My parents were in Tucson visiting so we decided to do a hike in Catalina State Park. There was still some water flowing so I decided to jump in (sorry, no pics).
Angelo and I decided to take a day off work in England and get some fresh air. We went to explore Brimham Rocks near Summerbridge and got to hike around and climb some boulders. We had a lot of fun, as you can see from the pictures.
On a business trip to Alice Springs, two coworkers and I decided to take a day off to see Uluru (also known as Ayer’s Rock). This is one of the most well-recognized features of the Australian outback, so we couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
We signed on with a bus tour that left town at midnight. That night, we hung out at Bojangles, enjoying the free peanuts, the strong beer, and the live music. As our hour approached, we left for the bus pickup location. We got on the bus and went to sleep for the 6-hour drive. The bus was barely a quarter full, so there was plenty of room to stretch out. Several times throughout the night, we awoke to a loud BANG and a violent shaking of the bus. Turns out the bus hits kangaroos pretty regulary, and considering they’re about my size (~6 feet tall, almost 200 lbs), it was no wonder.
We arrived at Uluru in time to catch the sun rising on the rock, which was simply breathtaking. The pictures don’t do it justice. We had our free breakfast and then headed to the rock. We wanted to climb the rock (even though the Aboriginees prefer we not) but the trail was closed due to high winds. We instead decided to do the 10km (6 mile) hike around the base of the monolith. We set a fast pace since the bus tour was sticking around for less than 2 hours. We made it, but ended up holding up the rest of the bus for about 10-15 minutes.
The bus then headed over to Kata Tjuta (also known as The Olgas) and the guide took us on a short hike and lectured us on the area, the flora & fauna, and the native people who lived here. We left there, stopped at one of the resorts for lunch, and headed back for Alice Springs. On the way we stopped at several roadside gas stations. At one of them, the owner had a pet dingo, which was pretty cool.
All in all, one of the most fun, awe-inspiring trips I’ve taken.
My cousin Tony was in town from Minnesota for the holidays so he, my parents and I decided to try to find Skull Cave. This was the site of a massacre of Apache warriors, women, and children. We rented a boat at Canyon Lake, went upriver, and hiked up to what we believe to be the site.
The Apache thought this fortress to be impregnable, but the soldiers fired off the roof of the cave, ricocheting their bullets and murdering everyone inside. This trip was a very humbling experience.
The Smoldts were in town for Thanksgiving, so we decided to do a hike in the McDowells. We were looking for the rumored WWII plane crash wreckage, but didn’t find it. We did stumble upon a live desert tortoise and the remains of another, less fortunate one. Finally, I prepared some cholla for my disbelieving parents & family friends. The taste is similar to cucumber.
To prepare:
- Collect cholla. I recommend using tongs and a paper sack.
- Place cholla in barbecue grill and burn off needles (no starter fluid needed!)
- Slice in half and carve out the nopales (the edible insides)
