and drove toward Monument Valley. Along the way, we took a small detour to see Mexican Hat. I drove by Mexican Hat probably a half dozen times but never found the time to get out of the car and take an actual picture. We kept on driving because our destination on this day was Monument Valley. Jacqueline had never been and always wanted to go, so we went. We got to the visitor center nice and early. 

They were still working on opening it, but the pregnant lady had to use the facilities, so she was glad that it was open. We decided that we wanted to take the scenic drive, which this time of year, personal vehicles could take. The last time I went, it was only for guided trips. The road was a lot rougher than Jacqueline expected. Soon she was getting rather worried about how all the shaking was impacting the baby. First the baby was really active and then she wasn't. I reassured her that if all it took was a little shaking in a car on a dirt road to hurt a baby, we probably would not have as many healthy people out there. 

But there is not much you can say to a worried soon to be mother to calm her and she began to feel more and more sick to her stomach, most likely from worry. We continued the drive though and the cliffs were really beautiful. It was not quite our style though as we were not the dirt road driving enthusiasts. We were both happy when it was over and we could get out on the trail and do a little hike. The only trail in Monument Valley is the Wildcat Trail. This one left from right by the campground. We figured that with all the people there we could not get lost trying to find the trail, but instead of going right at the beginning, we went left and got ourselves all backwards and had to backtrack back to the trailhead to find the actual trail. It was a pretty hike that took us first downhill and then to a junction where we went right around the loop. Jacqueline was doing great with the hike being so pregnant, though we were moving slower and taking more breaks, it was still fun to be out. She was still paranoid about the baby having not felt her. She had been feeling her so frequently that this was different. I told her that it was from all the motion, but she was starting to make me worried. I assumed it would be fine, though, as we continued the hike getting great views of the buttes and the large mesa we were circling around. The weekend was supposed to continue when we got back to the car with another night of camping, but we saw the weather changing, knew there was weather coming in, and had a meeting deciding to bag the night of camping. Good thing, because we got hit with about a foot of snow overnight. We were really enjoying being weekend warriors, though, and were looking forward to the days we could share these wonderful sights with our little one. By the way, she was kicking again by that evening and mom was reassured once again that we would be blessed with a healthy, happy little girl.

Hovenweep

It had been a long basketball season. We finished 8-15, but making it to Regionals which felt good. The experience was trying to say the least. The angry parents and long bus trips took me away from spending time with my wife and getting out in the backcountry. At this point, I was not sure if I could stomach it for another season. There was just too much work and not enough free time for me during the season. So the season finished Tuesday and on Saturday we were on our way to Hovenweep National Monument for a camping trip. Neither of us had ever been there before so this would be a new experience. We made the drive longer than necessary going through Blanding, but it was a beautiful trip. We arrived, went to the visitor center, paid our fee, got some information, got a campsite, and were off on a hike. According to the SCA working the visitor center, the monument only had one trail so that must be the one near our campsite. It was a loop that went by all the ruins. The ruins were fairly well preserved for their age. The trail was flat most of the way going around the mesa above the canyon where all the ruins were so my rapidly expanding wife could continue to keep hiking. We went out to all of the viewpoints to see all of the different houses and towers. The trail did take a small dip when it went into the canyon. The pregnant lady handled it rather easily, though, as the loop trip took us a little under an hour. I was wishing that there would be more hiking time for me, but it was easy to just sit back in our campsite and enjoy the day. We played cards and liked the fact that we could actually have short sleeves on for a time. As the evening approached, we went for a short walk around the campground. What we discovered was another trailhead. Hmm, definitely got some misinformation at the visitor center. We decided to go ahead and walk this section of trail. It was a bit more challenging for Jacqueline being that it started out almost immediately going steeply downhill. It took us through some narrow crevices, but then flattened out as we hit the canyon bottom. We walked on this one for nearly an hour until we realized that we were going to have to get some dinner in before it got too dark. Back for some high sodium camping food, more games, and just some general relaxation for once. The t-shirts were traded for the Fargo hat in the evening which I brought on a whim, but was now becoming very useful. We climbed in the Xterra for the evening once it got dark with our little speaker for music and headlamps for light to keep the wilderness game night going. As we slept, we could hear the weather changing. Rain began to pound down on our home for the evening and when I awoke to make some breakfast, it had to be done in a windy, rainy mess. It made me dread the drive home and for good reason. We went the shorter way this time and visibility was really poor. Until we got on the highway to Dove Creek, I was wondering if we were going to get stuck out there since no one was driving that road. As took the road from Dove Creek to Norwood, we finally got out of the wet, thick snow as we went down the hill to the Dolores River. Norwood had a little snow, but not much when we got there. The weekend was fantastic, though, and it made us long for the next Saturday when we could do the same thing all over again.