The past couple of days

The past couple of days have pretty much been the standard day here in Flagstaff for me. I have just been riding and doing things around the house. After Monday's stormy weather and the mysterious white stuff on the mountain I decided to see how muddy some of the trails were on Tuesday. The trails were in pretty good shape surprisingly but I did find a bunch of hail from the day before which made me nervous and thinking of the winter cold that will be coming in a couple of months. As my ride was winding down with only the descent of Schultz Creek left before heading home I snapped a photo of the Coconino and the increasing clouds over the peaks. Then I boogied to make it home before the rain and lightning. On the way down I went through the only section of Schultz Creek that I have known people to flat on and sure enough I managed to rip a hole in my rear tubeless tire. After messing with it for 15 minutes and refusing to put a tube in it I made a run for home hoping that the sealant would hold for another 20 minutes. It did and I arrived home before the rain. Yesterday afternoon I decided that my two bikes had been neglected as far as cleaning goes so they both got a bath. I also realized that my saddleless Turner has been neglected beyond the needing of a bath and will probably ride it today and will head up Elden as penance for the neglect.

It might be hail or it might be snow

Yesterday my friend Amy and her 6 month old baby boy showed up to visit and we decided to go out to dinner at Josephine's here in Flagstaff. We also decided that it would be a celebration of Amy's birthday and Anne making partner at her job. Exciting times that called for some good food, good company and a bit of wine. This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and coffee at Macy's and Amy was off to Albuquerque. I had every intention of going for a long ride today but the thunderstorms rolled in early and thwarted my attempt. I then decided that I was going to ride the trainer as a sacrifice to maybe hold off the oncoming winter that will be here before we know it. At least I had a good movie in Pan's Labyrinth to watch while riding. This was brought on by the mysterious white stuff on the peaks after the clouds began to break. It may have just been a bunch of hail or it could have been....................?

Out with the old in with the new

Today Anne and I went out to Kendrick Mountain with Yampa and went for a little hike. Some medical reasons kept us from going too far but got out in the amazing wilderness and made the most of the day. It was super green and lush in the forest due to all of the rain we've been getting. On the way home we went on a tour of some Forest Service roads and found our way to Hart Prairie where we got an incredible view of the San Francisco Peaks and Snowbowl Ski Area. When we got home we decided to go to the Nissan dealer and look at the selection of truck and also to see if the sale they advertised this weekend was still in effect. They were offering between 8 and 15 thousand off of 2008 models and since we have been planning on getting rid of the Pathfinder and getting a truck for a couple of years now it seemed that we should go look. We wanted to get a Toyota but the financial aspect of saving about $10000 by purchasing a comparable Nissan seemed hard to pass up. So after some deliberation the Pathfinder was replaced by the Frontier in the driveway. I also learned some interesting facts about beer today while buying FatTire in a can. It appears that original Fat Tire was conditioned in the bottle but as the name grew they had to produce more and just added preservatives to make it more Costco friendly. Now that they have the cans they have gone back to conditioning it in the can and there is definitely a taste difference and it is pretty good super cold out of the can. Cheers.

The Garden Provides

This past weekend Anne and I welcomed a visit from my brother and his family. We did a bit of shopping and a lot of eating out with a few beers and a bike ride up into the Inner Basin thrown into the mix. My brother got a cool new mtb helmet with a bit of a discount from Bryce at AZ Bikes which helped seal the deal. We have recently noticed how well things are growing in the garden with all of the recent moisture and cloudy afternoons. Today we decided to pick a couple of calabicitas and make the dish of the same name for dinner with some pinto beans. The calabacitas turned out to be excellent and I was really excited to have the seeds the my Grandma and Great Uncle gave me produce the first delicious calabacitas.

Back from Napa

Last night we rolled into Flag at midnight after spending the weekend in Calistoga, CA and other areas in California's Napa Valley. We were there for the wedding of one of Anne's college friends. The rehearsal dinner was in a historical wine cellar at one of the wineries which was really cool with a bunch of 2000 gallon oak barrels and candelabras with a table that seats something over 100 people down the middle. The wedding was at a resort in Napa and was pretty fun with a good band and lots of alcohol. Each course of the meal was accompanied by a corresponding Napa wine and the glasses were refilled often. This accompanied by an open bar led to much rowdiness as the evening progressed. The first day we were there the girls had a little winery tour and rehearsal to attend so I rented a Santa Cruz Superlight and headed up a fairly relentless trail called the Oat Hill Mine Trail. This trail was really rocky and steep but a great ride. The views of the vineyards were great and there were a ton of old wagon wheel track carved into the rocks. The bike I rented had a failing rear brake on the way back down and contributed to a sweet grinding of my shin down the left pedal. It felt pretty good let me tell ya.

An original piece of art

Well Anne and I finally bit the bullet on a piece of art that we have been talking about buying for a couple of months now. It is a good thing we bought it when we did because the artist Molly Holland had a show the night we bought it and 3 or 4 people wanted to buy it. Molly and her Daughters had their puppy in obedience training with Yampa so that is how we found out about her being an artist. We then went to one of her openings during the First Fridays Art Walks that happen the first Friday of the month during the summer and are held downtown. Galleries, shops, restaurants etc. host local artists and their works so people can just walk around town and check everything out. The picture is kind of blurry but it is the best I could get without a flash (due to the reflection it creates) inside. You can check other works that have sold at www.mollyholland.com.

Somewhere around the San Francisco Peaks

The last few days have been spent running around various places in the high country around Flag. The wildflower are going nuts and everything else is super green right now. We took a bunch of wildflower pictures in between Lockett Meadow and the Inner Basin and caught these great Columbine. We also got a good photo of Yampa playing in the grass among all of the Lupine. She has been having fun lately and got to get in a quick swin in Schultz Tank a couple of days ago. All sorts of wonders abound after a wet winter and some good summer rains. Get out and enjoy it because it doesn't last.