4.01.2010

camelback mountain...

Yesterday, on our tour (before the 4 year excavation, remodel, rebuild, whatever it was) of our home - the Pagoda, I mentioned Camelback mountain.  It's a beautiful mountain and it's famous.  That's right, it's on the "Here and Now" Monopoly game people.  Seriously famous. 

We don't just look at the mountain from the front porch.  Sometimes we climb it.  Andrew Henry climbs it about a million more times than I do (and he goes to the top).  I could explain my years of ankle problems, sprains and eventual surgery on the ankle last year but let's not get into that now.  Needless to say, I've never been to the top.  Last Saturday, in an effort to burn off all the Palm Springs calories, we decided to give my ankle it's first real workout.  Sunrise - we begin the climb.  This is our Valley of the Sun looking east from the mountain.  See all the mountains in the distance?  We really are a valley (and boy do we get the sun).


This is the same spot looking west.  See, more mountains.  That's a golf course in the foreground, the mountain is green right now, but not that green.


This is as far as I had been before.  It's my "turn around spot".  Lucky number 13 - the daughter's birthday after all. 

But, last Saturday, we didn't turn around, we kept going.  I started climbing an unfamiliar path.  I've been doing that a lot lately.  I like it.  I really, really do.  The flowers on the Ocotillo cactus point the way.  Seriously, they do, that's the direction we had to go.


This is the view I had never seen before (even MORE mountains).


This is the view on the south side of the mountain.  That's downtown Phoenix in the distance, on the right.  This is not the top of the mountain.  It looked a bit too steep for me from here on up.  It's the coming down that scares me the most.  I was okay with not going to the top.  I was happy with where I was.  I made a new "turn around point".  I did more than I had before.  I did more than I thought I could. 

This is the the top. 


Not that much farther really.  I might go up that last bit someday.  I might not.  I don't really care.  It was a beautiful day, I was with Andrew Henry and I climbed higher than I ever had.  I'm good with that.

Coming up:  Things I love Thursday of course!

8 comments:

Henley said...

I've heard Phoenix referred to as "The Valley of the Sun" but it NEVER occured to me that is was really a VALLEY. Wow. I'm surprised. I imagined it to be totally flat. If you hadn't of shown me that scorpion this morning, I might finally be enticed to visit! I like what you said about being good with where you are. I'm trying to more that like.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. Doing more than you thought you could is a great feeling and should be celebrated. I'm with Henley. I didn't know you were so mountainous there. Prettier than I imagined.

Henley said...

It's Henley again, just wanted to say I can't believe I beat Maria to the comments. She is almost always 1st!

Maria said...

Ha ha ha! I am Laughing out loud over this one! Henley - you are too funny! Though checking this blog is one of the very first things I do each morning - even sometimes before I have had my coffee (and you can tell when that is!, I must confess to you guys - being on the east coast gives me a bit of a leg up on many of you - AND the fact that my boys RARELY sleep past 6 - if they even make it that far - I have many things in my corner that propel me into that 1st responder slot - or rather drag me there - kicking and screaming sometimes :-D Just in case I am absent or late-let us all remember that I AM packing a moving truck in the A.M. and heading up the road 4 hours - so I may bit a bit tardy on the comments for a few days - Henley can you fill in for me???:-D

J- so proud of you! I knew about Phoenix's nickname, and I knew that there were mountains, but what I didn't know was that you pushed yourself a little harder, a little further - and I am way proud of you girlie! And you are right - who cares if you ever make it to the top - the thing for me is that you never stop finding "a new stretch of road" as I call it (and you know I have had MANY) or for you - a new path - and you have MANY more of those to wander down!

Andrew H. said...

It was a wonderful morning indeed. That picture of the top is a little deceiving. We were pretty close to it. Can't wait to drag the daughter up there this weekend :-)

KR said...

'The Valley Of The Sun' is indeed beautiful!

~*~ saskia ~*~ said...

Just found your blog through sweet Koralee. Your pictures make me daydream of Summer Holidays...

Have a happy Easter weekend!

MaiPie said...

Hooray hiking up Camelback! and HOORAY to miss Meg for doing it!