Paradise.

It's not all desert here in Arizona. We have some pretty spectacular riparian areas - I always marvel at the glorious colors of redrock country.

The redrock and the foliage naturally complement each other - Mother Nature sure is clever ;)

...just beware the Poison Ivy. Portions of this area are filthy with it!

Last Looks

Continuing downcanyon towards the Colorado, you eventually will find yourself walking the benches above the slot that is the lower end of Havasu Canyon before it joins the Colorado. The water is startlingly blue, and reminds me of the summer sky.

The Colorado River, in contrast, is much more green, and can also run chocolate-milk brown during the monsoon season. We were lucky enough to catch a blue heron fishing (he was successful) along the bank. Other wildlife spotted on this trip (though not successfully photographed) include a healthy number of bats and lizards in addition to a rarely seen (for us anyhow) desert fox!

If you are interested in making the visit to Havasu Canyon yourself, you can find information and make your reservations with the Havasupai Tribe. Peak visitation is likely during the summer months - though I personally prefer the shoulder seasons when there are fewer visitors (and temperatures are more suitable for hiking). For those who don't care to hike in or pack in your own gear, it is possible to ride a helicopter or hire a horse service to carry your pack(s) in or out of the canyon.

Magical Travertine

Travertine rims make for some beautiful photography while hiking downcanyon from Mooney falls towards the Colorado River. The calcium carbonate comes out of solution, coating and trapping leaves, sticks and other vegetation while forming miniature dams, rims and terraces.

Amazingly, evidence of historical watercourse changes can be found throughout the entire hike down canyon, provided you know where to look. Often I found myself climbing down (or up as I went back up towards the campground) old travertine terraces that have since been covered by canyon grape and other vegetation. In some regions of the canyon, I spotted silt and travertine-covered tree roots. Based on the relative elevation of these abandoned travertine terraces relative to the current water level in addition to the quantity of vegetation present, I imagine it's been quite some time since the watercourse has changed its preferred location - it makes me wonder how many large floods have occurred in the canyon, resulting in major changes to the watercourse.

Given how fast some of the vegetation grows, in addition to the evidence of travertine already covering the man-made dams near the falls, I suspect the canyon will recover relatively quickly from the flood of August 2008. Regardless of the changes, the area is stunning to visit.

Falling Waters

In case you haven't guessed, I escaped for a backpacking trip to Havasu Canyon. It's been 8 years since we last visited, and we were curious to see the changes since the the flash flood from last August.

The biggest difference occurred at and above Navajo Falls - Navajo Falls, unfortunately, is no longer (you can see what it looked like in its glory via the link above). During the course of the flood, the stream cut a new path, eating away at the relatively soft embankments to form two new waterfalls while abandoning the watercourse over the old Navajo falls. Unfortunately, we had some issues with our camera that went undiscovered until we got home, so many of our photos of the various falls did not turn out satisfactorily :(

Anyhow, this is Havasu Falls, no longer a dual split fall - all the water now flows out what was previously the right hand channel (looking at the falls). In addition to the change in waterflow, the travertine pools below the falls seem to have taken a hammering. Some work has been done to try to reconstruct the pools, and travertine is already starting to cover the man-made dams.

Mooney falls remains largely unchanged, with the exception of the silting up of the pool below the falls in addition to the loss of some of its travertine dams as well. Similarly to Havasu Falls, the tribe has installed some rock walls in the pool, to encourage the reformation of the terraced travertine.

Mineral Waters

Mother Nature sure has a way with colors! There's something about mineral laden water and red sandstone walls along with the greenery of the surrounding riparian zone that always makes me happy.

Stay tuned for more photos from the land of blue-green waters!

Changeable

In addition to all the wildlife, we got a chance to observe a wide variety of weather patterns move in and out of the Canyon all day.

Our hike in started with shifting rain clouds - they'd move in, veiling the view of the canyon, then shift and offer some clear tantalizing views.

As the day progressed, the sky would clear, then cloud back over in seemingly random intervals. Often times the clouds would be accompanied by a very welcome brisk breeze, other times, they would drop some cooling rain.


Hiking in the Grand Canyon during the summer certainly poses some additional challenges - especially with the temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. We opted to hike in early, stopping for a midafternoon siesta in whatever shade was available during the heat of the day, finishing the evening with an additional hike out to a viewpoint with hopes of catching some sunset photos (sadly, the cloud cover was too thick to make for a brilliant sunset).

If you've got a hankering to vicariously visit the Grand Canyon, and happen to be in the Phoenix Metro Area tomorrow night, you might want to check out the slideshow by Gary Ladd at the Glendale Public Library.

A Grand Visit

It's been a long while since I've visited the Big Ditch in northern Arizona - I'd nearly forgotten how glorious it can be...of course, I personally think it is more glorious when visited in the shoulder season...and when hiking outside of the main corridor...however, the corridor trails do have their uses...mainly, when record setting heat is forecast, there is much to be said for having easy water access at each 1.5 mile point on the way out ;)

Plenty of wee rodents and brave birds to observe - the rock squirrels are a boisterous bunch - brave, and highly accustomed to seeing people, visitors are reminded to not feed or otherwise coax or entice the wildlife. In addition to plenty of rock squirrels and birds (they were not cooperating with my photography, I'm afraid - but in addition to the wrens and ravens, I also saw a few hummingbirds and a condor!), we also saw some mule deer, a few bighorn sheep, several spiny lizards, some whiptails and an elk with an impressive rack. The rodents and birds can be especially brave in established areas, so much so that while our back was turned preparing dinner, I heard a small thunk in the darkness - it turned out a rather portly mouse managed to vault into our open ammo box (provided for storing food and other smellables) - luckily, as soon as we shone our lights upon him, he lept back out!

Sunshine and Camoflage

While the winter has been doing some really crazy strange things across the country, it's been nice and sunny for the most part down here in the desert...

I spied my first lizard of the year on my hike today - he's a lot darker than most of the lizards I usually see - but his coloring is perfect for the rocks he's hiding out on.

Seeing as my knee appears to be plateaued in its improvement through physical therapy, I figure I'll be shifting my attention to my general fitness and health - with that in mind, I trundled myself off to the local park for a short walk this morning.

The trail I tackled sees a lot of traffic and unfortunately suffers from poor design that has resulted in significant erosion.


If you look carefully as you walk, you can spot some rock art. This one happens to be well signed, but I know there are other petroglyphs to be found at this park.

I'm suspecting this one isn't real - considering the location of the rock in question and the appearance of the other petrogylphs in the area, this one is simply too distinct and to clean in its appearance. And yes, I do happen to both run and hike in a skirt :) I find it just as modest, and much more comfortable than shorts!

Here's to hoping that a fitness improvement will also drive further healing of my knee :)

Knitting? Yes, but nothing really looks like its making much progress and I'm having a devil of a time capturing an accurate shot of one of the projects on the needles...stay tuned!

Playing Catch Up

My apologies for the disappearing act - I've been off on one of my annual pilgrimages, and manged to get myself stuck overnight in Denver. With many thanks to the wonderful customer service agents (and definitely NOT to the gate agents) I managed to get on the earliest flight possible the following day (on a different airline) to make my destination and my morning appointments.

Where was I at? Why Outdoor Gear Mecca - the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rare is it that I can talk technical aspects of fabric, yarn, yarn construction and fiber, without peoples eyeballs glazing over. Interestingly enough, in the industry, by far, most of the folks I was having these wonderful conversations with were men...and I got the impression that they were surprised to find someone who could talk micron count, staple length and fiber blends with.

Before coming back home, I managed to get scheduled into a media tour of some Salt Lake City resorts - perfect for me to see them during the summer rather than in the winter since I haven't skied in years (something about high speeds and ground proximity don't go so well with me).

Here's the view from my room at the Alta Lodge...

Lovely, isn't it? There were deer bounding around on the slopes late in the afternoon - apparently there are also moose and antelope around also. We were also treated to a tram ride over at Snowbird, where the view from the top of the mountain was quite nice (and hey, it sure beat hiking all the way up there ;) )


The next day, I did get a chance to get out and do a hike, up over a pass (I forget the name) right over Twin Lakes and down into Solitude. You may be wondering why I have no photos of wildflowers or the twin lakes (which had overflowed their banks and appeared to be one large lake when I was there) - well, it was mostly because between the altitude and elevation gain, I was much more interested in getting up and over the pass than taking photos :P (and I figure I was kind of already holding up the group quite a bit with my slow pace). If ever you have a chance to visit - or are looking for things to do outside of Salt Lake during the summer, a visit up Little or Big Cottonwood canyons to these resorts would be fun....heck, if you're there in the winter, they have great skiing if you are so inclined!

To my surprise, Alta even hosts a knitters retreat! I suspect the aspens will be changing at that time, and the weather will be cool enough for wool (heck, I was wishing I had a wool sweater in the evening!) - you could spend the day hiking and the evenings knitting - or you could spend the whole day with your wool if so inclined - the area is beautiful, while I was there, I could have spent all day lounging on the deck with my knitting, with the hummingbirds as entertainment.

Stay tuned, I'll have Hemlock Ring progress to post soon :) and tomorrow closes the door on the Taste of Sweet pass it forward book "contest" - enter now if you're interested!

Weekend Getaway

Egads. 1 week+ since posting. Things have been a little busy round here - and look like they might be staying that way for just a little longer. Fear not, a long awaited shop update will be in the works soon (I finally took the photos of the "new" bits that are due to go up) - and TNNA is just around the corner. If you've any particular requests, let me know, and I'll keep my eyes open :)

This weekend was spent doing very little in the way of work - I actually had a chance to get out and explore! While the northern and higher elevations of Arizona actually received snow (!), we got some much needed rain in the lower elevations. After the front cleared out, with backpacks packed, we headed out for an exploration of the Blue River in the eastern edges of the state.

Saw some evidence of really cool wildlife (that would be a 5-6" diameter paw print - relatively fresh, seeing as it didn't appear to have rain speckles on itand the sand was still damp from the prior rains...yes, I do think it's a bear print). The season seemed to be still too early (or perhaps a smidge cool) for snakes - and surprisingly, the few lizards I saw were fairly large. The Blue River area also happens to be the location of Mexican Wolf reintroduction (didn't see any, I'm afraid). The area, like many riparian regions, has lots and lots of birds of all sorts of varieties - unfortunately for me, I don't know my birds anywhere near as well as my plants - and I also don't carry a telephoto lens, so getting photos to aid me in my learning quest can be quite the trick! While out hiking, we also saw plenty of bunnies, hares, a couple squirrels, and some deer in addition to the already mentioned lizards. The most amazing animal we saw on the trip was seen from our car - a mature mountain lion. It was calmly walking down the road, looking for dinner (rabbits or perhaps deer) no doubt. I've lived and hiked in the area for about 11 years now, and this was the first time I've ever seen one of these elusive big cats - it was magnificent.

After finishing with the backpacking trip, we checked out a small canyon on our way home - the slot was a pleasant surprise, especially as it carved from conglomerate rock.

On the way home, I managed to finish off the first of my balls of Koigu on my saddle shoulder sweater...luckily I had brought a spare skein to carry on :) Stay tuned, perhaps we'll have a Sweater In Progress photo soon!

13.1. It's Official.

Well over a year in the making*...I'm finally a Half Marathon finisher!

Weather: Sunny and cool in the morning with temps in the low 40s at the start, warming to a balmy 70+ degrees in the afternoon.

Gun Time**: 3:07:45
Watch Time***: 3:02:28
Max Heart Rate for the race: 195. Holy smokes. Looks like I need to adjust the programming on my watch ;)

* I had intended on running this half last yr but laid myself up with awful shin splints that resulted in a good 4 months or more of physical therapy plus new orthotics and a seemingly endless hunt for shoes
** read on for comments regarding the Gun Time
*** there is an actual likelihood that I actually finished in less than 3 hours - I had a post race brain shutdown and forgot to stop the timer - and then since I was wearing my Polar rather than my regular Timex, I had some operator error troubles :P

Race Wear: After much fussing, I opted for a Black 2-pocket GymGirl, a turquoise and white mid-sleeve v-neck, handknit wristlets, and my black Iron Girl hat

Apologies in advance for the lack of photos - I didn't bring a camera and DH was laid up at home with the flu - I'm now awaiting the official race photos, of which I expect to have some satisfactory images since I spotted at least 4 cameramen along the way :)

Night Before the Race, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring - except for me. With my pre-race jitters. I had intended to go to bed early and be well rested, but alas - at 11pm I was deciding on racewear and pre-pinning on my bib...by midnight I had set my alarm for 5:20am and had been laying in bed, listening to I don't even recall what program while knitting away on a pair of socks. I think I finally drifted off around 12:30am...only to be awoken by my loving cat at 3am as she uncharacteristically stomped around on top of me while purring loudly (normally, she sleeps at the foot of the bed, or next to my hip - I don't know what got into her that night!). 5:20 came all too quickly with the beeping of the alarm.

Hopped out of bed, slathered on the sun block and the body glide, donned the race wear and toasted and peanut buttered a bagel for the ride out to the race. Water bottle in hand, I was out the door with plenty of time to pick up some coffee enroute.

The drive out was dark, and uneventful with no traffic to be seen - until the exit that was designated for the race parking - but even then, with the stop and go to the parking lot, I still had a half hour or so to catch the less-than-5-minute shuttle to the start. A quick survey of the area revealed a bathroom with flush toilets! Hooray! No port-a-potty for me, thanks! After what appears to be the standard pre-race visit to the restroom, I got in the swift moving line for the shuttle....

And so the fun begins ;)

Apparently, the driver of the shuttle bus that I got on had been shuttling marathoners out to the marathon start - 25.x miles away from the parking area...can you guess where this is going? LOL - indeed, the shuttle headed out in the entirely wrong direction, then was finally stopped and redirected by a local racer - unfortunately, instead of heading back into the parking area to take the "normal" back way to the race start, they took surface streets and wound up dropping us off about a half mile away from the starting line due to the road closures for the race. This would have been okay if I had the time for the warm up walk to the start ;) but as I was walking briskly towards the starting line, I heard the countdown to the gun...and wound up watching the large field of half marathoners heading in my direction as they flooded through the start and were on their way - I still had to make it down to the start, and drop off my bag and sweatshirt for after the race!

**We interrupt this race report for more Stats for you:
The total field size was 845, the total number of women racers was 465.
My official time placed me well in the back of the pack, finishing 771st in the field and 403rd of the women.

Anyhow, I'm quite certain that by the time I had left my bag at the drop point for post-race stuff and made my way back to the starting line I had lost 10-15 minutes based on the impending countdown for the next race start time. Ah well, I was in it to finish - I had firmly expected to come in pretty far back in the pack. After all, due to my previous injuries and most of my training being relegated to a treadmill, my race strategy was to pace myself and run/walk the race with the intent of having fairly even splits as the miles progressed. To aid me in my quest, I had set up a fine selection of Podrunner Podcasts starting with 130 bpm, ranging up to 146 bpm - I figured the fixed beats would help me with my cadence and keep me on pace...after all, at these bpms, I was consistently training within my MAF zone, only having to resort to walking in the latter portions of my workouts.

...I was wrong. Apparently, the competitor in me was not happy about being so far behind - so even though I *thought* I was matching my running cadence with the 130 beats per minute of the tunes, I was apparently moving quite a bit faster...as was evident when I came up on Mile Marker 1 (11:34.5 with a Max Heart Rate (MHR) of 189 (oops - for your reference, my MAF training pace is 16:35-17:00)). Cripes. A definite newbie mistake - everybody warns about coming out way too fast at the start of a race. In order to try to calm my poor heart down, I wound up walking most of Mile 2 (15:00.6, MHR 174/Average HR (AHR) 166), mostly to see if it was possible to even get my heart rate down to somewhere close to my typical training zone - the answer for the curious is No - must have been the caffeine and the adrenaline - at least that's what I'm telling myself. Heading into mile 3 (13:09.4, MHR 184/AHR 179) I seemed to settle into my planned routine of running and walking - though I did it more adhoc rather than on a set time schedule - this was mostly done to accommodate the unanticipated hilliness of the course (It hadn't occurred to me to drive out and scope the course before hand - silly me). While the sun was rising in my face, I was still happy to enjoy the view of Superstition Mountain looming in the distance as the race course headed out along Lost Dutchman Blvd.

Mile 4 (14:12.8, MHR 182/AHR 175) was mostly dirt (as was mile 3, if I remember correctly. Graded dirt is definitely nicer to run on and noticeably softer than the pavement in some places due to recent rains). After getting past the backside of the hill known as the Dutchman's Revenge, my mind was still freely wandering while I continued to glance around, looking for early wild flowers (sadly, none to be found).

Mile 5 (13:08.3, MHR 185/AHR 179) saw the leaders coming back. They were looking plenty strong - while I highly doubt I will ever hit a pace like they were churning out (around 6:35 if I'm doing my math right), I do hope one day to be able to run the full distance of a half and look strong doing it!

Mile 6 (13:30.3, MHR 187/AHR 179) still going strong, and still passing people (hooray!) As I was getting closer to the turn around point, the leaders of the Full Marathon started to pass me by - they were moving at quite a clip and were seemingly untroubled by the distance. Some of these runners lapped me twice - as a leg of the race had all of us going up a street and then turning around - the full Marathoners had to run a bit further out before making their U-turn, thus the dual laps.

Mile 7 (14:03.7, MHR 187/AHR 187) I was still run/walking and still enjoying the light playing on Superstition Mountain.

Mile 8 (13:50.1, MHR 186/AHR 180) Starting to feel the burn, and slight aches, I switched from water to gatorade at the aid stations.

Mile 9 (14:14.8, MHR 188/AHR 180) As my focus began closing in more on the road and the immediate terrain (while still drifting off now and again as I spotted the occasional "for sale" sign on houses that we were running wogging by), I began wondering to myself if this was such a good idea. My shins were starting to give up the occasional prickle, and once or twice my calves had started to make initial noises of protest. I slowed a couple times to stretch and evaluate, and coax my legs into behaving.

Mile 10 (15:47.1, MHR 185/AHR 175) the Dutchmans Revenge. An aptly name hill, it's a tenth of a mile long, and rises 50 feet in that short distance - it's definitely a killer. I didn't even attempt to run it, instead, I took the opportunity to walk up while stretching my calves out along the way. The course at this point is mostly down hill with a few dips and corresponding rises along the way.

Mile 11 (13:44.0, MHR 187/AHR 178) I can see the the finish line in the distance as I continue on my quest - I'm still moving, though it's definitely taking more effort to remain running rather than walking.

Mile 12 (13:39.1, MHR 188/AHR 178) Thank goodness for the slight downhill grade - it's just enough to assist, without requiring the quads to chime in with braking power. I'm still determined to run as I can, slowing to a walk as demanded on occasion by my cardiovascular system.

Mile 13 (14:46.9, MHR 185/AHR 175) After beating back a hostile takeover by my calves and shins (I wound up walking longer than planned this last mile to calm the impending revolt), I rounded the corner back into Prospector Park and the finish line. Laid out before me was the finishing chute - and a mere 0.1 miles to go - determined to finish it strong, as I neared the mile 13 sign, I broke into a full out sprint, passing several folk along the way, it was such a joy to hear my name called out over the loudspeaker. I had finished!


I'm officially a Half Marathoner. It feels good - painful, but good :) My calves, shins and core are still having their revenge - I was hobbled a good portion of yesterday after the race (there were no options for an immediate ice bath and by the time I got home, I really didn't even want to contemplate burying myself in ice. Course, that may well have been my downfall.) Today, I'm still hobbling, though stairs don't hurt quite as much as they did yesterday. Laughing and sneezing though, are serious killers - I forgot how much my core hurt after I did my 5k last December...

I guess the big question is would I do it again? I think I have to say yes :) though I hope to be better trained next time - and will hopefully be able to run more than walk it. I managed to astonish myself with my finishing time, though now that I'm checking, the McMillan Calculator actually predicted my finish time pretty closely - at 3:04:26.

What's next? I've not decided - though if I can get my body back into a happy state, there's another 5k happening on February 29th!

Yes, I know the Half Marathon route is an out and back, and therefore the race profile should mirror itself starting at the 6.55 mile marker - I have no idea why it doesn't - isn't technology wonderful? I just find it hilarious that the hill called the Dutchman's Revenge appears as a rather prominent spike right at the end of Mile 10 - because that's exactly what it felt like!

I'm back!

I'm back from a much needed escape to the outdoors :) Almost December, and where I live, it still feels like late summer - with temps still in the mid 80's! My favorite season has always been the fall and it seems I'm destined to miss it as the weather appears determined to stay stuck in eternal summer. Luckily for me, the hiking trip was not only a much welcome break from work, but we managed to get plenty of crisp cool air and the smell of fallen leaves was everywhere :)

Photos have been pulled off the camera, but I haven't had a minute to really sort through them - I'm currently in mad preparation mode for trying to get an update done before Thanksgiving...there's a bunch of yarn still waiting to be skeined and photographed...stay tuned :)

Happy Halloween!

If ever there is a canyon that reminded me of Halloween spookiness, it's this one. Its a canyon that we visited this past summer - in case you're wondering, the canyon's name is "Not Mindbender" - other than the crazy spiders (yuck) and the biting flies, it was a lovely canyon ;) The spiders tho are what made it so creepy - deep in the dark sections of the canyon, there were huge pulsating mats of daddy long legs - now I don't know about you, but daddy long legs give me the heebie jeebies.

The taking of this photograph was fun - as you are looking at everyone on the trip in that photo - three of whom were toting cameras. Me, I was too busy being a "poser" so I don't usually tote a camera with me :P Incidentally, for this particular shot, the 3 cameras were all propped on various rock and sandy surfaces with their autotimers set up - and much running ensued to get back in the frame to effect a casual and relaxed pose. A real shame we forgot our Santa Hats - it would have made for a great holiday shot!

A long strange road indeed....

Those of you who have been reading along for a while, have noticed that I like to play outdoors :) and on occasion, for information about where I've been playing, I link to another site regularly. You may have guessed that I am in some way affiliated to said site - and indeed I am - I'm the proud wife of Todd of Todd's Desert Hiking Guide, an extensive site dedicated to providing hiking routes and info (amongst other things) for the desert Southwest (primarily Arizona and Utah)....incidentally, the DH and I have been wrapped up working on a Really Big Project.

Over a year in the making, this project, in addition to the official launch of Spritely Goods are the biggest, most significant and most rewarding (and perhaps most frustrating at times too ;) ) "Finished Objects" I've ever had the pleasure to work on...

a book. Not a knitting book ;) - but a Hiking Guide for one of my favorite activities other than knitting :) It's chock full of photos, and I'm excited to say I can now add "Cover Girl" to the list of my accomplishments ;) The book is available for purchase directly through Todd's Desert Hiking Guide - we're in the process of setting up distribution to retail locations and Amazon.com. If you happen to know of a book store or outdoor store that may be interested in carrying this book, I'd appreciate any contact info you can forward to me :)

I've learned a *ton* in the process of bringing this project to this stage, and I'm sure I'll continue to learn plenty more. Now that the books are in hand, I can say I'm very pleased with the results :)

Stay tuned for knitting content - even though she's been dry for days, I haven't unpinned the Wing of the Moth yet - was too busy moving boxes around ;)

Painted Petrogylph

Another adventure not too long ago had me hunting down the elusive "red deer" - these petroglyphs are unique because they are unique because they are actually colored. In addition to being pecked into the stones, these particular petroglyphs have also been painted with reddish-brown pigment. Several other deer in the area appear to have been previously pigmented, though exposure to the elements seems to have washed the pigment away. The Red Deer can be found in Agua Fria National Monument - near the Squaw Creek Complex. If I remember correctly, the access is by 4WD vehicle, and then on foot - though it isn't a really long "hike" - rather a ramble, checking out the ruins and other petroglyphs in the area. Better to tackle this adventure once the weather has cooled down, as the rocks can be burning hot in the summer!

Very Great Indeed!

click image to see larger version
A while back, I mused upon finding a pictograph that looked suspiciously like my cat. That unique pictograph was found while on my way to this glorious panel - the Great Gallery. This image is actually a panorama of almost the entire panel (over 300 feet in width actual size!) - the figures in the panel loom large - many of them are as large as actual people (5-6 feet tall). It is said that this panel contains over 60 figures and is considered one of the greatest pictograph panels anywhere. It is certainly unique in its size and condition based on my limited experience! If you ever get a chance to go, pack a pair of binoculars (or make use of the ones packed in ammo cans near the site) to get a "close up" view of the details. Now that it's getting cooler, I'm sure the hike would be much more pleasant than when I visited!

Almost Famous

Look! It's a photo...of me...in Backpacker Magazine!

The photo is of me swimming in Wet Beaver Creek, a wonderful, though long and demanding "hike" near Sedona, Arizona. Pretty cool, eh*?

*no, I am not from Canada - just from really near by ;)

Ancestral Feline?

Not too long ago, I had a chance to brave the heat and hike down into Horseshoe Canyon to view the various pictograph panels that the canyon is known for.

Imagine my surprise when we rounded the corner to view the Horseshoe Panel - and the first image to catch my eye was of a 4-legged animal facing a humanoid with a funky hairdo - the 4-legged creature bore a remarkable resemblance to my cat.

Witness the evidence here:


I really wish I had a Feathers McGraw doll - or even a rubber chicken for Troy to look at in the photo above - it would have made the two images a perfect match ;) Incidentally, my cat does indeed walk around like that - with his tail raised high overhead and curved over his body - he's always been that way!

While I do have wishful thinking that the animal in the pictograph is a feline, I highly suspect it is not some ancient relative of my Troy - rather I think its a dog. Apparently there is good evidence that canines have been companion animals for quite some time - and have even made it into panels such as this one.

Death(ly) Hallow(s)

In a blaze of page turning, I finished off Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this past weekend - I'm now finishing off the book on CD version :) For those who have finished who are wanting more info about what happens to all the characters, you can find a transcript of a chat with J.K. Rowling on Mugglenet.

Not too long before the release of Deathly Hallows, I finally had a chance to go on a vacation :) - the destination was just outside the town of Escalante, Utah - a hike...


...down Death Hollow. How fitting :) Photos featured here are taken after the perennial water source is reached - depending on local weather, and your own personal hiking speed, getting to the perennial water can prove to be a brutally long day. Once there though, the nature of the canyon changes dramatically - and is simply stunning.

On occasion, the pools are actually deep enough to require a swim to get across - in case you're wondering, that is indeed a child's pool toy - it was brought on the trip to aid in keeping our packs dry :)

We flew through in just three days - it is certainly possible to stretch it out longer, though for those interested in exploring the area, it should be noted that nice campsites can be hard to come by - especially in the lower reaches where poison ivy abounds. Luckily, we had heard about the poison ivy and took care to avoid it! Optimal time of year for this hike is perhaps earlier in the spring or later in the fall.

Messageboards

Petroglyphs and pictographs are interesting things. Whenever I visit sites that have these neat archaeological features, I am always mystified and I wonder sometimes what they are meant to mean. I've seen spiral petroglyphs before - but they are typically never connected to anything else - this glyph reminds me (for some reason) of some line art creature from some childhood book. Of course, I have no idea what creature it is, nor do I recall what book it was from, or if it was perhaps not even from a book, but perhaps a movie - or maybe it was some fanciful figment of my own derivation - memories are funny that way. Regardless, I'm sure that's not what the originator wanted to convey :)

If I'm remembering correctly, this was another one of the glyphs found while hunting for the elusive duck in the desert.

Speaking of spirals, they do make me think of spinning - I've finally broken into my bowl of fiber for my spun stitches project - the spinning is going slowly as I'm trying to spin finer than normal, - the fiber has been mumbling about being turned into a Wing o the Moth shawl - we'll see how it comes out in terms of yardage - I still don't think I'm spinning finely enough to ply it into a lace (heck, I'd settle for a fingering weight) yarn - at this moment I'm entertaining trying to knit the shawl out of singles - but I'm not so sure that's such a fantastic idea - though I can't imagine the lace would bias strangely - especially with a proper blocking....I'll get a photo once the bobbin is more full - there is a piteously small amount of yarn spun thus far.