A Winter Wonderland

Today was -- according to me, at least -- a winner in terms of date days.  After ogling the snow-covered mountains for the past week, Tanya and I drove up Mt. Lemmon today for a full day of sledding!  It's amazing that an hour's drive can take you from Saguaros to snow.

Once we started sledding, the first couple of runs were...laughable.

But, before we knew it, we were getting bruised like pros!!  (Seriously, we're going to be regretting a lot in the morning.)

Yep, it was pretty awesome.  And we'll be going back soon!  Maybe we'll get to ski next time...

Texture in the Desert

 

Summer Visitors

We had a few visitors this summer: Emily, who stayed for the entire month of July, and Tanya's parents, who stayed only a few days.  Regardless, we had a blast with everyone!

Our jaunt to the Grand Canyon was an awesome escape from the summer heat of Tucson.  Emily and Tanya got to see the canyon for the very first time!

Emily was completely astounded by the magnitude of the canyon -- but who isn't?!

Since the weather was so amazing (on the rim, at least), we decided to camp out.  It turns out that our campsite was a bit occupied.  Whoa!!

That was, officially, the closest I had ever been to elk.  I was speechless!

On the drive back from the Grand Canyon, we decided to make a pit stop in beautiful Sedona.  After some obligatory shopping, we grabbed a beer and watched a thunderstorm roll in.

When Tanya's parents got to Tucson, we escaped the heat by driving them to the top of Mt. Lemmon.  That place never gets old!  Windy Point is a great place for photos.

So cute!

First Seder

Tonight we attended our first Passover Seder at the home of our some of our friends!  It was a great experience, and we both learned a lot and drank a lot of wine.  I think I could totally be Jewish...

Here we are with Brie, Esther, and Erin -- three fellow Postdocs from the U of A.

And, yes, there is a lamp in the backyard.  Don't worry about it.

Birds of Prey

Today we took advantage of one of the most fantastic activities offered by the Desert Museum: the Birds of Prey show.  Ravens and falcons and owls...oh my!

In case you couldn't tell, the owl was my favorite. :)

Finger Rock Trail

When researching good hikes in the Tucson area, I read that the Finger Rock trail is one of the steepest, most strenuous hikes in the Santa Catalina range.  So I decided to conquer it.

The Finger Rock trail is named after Finger Rock: a rock which is shaped like an index finger, pointing skyward.

However, from a vantage point closer to sea level, the finger is barely visible!  The next shot was taken from the trail head.  (The summit, a.k.a. Mt. Kimball, is the wooded mountain in the distance.)

By the way, the review was spot-on.  The trail is, indeed, steep and strenuous...but the views are spectacular!

That morning was particularly foggy...so the distant Tucson Mountains seemed to float over the city.  Amazing!

But perhaps the best views are from atop Mt. Kimball, where one can see Mt. Lemmon, Oro Valley, and BioSphere 2.

Oh, and by the way...today is Misu's birthday!  Happy birthday, Su Bear!!