March 1, 2008

We woke up early (single digits) according to the plan (except for David) so we could head over to McDowell Mountain Regional Park and try to catch some of the desert in bloom. While Dave stretched, Lance and I spent time with his father, Amir, as he worked setting his garden – and warning us of the dangers of snakes, scorpions, and the dreaded ‘jumping cactus.’ (foreshadowing)

We took the civic over to the park (very close) and decided to hike the Lousley Trail (1.2 mi). The hike was only of moderate difficulty, but we were like cliché Japanese tourists shooting photos of every cactus, flower, and piles of rocks so it took us over an hour. About 2/3 of the way through the trip, Lance managed to be attacked by the ‘jumping cactus’ – it first attached itself to the sole of his shoe, and his attempt to shake it free resulted in the cactus actually working (via the barbs of its spines) itself up his shoe, to his sock, and into his flesh. We tried to pry the bud off, first using a stick, then attempting to clamp the bud between two rocks. Finally, I took off my undershirt and wrapped my hand like an oven mitt and pulled the sucker free – only to be stabbed through four or five layers of shirt myself.

Unfortunately, there weren’t the vast fields of Mexican Poppies that were described by most ‘desert in bloom’ articles. It was actually on the road outside the park that we pulled over to the side of the road and found a small patch of flowers that had sprung up thanks to the recent precipitation.

We headed back to HQ and had a fat barbeque with BBQ chicken, steak, sausage, grilled peppers & tomatos & onions, and 2 salads. Then we took another walk down to the fountain for some delicious gelato. We headed back up the hill with an ad hoc race between david and I to my truck from the beginning of the block (Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner already in my belly) and spent a few hours in the hot tub recovering.

Quote of the day:
Dave: commenting on a photo Lance is taking ‘wow, that is a really good shot!’
Lance: ‘yeah, it will be. If you ever decide to get out of it.’

Pics: a) At the trail head 'bring a comb?' b) look up there! c) when cacti attack; d) 3 friends; e) desert in bloom; f) Amir gardening.






Entry Fee to McDowell Mountain Regional Park: $6.00

Jumping cactus real name: Teddy Bear Cholla (Opuntia Bigelovii)
At last developed pics from J-Tree: http://web.mac.com/bshawley/sharktank/Road_Trippin.html