Mesa Trip, Day 5

Well today was pretty low key out here for me. It definitely had it moments though. In the morning we took a drive out to a town called Fountain Hills. It's only around 10 miles outside of Phoenix, but a little more affluent than most areas. The reason we decided to sneak out there though is because of a fountain they have in this beautiful park located in the middle of the town out in the middle of a lake. The fountain goes off on the hour for 15 minutes and shoots a stream of water about 200 feet in the air. It's really impressive and quite a site to see. It was just a nice time sitting in the park, looking at the fountain, watching the ducks, and relaxing.

The rest of the afternoon I just relaxed back at my grandma's, read a little bit, and took a little nap. My grandma and I then decided to go see a movie, so we headed off to see State of Play which was a really good flick if you like the whole political thriller/murder cover up genre. I think we both enjoyed ourselves. We then decided to stay in for dinner and grill out again. We bought some pork chops on the way back and grilled them up with some potatoes and a salad. It was delicious! Much better than going out for dinner, and a lot cheaper!

To finish off the day I went a took a little dip in the pool and the hot tub to relax and wind down. Great way to cap off the evening. Tomorrow is my last full day here before I head back for good old West Lafayette. It has been a great time out here, but I can feel myself starting to want to get back home.

Keep on Keepin' On

Mesa Trip Day 4

So today was pretty low key out west, especially compared to the magnitude of the previous days trips, but it was great none the less. I was able to finish a book I had been reading and start up another one that I brought along with me. We set off for the day and headed over to Hohokam Park where the Cubs have their spring training. It was a nice little ball park from what I could see, but it was cool to be able to see where they play. I snapped a few pics.

When we got around to it my grandma and I decided to venture out to get some lunch somewhere this afternoon. We headed out to Segura Lake I believe it was. It was really awesome. It's this small lake located right in the middle of some smaller mountains. There was a restaurant that was cut into the side of a bigger hill that over looked the lake where we had lunch. The place wasn't anything special, but the few was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. It was a scorcher out today though, it got up to around 105 degrees and it's still 90 right now which is around 7:15pm mountain time.

We then headed over to this large outlet shopping center as I was in need of some new running shoes. I headed into Sports Authority and found a sweet pair of Asics shoes marked down to $40, so I snatched those right up! I was pleased with the purchase as my last pair of running shoes lasted me about 4 years.

We came back and relaxed for a while before we went out to eat. For dinner we met up with my grandma's friend named Frank Rios at Olive Garden. Olive Garden is always a great place to eat, never any complaints there, but it was Frank that stole the show tonight. He was a really interesting man. Currently Frank works at Walmart as a department manager for sporting goods, but his previous work experience landed him in the social work arena. He worked locally for an agency that assists mentally ill Hispanics (Frank is Mexican and bilingual) and before that worked as an orientation supervisor for a teen boot camp ranch located outside of Phoenix that worked with at risk youth from around the country. I could have listened to Frank tell stories about working at the ranch all night. You could tell the passion he had for the work he did there and absolutely loved it. Sadly it was shut down because of a freak accident with one of the teens there, but Frank definitely had a passion for those kids. He had some really interesting stories too! Great work Frank, I admire your passion.

Peace be with you,

Curtis

Mesa Trip, Day 3

Mmmm, Grand Canyon National Park. Today at last, I had the chance to see the biggest, most beautiful hole I have ever seen. We set off from Flagstaff shortly after waking up and getting some breakfast down. The park is about 75 miles north of Flagstaff with another beautiful drive leading up to the park. I honestly was not really sure what the Grand Canyon would be like in person. Of course the pictures that I have seen of it are amazing and what we see in movies and television is nice, but just don't quite do it justice. We entered the park at the south entrance, where my grandma was able to purchase a pass for $10 which gives her lifetime access to any national park in the country, so that was pretty sweet. It took a few miles to get all the way up to the south rim of the canyon so I was sort of just nonchalantly looking out the window and then all of a sudden it caught my eye. I felt my heart jump like a little kid excited to open their Christmas presents! We found a place to park then walked over to the rim trail.

What my eyes gazed upon when I first walked out to the edge of the canyon was utter magnificence. A small amount of breathe was literally taken from me as I gazed out upon the vast expanse and depth of the canyon. It was both beautiful and powerful at the same time. I think I ended up taking about 50 or 60 pictures today which I hope will remind me of the majesty that was revealed to me. The weather we had today was absolutely perfect. It was about 80 degrees, with a slight cool breeze, and not a single cloud in the sky. This no doubt added to the beauty. This allowed visibility to be outrageous as we were able to see for about 67 miles....incredible!

We spend most of our time around the main area of the south rim which was about a mile stretch that we walked along. It gave us a few different angles of the canyon, but was a very similar view where ever we walked. I looked at the map we had been given and decided we should drive several miles east to an area called Grandview Point. Man am I glad we did that! It was an even more amazing view than before. It had a gorgeous view of the Colorado River in the distance and a mixture of trees and rock through its depth. I also got to sneak out on some rocks that leaked to the edge of the canyon which was pretty amazing and got my blood pumping a bit! This was also the trail head for the Grandview Trail. This is one of the steepest trails in the entire park as it descends around 2500 feet in about 3 miles of hiking. This has lead me to set another goal for myself.

After talking with my dad, I have set another life goal to one day hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with him, stay overnight next to the Colorado River, and hike back up. I do not know when I will be able to do this but one day I hope to accomplish this feat.

After leaving the Canyon we stopped at a small town called Williams were were at a late lunch, early dinner at Rod's Steakhouse. MMMM, was it good! I had a prime rib sandwich with some french fries and it blew my socks off! And it was only $7 for the whole thing cause it was today's special. It you're ever in Williams, AZ stop in at Rod's. It's actually right on Route 66 too!

Anyway, that's all I've got from today, but God bless and find the beauty in the moments you find yourself in. Whether it is in the beauty of creation or beauty of relationships, embrace it!

Peace

Mesa Trip, Day 2

First, I apologize for the delayed post. My internet access was limited.

Ah, day two of my adventure out west. I must admit that I did not expect at all what I would find out here through the painted deserts. Over this past Christmas I read one of Donald Miller’s book’s “Through Painted Deserts” (great read), which documents Miller and his friend Paul in their travels to the Grand Canyon from Houston, TX then up to the Pacific Northwest. It has been neat to encounter some of the same scenery and places that I recently read about. The words he wrote have now become alive. The reason those words have become alive is because of the journey my grandmother and I set out on today.

We left her home in Mesa this morning en route to Flagstaff, AZ. With tomorrow being the pinnacle of our trip by jogging north another hour or so to see one of the most breathe taking holes in the world. As we ventured more and more outside of Mesa the scenery began to take on wordless beauty. Little did I know that it was just a warm up. We decided to head for Flagstaff via the scenic route up through Sedona. All I can say is that it is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on in my life. As we neared closer to Sedona we began leaking into the Red Rock Mountains. They looked as though they were clay someone had meticulously carved them out of the Earth. Through every bend of the road I found another view leaving me in constant awe. The mountains were flooded with the green of the trees, creating a beautiful contrast with the red rock. We stopped for lunch in Sedona with is nestled right in heart of beautiful red rock mountains. Then we headed off for Flagstaff.

Flagstaff is a truly unique town. It is home to Northern Arizona University so it has the feel of a college town mixed with mountain town. I love it! There are people biking everywhere, tons of unique shops, and what looks like lots of good places to eat. They’re all local places too; it is not infiltrated by the chain business (West Lafayette). I feel like I would enjoy living here, but probably only for a short time.

So today’s scenery truly blew mind. Since I have been in Arizona the beauty has gradually increased. I cannot believe what Wednesday will bring with the Grand Canyon. I really do not know why, but I am just blown away by the views out here. I am pumped to see the canyon tomorrow; it is going to be quite the display of creation.

Peace be with you.

Mesa, AZ Day 1

So, I have the pleasure of not having any finals exams during my last semester of college. I'm not going to lie, this is really nice. This also means that I am completely done with my undergraduate degree from Purdue University. It feels incredible and yet very odd at the same time, but a grate accomplishment none the less. Well considering my lack of final exams and a couple free weeks before graduation I decided I was going to take myself a little vacation and visit my grandma out in Mesa, Arizona. She lives in a nice little retirement community in Mesa. Today was the first day of my trip and needless to say it was a great start!

I've been up since about 3am central time because our flight left Chicago at around 7:40am. Needless to say I'm pretty tired right now. We gained 2 hours coming out here so this day has felt a little longer than the norm. Well, we arrived to the Phoenix airport at around 9:40am local time (Mountain) and were picked up by an old guy named Marty who lives in the community with my grandma. He was a pretty cool cat. We then ate a great breakfast in Mesa at a little place called Red Rock Cafe. It as really good and Marty even knew the waitresses!

We then got to my grandma's place, settled in, and went to the store to get some bear essentials for the week. After relaxing for a bit we set out on a drive to a small mountain town called Tortilla Flats. When I say small I mean small. It has a restaurant, candy store, and a few camp grounds. Back in the day it was a main stop on the Apache Trail, which was pretty cool. The drive up to Tortilla Flats took us through the small mountain range outside of the greater Phoenix area. Trying to use words to describe the views is truly difficult. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The cacti mixed with red rock, and every shade of green you can think of made the mountains simply beautiful. As the road winded through the mountains it was like looking at a new postcard through every turn. It was truly surreal. I feel blessed that my eyes were able to be exposed to such beauty. (I wish I had remembered the cord for my camera to upload pictures, but you'll just have to dream it I guess) When we got to Tortilla flats we stopped at the restaurant there and had a drink then went over to the candy store and got an ice cream cone. It was perfect in the 95 degree heat!

To cap off our evening we came back to my grandma's community and I met her 84 year old neighbor named Ernie. Now Ernie recently lost his wife of about 55 years to cancer this past March, but you would not ever know. I have met few people that have quite the hop in their step like Ernie. In the short interaction I had with him I could tell he was a man of great character and energy who has lived a full life! We followed Ernie up to the game room where some gentlemen were playing pool, so Ernie and I teamed up to play a very other guys in a game of pool which we sadly lost. (I'll take the blame for the loss.) My grandma and I then went back to her place and grilled up some cajun chicken legs with some potatoes for a delicious dinner and great way to finish the long day!

Man, that was an intense day! Tomorrow could be even better, we're thinking of driving up to the Grand Canyon.....so we'll see!

Peace

Air Alert

So, for the last two weeks for three days each week I have been jumping repeatedly up and down in my living room. If you would like a more detailed explanation of the reason for this you can check out Steve's post here. But for me, for the longest time, probably since I was a freshman in high school, I have wanted to dunk a basketball. Now, I'm not talking about getting out the old street ball hoop and lowing it down to 8' so you can slam like Lebron, no, I'm talking about dunking on a regulation 10' hoop! So, about my junior year of high school I set a life goal to dunk one day. Well, as most of you know I was not blessed with the physical attribute of a tall frame. I stand at a whopping 5'7" tall (as of 2/24/2009). This has been my height since about 2003, so I don't really see myself growing much more in the future, I must be honest with myself, it's not in the cards. I was given a little bit of a jumping ability though. I first touched the rim when I was a junior in high school and really have not been able to jump any higher since then. I figured if there was any time in life to accomplish this goal, it was now. So last week I started the 15 week jumping program Air Alert III and today I finished up week 2. It has not been seriously difficult, but as I look to the later weeks, I must say that I am not looking forward to what the workout has in store. With the program guaranteeing to give you at least 8 more inches on your vertical I figure by the end there is no doubt I'll be slamming a few down! Heck, maybe I'll even be able to throw down like this guy (doubt it).

Well, hopefully by about graduation time I'll be throwin down and be a true balla. I hope this didn't sound arrogant in any way, I'm just really excited about being able to do something that I've always wanted to do!! Wish me luck. Hey, maybe you're inspired to go for one of your life goals.

Fly high brothers and sisters!

Who Needs Leno?

Our generation is very tech and communication savvy. We are cluttered with constant communication, whether that is blogging, facebook, texting, twittering, or the internet in general. Over the last year or so I have really been trying to simplify my life. I've been trying to realize what I actually need, get rid of some of the clutter and crap I have, and really just consume less. This seems like a very simple task, but I've actually found it is quite challenging. I feel we are constantly bombarded with ads and information all around us, regardless of the communication medium we are using. This always leads me to thinking I want or need something that I don't or causes me to spend countless hours of my life looking up stuff online that is just pointless. I'm sure most all of you know what I'm talking about.

So last summer, I was thinking of ways that I could simplify, free myself from the bonds of consumerism and connectivity, (and save a little money). A thought came to me. What was a big source of junk that was in my life?? What do I spend way too much time doing?? Boooom, I had it! Watching TV! Did I really need it? Nope. Did it make me want to buy stuff?? Sometimes yeah. Did I waste a lot of time watching it?? Yep. Well, I was convinced.....cable tv was going bye bye. So, since August of 2008 I have been cable tv free and I must say I'm enjoying it (we do get WLFI, but it's a bit blurry at times). First of all, it's been great saving money every month. Also, the shows that I would normally watch I can view online (thanks Hulu). Sometimes I do miss being able to watch my favorite sports teams play when they're on the tube, but hey, that's what friends are for right?? It felt good to get rid of endless hours of bad made for tv movies, trashy commercials, and less brain activity than when I sleep. I mean did you know that the average American watches TV for 151 hours a month?! That's about 5 hours a day! Ridiculous! Let's turn our attention to more pressing issues and use our beautifully sculpted minds for conquering the more pressing issues of today than checking out what Mariah Carey's bathroom looks like (you know you've seen that cribs episode).

Anyway, I just thought I would share that with you all. I've really enjoyed not having cable, maybe give a thought to giving something up that you might spend too much time doing...(hey, it is Lent right now, good time to start). I also wonder what are some other things we can do to simplify our lives???

Peace be with you.