Holbert Trail

Holbert Trail begins near 7th St. at South Mountain.

The ascent leads 1,200 up to many great views.

It's so close to the city, but it feels quiet and desolate.

Especially in the evening.

Rock Art

There are lots of petroglyphs in this area.

Some are obvious.

But others take some searching.

This place was different then. There were turtles.

White whiskers

No, I wasn't playing in the paint; I promise.

State Fair

Since Josh was out of town, Chris accompanied on my annual migration to the land of cotton candy, bumper cars, and air brushed t-shirts.

My favorite ride was Speed. It is the tall contraption behind Chris. You are in an open seat, and the cars spin both with the arm and independently. Awesome!

Somehow, I convinced Chris to ride the G-Force with me. It's the tall ride in the middle. You are seated facing outwards, with arms & legs dangling free. It slowly rises, and you sit there for about 10 second, and then, without warning, it slams you toward the earth so hard, the wind is knocked out.

Fair People

I present to you - Zoey, the Supreme Female Champion of the 2009 State Fair. Chris likes her udders.

This would look so good in my living room.

What's more disconcerting? The fact that this person has a tail. Or that it's a woman.

I'll take a fried brownie, fried cheesecake, and a diet Coke.

Salome Creek

I managed to drag a fellow teacher hiking with me this weekend.

I promised I wouldn't leave her in the desert - probably.

Tahoe couldn't wait to get into the water.

Leslie learned how to boulder hop, set up a tent, and make camp coffee. See, even city girls can rough it.

Sunset

We cracked open a bottle of wine and watched the sunset over Roosevelt Lake and Four Peaks.

It was a full moon and Halloween. I warned Leslie that we would probably hear coyotes that night. We did! Right after we went into our tents, a large group of them ran by, howling and barking like crazy. Then, it happened again a little later. It was awesome.

Leslie's favorite part of the trip was the Apache Trail where she got to stare a thousand feet down into the canyon, while her crazy friend was zipping along the serpentine one lane dirt road through the mountains. She spent most of that ride white knucking the car handle.

We were able to relax in Tortilla Flat where you literally saddle up at the bar in the local saloon. We sucked down beers like a couple of miners.

Happy Halloween!