Monday, March 23, 2009
Procrastination
You know, if I would just turn off the t.v. and internet and focus, I could get my homework done and actually go to bed. Or perhaps, I would just finally get all of my work done . . . what a wonder that would be. However, here I sit screwing around on the internet and not grading papers or doing homework. Why do I procrastinate so much? One of these days it's gonig to come back to bite me.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Home again . . .
I arrived back in AZ last night from my five day vacation to Michigan. Five days is the perfect amount of time to go home . . . enough time to see the kids and spend some time with them, and my folks. Yet, I don't begin to lose my mind half way through my vacation. While I was home dad and I went shopping for gear for our trip in the fall. I am SO excited for this trip! I think I'm going to attempt a few other camping trips before the Grand Canyon, just to make sure I can hack it!
I've been doing quite a bit of thinking the last few weeks about my next stint of time in Arizona. I love my job and my kids, but the more I have been hiking and getting up into the mountains, the more I despise Phoenix. I would absolutely love to live somewhere else in Arizona, outside of this god-forsaken valley. But with the job market as tight as it is, I think I may be stuck here for a bit. I have really begun to think that Tucson may be the place to go, as it has the attractions of a big city, yet is surrounded by mountains. I know many people don't like it, but every time I am there I truly enjoy it even more. It is the perfect size, it is not as bloody hot in the summer as Phoenix, and it has so many more outdoor opportunities. I think I am going to begin putting my resume out and see what turns up.
The other advantage to working in Tucson would be that the kids are going to be about the same demographics as mine are currently. This piece, above all, is important to me. I do not want to end up in a suburban, middle-class white school, it's just not for me. I know that, as much as I know I am meant to be a teacher. It really comes down to the fact of, where can I make the most difference? Where am I needed the most? Whether that be an inner-city district or low-income rural, I don't think it really matters. All of those children deserve a chance to an amazing education, and if I can aid in that process, then I will.
I've been doing quite a bit of thinking the last few weeks about my next stint of time in Arizona. I love my job and my kids, but the more I have been hiking and getting up into the mountains, the more I despise Phoenix. I would absolutely love to live somewhere else in Arizona, outside of this god-forsaken valley. But with the job market as tight as it is, I think I may be stuck here for a bit. I have really begun to think that Tucson may be the place to go, as it has the attractions of a big city, yet is surrounded by mountains. I know many people don't like it, but every time I am there I truly enjoy it even more. It is the perfect size, it is not as bloody hot in the summer as Phoenix, and it has so many more outdoor opportunities. I think I am going to begin putting my resume out and see what turns up.
The other advantage to working in Tucson would be that the kids are going to be about the same demographics as mine are currently. This piece, above all, is important to me. I do not want to end up in a suburban, middle-class white school, it's just not for me. I know that, as much as I know I am meant to be a teacher. It really comes down to the fact of, where can I make the most difference? Where am I needed the most? Whether that be an inner-city district or low-income rural, I don't think it really matters. All of those children deserve a chance to an amazing education, and if I can aid in that process, then I will.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sedona Secret Canyon Trail
Yesterday, on my second "official" day of Spring Break, Eric and I decided to go hiking in Sedona. We spent the previous evening looking through my books to find the perfect trail. It's frustrating because I'm not to the point yet where I can hike for 9 or 10 miles . . . couple more months, but right now I'm at about 6 miles as my max. This limited some of the hikes, they seemed to be either too easy or too hard. We found, however, what seemed to be the perfect one: Secret Canyon Trail just outside of sedona. 7.6 miles, moderate level difficulty and about 700 feet of elevation gain. . . perfect.
The next morning we headed out at about 8:30 and hit the Corner Bakery on the way (oh so delicious) where I had my first Blueberry Muffin in 3 months!! :-) We finally got on the road about 9:30, and reached Sedona at about 11:30. I forgot how far it is, I was thinking about an 1 1/2 hours, but it took a bit longer. Once we finally reached Red Rocks Territory, Eric's reaction was much the same as mine last year when dad and I went. Simple wonder. There's not much else you can say when you finally reach there. It is absolutely unbelievable. We finally got into town, which took quite a while due to construction, and stopped to figure out exactly where we were going. The trail was West of town on 89A, then right on Dry Creek Road. As we were driving, it seemed very familiar, then we finally reached Dry Creek Road and I realized this was the route dad and I went on last year during our "jeep tour." After driving on Dry Creek Road for a bit, you turn right onto a "maintained road" and must follow that for 3.2 miles. DO NOT DRIVE THIS ROAD IF YOU HAVE A SEDAN! This "maintained road" almost destroyed my little Saturn, a fact of which I was not very happy. We got about 2.5 miles, then decided to walk the rest of the way.
It's odd, whenever I start these trails, I'm so worried that I can't do it that I almost talk myself out of it. I get panicked that I'm not in good enough shape, etc, then eventually I end up completing the trail pretty successfully! I guess this comes from 10 years of being out of shape. I have also found that I do much better if I have an end point in mind. It never fails that the trip back to the car is always easier than the trip out, and I think it's purely physchological. I think for a while, I just have to make sure that I'm giving myself attainable goals, or else I will become completely overwhelmed.
ANYWAY, once we started on the trail, it reminded me so much of home. The smell of the trees, walking in the sandy trail, the scent and sound of running water, I wanted desparately to be up north. The trail was clearly marked with quite a few great little campsites along the way. The beginning follows the path of a river, which you cross twice (if it's flooding, it could be a problem!). Then, slowly we made our descent up for about 2 - 2.5 miles where we reached a plateau with the most beautiful views I think I've ever seen. We stopped here and had PBJ's for lunch (yuck. I need to find a different lunch, I really don't like PBJ), with a bit of trail mix and popcorn. While we sat, I had a great idea to take my bandana off to dry out and lay it over the top of prickly pear. I will NEVER do that again. When I went to put it back on, it had prickles all over it. Shoot. Now I had to walk back with nothing to keep the sweat out of my eyes, at least it was a quick trip back. We probably stayed for 15 - 20 minutes, then headed back. We were going to complete the trail, as it was only another mile, but both of us thought it would be a bit anti-climactic in comparison to where we were.
On the way back, we realized how much we had actually been climbing! The trip back was quick and easy, and only took us about 45 minutes to get back to the trailhead. All in all, it was around a 3 hour hike (including the time to the trailhead from the car, and back). It was incredibly gorgeous and I cannot wait to go back! Perhaps next weekend we'll go up to Prescott which is thankfully, quite a bit closer!
The next morning we headed out at about 8:30 and hit the Corner Bakery on the way (oh so delicious) where I had my first Blueberry Muffin in 3 months!! :-) We finally got on the road about 9:30, and reached Sedona at about 11:30. I forgot how far it is, I was thinking about an 1 1/2 hours, but it took a bit longer. Once we finally reached Red Rocks Territory, Eric's reaction was much the same as mine last year when dad and I went. Simple wonder. There's not much else you can say when you finally reach there. It is absolutely unbelievable. We finally got into town, which took quite a while due to construction, and stopped to figure out exactly where we were going. The trail was West of town on 89A, then right on Dry Creek Road. As we were driving, it seemed very familiar, then we finally reached Dry Creek Road and I realized this was the route dad and I went on last year during our "jeep tour." After driving on Dry Creek Road for a bit, you turn right onto a "maintained road" and must follow that for 3.2 miles. DO NOT DRIVE THIS ROAD IF YOU HAVE A SEDAN! This "maintained road" almost destroyed my little Saturn, a fact of which I was not very happy. We got about 2.5 miles, then decided to walk the rest of the way.
It's odd, whenever I start these trails, I'm so worried that I can't do it that I almost talk myself out of it. I get panicked that I'm not in good enough shape, etc, then eventually I end up completing the trail pretty successfully! I guess this comes from 10 years of being out of shape. I have also found that I do much better if I have an end point in mind. It never fails that the trip back to the car is always easier than the trip out, and I think it's purely physchological. I think for a while, I just have to make sure that I'm giving myself attainable goals, or else I will become completely overwhelmed.
ANYWAY, once we started on the trail, it reminded me so much of home. The smell of the trees, walking in the sandy trail, the scent and sound of running water, I wanted desparately to be up north. The trail was clearly marked with quite a few great little campsites along the way. The beginning follows the path of a river, which you cross twice (if it's flooding, it could be a problem!). Then, slowly we made our descent up for about 2 - 2.5 miles where we reached a plateau with the most beautiful views I think I've ever seen. We stopped here and had PBJ's for lunch (yuck. I need to find a different lunch, I really don't like PBJ), with a bit of trail mix and popcorn. While we sat, I had a great idea to take my bandana off to dry out and lay it over the top of prickly pear. I will NEVER do that again. When I went to put it back on, it had prickles all over it. Shoot. Now I had to walk back with nothing to keep the sweat out of my eyes, at least it was a quick trip back. We probably stayed for 15 - 20 minutes, then headed back. We were going to complete the trail, as it was only another mile, but both of us thought it would be a bit anti-climactic in comparison to where we were.
On the way back, we realized how much we had actually been climbing! The trip back was quick and easy, and only took us about 45 minutes to get back to the trailhead. All in all, it was around a 3 hour hike (including the time to the trailhead from the car, and back). It was incredibly gorgeous and I cannot wait to go back! Perhaps next weekend we'll go up to Prescott which is thankfully, quite a bit closer!
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