Mother, Daughter.
I could argue that a Greyhound bus is a preferable way to travel these days. I absolutely despise air travel. Every single aspect of it, from the moment I arrive at the front door of one airport, until the moment I drive away from my destination—it is my vision of hell. It encapsulates everything I hate about “normal” life, from dealing with authority in the form of TSA, Customs, and Immigration agents, to being around crowds of people, to being herded like sheep. Ugh… let’s just say, I’m not a lot of fun to fly with. Ali and the kids know my feelings all too well, and get a good laugh at my expense. The big family joke is that they will always try and run off ahead of me through the TSA line because I inevitably get hauled aside, and when I do it’s also inevitable that I won’t stay especially quiet about it, which of course will lead to more delays for myself. So, they make sure and push through the throngs first, then disappear off to the magazine/candy shop or whatever other nonsense store has been erected in the airport to fleece air passengers with 500% markups. See… I can’t stop myself.
Off we go.
We arrived at Grammy’s house in Arizona in the midst of crazy monsoon rains. The kids didn’t care, they just grabbed their bikes and took off.
Time to raise the seat a few inches.
Tucson is not exactly the place to be in July and August, what with being a desert and all, so we pulled out our old Mexico trick. When it gets too hot along the Mexican coast in the summer all you have to do is head for elevation inland. In Arizona, elevation is just a couple of hours north. Sedona sits at over 4,000 feet, and just a bit further up the road is Flagstaff at 7,000. We opted for the red hills of Sedona. We loaded Grammy and the dog, found a nice rental with a few acres of land, and drove north to get settled in just as the rains finished greening everything up.
“You’ll shoot your eye out, you’ll shoot your eye out!”
Early birthday present since we’re sitting at a house in the boonies on a few acres. Lowe’s always wanted a BB gun, but didn’t think he’d get one. He was sure the box was a skateboard.
There are so many differences in my childhood versus Lowe’s that it’s hard to even compare the two. There are a lot of things he gets to do that I never even dreamed of, but also a lot I was able to do that he isn’t. Popping off BBs is one of those.
Not to be left out, Grammy bought Ouest a fancy box of art supplies. Perfect, since her interest in drawing has really perked up recently.
When you’ve been together as long as we have you learn to back off and not offer advice (most of the time). Advice like telling your wife how to hold a BB gun properly. If it had been a 12 gauge I’d have spoken up, but she wasn’t going to break a thumb, shoulder, or jaw with a BB gun. Plus, it’s kind of hard to critique form when she’s dinging cans one after another like a modern day Annie Oakley.
19 Comments on “Arizona Elevated”
A boy’d rite of passage. Well done.
My experience with women (wife and daughter) and guns is that they make disappointingly good shots.
Best just to keep them away to maintain a sense of pride..!!
lol
Maybe you’ll be taking Lowe someday to the slough and teaching him to duck hunt. Grandpa Herman would love to be out there in spirit with you both.. Starts with a BB gun.
If you really want to stay cool, go explore the lava cave between Williams and Flagstaff. Kids will love. Take some headlamps/flashlights.
What an opportunity to share family time! High up, new adventures, and lots of hugs. Aunt Joanne
PS was Josh with you? Grandma, you look great!
So happy that we are having a good monsoon this year. As the saying goes here, “We really need it!” What a beautiful place you were able to find to stay. Sorry we did not get to visit. Next time, drop by Prescott and say hello!. I think you have been here though, several years ago in blue bus??? Never ceases to amaze how quickly children grow. Our granddaughter Addie who shares Ouest’s birthday but is 23, is beginning her 2nd year of teaching in Phoenix this year. So much enjoy following your adventures and watching your children mature.
Think many people are sharing Pat’s attitude toward flying right now. Don’t expect that we will be going anywhere any time soon. Happy journeys to you.
Hi Lucy, beautiful area for sure. The afternoon rains were fun to watch from our dry patio. And it was lovely to see how much it greened up while we were there. You aren’t kidding the years seem to be in fast-forward. Wow a difficult time to start teaching for your granddaughter Addie. Good for her! Hi to Max, from us.
Agree with Pat on the flying…It’s truly awful…and wil prob get worse.
I don’t fly anymore either. Yep, TSA, sardine in a can, baby crying, kid kicking the back of your seat, person in front leaned all the way back, person next to you hasn’t bathed in a month, sitting on the runway for two hours in a plane full of gassy people. Oh the joy of flying.
HA! HA! That about describes our last flight too! Except that while waiting to board, we watched a woman feed her child a bag of Cheetos & soda-I hoped they would not sit near us. Sure enough no sooner did the plane take off than a monstrous orange eruption occurred-EEEEW! Luckily they were far from us but I felt for the poor flight attendant having to clean up that mess. Yet if we stop flying we miss the fun of all those place waiting to be visited…..
First thing I bought when we got our new house was a Red Ryder BB gun.
Plinking old cans, and popping the errant Bear (we have lots of black bears).
I can’t even imagine for lack of a better word, “culture” shock when you come back stateside. Flying must be the least of it. Traffic, crowds, weather patterns. Is it weird to acclimate to sleeping in a bed that does not move?
Pat, I agree with your comments about commercial flying with the TSA goons accosting you before letting you get on board the plane. When Bush created that agency back in 2001, I swore that I would never fly commercially again until they got rid of that agency. It will be 20 years next month since I made that oath and I have not broken it since. I expect to never break it in the future either. Sorry for the rant.
Sedona is so lovely! I hate flying as much as you, I believe. Have managed to avoid it completely since March 2020, when we flew back to the US from Mexico during the beginning of the pandemic. The Miami airport was deserted…pure bliss! I would not fly right now on a bet. Enjoy your time with Grammy!
Some of your photos, esp. these of AZ scenes could be calendar pictures, were you interested in doing something like that.
A woman ahead of me in the TSA line had a graphic of a hand grenade on her sweatshirt. She was sent to the pat down line and asked “why do you always single me out”. So, last month I drove 1100 miles to avoid flying. As always thanks for the great pictures.
It’s a haul from Sedona, but totally worth the trip to to slot canyon Little Antelope Canyon, just outside Page, AZ. Check out the photos on Google Images, and I’d bet the photographer in you will want to make the trip.
https://www.bumfuzzle.com/antelope-canyon/