Not quite like the movie, this "Raising Arizona" blog is about the growing life of myself. Filled with ups and downs and plenty of adventures. Living in Arizona since Fall 2004, I've chosen this surprisingly diverse state as the launching pad for my adult life.
On a recent trip to Saguaro National Park in Tucson, I thought it would be fun to identify as many different types of cactus as possible. After just two days in the area, Bev and I identified ten different cacti. Instead of overwhelm you all at once I thought I'd break down my posts into the following categories: Saguaro cactus, Hedgehog and Barrel cacti, Prickly Pear cacti, and Cholla cacti.
The Saguaro Cactus
(carnegiea gigantea)
Probably the most recognizable of all cacti, the Saguaro (pronounced "sah-wah-roh") is native to the Sonoran Desert which covers nearly a third of Arizona, a small part of California and then stretches south into Mexico. It seems to be most synonymous with Arizona and its flower, the Saguaro blossom, is the state flower.
This slow growing cactus takes 15 years to reach a foot tall and 50-75 years to grow its first arm. Some of the oldest and largest saguaros can have up to 30 arms and weigh several tons due to the mass of the water in the pulpy interior. The flower blooms between late April-early June; opening 2 hours after sunset and remaining open until the next afternoon.
I actually wish someone could have been there to photograph us as we took this picture. Saguaros are typically 10-30 feet tall (some even reach 50 feet high) so to get this close I had to put Bev on my shoulders and maintain my balance so we didn't end up falling into the cactus. Neither of us was hurt, so it was worth it. In my next post I'll show some pics taken of the hedgehog and barrel cacti we saw.
I wanted to recommend something for everyone to check out that I think is rather important to not just our economy but the potential risk on our health care as well.
I mention health care here because of the common denominator, DEREGULATION. One of the things John McCain is calling for in his health care plan is the deregulation of the health care industry. The same thing he pushed for in the financial industry that directly led to the Keating Five scandal and the current sub prime crisis is the same thing he's calling for in the health care industry.
I'm not saying Obama's health care plan is amazing or anything, but we have ongoing examples, that can't even be refused by our existing administration of why further deregulation is not the answer.
Please take the time (13 minutes) to watch the above documentary on John McCain's heavy involvement in the Keating Five Scandal. There's a reason the McCain campaign doesn't want us looking back when we're talking about change going forward. But if we don't look back at the past, how are we going to avoid repeating it in the future?
Never being one to shy away from or hide the ridiculously stupid things I do, let me share with you today's blunder.
I decided to try out the lovely Valley Metro today. Valley Metro is the public transportation that services the majority of the Phoenix area. With gas prices on the rise, and my stress level on the rise due to a rise in traffic (are we sensing a trend here?) I decided it might be worthwhile to try public transit. But enough about that...
I spent a lot of time carefully planning my route on the Valley Metro website and was pleased to discover there was a route that picks up near my gym (half the distance I would drive to work) and could get me to work in about 40 minutes. I started out on route 56 which heads up to Arizona Mills Mall. It was a nice peaceful ride (I was reading my TIME magazine), not overcrowded and not reeking of urine (although I have been stuffed up so who knows).
At Arizona Mills Mall I needed to make a transfer to route 92 which would then quickly shoot up 48th street and have me to work just after 8am. But that's where things went wrong. Oh I boarded the bus for route 92 all right, unfortunately it was route 92 heading SOUTH... not NORTH. After a mundane tour of Tempe areas that I already see on a weekly basis we returned again to Arizona Mills Mall where we had now become the northbound route. I finally arrived at my destination, only an hour later than I had originally planned.
Looking at the above image, which shows my "detour" in red, brings even more hilarity to my story. Had I known the southbound route that we were taking (which was really more east than it was south) or just realized that most bus routes will travel along the same roads, I could have departed the southbound route, crossed the street and picked up the next northbound route which comes along every 10-15 minutes. I decided I deserved the punishment anyway for not being more conscientious about what bus I was boarding.
Nonetheless, it made for an interesting morning, and the best part is I still feel less stressed than I normally do when driving myself to work. Plus when I get back to my truck I'll be outside my gym, giving me one less excuse for not going.
I'm 25 today. Bring on the rental car companies and the cheaper insurance, I'm ready. Actually it's a day like today that causes me to reflect back on the prior year and this past year was a doozy. However, I'm not about to start writing about all of that again. Instead, I'm writing this to say thank you.
Thank you mom and dad. When I came into the world screaming at 8:44pm you knew instantly I had my mother's temper. And I'm guessing it wasn't too long after I learned to talk that you realized I had my father's sense of humor. You both have been constants in my life that I could always count on and I love you dearly.
Thank you Jenn & Scott. Jenn and I didn't always get along and unfortunately for me I wasn't always the taller one. My best chance at surviving a fight with my sister was to get into the hallway with my hands pressing against the walls and my feet kicking as fast as possible. Miraculously once Jenn got her driver's license we became really good friends (go figure). Jenn you're an amazing sister who always makes a positive impact in my life. Scott you're an inspiration to me. I continue to wear my Scott Custer wristband and everyday I remember why I'm wearing it. I love you both.
Thank you friends. I'd love to take the time to call each of you out individually for the differences you've made in my life this past year but there's just not enough time. Just in the past 10 months my life has been like a roller coaster. It was always nice to know I had friends during that time I could count on. It's taken me 25 years but I finally understand the value of great friends. I can't possibly put into words how much I love and care for each one of you. If I've not made it clear with my actions I hope you all know I would do anything for you guys. I always enjoy my time with you all and I can't wait for even more days of fun to follow. Just know I don't take any of you for granted. I'm so glad I'm here and I'm so glad you are all here with me.
We're all entitled to like different things, regardless of how stupid some of those things may be. Along those same lines we also have the freedom to rant about the things we don't like. Today on my way to work I saw two things that I really didn't like. I only managed to get a photo of one of those things though and let's face it, we all love pictures.
For those that don't know I drive a pickup truck. A 2006 Toyota Tacoma to be exact. It's no sports car or luxury vehicle but I've grown up driving trucks and I just like them. (See first sentence of blog.) A truck is great for when you want to get outdoors and travel somewhere that might require a little higher clearance than your average sedan. If you're in the habit of hauling things or helping friends move, a truck is probably your choice vehicle. If you're a plumber, electrician, or work in construction, you probably drive a truck because its features better help you do your job.
Now, I'm no plumber or construction worker. I'm a software consultant. However, I was raised in a hardworking, blue-collar family and I maintain a rather blue-collar personality. I enjoy being able to help friends move, or occasionally haul something around when need be. I also enjoy the outdoors and my truck allows me to go some places a car can't. This is why I own a truck and it's my opinion that this is true for most people who own trucks. Then there's this guy (on the left):
<rant>What is wrong with this guy!? First off, as he drives down the I-10 I can't help but notice how the bed of his truck is wobbling, displaying his shoddy workmanship. Beyond the obvious though this man has stripped this truck of all its handy features! He's sitting lower than most of the cars whizzing by so the occasional off-road adventure is out of the question. You'll notice directly to his right is the exact make and model of his vehicle, sans stupidity. Furthermore, hauling anything in that bed more than a few pounds (given his poor workmanship) would probably push his bumper to the ground, sending sparks flying. Hell, I bet he bottoms-out when going over speed bumps!
I'm appalled whenever I see something like this, even more so in this case because it's a Tacoma. If that's the look you're going for, save yourself some time and buy an old El Camino.</rant>
Wow, I really thought I'd be more up-in-arms while ranting about this. I guess Friday has a way of calming me down.
So I've been tagged. Not being a big blogger (obviously) it was a good thing my buddy Richard (Coyote Squirrel's Random Musings) was kind enough to explain it to me. He actually had to tell me I had been tagged since I've been a horrible friend lately and haven't kept up with his excellent blog. Anyway, here goes...
Books: This is easy. I've got numerous books in play right now but they've all been sitting idle for quite some time. At the top of the list is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Honestly I don't know how I've managed to keep my eyes off this book. Next is The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. I don't have the extra cash I need to start some serious investing, but once I do I'll be ready (that is if I actually finish reading the book). Finally there's The Five Love Languages. I bought this book by Gary Chapman in a failed attempt to save my engagement. Even with that relationship being over I still think there's a lot of value to this book. Eventually I'll finish it and hopefully find better ways to communicate to my friends & family how much I care for them.
TV: Well early last week my DirecTV box took a crap so TV viewing has been limited to the channels over the airwaves. Luckily I have the entire series of Arrested Development on DVD. Seriously, a tear comes to my eye when I think about how long-lasting this show could have been if Fox had marketed it better. (Come on!) Right now there really isn't much on. I like October Road, as cheesy and predictable as it might be. Prison Break has sucked me back in; not because it's good (it's horrible) but because I'm already familiar with the storyline and there's nothing else to watch. My TV is recording the new LOST episodes but I'm currently deciding whether to abandon the island or start watching again (which will undoubtedly lead right back to me wishing I hadn't started watching it again, but it'll be too late. Damn you J.J. Abrams!)
Music: I'm all over the place here, so I'll just touch on a few. In my truck I'm primarily switching back and forth between two albums. V is for Vagina by Puscifer, which is an interesting industrial/trip-hop experiment by Maynard James Keenan and Graduation by Kanye West. On the iPod I've been listening to a lot of acoustic stuff, primarily anything by Mike Doughty, formerly of the 90's band Soul Coughing. Currently my iTunes is blaring out my entire collection of head banging music by Sevendust.
Unfortunately, I don't really know five other bloggers to pass this on to, so this game of tag ends with me. I lose. Goodnight.
It has been compared to hiking the famous Camelback Mountain twice in a row. Lucky for me I haven't yet hiked Camelback so I went into the hike being as naive as possible about the grueling and strenuous trek I was about to begin. I've done a couple of "exploring" hikes in South Mountain Park where my friends and I have hiked and boulder hopped for 6+ miles at a time. I decided that those experiences should be enough to prepare me for the roughly 6.2 mile round trip hike to the top of Flatiron and back. Oh did I mention we'd be climbing up nearly 2700 feet during the hike? Ummm... Yeahhh...
Our hike began promptly at 1:14pm and with a starting elevation of 2058 feet. We may have been able to start a few minutes earlier but the lady who took our payment for parking insisted upon warning us about our hike. She tried to tell us it would take 6 hours to complete the journey, which would have put us in the dark for the last mile or so (that's not good). Both Chris and Jon, who went with me, have done the hike before and knew this woman was crazy. The hike starts out very innocently with a leisurely walk along the Discovery Interpretive Trail. The trail is through your typical Sonoran landscape of cholla, creosote, saguaro, ocotillo and paloverde.
The good times start to pick up once you hit the Siphon Draw Trail where the actual hiking begins. About 1.7 miles into the hike is a great place off the trail for a shaded rest. Two rather large boulders create a cool area to sit and catch your breath before beginning the first tough part of the hike. After our break we continued on the Siphon Draw Trail which ends at the bottom of a slick rock basin. At this point a number of people would probably turn around and call it a day, but only hiking to this point doesn't give you the full feeling of accomplishment that you get from the top of Flatiron.
While making the trip up the basin we were pleased to see running water in a lot of places. It had last rained about six days ago but apparently the rain was still making its way down the mountain. It's not something often experienced in the dessert so we took some time to just stop and listen to the running water. At the top of the basin (the saddle) is another great place for a break. From here you can look down and take pride in the awesome hike you've just accomplished. Unfortunately, you can also look ahead and see a seemingly impossible climb to the ridgeline that takes you to Flatiron. There are actually three possible routes here, but I'm told the narrow canyon to the right is easiest (at the least it's closest to the Flatiron.) We dip down briefly before starting a 1500+ foot climb that covers less than 1 mile in distance.
(That rock formation near the middle-right of the photo, shaped like the front of a ship, is Flatiron)
The climb from here was rough. I found it easiest just to keep doing hand and foot scrambling the majority of the time. At this point you really have to watch where you're putting your hands or a cactus or snake might just "greet" you. With only a few hundred feet or so remaining we realized that if we could really push it we might complete the climb in 2 hours. I always enjoy a good challenge like that so I took the lead and just started blazing up the canyon. We were all very fatigued but all of us managed to push through it on our way to the top. I was moving along pretty well when I suddenly had to stop. The top was within view, but there was a 10-12 foot nearly vertical climb that stood in our way. At first I looked to the left where there was a tree I thought might work well, then to the right was a series of steep, jagged-looking, rocks. I decided the jagged rocks would probably provide better places for gripping and foot holes. It wasn't too bad really, but from the bottom of it I could have sworn our hike was over. Finally, after that climb and a short quarter-mile walk, we were standing at the edge of the Flatiron. It was roughly 3:10pm and our elevation was 4722 feet.
We relaxed and took in the amazing view, our reward for finishing the climb. It was very peaceful at the top and I could have probably spent hours there just looking around and taking everything in. Unfortunately we needed to be heading back down so after 20 minutes we began our descent. We followed the same path we had taken up but since we were going mostly down it didn't take long at all to reach the bottom. With there being some moisture on the rocks we all had our moments where we slipped or slide a little. I nearly buckled my knee, Chris rolled both of his ankles and somehow Jon managed to slide all over the place at one point without actually hurting himself.
We finished the hike, sore and bruised but feeling great about the accomplishment. Being out in Arizona and seeing things like this on a regular basis is just so much different from the flat farmlands I grew up around. I look forward to hiking Flatiron again sometime, once my body recuperates from this time!
Hike Stats Starting Elevation: 2058 feet Highest Elevation: 4722 feet Total Distance: 6.2 miles Total Time: 3hrs 50mins
I actually wish someone could have been there to photograph us as we took this picture. Saguaros are typically 10-30 feet tall (some even reach 50 feet high) so to get this close I had to put Bev on my shoulders and maintain my balance so we didn't end up falling into the cactus. Neither of us was hurt, so it was worth it. In my next post I'll show some pics taken of the hedgehog and barrel cacti we saw.
