Summer Manifesto #27

#27: Walk/drive across Navajo Bridge

Navajo Bridge crosses the Colorado River over Marble Canyon. It's one of few roadways that cross the river. A first bridge was built in 1929 and prior to this bridge, cars had to cross the the river at Lee's Ferry. In 1995, a second bridge was built. The first bridge is now only used for pedestrians while the newer bridge handles the automobile traffic. The original bridge is a Historical Civil Engineering Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. (I'm a nerd who enjoys seeing these kinds of things.)

Aimee and I drove across the bridge multiple times in the span of 3 days, and walked across it once. On one memorable trip acorss the bridge, we were in a bus returning from a rafitng trip and the driver slowed to a crawl and then drove INCREDIBLY close to the railing to give people a better look over the edge of the bridge. I may have peed my pants at this point.

The older pedestrian bridge is on the left.

This is standing on the pedestrian bridge and looking
west towards the automobile bridge.

And looking east.

I was playing around with the settings on my camera, so that's why the lighting is so different in each picture. 

Summer Manifesto #33

#33: Spend quality time with the doxies and Aims.

Around April, I start getting a major itch to go camping. Unfortunately, that's a terrible time of year, work wise, to take off for a few days, so I had to hold out until summer comes along. We waited 4 days into summer break before we just had to pack up our dogs and head for the mountains. This trip, we originally planned to go to the Woods Canyon area up on the Mogollon Rim. When we discovered that Sharp Creek just below the rim was empty and we would have the area to ourselves, we pitched our tent there instead. There's a fire restriction for the Sitgreaves National Forest, so we stayed in a developed campground where fires are still allowed. Even though it's an established campground, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, just as if we were doing dispersed camping. Good deal!

I'll share with you my ingredients for an amazing camping trip.

1. Campfire (Camping just sucks without it. Not even worth going if you can't have a

    campfire. That's right. I said it.You don't realize how essential the fire is until you

    aren't allowed to have one.)

2.Homemade Salsa (We pretty much live on chips and salsa. We even eat it with

   our breakfast. And yes, we are disgusted with ourselves the entire time. Aimee

   was not a fan of this trip's particular salsa recipe.)

2. Hashbrowns (They go good with every meal. We often have them for breakfast
    and dinner.)

3. A couple of adventurous doxies (Who also protect cuddle with me at night.

    You know, for warmth. Not because I'm scared of bears or the dark or

    anything. )

4. A pitcher of sangria (Okay, the sangria was a new addition this trip, but we

    always have some kind of adult beverage. Normally whiskey.)

5. A Best Friend (I mean, when she gathers and carries all the wood, how

    can you not want to take her along!)

Get to Know Me A to Z

A. age: twenty-seven
B. bed size: queen
C. chore you hate: pulling weeds
D. dogs: Gabe and Ava
E. essential start to your day: doggy kisses
F. favorite color: purple (always and forever)
G. gold or silver: love both equally
H. height: five.feet.three.inches
I. instruments you play: violin and cello
J. job title: resource teacher
K. kids: yikes!
L. live: Arizona
M. maiden name: still rockin' it
N. nicknames: Megster (from my bro), Meg, and Megsie
O. overnight hospital stays: none (thank the good Lord)
P. pet peeve: knuckle cracking
Q. quote: "Ruff, ruff!" -Ava; but really, "To want what I have, to take what I'm given with grace." -Don Henley
R: right or lefty: righty
S. siblings: one older brother
T. time you wake up: 6:30ish
U. university attended: Northern Arizona University for bachelors; University of Arizona for masters
V. vegetable you dislike: celery
W. what makes you run late: when the hair and bouncin' and behavin' (Gilmore Girls reference)
X. x-rays you've had: as far I know, they have all been dental related
Y. yummy food: turkey sandwich
Z. zoo animal favorite: uh

Summer Manifesto #10

About a week ago I posted a portion of the list I created to keep me focused this summer. Otherwise, I will just waste the days reading and cuddling with the doxies. I need a plan to keep me on top of things. I'm thinking that in addition to posting part of my list, I will also post when I do some of the activities. I mean, I won't post about #14: journaling. No one needs to know about my insane love for the Biebs but me and the judge who issued the restraining order. It's not my fault that there isn't a clearer policy on how many times you can drive by someone's house blasting Baby really loud before it's considered creepy and illegal. I digress.

On to an activity I will share

#10: Go to a few Diamondbacks games

Nothing like watching the Diamondbacks kick some butt, especially since it doesn't happen too often. Jamie's brother, Jared, has season tickets and he invited us to go along with him and his girlfriend Tracy. Jamie spilled her root beer  twice (once was my fault though) and her margarita once. Innocent bystanders were splashed each time. Sorry man in front of us. We realize you were just trying to have a nice time with your young daughter. You didn't realize you were going to be attacked by massive amounts of root beer on two different occasions. (Yes, I realize that I look drunk in the picture below. I wasn't. You don't believe me?! Ask me sometime who sat down in a seat that didn't exist. I can tell you it wasn't me.)

Summer Manifesto

It's become a tradition for Aimee and I to make a summer to-do list. It can be hard to find a variety of things to do since being outside during an Arizona summer is a terrible idea. This summer, in addition to the plans she and I make, I have decided to add some activities that are really meant for me alone.   (Items in red have been done!)

This summer I will:
1. spend a day at Sunsplash
2. find 100 geocaches
3. clean & organize my craft room
4. have a bbq
5. eat at Pizzeria Bianco again

6. finish the first half of the In Death series by J.D. Robb
7. go tubing down the Salt River
8. start up Project Life again
9. love the heck out of this girl

10. go to a few Diamondbacks games
11. camp at Lee's Ferry

12. make homemade ice cream
13. visit the Grand Canyon again
14. journal
15. have lunch with mom once a week
16. visit Meteor Crater again

17. swim at the public pools in my city
18. practice yoga once a week
19. take a road trip with my friends

20. catch up on tv series with Aims
21. eat at Pane Bianco
22. swim in Water Wheel

23. visit another state
24. watch fireworks
25. swim in Lake Powell and take a boat tour
26. try one new recipe a week
27. walk/drive across Navajo Bridge

28. visit Montezuma's castle and Tuzigoot National Monument
29. go to Rawhide Wild West Town for dinner and drinks
30. drive through Monument Valley
31. camp with the Sowders

32. babysit Jax and play cars

33. spend quality time with the doxies and Aims

 

Loving Right Now

Urban Decay Naked Palette. It's become my go to makeup palette for both every day and more dramatic looks.





In Death Series by J.D. Robb

I am on book 10 Loyalty in Death. There are 42 books in the series so far, but there will probably be many more before Robb is done. The main character,Eve Dallas, annoys me. She treats everyone around her like crap. The author wants us to believe that Eve just has a tough exterior, but she is really an amazing person on the inside. No! She's a jerk all around. Regardless, I am hooked.  

Lafera Heels from Aldo

These shoes are something that I love, even though I don't actually own them. I really wanted these platform pumps, but they just weren't fitting me right. The poor sales woman was trying all kinds of things to get them to fit, but no luck.


500 Calorie Workout
This workout is a butt-kicker. I have yet to make it through the entire 60 minutes. After about 35 minutes I can't go on anymore. So I guess for me it is a 250 calorie workout.

Tubac and Tumacacori

I went on a road trip this weekend to Tubac and Tumacacori, which are about a dachshund's length from the Mexico border. Tubac is a small artsy village that has an annual Art Fest that Aimee and I love to go to. More to the point, we love to take pictures of ourselves in Tubac. It has so many picturesque spots.

Last time we were in Tubac I purchased a metal dog that I, stupidly, placed on my front porch. After a few months the dog disappeared. I was hoping to find another one at the festival, but this time I would find a safer spot for it around the house. Metal work is very popular at this art fest, but there were no dogs that caught my eye. What did catch my eye was the $5 mango margarita's at Elvira's. Sadly, the food was just so-so and the decor burned my retinas. We also visited Tubac Jack's bar, which was much more my style. We would have spent more time there, but there was a couple next to us that was having an awkward conversation.

After Tubac, our next step was the mission at Tumacacori National Historic Park.

For us, no trip is complete without a little geocaching. We found 20 geos altogether, but one definitely stood out as a favorite. On a back road in between Tubac and Tumacacori, we found this basket hanging in a tree.