Monday, January 26, 2009
Bluff Springs Hike
I had a great day out with the AOTC hiking from the Peralta Trailhead to the Bluff Springs Trail to the Lost Dutchman Trail. It was ten miles with an elevation gain of 1400ft. I have included my iphone gps stats below. You can click on "Bluff Springs" and see more at the EveryTrail site. Also below is a slide show of photos from the trip.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Boulder Canyon/ Second Water HIke
Yesterday I joined the AOTC group to hike the Boulder Canyon and Second Water trails. For those of you who just like to view the photos, they are here. There is also a slideshow at the end of this post.
The trip was an out and back trip of approximately 15 miles. I used my iphone gps and it was out from that but you can see the information it gives below. (It was not set to high accuracy to conserve battery power. ) For a phone I think it give a pretty good overview of what we did that day. You can click on the link and see more detailed information and maps.
The hike was very pretty with great views of Battleship Mountain. The desert was very green. We saw only one flower and one cactus about to bloom. If we get some more rain it might be a good wildflower season which starts in February and peaks in March. We also saw an old indian clay mine.
The trip leaders, Dan and Garry, were awesome. They made sure everyone was safe. Apparently ten people were lost on the trail last year. It was a great day out.
The trip was an out and back trip of approximately 15 miles. I used my iphone gps and it was out from that but you can see the information it gives below. (It was not set to high accuracy to conserve battery power. ) For a phone I think it give a pretty good overview of what we did that day. You can click on the link and see more detailed information and maps.
The hike was very pretty with great views of Battleship Mountain. The desert was very green. We saw only one flower and one cactus about to bloom. If we get some more rain it might be a good wildflower season which starts in February and peaks in March. We also saw an old indian clay mine.
The trip leaders, Dan and Garry, were awesome. They made sure everyone was safe. Apparently ten people were lost on the trail last year. It was a great day out.
Boulder canyon/ second water
Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS GeotaggingMonday, January 12, 2009
Dixie's Tupperware Party
Dad and I went to see a show called Dixie's Tupperware Party. It is a comedy about the life of an ex-con who needed to get a job to get back her kids. The job chosen was tupperware. The show was very funny with Dixie offering a variety of alternatives for the uses of tupperware and many sexual references. We had seats right at the front and Dad became almost a co-star when he volunteered the information that he had never been to a tupperware party. Dixie often called on him when when making an off hand remark. However, the exceptionally funny bit came when she had him come on stage to demonstrate the use of the tupperware can opener. For those of you who do not know this can opener, it works very differently than the regular one. She gave Dad instruction on its use for five to ten minutes. Poor dad struggled but was finally able to get it happening. After all that I thought that she was going to give him a can opener but no instead he got the can of fruit that he opened. To give Dad credit when Wendy came to visit me she tried to open a can of something while I was at work and gave up. I had one of these Tupperware can openers. Below is a picture that we took after the show.
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| From Dixie's Tupperware Party |
Romero Canyon
Went out yesterday with AOTC (Arizona Outdoor Travel Club) to do a hike in the Tuscon region. We met at Fry's Electronics at 6:30am and journeyed down to Catalina State Park where we split into two groups. Group A hiked to the Romero Saddle and Group B hiked a fair ways into Romero Canyon. Since it was my first hike back I went with Group B. The day started out with a small emergency. Grace's water had all spilled out in transit. However, myself and others had extra so we filled her up. The hike was beautiful. I put some photos here. I was glad that I did the 10mile hike as my foot was quite sore on the way down. However, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and I was able to walk eight miles today without issue. I am seeing the acupuncturists again tomorrow in hope that I can get to a pain free point.
I tried out the iphone Trails application on the return leg of the hike. It created this map. I am not sure how accurate it is. For sure the speed is out. Also the distance and elevation don't seem to exactly match but it is kind of cool.
I tried out the iphone Trails application on the return leg of the hike. It created this map. I am not sure how accurate it is. For sure the speed is out. Also the distance and elevation don't seem to exactly match but it is kind of cool.
Romero canyon
Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS GeotaggingMonday, December 29, 2008
Hiking in the last weekend in 2008
South Mountain Park
We attempted a family hike/ walk at South Mountain. It almost didn't happen because we couldn't find the correct entrance where JJ and Huichi were waiting. However, using our iphone location sensor and Google maps we were able to find the way. Once we got there we started walking. Huichi and I set a bit of a faster pace. After a time we called the others and discovered they had turned off the trail. We walked back but missed the turn off so we walked all the way back to the parking lot. Once there we headed up the trail that we figured the others would be coming down. We found them. However, the littlest nephew had fallen down twice and had decided that his walk had come to an end. PJ ended up carrying him the rest of the way because he wouldn't ride JJ's shoulders. The older nephew did fine.
Peralta Trail
Huichi wanted to hike out to see Weaver's Needle. She figured we could hike out and back before she and JJ were to leave on Sunday. We had a good time hiking out. The rocks rise in a striking steep manner around the trail. The trail steadly goes up until you reach Fremont Saddle. There was snow on the trail which is pretty funny. Worse there was ice on the trail and both Huichi and I slipped more than once. At the top the views were great. We headed down carefully. As we reached the bottom of the trail I got a call from Dad. We were running late. My brother was less than impressed when we arrived home ten minutes after he and Huichi were supposed to be heading back to Las Vegas. Photos here
More photos in Facebook
We attempted a family hike/ walk at South Mountain. It almost didn't happen because we couldn't find the correct entrance where JJ and Huichi were waiting. However, using our iphone location sensor and Google maps we were able to find the way. Once we got there we started walking. Huichi and I set a bit of a faster pace. After a time we called the others and discovered they had turned off the trail. We walked back but missed the turn off so we walked all the way back to the parking lot. Once there we headed up the trail that we figured the others would be coming down. We found them. However, the littlest nephew had fallen down twice and had decided that his walk had come to an end. PJ ended up carrying him the rest of the way because he wouldn't ride JJ's shoulders. The older nephew did fine.
Peralta Trail
Huichi wanted to hike out to see Weaver's Needle. She figured we could hike out and back before she and JJ were to leave on Sunday. We had a good time hiking out. The rocks rise in a striking steep manner around the trail. The trail steadly goes up until you reach Fremont Saddle. There was snow on the trail which is pretty funny. Worse there was ice on the trail and both Huichi and I slipped more than once. At the top the views were great. We headed down carefully. As we reached the bottom of the trail I got a call from Dad. We were running late. My brother was less than impressed when we arrived home ten minutes after he and Huichi were supposed to be heading back to Las Vegas. Photos here
More photos in Facebook
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Thursday, December 25, 2008
Getting Home for Christmas
Flight to Bangkok
Well I finally got on the plane to Bangkok and it took off around 2 hours late. That was the upside. The downside were two children who cried most of the time. Also none of the toilets on my side of the plane worked. It's no wonder I am feeling a bit stopped up now.
Bangkok
By the time I got here my connecting flight was long gone. However, I have to say there were pretty organized. They had a little sign with my name on it. I was offered new flights and a room. The room was in the Novetel and it was a beautiful hotel. The bed was really soft. I got to my room around 2am. The bad news - more screaming children in the hotel. I had to get up at 5:30. Then I got a free breakfast and I had an awesome waffle that they made right in front of me. When I got to the airport I checked in and they said I would have to get my boarding pass for Tokyo to LAX in Tokyo. Well I had about an hour layover. I said that I wanted my boarding pass before and that I was worried about a middle seat. They said they couldn't do anything. Finally, they said they would telex Tokyo about my seat and a veggie meal. I asked for a copy of the telex. In the mean time I went to an Internet centre to get my boarding pass for my flight from LAX to PHX (Southwest). I was able to check in but couldn't print it. I wasn't really sure what would happen from that. The really good news is that I got a whole row (3 seats) on this flight. The flight was only half full.
Tokyo
Again they met me at the gate with a sign with my name on it. They escorted me to my departing gate and guess what? They gave me a middle seat. I complained. They said that was all they could do. I said that wasn't good enough. I suggested maybe they should upgrade me. They said sorry and asked if it was alright. I said "No' that I had bought the ticket nine months ago and paid quite a bit of money. That I had addressed this issue at Bangkiok and showed them the telex. In the end I kept my cool and walked away. Later they came over to me and gave me an aisle seat in premium economy. Funny it appeared that a fight almost broke out. I didn't understand what was going on because it was in Japanese. The flight attendant looked like she was about to have a heart attack. It was a pretty nice flight but I couldn't eat the dinner (no veggie meal). I took one of Wendy's sleeping pills and got some more sleep.
LAX
I got through immigration so fast I couldn't believe it. That was likely because I was going to wait anyway as my bags didn't arrive and I had to fill out alot of paperwork. The folks were pretty nice. They seemed to even have my name already so I feel that those bags should turn up pretty quickly. I made my way over to Terminal 1, printed out my boarding pass (B11 - not good for me I like to be A1), went through security and called Dad. That is when I got another piece of bad news. My flight had a two hour delay. I am currently trying to get on an earilier flight standby but i am not feeling optimistic as they are all oversold and they are offering people money to take later flights.
The very good news is that it seems pretty likely I will make it home sometime tonight (Dec 24)
Merry Christmas !!
Well I finally got on the plane to Bangkok and it took off around 2 hours late. That was the upside. The downside were two children who cried most of the time. Also none of the toilets on my side of the plane worked. It's no wonder I am feeling a bit stopped up now.
Bangkok
By the time I got here my connecting flight was long gone. However, I have to say there were pretty organized. They had a little sign with my name on it. I was offered new flights and a room. The room was in the Novetel and it was a beautiful hotel. The bed was really soft. I got to my room around 2am. The bad news - more screaming children in the hotel. I had to get up at 5:30. Then I got a free breakfast and I had an awesome waffle that they made right in front of me. When I got to the airport I checked in and they said I would have to get my boarding pass for Tokyo to LAX in Tokyo. Well I had about an hour layover. I said that I wanted my boarding pass before and that I was worried about a middle seat. They said they couldn't do anything. Finally, they said they would telex Tokyo about my seat and a veggie meal. I asked for a copy of the telex. In the mean time I went to an Internet centre to get my boarding pass for my flight from LAX to PHX (Southwest). I was able to check in but couldn't print it. I wasn't really sure what would happen from that. The really good news is that I got a whole row (3 seats) on this flight. The flight was only half full.
Tokyo
Again they met me at the gate with a sign with my name on it. They escorted me to my departing gate and guess what? They gave me a middle seat. I complained. They said that was all they could do. I said that wasn't good enough. I suggested maybe they should upgrade me. They said sorry and asked if it was alright. I said "No' that I had bought the ticket nine months ago and paid quite a bit of money. That I had addressed this issue at Bangkiok and showed them the telex. In the end I kept my cool and walked away. Later they came over to me and gave me an aisle seat in premium economy. Funny it appeared that a fight almost broke out. I didn't understand what was going on because it was in Japanese. The flight attendant looked like she was about to have a heart attack. It was a pretty nice flight but I couldn't eat the dinner (no veggie meal). I took one of Wendy's sleeping pills and got some more sleep.
LAX
I got through immigration so fast I couldn't believe it. That was likely because I was going to wait anyway as my bags didn't arrive and I had to fill out alot of paperwork. The folks were pretty nice. They seemed to even have my name already so I feel that those bags should turn up pretty quickly. I made my way over to Terminal 1, printed out my boarding pass (B11 - not good for me I like to be A1), went through security and called Dad. That is when I got another piece of bad news. My flight had a two hour delay. I am currently trying to get on an earilier flight standby but i am not feeling optimistic as they are all oversold and they are offering people money to take later flights.
The very good news is that it seems pretty likely I will make it home sometime tonight (Dec 24)
Merry Christmas !!
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Last Days in Oz
Sunday Dec 21st
I took the bus from Geraldton to Perth. In order to take a later bus I went on the inland route bus which takes longer - seven hours to be specific. I will never understand why on a half full bus they insist on putting people next to each other and leaving entire rows empty. I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy who smoke a cigarette right before getting on the bus. He was also on the large side making the situation uncomfortable. After about a half hour I moved to a row with no one in it and stayed there the rest of the trip. The bus did get in 15 minutes early which was GREAT!
Monday Dec 22nd
Got up at 6am for a 7am pickup to go to Rottnest. I almost didn't get to go because I hadn't taken my credit card but they ended up letting me go anyway. Rottnest is so lovely. I rode a rental bike around the island. I stopped and snorkeled at Parker Point. There I ran into two difficulties - bad rental mask and my camera stopped working. I think I am camera cursed. I still had a great day riding around the island but was sad not to get more than a few photos. In a Yellowstone like fashion I saw a few other riders pulled over and I went over to check it out. There were several quokkas (small marsupials) including a mother with her young. She was kind of hugging him. I finished my ride around the island stopping at Little Parakeet Bay. I realy think Parker Point and Little Salmon and Big Salmon are the most lovely spots on the island. I took the boat and bus back and returned at 7pm. (The transit time on this trip was longer because I left from the Perth Jetty - I recommend the Fremantle one but I didn't want to haul all my stuff down there). Oh I forgot to say I took Kwells (sea sick medication) and it was well worth it because others did get sick on the way over and the way back.
Tuesday Dec 23
I got up and reorganised my gear. I am taking much more carryon in case my luggage doesn't make it to LAX when I do. I am still missing my favorite REI shirt. I think it is gone for good. However, it is always good to have an excuse to go to REI. If I am lucky there will be a sale on or something soon. I also walked to the post office to mail a couple of postcards and did a walk down the Swan River. I saw heaps of birds - herons, egrets, pelicans, ibis, and some that I didn't know what they were. Not much more time here in Perth and then I will begin my epic 23 hour + layover plane journey back to family and friends.
At the Airport
I took the 2pm shuttle to the airport thus arriving very early. There were still a few people waiting in line in front of me. We noticed that the counter personnel seemed to be experiencing issues. The line behind us grew longer and longer all the way down the terminal to the arrivals area. We waited and waited. After about an hour and a half they seemed to get the system kind of working (but slowly). So I got checked in around 2.5 hours after I arrived. I was probably the 10th person in economy to get checked in. There is no word when we will board. Although the departure sign said Go to Gate and then Boarding. Now they are saying that Boarding will be manual and slow. What a surprise.
Photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.olson.au/LastDaysInOz#
I took the bus from Geraldton to Perth. In order to take a later bus I went on the inland route bus which takes longer - seven hours to be specific. I will never understand why on a half full bus they insist on putting people next to each other and leaving entire rows empty. I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy who smoke a cigarette right before getting on the bus. He was also on the large side making the situation uncomfortable. After about a half hour I moved to a row with no one in it and stayed there the rest of the trip. The bus did get in 15 minutes early which was GREAT!
Monday Dec 22nd
Got up at 6am for a 7am pickup to go to Rottnest. I almost didn't get to go because I hadn't taken my credit card but they ended up letting me go anyway. Rottnest is so lovely. I rode a rental bike around the island. I stopped and snorkeled at Parker Point. There I ran into two difficulties - bad rental mask and my camera stopped working. I think I am camera cursed. I still had a great day riding around the island but was sad not to get more than a few photos. In a Yellowstone like fashion I saw a few other riders pulled over and I went over to check it out. There were several quokkas (small marsupials) including a mother with her young. She was kind of hugging him. I finished my ride around the island stopping at Little Parakeet Bay. I realy think Parker Point and Little Salmon and Big Salmon are the most lovely spots on the island. I took the boat and bus back and returned at 7pm. (The transit time on this trip was longer because I left from the Perth Jetty - I recommend the Fremantle one but I didn't want to haul all my stuff down there). Oh I forgot to say I took Kwells (sea sick medication) and it was well worth it because others did get sick on the way over and the way back.
Tuesday Dec 23
I got up and reorganised my gear. I am taking much more carryon in case my luggage doesn't make it to LAX when I do. I am still missing my favorite REI shirt. I think it is gone for good. However, it is always good to have an excuse to go to REI. If I am lucky there will be a sale on or something soon. I also walked to the post office to mail a couple of postcards and did a walk down the Swan River. I saw heaps of birds - herons, egrets, pelicans, ibis, and some that I didn't know what they were. Not much more time here in Perth and then I will begin my epic 23 hour + layover plane journey back to family and friends.
At the Airport
I took the 2pm shuttle to the airport thus arriving very early. There were still a few people waiting in line in front of me. We noticed that the counter personnel seemed to be experiencing issues. The line behind us grew longer and longer all the way down the terminal to the arrivals area. We waited and waited. After about an hour and a half they seemed to get the system kind of working (but slowly). So I got checked in around 2.5 hours after I arrived. I was probably the 10th person in economy to get checked in. There is no word when we will board. Although the departure sign said Go to Gate and then Boarding. Now they are saying that Boarding will be manual and slow. What a surprise.
Photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.olson.au/LastDaysInOz#
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