Really cool pictures

So because I haven't already written enough today there is one last thing that I want to post. My dad sent me this link to some tilk photography. It's a really cool photography technique that makes normal shots look like minatures. It's amazing how much like minatures all the pictures look... but they are all real pictues just using a different lens. Maybe someday I'll get to take some of these pictures.

The GRAND Canyon

So if hiking on Friday wasn't enough we went up to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. It always amazes me, but Grand Canyon National Park is only a 3 hour drive. My National Parks pass had expired, so I was in need of a new one. I love having the pass, because I love having a reason to be outside.
It was Austins first time at the Grand Canyon (actually it was his first time in Arizona). My roommate Michelle has never been to the Grand Canyon either, so we dragged her along. We decided to hike down part of the Kaibab Trail. We decided to hike down the 1.5 miles (2000 feet elevation) to Ceder Ridge. We saw a ton of animals along the way. We saw two California condors, squirrels, and eagle, big horn sheep, deer, and a blue bird. I don't think that I've ever seen so many animals along the trail. The weather was also beautiful day to be outside hiking. I think that the temperature outside during the day was in the 60s. Now normally that would be cold to me (compared to Phoenix) but it was a beautiful temperature to be out hiking around in. It was kind of funny though, because almost everyone at the Grand Canyon was wearing long sleeves, coats, jackets, scarfs or gloves... except for Austin. He only had his shorts and tee shirt. Crazy!
After hiking back out of the canyon which is harder than the hiking in we drove down to the Desert View overlook and watch tower to watch the sunset. Unfortunately we got to the tower just a few minutes after they closed it to people. So we got to enjoy the outside of the tower and the view, but we didn't get to go inside.
I love dramatic lighting... it always seems to accentuate the colors. Since the Grand Canyon has so many beautiful colors I love to take pictures with the strong lighting. I think I probably have tons of pictures of the Grand Canyon, cause I take so many every time I go. So the weekend was fun. I loved being outside hiking around. My legs were a little shore form all the hiking around, but it was definitely worth it. So for anyone else interested in coming to the Arizona to see the Grand Canyon just let me know... I'm always up for taking a trip up there.

So if you have any more interest in seeing more pictures click here... keep in mind that Austin took some of the pictures as well.

Romero Pools near Tuscon

So Friday afternoon we headed down to the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tuscon. We decided to hike out to Romero Pools. I've only been down to Tucson a couple times, so once again it was nice to be getting out to see stuff. The mountains around Tuscon are really pretty. Pretty in a desert way.

The hike out to Romero Pools wasn't too bad. It's a 2.8 mile hike out to the pools with a 960 feet elevation change. We haven't really had a lot of rain lately, so I was kind of surprised to see that there was water in the pools.

I'll admit that I got a little tired on the way out to the pools, but one of the things that kept me going was the fact that there was water. There is something about hiking out to water that I love. There was actually enough water in the pools that Austin decided to go wading.

Overall it was a beautiful hike. Friday night Austin and I went to his cousin's house in Tuscon for dinner. We enjoyed dinner and games with their adorable family.

Squaw Peak

So this weekend my friend Austin came down to visit... I love to have people visit, because it gets me out to see things around the city. Squaw peak is located in downtown Phoenix. It's one kind of cool thing about Phoenix are the "mountains" that are located in the middle of the city. The hike to the top was 1.2 miles but it was you gain more than 1,200 feet on the trail.

Since there is so much elevation gained on the trail you can usually see a good view of the valley. Unfortunately Friday wasn't really a clear day in the valley. It's always nice to see a layer of haze laying over the valley.

Actually there were tons of people on the trail on Friday. I was actually a little surprised at the number of people that we were passing. I think that along the 1.2 mile hike we saw more than 150 people. When we got to the top we discovered why. There was actually a Phoenix City challenge. The challenge was the seven summit challenge. Basically in the one day your suppose to seven peaks in the valley. I think maybe next year I'll look into it.

Florida... round one

Just in case any of you were concerned I am still around. Actually I'm now back in Phoenix trying to get some stuff done here before the holidays come.

My trip to Florida went so fast, because of the long hours that I was working. (69 hours in a week is more than I've ever put in). It seems all I did was wake up... go to work and then go back to the hotel at night. There were some days when I don't think that I even saw the sun. Thank goodness those aren't my regular working hours, cause I don't think that I could do it.

So the beach was only about 2 miles from the office. It was funny, because every day the guys there would ask if I'd gone down to the beach yet. Of course not... all my time was spent in the office when there was any sunlight. Finally on Saturday we ended up working only half a day (8 hours... but that's not much compared to the others). Since I had the afternoon off I headed down to at least see the beach with one of my co-workers.

It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining and the weather was in the 80s. Which isn't much different than Phoenix at this time of year. But the humidity was pretty low... which anywhere that's humid is more humid than Phoenix.

The beach was littered with sea shells... it makes for beautiful white sand, but it's not so friendly on the feet. I honestly don't think I've seen that many shells at one time. I even grabbed a few to bring home for my bathroom... now I can say that I have some real sea shells.

I ended up walking up and back down the beach for probably 5 miles. It was just so nice to be outside and walking around. It's amazing how relaxing the sand and the waves can be.

Well it was a beautiful day at the beach and at least I can say that I've seen it now. I can't really say that I got out to see much more of Naples. Like I said busy working. Maybe next time I'll get out to see some more. If I do I will definitely post pictures.