It was worth it...

A couple of days ago, we hiked at the top of Mt. Lemmon, a trail called the Aspen Loop. It was challenging about 65% of the time, including the entire first half, but then we got to this spot where there were big rock formations we climbed to the top of, and the views were awesome, if it hadn't been hazy, we could have seen about 4 mountain ranges from up there. Note the sky, it has been quite overcast/rainy at times. But it is different here, because the sky is so big that it is spotted over the landscape, so you can be standing in sunshine and see 3 or 4 rain/lightning storms around you. Very dramatic.

On with the show...

Ok, we finally have internet at out apartment. So, like before, we plan on posting quite frequently, so check back often. We finished the first week in the hospital and it was really tough, but we think it will be good once we adjust, things are just done very differently here. Last Wednesday our cousin Dave took us halfway up Mount Lemmon to go rock climbing, you can see some pictures below from that trip, it was really fun!! We've been going up the mountain to hike quite a bit actually, we live right at the end of the only road that goes up. We've also been biking some, and we've gone to garage sales and thrift stores to find furniture for our place, which is coming along nicely. We have a nice, big balcony that you can see some mountains from. It will be a great place to hang out once it is not quite so caliente. Tons of new pics below, check them out...

This is Dave, setting up the ropes, you can see the view we had from
the top of the rock. That's Tucson off in the distance.

Bryan climbing. The face was about 70 feet tall.




A view out from the base of where we climbed.



Liz at the top, Look Ma, no hands!

Climbing shoes are MUCH tighter than normal ones, you kinda stuff your feet in there. This is Matt's foot, next to his magnum-sized clodhoppers. Ha-ha

Matt and Bryan made it out to this rock peak, Liz stayed behind
to take a picture, and take in the view.




Liz's view.




View of Liz (note the authentic hat).




Canyon tree frog (Hyla arenicola), that was up on the rocks, isn't he cute.



Bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda), when we looked him up in our field guide
we found out he is the most poisonous species in the Southwest.

See the young hummingbird buzzing Bryan's head?

First Days in Tucson...

We've been in Tucson 5 days now, sorry no posts until now, but we have to go to an internet cafe to get online. Don't have time to write much but here are some pictures of things we have seen so far. Enjoy!

Beware rattlesnakes at the rest stop!

We are at La Posta, a great Mexican restaurant I used to eat at with my grandparents when I was a kid. It is in Old Mesilla at Las Cruces on our way to Tucson.

Could this be Tucson?? This is a floodplain, though there is no water flowing in the wash,
and things are pretty green and humid here thanks to what locals call the monsoons,
a rainy, humid period that last about a month and a half.
In a couple more weeks the skies will be clear and blue.




And here is the dry, though muddy wash (riverbed).
Aren't the mountains great?!


This is a big, gross lizard we saw, about 14 in. long!




During a hike we were able to coax this tarantula out of his hole,
our legs were shaking after that!

Getting Ready

We have 8 days at home together before our departure date set for July 29. Odd mix of nerves and excitement. We have a long list of things to take care of. So far we have set up online bill payment and figured out how we will best transport our beloved kitties. ( 2 cages in the back of the car, with blankets and water, and tiny litter pans) If anyone has any ideas let us know!! Still have much to do, but as we are not taking much, the work will be light. We've been enjoying the time off work and Bryan finished putting a turbo in his Nissan 240sx. Ahhh, summer.