Trip Report: Flag to Sedona Mountain Bike Ride

About a month ago, on a windy 48 degree day, Kenny, Tera, Patrick and myself decided to do the 45 mile classic ride from Flagstaff to Sedona. The route follows a variety of mountain bike trails before joining the Old Munds Highway (aka, dirt road) for some 20 plus miles. After entering Munds Park via a much-appreciated three mile downhill paved road, we followed Interstate 17 for approximately two miles. For some of us, this was the scariest part of the trip. Gas trucks barreling past you at 75 mph will do that. We exited at Schnebly Hill road, and traveled for another five miles over gradual hills before the elevation began to drop precipitously. We bombed down the last 8 miles of Schnebly, losing over a 1000 feet of elevation in the process as the infinite red rock formations framed our descent. I'm not sure if I'd do this ride again (or at least not in such cold weather), but I'd definitely be interested in another kamikaze run down picturesque Schnebly. As the photos attest, the views are almost as exciting as the ride. We finished up at Bear Willow Canyon, everyone with all limbs intact, and drove back to Flagstaff to enjoy a pint of Patrick's homebrew.


A crude map of our expedition can be found at the following link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106772392888324115931.00000112d9d9df7739e92&om=1&z=11

Starting shot

Schnebly Hill Road

One of many breathtaking views

Stopping for a photo opportunity before the serious downhill begins

Not sure what's going on here....looks like a face-off

The postcard perfect trend continues

Parting Shot: Much deserved pints of Patrick's wheat beer

Hiking: Veit Springs Trail

I've not blogged in a while but I have been busy, so it's gonna be a backlog bonanza ladies and gents. First up is Veit Springs. This is a short hike on the road up to Snowbowl, our local ski resort in the San Francisco Peaks. With an old log cabin and petroglyphs on the adjacent rock face, Veit Springs is somewhat of an archaeological/historical hike. However, the aspens make for a lovely walk in the woods. Here's some info on the actual trail:

http://www.arizonahikingtrails.com/hikingpages/vietsprings.html .

Vonnegut on Writing Fiction

" 'Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”
-From Vonnegut's Godbless you Mr. Rosewater


As most people who read the papers know by now, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, quite possibly the greatest satirist in the history of the world, died a few weeks ago. For those who couldn't care less about making use of the gift of literacy via the morning paper, here's an obituary of this saint: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html?ex=1191988800&en=aa747f8e1cf65243&ei=5087&excamp=OVGNvonnegutobituary

Vonnegut was a uniquely amazing human being, and he knew a thing or two about writing after fifty-seven years in the business. He detested semi-colons, referring to them as "hermaphrodite transvestites that serve no purpose". To this he added, "The only reason to use one is to show you've been to college." Well said sir. Nobody really knows how to correctly use those damn things anyway.

Here are some rules Vonnegut gives for those attempting to write a short story (taken from Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction) :

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Vonnegut admitted that most great writers have broken every single one of the tenets at some point in time. So much for rules.

Oh the Places You'll Go!

It finally occured to me that it might be nice to have a some sort of record the countries and states I've visited. World66.com offers such a service with simple to use maps showing every place the well worn travel has trodden. There are more elaborate map making sites out there, such as Travelpod, but all are complicated and time consuming to use. I'm looking for the asy way out. ........Anyway, I've created four three personalized maps. Check 'em out and please let me know if anybody gets one of their own.

The world:

http://www.world66.com/community/mymaps/worldmap/HRBOJPHUJMTWTHPEROVACNCLCAITVNCZATCQIEIDUSMYMX.gif

USA:

http://www.world66.com/community/mymaps/visitedStates/statemap/AZCACODCFLHIILINIAMDMIMNMONENVNMOHOKORPASDUTVAWAWVWIWY.gif


Canada (It's a bit cold up there, eh?)

http://www.world66.com/community/mymaps/visitedCanadianStates/countrymap/BCON.gif

Europe (both Old and New!!!!)

http://www.world66.com/community/mymaps/visitedEurope/countrymap/AUCRCZHUIEITROVC.gif


And since this site doesn't allow you to make a map for countries that one desires to visit, I'll list mine here:

Egypt (great diving in the Red Sea, large pointy building abound)
Morroco (I'm comin' Bogey!)
England (may be there in January....)
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Iceland
Denmark (including icy Greenland)
Holland
France
Spain
Portugal
Poland
Germany
Slovenia
Switzerland
Serbia
Brazil
Argentina
Costa Rica
Belize
Cuba (Attn: CIA ----- go ahead and put me on the "To Watch" list)
Australia
New Zealand
Laos
Cambodia
Myanmar (Burma)
India
Nepal
South Korea

And probably another two dozen I'm forgetting. However, this list will do for now.....

Hiking: Red Mountain

Every weekend in Flagstaff brings a new experience. A couple weeks back I hiked Red Mountain. The east face was blown off in a volcanic eruption long ago. The result? A walk that takes the hiker inside the mountain where hoodoos and slot canyons abound, creating a playground for the adventureous. Sweet.

Teetering rock piles.

Looking out from a slot canyon

Patrick and Terra at the end of the slot canyon.

Tight squeeze!

Patrick and the hoodoos

Hills of sedimentary rock within in the mountain.

All the King's men....and a woman

Oh the pleasure I get from watching King George's throne slowly collapse from beneath him. It only took six years, but it now seems that every other week there's a new scandal followed by calls for some arrogant punk's resignation. Donny is long gone, swept away after last November's well-deserved change of guard. Alberto is in it up to his arm pits, and the waste water continues to rise. Paul Wolfowitz, head of the World Bank and one of the architect's of our amazing Iraq strategy, is also on thin ice (btw Paul, I've not been reading the news lately.....how's that Iraq thing going?). It's only a matter of time until he falls through.

As such, the obvious question arises: when will it be Condi's turn? And what for? Please, please, please let it involve male dancers and State Department petty cash. We have our cake.....can't we at least have some icing on top?

What's the deal with Joe?

It's been a while since I've blogged, and it's been even longer (as in never) since I've given an update on my life. I'm still in Flagstaff, AZ. Things are going well. I landed a job as an undergraduate admissions counselor at Northern Arizona University. The money and benifits (free classes!!!) are good, the work is varied and most of the time enjoyable, the co-workers and students are a joy.....yep, it's a pretty good deal. I get to travel quite a bit, all of which is paid for by the university. I stay in nice hotels. Hotels are great. You can miss the garbage can and then go to bed with a guilt-free conscience. Housekeeping will take care of it within the next 12-15 hours. They sometimes leave a mint on your pillow.

Despite this development, certain things never change. I continue to spend my free time in the outdoors. Climbing in Arizona brings happiness that I can't quite describe. The hiking and mountain biking trails are abundant. This has caused me to drop $600 on a brand new Kona Blast bike. I broke her in yesterday over the course of a 45 mile ride from Flagstaff to Sedona via mountain roads and some single track paths. Surprisingly, I was able to get out of bed this morning without assistance.

More on the ride and some other happenings at a later date.