The Next Chapter

well. we managed to work quite efficiently thru the week and get off of work early Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday we decided to take the opportunity of such an beautiful day, and return to south mountain for another hike. this time however, we chose to try a more challenging side of the mountain...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

far from the tourists paths as possible, we slowly ascended up the mountain. not too far into our climb a familiar feeling of nostalgia passed over me. something about climbing and nature and doing something just do it...anyway, we had previously climbed around eight hundred feet, and this time we managed to make it around two thousand before it got mark and we had to turn back. from that point you could see it seemed like every city in Arizona. the power of its magnificence doubled when we had turned back to see the cities completely lit
up from two thousand feet... of course as cool as that was to see, climbing down a mountain is a little more enough when you can hardly see the trail in front of you. not to mention my knee has gotten progressively worse, and the aid of this brace become necessary... I just hope it heals up in time for Washington. I refuse to not mountain climb in Washington because of a bum knee...
you can't stop me!

afterwards we got domesticated, did some laundry at local non-english-speaking laundry mat, and a quick stop to grocery store. called it a night after cooking a gourmet dinner on Kevin's travel hot plate, and rested up for another long day. as I had said, we worked quite efficiently throughout the week, which allowed us actually to finish up by nine in the morning on Thursday. optionally we had planned to stay in AZ another day or two, but my partner had been peer pressured into leaving for Las Vegas straight after work. so we head back to the hotel, to pack up our week long home, and say goodbye to AZ and hello to sin city ( which conveniently was only five hours away )... we were in no hurry to get to Washington, so we took the time to stop at Hoover dam for a chance to stretch our legs, and to take a few photos.

 

 














Hoover dam was quite impressive to say the least. it was mind boggling to think of its construction process, let alone it left us standing, marvelling at the sure size of it. anyway another sight to cross off the list. so on we went to sin city...

as its my custom to document by type and photo, my travels, I'm going to spare you the text, except to say...

" What happens in Las Vegas, Stays in Las Vegas."

 

 I maintain however, that this trip, is going to be the turning point in my life. everything I'm experiencing is something to take with me forever,to say I've been there,done that, and have no regrets on my death bed.

The New Life

Well I've been pretty busy as you can imagine. Working, living, laundry, groceries, trying to stay active. My body is tired, my hands and arms covered in scratches, and my knee is swollen...

However. I am the happiest I've been in years. I love the work I've been doing, and have been doing it well. Living in a hotel isn't as bad as one might think, the view is great, the pool is always warm, and my bed is double the size. I run almost everyday, been walking up to eight miles a night, and work keeps my mind from wandering, as well as supports a healthier body with the physical movement. I don't have to deal with customers, stand all day at a register, or drive sixty miles a day to and from work...

I feel at last, a balance

We were let off early a few days ago, so Kevin and I decided to go for a hike. I took a suggestion from a local I work with, to head to South Mountain. Only roughly fifteen minutes out, we packed what little gear we had, picked up some water, and headed out. Having only been to mountains a few times in my life,  it was amazing to be standing at the base of one. Anxiously, I packed up my camera gear ( the bare necessities anyway...), and started up the beaten path. As I'm not one for working out or running, I was glad to say I had started again previously in the week, for climbing up the mountain was quite exhausting. But boy was it worth it.

The weather was perfect, sunny with clouds, the temperature was in the mid seventies. The mountain was unoccupied, sounds from all over reverberated around us, and we had at least four hours to climb. We watched the last rays of sunlight pass over Phoenix, hills covered and uncovered with shadows from the passing clouds, and thousands of houses,businesses, and people miniaturized before our eyes. One of the best parts of the climb, was getting into this valley, and having what looked like falcons, fly overhead and swooping down the mountain in front of us. What made such a simple event so incredible, was the fact that we had reached a point where the sound from the cities was blocked by the mountain, so when the birds flew overhead, we heard nothing but the sound of wind created by their wings... After taking in as much as would could for the day, we headed back down the mountain, just in time to catch the sun setting.

I still don't feel like I've come down from the mountains... The feeling reminds me of this Chinese proverb.

"If I am dreaming, let me never awake, if I am awake, let me never sleep."

In other news, we've found out the next store location we're going to be working. Wenatchee, Washington, sits around three hours from Seattle, nestled between a river and a mountain. We've booked our hotel, and should be arriving there some time on Monday night. I'm excited to see another thirteen hundred miles of land I've never crossed before. Not to mention, I guess according to my TomTom, we'll have to pass Las Vegas, Nevada... Life is rough ;).

Anyway, I hope all is well with those of you back home. Until we meet again, enjoy the pictures, and the blog. Don't forget, you can reach me through phone, text, twitter, facebook, email... Look for another update soon!