Serviving the heat

Yesterday (22nd) I went for an awesome bike ride. Most of the roads here are bike friendly which I can't say enough about. My friend Sonya suggested I try Old Spanish Trail and I did just that. This road goes a long ways. I took it just passed the entrance to Saguaro National Park. It was all up hill going out so I knew that I had to get my workout on the ride out. It was a great ride. I was so happy and I never worried about traffic since I had my own lane.

The afternoon was hot so I went to a movie and I was chilly in the movie which was OK. There aren't many good movies out now. I saw Confessions of a Shopoholic which was decent for the $3 I paid to see it.

Today I went to Sabino Canyon. I should have had my camera. I'm certain that my friend Laurie would think it is a sin not to take a camera to a place like that. We have seen cactus in bloom since we arrived in Arizona but today was especially beautiful. There were so many unusual colors of flowers. It was such a gift.

Sabino Canyon Recreation area is located within the Coronado National Forest. It was a short drive to get there, not more than 3o minutes top.

After entering the park I purchased a ticket for the tram which took me 3.7 miles up the canyon on a paved road. Our driver narrated along the way and I learned a couple new things. There are 9 different stops to get off the tram and different hiking options along the way. I went to the top and then hiked Phoneline Trail 6 miles to the bottom. After making the accent it was generally flat. It was not too challenging but what it lacked there it made up in scenery. At the end of the trail I had no clue which way to go to get back to the visitor center. Another couple left the trail just after me and found themselves in the same predicament. They said, well you look like you know where you're going. Wrong!! We wandered for a moment and then ran into a ranger (luckily). We still had another mile to get back to "civilization" after the end of the trail. I could tell from the map that I needed to head South. However it was close to noon and the sun was high in the sky which didn't help my poor (at best) sense of direction. Sometimes I scare myself.

I hear that our temperature here should be dropping to the upper 80's. At least that is what Bob told me when he called this morning. I might need a jacket.