Superstition Mountains - Day 3-4

This is the best 10 mile drive that is within proxemity of a major city out there. Just to the East of Phoenix lies the Superstition mountains; named for the bright green that grows on many of the rocks. The land is jagged with severe mountains and deep gorges/canyons as these mountains are young. The brown and green contrasted on such great geography reminds me of Hawaii. If you are ever in phoenix and have access to transportation, go to Apache Junction & take 88 northeast into the mountians, the road is good. However, if you want to find an awesome place to park/camp a 10,000 lb vehicle, the terrain gets a bit rough. We had 365 degree views on the top of a knob that required some suspension articulation in our F350 chassis & suspension. Onward & Upward.
PS - That Saguaro Cactus was huge!

Relocation To Arizona

Lisa & I have decided that we are relocating to Arizona for a significant portion of the year just as the snowbirds from Canada & the Northeast do. We're thinking a plot of land, two big trailers, 1 to live in and 1 to keep our boat, 4-wheelers, kayaks and other adventure equipment in. As far as we can tell, AZ has more natural beauty and accessible opportunities for adventure and sport than any state in the Union. We continually say, if only we had the Jeep out here, if only the kayaks were on top of the RV.... Aside, from the 3-4 months when you can cook on the hood of your car, the weather is dry and perfect. So, I am now looking for a job that employs me only 6 months of the yar but yields 12 months worth of income. Ideas? Lisa is going to continue her business photographing the natuarl beauty of AZ and the wealthy snowbirds during the winter while maintaining her portrait and wedding photogaphy work when we are back home.

Driving Views

The I-40 view is from the location of our first breakfast. It inspired the long-term view thoughts.

The second two pictures are from our camp spot the second night just outside of Phoenix. It was barren with lots of road traffic to keep me concerned at night. Not as bad as the first night though as I had nightmares about a bull trying to ram into our camper.

Roots

I think I remember in one of the Donald Miller books, him describing a band of traveling gypsies or mountain people or something like that…. He explained that they were some of, if not the most caring, generous and unselfish people he has ever met. So, now that I am to some extent a traveling gypsy like those DM described (I don’t know how I attracted a beautiful woman to come along on this 20 something day (lifetime) journey), I wonder if I have gained or lost ground in developing those Jesus like qualities of the traveling mountain people……….. Well, I can’t say that I am terribly changed for the better, but I have gained some insights as to how those people are different from the usual us or me. They don’t set down any non life-giving roots. When I say roots, I mean anything that attaches me to something else: I am now quite attached to Lisa on a multitude of levels, I am attached to the Jeep I own back home because it is a “possession”, I am attached to my friends and family and the memories and relationships that I retain in my not-so-great memory. However, I have very few roots for now. Over the course of my 31 years or so, it seems that myself and so many other people have gotten strangled by non-life-giving roots at some time. It is quite freeing and a joy to temporarily live as a vagabond enjoying the wonders of God’s earth with my wonderful wife; with so few attachments or roots, it is much easier to live with joy and unselfishness. I can’t help but think of when Jesus called to Peter and his brother Andrew to leave their fishing careers behind, their boats and most everything else to become Disciples of Christ…. That must have been quite terrifying but quite freeing. Here’s to hoping that as Lisa and I live our lives, we will set down only roots that are life-giving and take the call of Christ to Heart as Peter did.

Lake Havasu

This was one of the many "drive-by" destinations that we chose which kept us off the interstates enjoying more scenic vistas. As we came around some type of wildlife sanctuary, I decided to pull off and take advantage of the tax-payer made cut-out to take in a "drive-by" view. Well after a minute or two of gazing and I think only about 8 seconds of discussion, we decided to take off climbing/hiking with camera and bathing suits in tow, just in case the water was warm. The climbing was fun and the water was cold...... we went swimming anyway.

Time In The RV

Currently: Lisa & I are watching the sunset south of I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix. We are sitting at our booth style dinner table, she cutting carrots for dinner tonight and I on the computer. We are borrowing some nice RealEstate off an access road for the next few hours to enjoy the sunset, utilize some strong cellphone tower internet and enjoy an RV dinner (Salmon Patties, zucchini & squash - nice work Lisa). We'll then head to the Wal-Mart supercenter parking lot to sleep as we won't be noticing the views and it's convenient to Saguaro NP, our destination for tomorrow. Alright, on to posting some of the previous days adventures......

Long Distance/Term Vistas

As Kris, Matt & Marty say, “take a long term view on things”……. I am learning that’s a whole lot easier to do when a person is regularly subjected to “long distance views”. So, cheers to porches that look down long driveways, climbing mountains to see where you hiked from or sitting outside your RV in NorthWest AZ eating Breakfast with 50 mile views of mountains in every direction.