Zach and Jon come to Phoenix

Though I have had many visitors since I first came to Arizona...

Haynes several times (first in February, then back with me in April, then in July, and again at the beginning of August), Mom (she came through with Haynes at the beginning of August), Erin and Camden (they drove out with me in July moving all of my stuff to my new place downtown - Haynes followed in the truck with the stuff the next day), Joe Schafer (boy was that a good surprise - he called me randomly after being here visiting a friend for a few days), and Molly Brunkow (she was technically here for 5 weeks, but the Teach For America Institute she was here for kept her in a bat cave for most of it)...

I have yet to have the opportunity to actually string together the sites and experiences that Phoenix/Tempe and Arizona have to offer.

This chance came when my older brother Zachary and his good friend Jon Hayes decided to take a very extended Labor Day weekend earlier this month. They flew in on Wednesday night, I picked them up from the airport with Carolina's (the best Mexican in south Phoenix) already picked up. A quick stop at the house to eat and drop off the bags and off to my first indoor soccer game in north Phoenix. Zach played with us and we ended up with a 3-3 tie - playing soccer after eating Mexican is not the best idea. And after showering up we stopped in Lost Leaf for a beer.

The next morning, we had Matt's Big Breakfast, and then while I worked, they rode bikes around downtown. Then for lunch it was Cornish Pasty Co. (the best restaurant in Tempe) and then coffee at Cartel (the best coffee in the world). Then back to work while they explored REI and Tempe. After work, I hopped in the car and off we drove to Flagstaff. We stopped in at Alpine Pizza, had a large and a pitcher, and then on to the Grand Canyon where we pulled up at Mather Point and with an almost full moon, had an eerie sight. We set up camp and went to bed, ready for the long hike ahead.

In the morning, after checking in we parked at the Bright Angel Trailhead and took the bus to the South Kaibab Trailhead. Here we began what would be a 17-mile, 10-hour hike. Only Jon's stories can really describe the steps, the sweat, and the cramps. And only Jon's photos (see Facebook) can show the route from the rim, to the river, and back up to the rim - all in 10 hours.

We took breaks, ate energy bars, crossed the river twice, stopped at the river beach, and finally made it out of the canyon as the sunset was ending (actually, more or less after the sun had set). Our minds and eyes were ready for a big meal and some good beer, but our bodies were saying "sleep." So after snacking on some chips, having a beer, and eating my best-made bean and chicken burritos, we were off to bed.

We woke up the next morning after being rained on, cleaned up best we could, packed up, and headed to the east rim to see some of my favorite view points. From Desert View, to Lipan Point, to Moran Point, and then off and out of the park, passing miles of cars heading into the park. It was Saturday and our original plan was to camp that night at Joshua Tree. With our late start, we wouldn't be making it to Joshua Tree until later than expected, and this became even later as we ran into a rainstorm in the middle of the Mojave Desert (which gets 5 inches of percipitation a year, all of which seemed to be coming down right then). Slowed down by flash floods, we eventually made our way through all of them and into the park where we decided we would get dinner in town and head back to Phoenix. So we took the next two hours to find Skull Rock, jump around from rock pile to rock pile, and walk through the Joshua Tree forests. As the sun set, we headed into town to Crossroads Cafe where we had an amazing meal - one of Haynes' hosts from CalArts recommended this place during our first trip through - it was great then and it was great now.

We decided to take the road through the park to cut down to I-10, and on the way through I was pulled over by a park ranger. I was speeding, but he let me go and we kept on toward Phoenix. After stopping for coffee, Zach took over for the last hour and we made it back at 1 a.m.

The next morning, we took it easy, then made our way to LoLo's Chicken and Waffles for lunch. There we ran into Marty Ingram who graduated high school with Zach and Jon. From there we took a tour around Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, stopping at Four Peaks where we met up with Joel Hufford, then Casey Moore's, and finally back to Phoenix where we got our swimsuits and headed up to the Clarendon where we sat in the hot tub then headed to the roof top to see the sun set over Phoenix. After cleaning up back home, we had our final beer and meal at The Roosevelt.

The next morning I brought Zach and Jon to the airport.

King of the Mountains

Here in the valley you can take a turn going whichever direction and you inevitably end up heading toward some set of mountains. Though they are all different ranges and individual mountains, they basically box in the metropolitan area and make for some great sunrises and sunsets in the vast desert sky pierced with a few sky scraping peaks. These ranges include the Superstition and Usery mountains to the east, South mountain to the south, the Sierra Estrellas to the southwest, the White Tanks due west, the McDowells and Mazatzal mountains to the northeast and the Hieroglyphics to the northwest. And they all have some great summits, like the Mazatzals' zenith Four Peaks (namesake of a brewery here), among others.
But in the center of the valley is a lone tall mountain,...Camelback, seen here with the Buttes glowing red as always in the foreground. On Saturday after a Friday night out on the Mustache Bike Ride and Bar Hop, I got out and literally jogged my way up Camelback. It is named this because of its obvious resemblance to a sitting camel and its hump. It was a great climb with some steep, slippery portions that one has to sprint up if they don't want to use the hand rails.When I reached the top, I found a Christmas tree,...a great view of mountains to the north,...and a police helicopter chasing after me.
Another mountain that stands tall in the valley, though small in comparison, is A mountain which I hiked last weekend.As you can see, the planes fly close by. Since moving here I have seen more airplanes than ever before. At night you can see them from far away in the sky blinking like the star that the three wisemen are heading to on the top of A mountain.

While climbing this mountain and riding my bike around town, I captured some scenes of the valley.

Sun Devil stadium and the other athletic facilities from atop A mountain. The stadium is awesome tucked in between two hills.

A view of the Mill Avenue district in downtown Tempe, with part of ASU campus on the left and Phoenix's city park (largest in the country), South Mountain, in the background.

The old Hayden Flour Mill for which the infamous street is named. It is just an empty building with a now non-connected railroad track cutting through.

A view from A mountain of the Mill and Phoenix in the distance.

Gammage - the performing arts center at ASU.

More of the geometric buildings on the southwest arts corner of ASU.

A tucked away statue showing the Native American and artistic histories of the southwest.

I hope that these views offer you some picture of where I am, at least until Thursday morning when I head to Las Vegas and will exit the mountains of the valley and catch a flight to the almighty Rockies and the wonderful world of snow.