Beards and Bears

I grew out my beard over Fall Break, about a month ago. I didn't want to look like my students' baby-faced high school siblings any more. The results at school, unfortunately, have been disappointing: my 7th graders told Erin that they find it "distracting," whatever that means, and my 8th graders told her that I could hide (or raise? I don't remember, since no one talks to me about it) a small animal in it. But yesterday, it finally proved its worth. When I walked into Peace Surplus and Outdoors about 10:00 AM to buy a Flagstaff trail map, my beard was longer than the cashier's, and I didn't have to feel like a poser.

Yesterday Erin and I finally left the Valley and went somewhere in Arizona where trees grow naturally. We made the two hour drive to Flagstaff, climbing 6000 feet out of the desert and into real mountains, and it was lovely. Here's a helpful comparison:

Phoenix, high for 10/29/10: 94 degrees

Flagstaff, high for 10/29/10: 58 degrees

Phoenix, vegetation: Saguaro cacti, prickly pear cacti, other cacti, still other cacti, 2 bushes, 5 imported palm trees

Flagstaff, vegetation: entire forests of pine trees, fir trees, aspens, oaks, even some maples

We spent about 6 hours in the area all told. Much of that time was spent driving, first down a forest service road that was blocked off half way through closed because of a recent fire, and then all the way back around town to plan B, a different hiking trail down another forest road. The road was rough, but Bernie (our Subaru) held up, and thankfully so: we found some lovely aspens along the road still adorned in yellow, and the trail was pretty much ideal as well. Our hike took us through pine forests, into two different meadows, and past even more aspens in various states of color. According to our calculations, we did 6 miles, and we felt like we could do more--pretty good for the Lazies at that elevation. Also, and certainly most important, we made a woodland friend. Just as we came to an opening in the woods on the return trip, a black bear lumbered down onto the path and stood up to take a look at us before moving on. This was a legitimate wildlife encounter, people. We weren't near any campsites or trashcans, and we didn't have any food out; this must have been his real habitat. We felt like true woodsmen.

(My lovely and accomplished wife has documented our hike--all but the bear, who was too quick for the camera--and our drive down FR 151. Check out the photos.)

When we left Flagstaff, we took a scenic highway instead of the interstate. About 5 miles south of town we found ourselves winding down into the surprisingly large Oak Creek Canyon. This was a close second, in my opinion, to the bear sighting. It was gorgeous, and I would really like to go back. Many of the trees that clung to the canyon walls had turned but kept their leaves, and so we found even more fall color. The rock formations, too, were lovely all the way to Sedona.

Now, my dad warned me about Sedona; apparently it's an important location to hippies, psychics, and UFO geeks. Apparently, Dad was right--at least in so much as Sedona has found a way to make money off of people interested in hippies and psychics and UFOs. We passed plenty of shops in the corny downtown strip that offered "aura photographs" or vortex tours. Our favorite store, "The Victorian Cowgirl," offered western-style lacy dresses, wedding attire, and seances.

We probably ate at the most prosaic location in Sedona, a Panera lookalike called "Wildflower Bread Company." Most of the other clientele were married oldsters. So we fit in pretty well. The food, too, was delicious.

We don't have any photos--aura or otherwise--from Sedona because some psychic UFOs sucked them up through a vortex.