My blog about knitting, teaching, and being a mother to two energetic young boys.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Tuscon - The Roaches Have Landed...

Captain's Log, stardate June 27 - day 13 (??) of our road trip to California via several National Parks & visits with friends. We have arrived in the hotness of Tuscon, AZ. It was 109°F (egads!) when we arrived. I'm certain there are several charming reasons to live here - otherwise, how could people endure this heat? As Alaskans, this heat is totally unreasonable. Thank God for air conditioning!

I must first provide the wildlife update. The most pressing news to report is the sighting of the Arizona Flamingo Frog. Never heard of it? Perhaps a photo might help: Yeah - what used to be a lovely, Flamingo stripe Jaywalker sock, has been reduced to an untidy ball of yarn. Arghh - painful transformation that was. Apparently I misread the instructions and after completing the gusset continued to slip stitches every row, instead of every other row. Big difference I guess. At least, I hope that was the problem. After I'd knit a few rows, which on size 1 needles takes a while don't you know, I'd notice this very large slipped stitch emerging from several rows below. It was a total freak of knitting nature - I just can't explain it. After carefully watching every stitch I knit, I decided it wasn't that I was just dropping that same stitch at random occasions. So - I decided to bite the knitting bullet & let er rip. It did help to ease the pain realizing I would then have the opportunity to reknit the sock & make it a tad larger so it would be easier to pull over my large feet. (See earlier post when I comment on how tight the sock is). Let's remember the good times the sock had in it's earlier life:

It saw the wonders of the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon:
It enjoyed riding in the car:

It observed several weather patterns:


It marveled at the intensity of the Athabasca Waterfall:


It enjoyed the beautiful Canadian Rockies between Jasper and Banff:

Ah well, the life of a knitter. I blame the heat... (Really - what else could it be? Let's not mention swatches or any other such crazy talk. Shhhh)

Okay - since some of you may actually be interested in our trip, here's the lowdown: We've been on the crazy National Park tour. We've seen Yellowstone NP, Bryce NP, Zion NP, Glen Canyon NP, the Grand Canyon NP, and the Goblin Valley State Park. Wow! - Busy bee's we've been.

Since it's late, and uh - HOT!, I'll give just a taste. I'll work on posting more photo albums tomorrow since I'll have some more relaxed time.

Here's a quick glimpse of the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, Utah:

The requisite family photo at the Bryce Canyon sign:

Does it look like we've been on the road for too long? (Orion took this photo)

I'll leave with the moon over Zion. I'm tired.

Ciao ~

2 comments:

The Knitting Tarheel said...

Greetings from North Carolina. I just had to tell you my Alaska story. My family took a summer and drove from NC to Alaska. My knitting project was an Icelandic fair isle cardigan. My plan was to complete the project during the 10 weeks we traveled. As we turned south to head home, I had almost completed the back, or so I thought. A nice lady on the ferry asked me about the child's sweater I was knitting. Child's sweater? This sweater is for me! Then she asked me how I like "knitting in the round". I was embarrassed to admit that I didn't know what that meant. She explained that I was knitting the front, back and other front all at the same time. Uh-oh. So I started ripping and winding balls. When my husband asked me why I wasn't screaming, cursing and crying, I told him that I think I actually grew a little that day in my knitting knowledge. Tough lesson but lesson learned. My memory of the Alaskan Inside Passage will always be of ripping a fair isle with beautiful islands in the background. Happy Trails to you and your family. It's the journey and your children will remember this for the rest of their lives. Enjoy!

Margaret

Holly Jo said...

Why do people live in Tucson? Because it is 68 degrees in January. :) My in-laws live down there and HATE coming to AK (why the hell would you live some place so cold?).

Loving reading your adventures. Sorry about the Jaywalker - I have heard it can be finicky.