As the seven year mark looms on our epic journey to Arizona, I've been thinking about how crazy this adventure has been and how different things might have turned out if we were still in our cozy little life in Idaho. I still miss it like crazy, but I've learned to love this place and all it has to offer. I took on the mindset that "if you can't change it, embrace it" early on and I thank my lucky stars all the time that I did, because, if I've done nothing else, I've embraced it. I figured I'd make a list of some of the things I love about it here:
- I can still go snowboarding...in fact, The Snowbowl in Flagstaff is closer than pretty much any mountain was at home, allowing me to make quick trips up alone without driving hours on solid ice and 18" of snow in the dark. Plus, I get to board free on my birthday :)
- As long as you go out early enough or late enough, you can still participate in plenty of recreational activities during the summer (a luxury that "Phoenicians" are not afforded), and if it's still too hot, you can always hit up the Verde River on a kayak or spend the day lounging on the shelf of the neighborhood clubhouse pool:)
- There's an International Airport less than 2 hours away
- I never have to scrape ice off of my windshield
- We are much closer to the beach down here...6 hours from San Diego to be specific
- One word: Monsoons. I've never delighted in the pure power of a good storm quite like I do during about 3 months of the Summer. It's clear, sunny, and hot in the mornings, and then a black cloud crosses over the mountain, and with it, insane rain, lightening storms like I'd only seen in magazines, and thunder that will shake the roof tiles off of your house. As far a the "dry heat" that everyone refers to, yeah right.
- On any random day between December and March, you can either head north an hour and get a snow fix in, or head south an hour and bask poolside at a luxury resort while getting a bronzed glow.
- Not having a Target (or anything else for that matter) down the street has probably saved us a fortune.
- Fewer mosquitoes
- We are part of the "Dark Sky Coalition" (very few street lights, business signs, ball-field lighting, etc) meaning that you can't see or find anything after 9 pm, but we've got amazing sunsets and the stars are pretty incredible in the night sky.
The last 12 months has been pretty crazy for Sam and myself...career changes for both of us and insane schedules that leave us going for days and days without seeing or speaking to each other. Overall, it's been fine, we've learned to really cherish the time that we get together and we appreciate and support each other so much...but that doesn't make it easy. So this year, I really wanted to do something special for our Anniversary...something where it was just the 2 of us, no cell phones, no stress. We didn't really have a lot of time to go somewhere, so I asked Sam if he wanted to float the Colorado together and camp on the beach and he was all in.
We started out our weekend with some pool time with the fellas, a late afternoon matinee, and take out Mexican food. Sunday morning, we packed up and headed north, dropping the boys off at their mom's house on the way and catching breakfast at The Coffee Pot.
Soundtrack:
3 hours later, we arrived at Lee's Ferry, unloaded our gear, packed up the kayaks (we were able to carry everything we needed with us in or on the kayaks very comfortably with room to spare), and met our back haul half and hour early. It tuned out that we were the only people going up the canyon that day (JACKPOT!!), so we got on the river early and started the hour-long journey upstream. Once we saw the dam, we unloaded, paddled for around an 1 1/2 hours, and reached Horseshoe bend where we decided to set up camp.
We decided on a campsite and had everything set up within half an hour. We explored the area a little bit and watched the sky turn every shade of pink and purple as the sun went down, then Sam got his fire raging and we put dinner on the grill - french dip hoagies and potatoes. I even packed cookies for something sweet after dinner :) We ended the evening cuddled up on a big blanket in the sand next to the fire looking up at the most incredible night sky I have ever witnessed. I'm certainly not an Astronomer, but I'm pretty sure we could even see the Milky Way Galaxy up there...It looked like something out of a travel guide. It was basically the best night ever. Seriously.
The next morning, we whipped up some pancakes and bacon on the campfire for breakfast and Sam got some much needed coffee going. A couple of hours later, we were packed up and back on the river for the next 9 miles.
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| The Stache has always got to be on point! |
We paddled for a bit, then chilled for a bit...talking and taking pictures and eating cookies and snacks. It ended up taking us about 3 hours to get back to the the launching point.
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| Wild Horses |
On our way home, we stopped in Flagstaff for dinner and then watched a movie and passed out early.
I'd say that the trip was pretty close to perfect. Some people think that if you feel like you've been married forever that that's a bad thing, but I don't think so. I think I've changed so much since Sam became a part of me that it seems like an entirely different lifetime...I don't really even want to remember anything before him. The same goes for living in this new place that now feels like a part of me. I can't even begin to imagine where we would be if we were still in Idaho, but I do think that things happen for a reason and you've just got to roll with the punches, and I'm so glad that we did. I'm so excited for the future and I'm so proud of what we've accomplished and what we've become together...I can't think of a better way to kiss 7 years goodbye and welcome in the next chapter!