cool Flagstaff weather - yeah!!!

This past weekend I was able to get a Sunday off work, so Caryl and I headed to the high country (again) for a quick respite in Flagstaff. At 7000 ft., the temps are much cooler than down in Phoenix. This weekend the highs were 80 on Saturday. Then with a nice, relaxing rain overnight, the temps stayed in the 60s the remainder of the time we were there. It was nice to be able to have dinner on the patio again. One thing I became acutely aware of, though, was how busy Flagstaff is as a railroad town. Trains came through 5-6 times while we were eating dinner at one of the restaurants, and the waitress said they probably get 60-70 trains a day ?!?!?!

Anyway, it was a nice time, and a special note to add. Saturday we had stopped by the animal shelter in Flagstaff to see what animals were there, and I ended up adopting a new one! She is a Heeler (cattle dog) mix, and I named her Coconino (as that is the county she resided in heretofore). I will just call her Coco for short, and have a attached a couple of pictures!

July 4th vacation

Well, in the past I have usually set out for the Ozarks to again use the boat, but in the last couple of years have gotten away from that simply due to how the holiday fell. This year travel prices helped me come to the decision to make that a more permanent resolution - to stay closer to home for the July 4th week's vacation plans. It has been nice, albeit hot, here but nothing we are not used to by now. I got to see some fireworks on the nights of both Jul 3 and 4, so that really set the holiday weekend off in style.












A nice surprise was that my buddy Brian, another KC transplant to Vegas, called and said he was headed down to one of our regional lakes for a day or two. I took the opportunity to head out to Lake Pleasant and see him for a few hours on Friday. As one of his friends had their pontoon in the water, we went and coved out for some sun, swimming, and a few adult libations. Even the wild burros made an appearance in our cove!










Saturday held a couple of get together with friends: a pool party and then a trip to a nearby wine bar for some evening wine & conversation. On Sunday, Caryl and I took up some friends on an offer to meet them at a local indoor karting track. I figured it to be fun, but it was even better than I had hoped for! We ended up doing 3 separate heats, and in the final one I even got fast lap time! Driving around their short track for ~ 15 minutes increments gave a much greater appreciation for what professional racers go through, as they are strapped in for 2 -4 hours in a Nomex suit. Quite grueling to say the least......

The rest of the week was mainly spent up in Arizona's high country (I was at about 5000 ft) relaxing away from the heat of the monsoon season. I stayed at a rustic lodge outside of Payson AZ, called Kohl's Ranch. This is on the banks of Tonto Creek, and the weather was just perfect! Caryl was able to sneak away from work for the first 2 days, and we went to explore Tonto Natural Bridge state park. This is the world's biggest natural travertine bridge, and you can hike and crawl right through it. The remainder of my time was spent hiking a few of Arizona's many beautiful trails. I got in hikes on the Tonto Creek, Box Canyon, and See Canyon springs trails. As there is always a good chance of rain in the afternoon, I did most of these late morning through lunch time. Then it was time to head back to the resort, hit the pool, and relax in the cool mountain air with a bourbon and a cigar. Not a bad way to spend a few days! It finally rained the last evening I was there, and made for an enjoyable finale to my mountain getaway.

Dick's passing

Truly, I don't quite know what to write here, but feel I should say something. As we move away from places in our lives, there are people whom we have known that stay with us even as we live and change. Such is the case with Dick Mitby, a former supervisor, and then fellow Airspace & Procedures specialist with me during my time at Kansas City ARTCC. There are too many great memories and lessons learned to address in detail here, but suffice it to to say I admired, respected, and learned from Dick in the time I was able to know him. He had been suffering in the last year from an ever-increasing set of maladies, and thanks to his loving wife, Paula, for including me on those email updates regarding his condition. One of the last ones I received from her sounded hopeful, yet the tone regarding his condition hit me with it's impending finality. As I was back in KC for a wedding over Father's Day weekend, I made it a point to make a trip to his home in Olathe before heading back to Phoenix. Though Dick was immobile due to a stroke and his body giving out, the smile that I remember on a daily basis was ever-present during my visit. I received an email from his wife that he passed away at 4 am today, and while I and many others whose lives he touched are saddened to lose him, I am proud to have known him and thankful that I was able to spend even a little time at his side before he went peacefully into Heaven.

God Bless you, Dick, and rest in the peace that the last year has not given you.
Remember there are no bogies in heaven, just a multitude of mulligans!