Basketball Battle

It’s tournament time

And the Kings are here for it

We had to win our first game

To make it to the winners bracket

And we did it—

By 2 points

The second weekend of play

Didn’t go quite as well.

We played hard,

But lost the first game…

And then the second.

But not because of lack of effort!

No medals for us,

But still proud to be on this team.

 

Cabin Escape

It has been since LABOR DAY since we all got to the cabin

But the stars have aligned this weekend

and we seized the opportunity!

The Council of Coffeewalkers was fired up,

Ready to make the most of our time

The weather was awesome.

We did a lot of walking and 4 wheeling.

They were doing a controlled burn at the end of the road

Which made for some cool pictures

Sigh.

It’s always a reset when we are down here.

Time to high-tail it home…

We have a DG run to make

Before we go to…

The VFW for pool and Keno.

And, new this trip, SLOT MACHINES!

Yep, slots are legal when you are 18

So the whole place started pitching in money

So Jackson could have a fulfilling first gambling experience.

Ok, it’s not really his first gambling experience.

We’ve been betting at cards since we were in preschool.

Although I’m not sure $1 buy-in really counts as gambling

But staying up until 2am playing

Sure makes it feel like real gambling!

Whew!

We need a vacation from our vacation!

So long, Jerry!

It’s been a good ride, Jerry.

But the problems have become too numerous—

Cracked windshield,

Rusted frame,

Rusted ball joints,

Clunky heater baffle…—

And now you failed your inspection.

Thanks for all the memories.

You’ve been a good first car.

Jackson will get over his devastation with time.

 

Phoenix Escape Day 3: All the cactuses

Today we headed south to Tucson

To check out Saguaro National Park and Sabino State Park

Because we need to get up close and personal with some cacti.

As you look at these pictures,

If you are are thinking

“Wow, that’s a good picture”

It’s probably taken by Jackson.

He’s really good at this.

We saw prickly pear

Pencil cholla 

And, of course, saguaros.

We had a really low bar—

I mean, we were “just” going to hike the desert

And see some cacti,

But we were really impressed.

It was gorgeous.

We did a few hikes

Including Valley View…

Which ended with this crazy valley view 

Of SO MANY CACTI!

We paused to take it in.

And maybe a picture too.

We thought this one was a little suggestive…

And needed one more good family picture

Up close and personal.

Then we were off to Sabino—

It came highly recommended from a friend.

And it was COOL!

We took a longer hike here—

About 4 miles up and down through the cacti.

We ran into a couple of roadrunners at lunch!

It was really scenic.

One family picture to mark the occasion 

Before we pressed onward

Past the teddy bear cholla

And a few (ok LOT) more saguaros

We had some dinner in Old Town

And then watched the Olympics from the hot tub

And played alllll the games

One last time

What a weekend!

Thanks, Santa!

Phoenix Escape Day 2: Return to Sedona

Our last trip to Sedona was filled with fog and rain—

This trip was definitely not!

We could see it beckoning to us as we drove north…

We have 2 classic Sedona hikes today—

Up first is Devil’s Bridge.

Off we go!

The trail was really busy,

Busier than nearly any trail we’ve ever done.

But we still managed to enjoy the view

And take some good pictures

A quick 2 miles

And we landed here at the bridge—

See the green in the middle?

You are looking through a hole underneath.

Pretty cool, right?

Wouldn’t it be cool to go out on that and take a picture?

We thought so too—

But here’s the line.

Meh.

We’ve got more things to do.

Like find a good spot for a Valentine’s lunch…

With the AMAZING photo bomber.

We found a nice little spot

In the sun a bit off the trail

And as Mom is pulling lunch out of bags,

Dad pulls out this:

Dang.

He’s just full of surprises.

Dad’s got game.

Devil’s Bridge:

Great scenery,

Good hike,

Lots of people.

After making it through Sedona traffic

(seriously, 45 minutes to go 6 miles???)

On to the next one—

Cathedral Rock.

There were some really cool formations around it too.

(Photo by Jack—he’s really good at this)

It was about 0.6 miles down a road to the base 

and then only 0.6 miles to the top…

Straight up a scramble

Can you find all 4 of us on the rock?

We LOVE a good scramble

And we made it to the top in no time

(Another good one from Jackson)

Everyone smile!

What a view!

Now those are some good pictures

But we wanted an EPIC one.

We watched a few people shimmy out along the ledge

And decided we needed that picture too.

Well…5 of us did.

Another photo credit to Jackson.

But then,

YOLO struck Jackson too…

And we got our EPIC family picture

The shimmy wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked

From afar.

Safely back down,

Mom and Dad needed a Valentine’s picture 

Cathedral Rock:

A bit busy (including a lady in flip flops 

scrambling while holding her dog…)

Beautiful scenery

And our favorite hike in a while.

Yep,

A much better trip to Sedona!