Our friends, Judy and Gregg Smith visited from Craig, Colorado. We toured downtown Phoenix and then headed up South Mountain.
Judy and Larry were co-workers at BLM in Craig from 1983 to 1987 and Judy retired a year ago. It's still winter up there and on their trip down Judy cheered after seeing her first bug splatter on the windshield in Utah. They were here to warm up! Craig is in the northwest corner of their state and the area is frequently the coldest spot in the nation.
The first year we lived there we did not see the picnic table from Thanksgiving until spring. The streets were snow packed all winter. Although Larry enjoyed ice fishing in the winter I could not see the attraction of sitting over a hole on the frozen lake with the wind whipping around and temps in the minus.
I focused on community and craft projects. We had a much different lifestyle there. A river ran aside the town and Larry often drove the mile or two after work to fish. Weekends provided our family time to venture to many other lakes for some trout fishing. Much of our summer was spent wood chopping in the high country. My job was packing the wood in the back of the truck. (Bet you didn't know I love to pack- logs, boxes to move, the car, U Hauls) Not nearly as scary as Larry working his chain saw on the tall trees he felled. We loved our wood burning stove in the winter when it was so cold the nails in the house frame popped and the car in the garage needed a heating pad so it would start up in the morning....... until the chimney fire. But we got over that after a visit from the chimney sweep.
I focused on community and craft projects. We had a much different lifestyle there. A river ran aside the town and Larry often drove the mile or two after work to fish. Weekends provided our family time to venture to many other lakes for some trout fishing. Much of our summer was spent wood chopping in the high country. My job was packing the wood in the back of the truck. (Bet you didn't know I love to pack- logs, boxes to move, the car, U Hauls) Not nearly as scary as Larry working his chain saw on the tall trees he felled. We loved our wood burning stove in the winter when it was so cold the nails in the house frame popped and the car in the garage needed a heating pad so it would start up in the morning....... until the chimney fire. But we got over that after a visit from the chimney sweep.
The Smiths visit brought back many wonderful memories of our time spent there. I'm a little jealous that they still live there. Hopefully they will take home some warm memories of Arizona.
Sooooo, back to South Mountain Park. The altitude at the top was 2220 feet and look at the view. Different view points along the top provide a look of Phoenix to the north and to the south where we live. The photo with all the pinkish roofs offers a birds eye peek at our neighborhood and house.
Cacti and wildflower blooms are everywhere. I love the color!
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