Camelback Mtn -- 2-2-11

The famed Echo Canyon Trail. This is probably the most popular hike in the Valley and has a very small parking lot. The best times to come are very early in the morning (6 am) on the weekends or during the middle part of the day during the week. It was a chilly day that only got into the 40's and was very windy, so that cut down on the amount of hikers quite a bit.

This is a very strenuous hike that climbs 1300 ft in just a bit over a mile. But the payoff is worth it with a 360 degree view of the Valley at the top. This is not a trail for casual hikers.

Apparently, we missed Phoenix Suns' player Steve Nash hiking the mountain by just about an hour or so.

Cataract Lake

Normally we meet the folks at Kaibab Lake near Williams each summer, but their campground was full. Within a few miles of Kaibab is Cataract Lake, so we decided to make our first trip there. We caught plenty of fish, had great weather, and overall had a very nice time.

Busy Day

Started off with the great Arizona Museum of Natural History (generally called the Mesa Southwest Museum):




They have a lot of fossils and interactive exhibits and is inexpensive.

Walking around the museum for a couple of hours makes one hungry, so up next on our itinerary was the famous Iowa Cafe in Mesa. We'd heard about it but had never been there. It was started over 20 years ago by a transplanted Iowan and offers midwestern comfort food and decor that reminds other transplants of home. No wussy health food here. Be prepared to leave any diets at the door. The pork tenderloin was very good. I had it with eggs and home fries. The wife had a tenderloin sandwich.


That was going to be the end of the day, but the ringing of the doorbell at home told us differently. One of our neighbors has season tickets for Arizona State University football. He couldn't go to today's game against Stanford and asked if we'd be interested. Only two tickets, so it was decided that Alex and I would go. His first college football game and it didn't disappoint. ASU won 41-17.

A Bachelor Once More ...

The wife and kid have abandoned me for a week, visiting family in Iowa. Due to us not being rich, and me being self-employed, we couldn't quite swing me going back too.

Some pics from the beginning of their trip, albeit from my wife's crappy cel phone camera:


Alex evidently got to pilot the plane:


... but chose to read the safety procedures after getting in the air. Be afraid.

Numb3rs

Thanks to my wife's uncle Marty (set decorator for the TV show Numb3rs), we were able to watch a few scenes being filmed in downtown LA on Sunday.


Here's star Rob Morrow between takes:


After the shoot wrapped, the F/X guy gave us a personal tour of the cars involved and explained how the effects were done.


They gave us this call sheet, some of the gun shells and the hard glue plugs that were actually used to break the glass (in lieu of real bullets).


Director Alex hard at work. What a prima donna!


All in all, a pretty sweet day. We even got to eat with the cast and crew. I don't really watch Numb3rs, but we'll have to check out this episode when it airs. It's set to air Friday May 16th on CBS.

California '08 - Day 2

Long Beach, California

The previously mentioned, Acres of Books:


The Pike at Long Beach, a shopping and entertainment area. My mom spent several years of her childhood in Long Beach and Pike's is about the only area that is similar to how it was then. The aquarium and the Queen Mary were not yet around.


The Queen Mary:


And Shoreline Village, where I had a bite to eat at Gitana's

California '08 - Day 1

Manhattan Beach on Friday

Glendale Family Bike Ride

Alex and Michelle at the Glendale Family Bike Ride, which focused on alternative energy and recycling.