Out of the frying pan...

Into the fire. You'd think when you leave Tucson that anywhere you go would be cooler. Yeah - not so much. Especially when you stop in the desert to camp over night. We opted to revisit a favorite climbing spot from college - Joshua Tree. We couldn't really appreciate it when we arrived as it was dark & we needed to quickly cook something up for us to eat for dinner. Let me advise any of you with small children - Easy Mac is only easy when you have a microwave. Just adding boiling water won't cook it. On the other hand - if you cook it too long over a coleman stove, it turns into mush. The five year old wasn't pleased, and Wade & I felt like extremely bad parents. Of course - we were eating something different (cup of soup - which does need only boiling water). To appease the masses we offered whatever else we could find which didn't require cooking. I think chocolate was the main course. Arghh...

Did you know lots of critters live in the desert? Yeah - like Jackrabbits, Kangaroo rats, and my favorite snakes. Let's just say one of my favorite things about living in Alaska is that I don't have to worry about snakes. When I tell people (who are not from AK) this, they always respond, "Yeah, but you have bears!". Sure - but I'm not going to step on a bear. When I squat to use the woods, I'm not going to squat on a bear. I'm also a terrible singer, so my voice is enough to scare off any bears within a 50 mile radius. See - no worries! Okay - I do worry about bears a smidge when I'm out traipsing around in the woods, but still - I'm happy there are NO SNAKES!!

Fortunately we didn't see any snakes while we were at J. Tree. The jackrabbits and kangaroo rats are a completely different story. Those turkeys came out in force when we arrived & were not necessarily scared by us. The kids actually named one of the rabbits "Joshua". They didn't bother me as much as the rats. We were worried the vermin would either chew through our screen or climb under it, so we slept with the back of the van closed. Yikes - it was like sleeping in a sauna. We did get to witness a beautiful moon rise (almost full). Too bad the little point & shot digital couldn't capture it adequately.

After an early breakfast & drive through J. Tree - we were off toward LA to pick up Wade's mom & check into our hotel. The drive was interesting - vast desert & then hoards of humanity. The traffic alone is enough to remind me why we don't necessarily want to move back to So. Cal. (That & the cost of living on teachers' salaries might make it difficult). We missed an exit & ended up very close to San Diego when we discovered our mistake. Oops.

The plan is to visit Disneyland over the next 2 days before we depart for San Diego on the 4th. The weather forecast is calling for "extreme heat" here over the next several days. Wonderful. Just when we thought we were escaping the heat. Last summer when my friend Lisa & I traveled through Europe for 3 weeks for the World Cup Soccer tournament & fun, it was hot, hot, hot. We dubbed ourselves "The Climate Queens" as we never escaped the heat - we seemed to bring it with us. I guess my title is intact. I am still a reigning climate queen. Yikes.

I'll leave with a photo of the Roach & Sivils clan. Can't wait to see them again, perhaps next March. On the knitting front - the mojo has returned. I've turned the heel & hope to complete the gusset today.


Ciao ~

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 ~