Fun and Games Dept

We spent the weekend in Flagstaff. We haven’t reached our one year anniversary of living in Arizona yet and it’s weird to me to think of the Grand Canyon as a reasonable weekend destination by car. Stopped traffic on Interstate 17 notwithstanding.

We were to go away for a long weekend this weekend as a celebration of Earl’s birthday at the end of February, but work plans interrupted that plan and when I knew what my work schedule looked like we were able to make some last minute reservations and find ourselves a place to stay in Flagstaff. The small reminder of winter weather was a nice change of pace.

This was our second time to The Grand Canyon and it’s still as beautiful as it was the first time we visited over 20 years ago. I was a little surprised at how much Grand Canyon Village had grown. The south rim viewing area and visitors center was busy but not overly crowded. COVID-19 precautions are now uneven at best. We make do with what we have.

We had a very pleasant drive and some nice meals and a very relaxing weekend away. It was good to get recharged.

Earl and I spent nearly two hours just north of milepost 246 on Interstate 71 north of Phoenix. Actually, we were just north of Black Canyon City and not quite to the Bumble Bee exit. Traffic was stopped for a crash at milepost 249. The electronic signs told us the left lane was closed but then traffic came to a grinding halt and we sat in the same spot for nearly two hours. I am thankful it wasn’t in the heat of the desert. Actually, the pre spring breeze was quite pleasant, and we were amusing ourselves in the darkened car by watching others in their cars. Plus we played on our phones.

Then everyone started turning off their cars because gas is expensive these days.

When traffic started moving again, the truck ahead of us couldn’t get going on the hill, so we drove around him. When we finally crawled to the accident site, it was evident one or more cars had gone down the sharp hill off the left side of the freeway.

Just a wild assumption, but don’t use your phone when you’re driving.

So two new additions joined the family this evening. Jamie, Chris, and Mike have been wanting a dog or two since we moved to Tucson, so tonight we welcomed a brother and sister Husky-German Shepard mix pair of pups. Truman has been fairly hospitable.

They don’t have names yet but at two months old they’re full of energy. Here’s Truman saying hello to the sleeping sister of the pair.

We are eating lunch in a trendy restaurant. The windows and doors are open, the breeze is blowin’, the booze is flow in’, and it’s quite nice.

I’m trying out the Clips app on my iPhone. Apple makes making videos very, very easy.

It has been quite a week. A high point this week was when our new lounge chairs for the back patio were delivered. Don’t mind if I do.

I went hiking with our friend Matt on Saturday. We tackled a seven mile trail north of here, going through some beautiful landscape along the way. It was a great time and I look forward to going hiking with him and others again soon, at least before the weather gets too hot.

We’ve made some great friends here in Tucson. I’m happy to be able to spend time with them outside all year long.

I was asked by someone back East, “What’s a wash”?

I did not fly an airplane tonight. The weather here in Southern Arizona has turned cold and rainy. It’ll be back to desert like by the weekend.

I ended up working until 8:00 PM Mountain Time in an effort to keep up with all that’s going on at work. With war brewing on the other side of the globe, you have to wonder what’s important.

We went out for sushi. Since I didn’t bring my glasses along and I should be wearing them all the time, I ended up taking a photo of the menu so I could zoom in on my iPhone and decide on something to eat. The restaurant was quite nice and we had a good time. I had the Sachiko Special Roll with a side of fried rice. It was very good.