Are You Feeling It?

I am.

I shaved my son's afro off yesterday. It felt so good. He looks like a young upstanding boy scout now instead of a homeless punk who doesn't own a hairbrush or have a mother that loves him. Can you say "School photo retake"?

Also note that my 13 year old is taller than I am. I'm a solid 5'4" and he is now a growing 5'6".
It's weird I tell ya. Who is that tall man walking around my house? It's not a man it's Isaak.

That photo is so fresh I am still wearing that outfit right this very second.

I saw the movie Don Jon this weekend. It was all sex the whole time which I much prefer to all explosions and car chases.

The bills are paid, the dog is sleeping, the laundry is folded, the dishwasher is emptied, I've trolled all my favorite interweb sites and here I am now blogging.

Should blogging be the last thing that I do? Should I be making it a priority to take the time to write down crazy shit that happens here in my house and in Flagstaff? I totally missed last week. I've been reading too much and then writing about reading. Not everyone wants to read that. Most people don't even want to read books let alone read a blog about somebody else reading books.

I'm only working 2 days this week.
I'm going to read a shit ton of books or at least attempt to.
I'm going to get my moustache waxed (waxed off, not use moustache wax to style my stache).
I'm going to get the dog washed.
I'm going to start and finish some taxes.
I'm going to listen to more Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
I'm only going to eat at Chipotle once this week.
I'm going to use highlighters only when absolutely necessary.
I'm going to feel it.
Are you feeling it?

Travel Planning

We didn't do anything or go anywhere this weekend.
So disappointing.
I did how ever spend some time planning for the next few months.

It is a tradition in our house to take our children for their 10th birthday to the destination of their choice without their siblings. Of course their choice must be within a days drive of Flagstaff.

Three years ago Isaak chose Las Vegas and spent the weekend driving go-carts at Circus Circus and shooting weapons at one of the fancy Vegas ranges. Meanwhile I spent some quality time shopping at Caesars.

Otis turned 10 back in August but it was so close to our gigantic summer road trip that he got shafted on the dates and hasn't had his trip yet. He has finally decided he wants to go to Legoland and we have chosen a date and booked a hotel. He wants to spend the weekend riding rides and building Legos. He has also developed a love of beignets from Ruby's Diner which is conveniently located across the freeway from Legoland.

Next on the agenda is  a trip to Vegas for Carl and I to see NIN in November. This will be a childless weekend. I always wonder whether to take the children with us on weekends or leave them at home. Of course we always have a fabulous time without them, but we feel bad leaving them out of fun experiences. Do we spend too much time away from them? Do we go out too much? It's standard parental guilt, but it still stings every time we go somewhere without them.

Ideally I would like to take the following trips in the upcoming year:

New Orleans for Carl and I in May of 2014 for our 15th anniversary. Cost of hotel and flights: $2000

Hawaii with the kids in June of 2014. Cost of hotel and flights: $6000

Summer Road Trip 2014 West Coast Highway 1 all the way to Seattle. Cost: $4000

If we keep saving and keep Christmas on the down-low I think we can make New Orleans and the road trip, but Hawaii is pushing it.
The road trips are priority #1 for travel for the next few years. Anything else is just gravy.

What I have learned most in the past year is that if you want to travel you have to book it. Book it months in advance and then plan around it. If you don't pay for the tickets and hotels in advance you will have no incentive to make it work out. We work hard all year long and our business makes it hard to take time off. I had dreamed for years to take a trip to Europe and didn't think it was possible, but it was and I still can't believe that we did it. Buy those non-refundable tickets and make it happen.

Next year New Orleans, the year after Machu Picchu, then maybe back to Europe. We will do it all.

Veit Springs Flagstaff

We didn't make it to Red Mountain. We kept it super local and crossed the street to our own backyard mountain.

This is one of the best hikes to do with kids because it has a very clear destination. We've found that when we just walk a mile in and then turn around in the middle of a trail, the kids are frustrated and cranky. If we have a goal, they are totally on board.

The destination on this hike is an old abandoned cabin, a spring, a cave, and some rock art. I know… so much reward for such a short hike. That's why it is amazing for kids. Ours loved it. This hike is super short, only a mile and a half round trip. It's not too steep or rocky, but rocky enough that the kids won't feel like they are walking on a side walk. We've been walking this hike since the kids were  small and strapped into backpacks and strollers. Now that they are big enough to crawl around on their own it's even more fun. The cabin site and it's associated structures are wedged in between some huge boulders and up against a cliff wall. There is so much to climb on and explore we probably stayed here and looked around longer than it took us to hike up.

Also since it's the end of monsoon season it's also mushroom season. Carl spend the entire hike taking pictures of all the variety of mushrooms. He says he's going to see which ones are edible and hope for some that are classified as hallucinogens.

The hike can be found in most Flagstaff guide books under Veit Springs Trail. Take highway 180 up to Snowbowl road and turn up the mountain. Climb up about 4.5 miles and look for a turn off in a little crack on the right. It's called the Lamar Haines Memorial Trailhead, but you can't see that sign from the road. Just look for the crack and a little parking area. There are usually a few cars parked there on the weekends.

Rock Art

Standing in front of the cave.

Rock art at entrance to cave.

Trees growing in the cracks up the cliff wall.

I can't say it enough times. We are very lucky to live in Flagstaff. This is not our vacation home, but our  final destination. There are so many places to explore and opportunities to teach our children. It's mind bottling. We are in nature every day. We feel the seasons. We watch things grow and decompose. We measure the rain and the snow and enjoy the sunshine. We smell the elk, hear the coyotes, feel the caterpillars, and see the trees change colors. This is one of the best seasons in Flagstaff. The monsoon is tapering off. The ground will dry out, the temperatures will cool off and it will be the perfect time to hike and explore without the threat of heat or flash flooding. The wildflowers are still in bloom and most of the summer tourists have gone home for the fall. We have the place all to ourselves.

Weather Reflections

It's been raining for about 8 days straight here in Flagstaff. Not only has the monsoon not ended, but it has morphed into something much more sinister.

Usually with monsoon season it's nice in the am, clouds up in the afternoon, rains, thunders, etc and then clears up by dinner. It's the same way in winter when it snows. The sun always comes out for the majority of the day. That's why I love it here. There is happy weather, not deep soul crushing darkness and damp.

This season not so. The clouds are oppressive and not just gray, but blue-black. The thunderheads pop up out of nowhere even with my 25 mile 180 degree views. One benign looking cloud will unleash a torrent of rain that lasts for 25 minutes. It's hard to take the dog out. I've never done a dog in the rain. She hates it and so do I.

The mountain is covered in fog and dark clouds. It looks like an evil destination from a fairy tale.

It's so bleak I had to change radio stations today. I usually listed to Alt Nation or First Wave. Not today. I moved to Symphony and brooded through my trips through the forest today with Rachmaninoff. It's very appropriate to the deep dark forest setting.

Today I will make 4 trips into town (12 miles) from my mountain castle enclave.

While living in Flagstaff, the weather has convinced me that rainy foggy weather is best suited to England.
I can totally see Carl and myself retiring into an English country life.
We would wear wellies and mackintoshes on daily walks thru kissing gates and while driving our Land Rover to all the English Heritage sites. I would wear large wool jumpers and sit in our English cottage in front of the fire reading Victorian novels and writing long hand letters with a fancy pen to my children and grandchildren across the pond.

Why does the weather in England seem romantic and cozy while in Arizona the same condition seem oppressive and restricting? Argh.

I just miss the sun

Flagstaff Route 66 Car Show 2013

It's Monday, so it's blog post day. It's a new schedule that I'm trying to keep up with and it seems to be working.
This year I am job sharing at the elementray school library. It is the best thing ever. I work every Wednesday and Thursday and every other Friday.

My house is cleaner. I'm cooking more. The business books are cleaner and more organized. The laundry is done and put away. The children are on top of their homework with my help.
But most important I have the time to write and read that I have always wanted.
I have the time to come here and reflect on the weekend and write about cool Northern Arizona events and I have the time to sit at my desk with my beautiful view and be creative and be businesslike in my attempt to write more.

See here for my other blog on reading and writing. I am a librarian after all.

This weekend was the 9th Annual Flagstaff Route 66 Days.

This is the highlight of September here in Flagstaff.

Unfortunately this year Monsoon Season is not over. Usually by the first week of September it has stopped raining every afternoon, but not this year. The car show was rained out. We luckily made it in Saturday morning before the thunderheads descended on Flagstaff. There seeemed to be less cars this year. There are 450 spots available for entry in the car show and it is usually a sell out as far as resgistration goes, but this year the show seemed a little slim. There were less streets closed downtown thanks to the cranky merchants who think that thousands of people walking around downtown is a detriment to their business. Therefore I think there were less cars. Either that or a lot of the guys with really fancy cars knew it was going to rain and kept their cars garaged this weekend.

We still had fun walking around in the early morning heat and sunshine and then took our lunch break at Bigfoot for some BBQ. All around it was a good morning. I just wish it hadn't started pouring at 1:00 and shut down the show.

We drug the children out of the house and away from their video games to see a little bit of life. They seem to enjoy themselves when out in public, but it's hard to tell from their cranky dispositions and dragging feet.

Next week we shall attempt to either hike Red Mountain, or go truck shopping in Phoenix.
I know, my life is so exciting.

Black Carl and Flock of Seagulls

It was an eventful weekend here in Flagstaff.

It started out with a late show at the Green Room with Black Carl.
Why does the Green Room say the show starts at 9:00 when the set list on the stage very clearly states that the opening opening band will go on at 9:45? Why does the headliner go on at 11:45? It gets me every time.
I am so used to shows at the Orpheum that start on time and end at a decent time.
Some of us music lovers have kids yo!

Anyway Black Carl was awesome, but failed to play my favorite song, Ran. We bailed a little early and missed that last two songs, but found an awesome new food truck located in a back alley downtown that is open from 9 pm till 3am. My mind was blown with a pork quesadilla drizzled with hot BBQ sauce.

Saturday night we braved the weather and headed out to the Coconino County Fair to hear a little Flock of Seagulls. The venue sucks. I will give the Seagulls that, but the interminable sound check while the entire crowd sat around waiting was fairly unprofessional. We were all getting a little impatient. It probably wasn't the band's fault, but they could have speeded up the process.

The show itself was okay. I 'm not a huge Flock of Seagulls fan. I only know that one song. I was 8 when most of their songs were released. They rocked it as best they could for a County Fair. The vocals sounded a little off, but hey the guy is what? 55 years old. I was disappointed that he no longer has big hair. The music was good and we were genuinely entertained. They rocked it, but not as hard as Everlast did last year.

Mike Score

I think I realized that Flock of Seagulls to me is more of a cultural icon than a band. They are referenced in so many 80's movies and parodies that the band has become more than their music. They are pop culture. Now when ever I hear a reference to them I can say, Yep I've seen Flock of Seagulls.