Tucson, AZ - Change of Plans

Why do I like to hike so much? It’s outdoors, it’s activity, it’s nature, it’s challenge, it’s accomplishment. It’s perfect for burning off a few calories, enjoying the stunning views, standing atop a mountain with 360° views, surveying all in sight and for musing. What’s not to like about hiking? Oh, yeah - there’s that part between lacing up your boots, strapping on your pack and being on top of the mountain. That part. But, worth it? You bet.

Here we are in Tucson surrounded by mountains, it’s not easy to choose which trail to hike first. But, we chose and planned a hike for today. Last night we had our packs out, our clothes lines up, our protein bars ready, the camera next to the packs and the alarm set for 6:00. At 5:45 I awoke with a desire to get up and see how the bathroom was doing. When I got back, Gary had turned off the alarm and was getting dressed. Oh, shucks, I wanted to get back into bed for a little more comfy before I got up. Nope, he was on his way.

Dark outside. Black. Inky. What are we doing up at this hour? Beats me. Oh, yeah, the hike. We got dressed and checked date weather. Oops, cloudy and overcast. Not what we thought. Hmmm. We’ve got a month here in Tucson, do we have to hike on a cloudy day? And, we relaxed. In fact, I even went back to bed for 2 hours. I must have been really tired.

When I got up, we both decided to get to work. I got out my Wash and Wax All, Gary got out his ladder and we set to work. Here’s his project. We got new slide covers last year and they were of better quality than the ones the manufacturer put on - a bit heavier and thicker. Well, that’s a problem. Because it is thicker, it seems that the stitching on the new slide cover rubs against the metal cover on the slide and is causing a tear. You can see the tear in the lower left of the picture here. About 2” long but it surely will grow.

At 5:30 we had it all put away and we sat down to dinner.

And that’s all I have to say about the day.