Camelback Mountain Climb

Yesterday Erik and I climbed Camelback Mountain in the heart of Phoenix. At only a mile in length, the elevation gain was 1,264ft (total elevation of the mountain 2,704ft). So it was a very strenuous hike, and pretty difficult for someone that has not done any strenuous activity in over a month! Getting my fat ass up that mountain took 2.5 hours. The "trail" was either steep steps, boulder hopping/climbing, or there were a couple points where there was a rail to help pull yourself up the rocks, it was so steep.

This is a view from about 1/4 of the way up:

To the right is the summit of Camelback:

Roadrunner!
The view was pretty awesome once we got to the summit.

Some people are freaking insane! Apparently people race up that thing in less than 30 minutes, and some people even bring their toddlers up! I don't see how... But I must say, coming down was almost more difficult than going up because our legs were so tired. It was intense. Great workout, but definitely something to do when you're in better shape!

1st Dust Storm

Yesterday we had the first dust storm since I have arrived here. It started out really windy, and thunderclouds were rolling in, so we were sure we were going to get some rain, but just as the rain started, it got even windier (and the rain stopped only minutes after it started), and a half hour later we looked out the window and could barely see across the street! We live in Chandler, which is on the outskirts of Phoenix, and passed the suburban area is nothing but desert dirt. Well most of it ended up covering Chandler. It was pretty insane!
This was around 4pm at our apartments:



Pretty gross, huh? I even thought about washing my car that day before this happened, and I'm glad I didn't!

This is a video from last year, in Phoenix:


Apparently we have a lot of dust storms to look forward to until May... Welcome to the desert!

Phoenix Zoo vs. Portland Zoo

Erik and I went to the Phoenix Zoo yesterday. For those of you that don't know, I had applied there before moving down here, to work as an interprative speaker, but did not get the job (I must add I was the only phone interviewee). But now I can say that I am very happy I did not get it. First thing we come to at the entrance is a woman asking if we would like our picture taken together. Um, no thanks, can you not see this large camera slung around my neck? I'm not going to pay $20 for a picture you take of us on your dinky little digital when I can do it myself the "fun way". So that was annoying. But the thing that bothered us most was, at every single animal exibit, the animals were so depressed. They looked terrible. I didn't see one that looked happy. It WAS the middle of the day, and quite warm out, so most of them probably would be sleepy and "deperessed looking" anyway, but I know the difference between hot and tired and depressed. I understand zoos are places animals go when the other option is to be euthinized, but sometimes I think that that's a better way to go.
I've been to the Portland Zoo many times, and the animals there definitely are happier. They play with each other, have more space to run, and you just leave feeling good about the place. I felt so different leaving the Phoenix Zoo. The animals each had a very small fraction of what they would normally need (not necessarily in the wild, since most animals have a very large range and that is impossible to do in a zoo, but enough to make them happy). For example the bald eagle cage was about half the size of my apartment... And take a look at this:

You can just see it in the rino's eyes :(.

Then there's the Portland Zoo. I took this a few months ago when we went to visit the baby elephant. This polor bear was one of many happy looking animals. This guy played and played while we were watching him, and was before and after we left. I was very happy leaving the Portland Zoo after the account. The first one is of him sunbathing taking a "breather" from throwing around the pink thing that's with him, and the second is of the same one with a bucket over his head swimming on his back. This is all after watching him take a running leap into the pool like a dog to catch his toy he flung in. So dang cute.

Anyway, I'm just glad I'm not working at the Phoenix Zoo cuz I would just come home depressed every day! Don't think I'll be going back there any time soon. Go Portland Zoo!

Hollyween!

So I tried something new this Halloween and went scary instead of funny or the normal everyday black cat or hippie. I thought I'd show you my totally awesome costume since it seriously took me 15 minutes to get ready and it cost me NOTHING!! Now that's the way to go. Why spend over $50 on something that was made for $10 or less?? Homemade costumes are the best. I borrowed the hideous dress from Erik's friend's wife, and death-ified my face with light make-up and dark eyes... Oh and the blood I borrowed from some random guy at the bar. We went to a brewery in Chandler, with a live band, where everyone else in Chandler hangs out. Pretty fun!