Hiking along Wet Beaver Creek

Today we loaded up and headed down to Wet Beaver Creek to soak in the 60 degree weather, take Henry on his first hike and let Yampa have some fun swimming in the creek. Everything went well as Henry slept the whole way and way back which was approximately 5 miles. Yampa was very excited about the water and was trying to get down to the water at every turn. We finally arrived at our destination and she got to swim a bunch and seemed really happy. As I write this she is out cold on her bed. Henry is also sleeping in Mommy's arms but his m.o. is to rally around ten and then stay up for a couple of hours, feed again and then calm down enough to sleep for a while.

Busy busy

It seems very funny that we have been really busy but nothing around the house seems to get done. Well that's not entirely true we have been managing to keep up with things but not get ahead on anything. We do have a reason for this of course and his name in Henry. Henry was born one week ago today and weighed in at 7 pounds 9.5 ounces measuring 20 inches in length. His first week was filled with normal baby stuff like going to the doctor for the first time but also some more adventurous stuff like going to the Pay n Take, shopping for a pair of jeans for mom, and an expedition to Target this morning. Sleep comes in chunks, the dog is apathetic about anything baby and life is good. We have extremely caring family and friends and are very fortunate. Oh I almost forgot, if you haven't heard already, the week leading up to Henry's birth we had 3 rounds of snow with the last being in the top 5 storms on record. Yampa was enjoying the snow but had some difficulty with it being twice as deep as she is tall. The day Henry was born was clear and sunny though with a pretty awesome view of the peaks from the front of the hospital. Cheers!

No baby yet-might as well go to Sedona

No baby yet so yesterday we loaded up and went down to Sedona. Anne and Yampa went for a little bit of a hike and I rode a short bit. I decided on a couple of trails in the Dry Creek area to connect me over to Lost Watch to Long Canyon/Deadman's Pass back to Dry Creek area and done. It was about 60 degrees and pretty damn nice. It seemed as if town was getting busier due to the upcoming 3 day weekend but I only saw a few folks on my ride. I snapped a few photos and I will point out a powerline in one of them because without that powerline there this trail would be in the wilderness. Funny how that works. The boundary is actually just on the other side of the trail. Over the next week we quite possibly could have a little bundle of joy to add to the family and to make things a bit more exciting Flagstaff is right in the path of 3 big storms. The forecast is calling for up to 5 feet of snow. That should be really nice. Arizona Snowbowl is forecasted to receive 8 to 10 feet of snow. There are all sorts of warnings etc. around the area. Be safe out there.

A quick trip to Sedona

Went down to Sedona to let the desert soothe my soul. Decide to ride the Hot Loop and Woods Canyon Trails to see what they were all about. Good stuff for the most part. Last night we went to a shower thrown by some of Anne's coworkers and received some great gifts including a large combo gift from a bunch of people that turned out to be a B.O.B. jogging stroller which is really pretty awesome.

No explanation necessary

Quick trip down to Sedona

Anne and I took Yampa down to Sedona yesterday for a bit of excercise. We decided on the Dry Creek area. Anne took Yampa out on the leash and I headed out on my bike. Shortly after I snapped a photo of Anne and Yampa I took off on my bike for a couple of miles. I slowed for a minute and heard some heavy panting behind me and realized that Yampa had ran off from Anne and tracked me down. I assume that she had to run full speed for a long time to catch up to me. When I stopped she was gagging a bit trying not to throw up but after a quick break she was ready to go again. I rode back up to where Anne was and then continued with my ride. It was a nice day with temperatures in the 60's and nice trail conditions. A couple more weeks to go and we will have another family member to take down to Sedona.

The progression of things

I know that it has been awhile but that's the way it goes. Here is the situation. Flagstaff has received some season ending snow so I have been riding the trainer a bit and skiing. I have not made it down to Sedona this winter but plan to soon. Anne is doing well and continuing to grow little Tor Tor inside her belly. I captured her and her Mom at Thanksgiving after we put up the tree and again today while she was doing some holiday baking. We have one more month and then things will be a changin'. We went to New Mexico for another whirl wind holiday trip to see family and for Anne to go to a surprise shower/luncheon. On the way to Los Alamos we stopped by the Kokoman Liquor Store in Pojaque to peruse the fine beer selection. The funny thing about Kokoman is that it was always the place to get beer for people under 21 years of age while I was growing up. I never thought of it as a place for great beer only as a place to get as much cheap alcohol as possible. Recently upon my return to Kokoman I have discovered that the selection far exceeds just about any of liquor store I know of as far as their craft beer selection is concerned. This go around I purchase a Marble Brewing (Albuquerque) Red Ale, A Big Sky Brewery (Missoula) Biere De Noel, A Full Sail (Hood River) Wreck the Halls and a Left Hand Brewery (Longmont) Smoke Jumper Smoked Porter. There is one more beer in the picture that is worth mentioning separately as it is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head breweries. The beer is called Life and Limb and it is made with birch and maple syrups and is a lofty 10.2% ABV. I will be sure to update the activities mentioned above as headway is made.