You can fry an egg out there on the city sidewalk!
I understand why lizards live in sunny Arizona
Why people do and call it home I'll never understand
- Robert Earl Keen
I think Robert went to the wrong part of Arizona.
- moose moore
Leaving Pie Town was tough, but I promised to be back someday for the CDT. The ride to Springerville, AZ was through fast, beautiful open grassland and shrub country - it reminded me of what I expect that the rolling grasslands of Colorado would look like.
In Springerville, we stayed in the High School's football dome, which was SWEEEEEEET!
I understand why lizards live in sunny Arizona
Why people do and call it home I'll never understand
- Robert Earl Keen
I think Robert went to the wrong part of Arizona.
- moose moore
Leaving Pie Town was tough, but I promised to be back someday for the CDT. The ride to Springerville, AZ was through fast, beautiful open grassland and shrub country - it reminded me of what I expect that the rolling grasslands of Colorado would look like.
In Springerville, we stayed in the High School's football dome, which was SWEEEEEEET!
I got inside and had to do some sprints around the field. Later on, we got ready for the famed Sadies Hawkins dance. Springs found an awesome cowboy hat to wear and also got one for his date, Sasha the bear (Johanna's spirit animal)
We ended up not doing too much dancing because I wanted to play ultimate frisbee on the field, so we did that and had an awesome time! When it was time for bed, I chose to sleep on the 1 yard line, because in life, it's always fourth and goal, and the crowd is urging you to go for 6.
The ride to Haber was a pretty ride with lots of climbing – we climbed into pine country past huge areas that had been burned in the recent wildfires and areas that had been burned in the wildfires in the early 2000’s where the only way that you could tell that they had been burned was because there were no trees around. The town of Haber is extremely cool, although apparently it is on the decline as people are moving away from it. The town is a high country pine town with buildings and homes that are essentially modern cabins – they remind me of what I think modern Colorado mountain cabin homes would look like. A little further through town there were beautiful white rock outcrops that I didn’t have enough time to climb up to and explore properly, but seemed to be limestone.
The ride to Payson was a short ride that, again, climbed a long way before dropping back down again. At some point during the morning we saw a deer running with us through the woods. Before we knew it, the large animal cut towards the road and ran across it at full speed and happened to cross paths with a large SUV moving at full speed as well. The collision literally sent sound waves reverberating towards us split seconds before the limp deer carcass came skidding across the road towards us at 30 mph. Max, in front of me, bailed off the side of the road (more out of shock than because the carcass would have hit him) and the dead deer finally came to a rest in the middle of the road.
After recollecting our thoughts and composure, we continued upwards until reaching the high point of the day at just over 7,700 feet. The view of the thick pine forests blanketing the Arizona mountains sent chills through our bodies, already cold from the high altitude's cool climate.
The ride to Payson was a short ride that, again, climbed a long way before dropping back down again. At some point during the morning we saw a deer running with us through the woods. Before we knew it, the large animal cut towards the road and ran across it at full speed and happened to cross paths with a large SUV moving at full speed as well. The collision literally sent sound waves reverberating towards us split seconds before the limp deer carcass came skidding across the road towards us at 30 mph. Max, in front of me, bailed off the side of the road (more out of shock than because the carcass would have hit him) and the dead deer finally came to a rest in the middle of the road.
After recollecting our thoughts and composure, we continued upwards until reaching the high point of the day at just over 7,700 feet. The view of the thick pine forests blanketing the Arizona mountains sent chills through our bodies, already cold from the high altitude's cool climate.
Some burly men being burly
In Payson, Aaron, Mak, and I caught Teresa up on a few of the rides that she had missed by chalking out some of the beautiful scenery. Then, Chad was able to get dinner donated to all of us at MoJoe's grill - what a treat to have dinner at a restaurant!
The next day, we built with Habitat of Payson, which was a blast. The guys working there were great, and we really enjoyed finishing the day of by demolishing a wall that had structural damage (for reasons that will remain unsaid, but think bobcat truck into the wall).
The next day, we built with Habitat of Payson, which was a blast. The guys working there were great, and we really enjoyed finishing the day of by demolishing a wall that had structural damage (for reasons that will remain unsaid, but think bobcat truck into the wall).
