apAdventures

Paul and I snuck in a Valentines run up Agua Caliente trail before dark while the kids were in gymnastics. Looking forward to longer days so we can maybe do this some more!

posted by ARR

…from springtime trail runs.

posted by arr

This stop was a spontaneous decision. We were driving right past it anyway and the kids and I had never been. And the last time Paul was here was 23 years ago! We loved it so much we stayed two nights.

Cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde – the Square Tower House

A good sign for a rock climbing family

Ivan and Silas with Cliff Palace in the backdrop

Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America

The 32 foot ladders one needs to climb to get a tour of Balcony House, the “Most Adventurous” tour at Mesa Verde according to the nice docent behind the ticket counter

The view from Balcony House looking down at the approach ladders

Inside Balcony House

Exiting Balcony House…

…first by crawling through a tunnel…

…and then by ascending the ancient “staircase.” (Which I was disappointed to learn from our guide that the carved steps we had ascended are today much larger than the hand-and-foothold trail that was originally carved by the ancient ones so long ago. The steps were enlarged for tourists)

Back at camp and getting ready for bed. Should we wash these things or just tuck them away in the bottom of a sleeping bag?

Watching the sun set over camp

While Paul caves in to the urge to go run up the mesa that we’re staring at

A view from the trail, back down at the campground. Good night Mesa Verde

posted by arr

After a pleasantly mild spring, the Tucson summer has officially arrived. We can’t complain, seeing as we made it all the way until JUNE before the thermometer hit the triple digits. I heard on the news this hasn’t happened since the 1980’s! What a treat.

So now that the heat is here, we naturally either head to the pool or to the mountains. Here are some photos of a couple recent trips to Flagstaff. School is out for the summer now too and it’s nice to have our three day weekends back again. 🙂

Intense play: We’ve got a sushi food truck teetering off the edge of a massive cliff, requiring immediate helicopter evacuation! Wait a minute, is that a flying car coming to the rescue!??

Brothers goofin’

Look, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Campsite in the pines

Silas climbing at Priest Draw. A favorite boulder you’ve seen many times here at apAdventures.

Absorbed in sketch

Silas climbing some more. This is a perfectly child-sized boulder that I used to jokingly refer to as the “kids boulder” every time we passed it…back before we had kids!

Topping out the “kids boulder”

Little brother’s turn

Evening fire

Me on Twister, v6

Paul on The Egyptian, v11

Silas’ first ascent of his very own “L-Traverse” which he has deemed “v7 at least!”

And Ivan’s first ascent of his very own “Crusher Climb” which he is still debating the rating. And in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes. They picked out, climbed, named and rated these lines all completely on their own. Paul and I just keep quiet and chuckle amongst ourselves when they’re not looking.

A climb that I’ve been meaning to get serious on and send for nearly 5 years now, Meateater, v7. After two weekends on it, I can confidently say I’m FINALLY serious! Woo! Time to finish this thing already!

And Paul on his latest obsession, Cosmic Tricycle, v10

More Cosmic Tricycle

Ahhh summer: cold forest, warm fire, kids staying up late

A tag-team trail run on the Weatherford Trail on Mt. Humphreys. One of us runs…

…while the other hikes with the kids, and then we switch.

And then we all picnic together in a postcard-picturesque spot such as this. We are loving’ up this summer for sure!

posted by arr

posted by arr

You’ve seen this shot many times as it is from one of my favorite trails to run, Douglas Springs. But have you seen it THIS green??!!! Yey for summer monsoons!

posted by arr

The pic says it all. I have a hard enough time resisting to run through sprinklers by myself while I’m running. With two kiddos it was impossible. This woman walking her dog even almost decided to join us….almost. 🙂

posted by arr

With Silas now a certified big-kid bike rider, we do our stroller run / bike ride combos at nearby parks that have nice paved paths (without cars!). Last week the kids had a real treat. Our path was closed so that workers could chainsaw down a giant dead Eucalyptus tree. Awesome!

posted by arr

The itch is back to do some running while we take a break from the bouldering. Thankfully the desert temps have been so amazing this month that we’ve been able to knock out significant mileage without having to wake up at 4am to beat the heat!

…a treat that will be gone by next week I fear…say the smart weather guys and gals on the tv.

An early morning moon on Douglas Springs Trail

Sunrise over the Catalina Mountains

A rare, gloomy morning overlooking Tucson with my running chica, Mandy

Ok, so this one technically doesn’t count as a trail run because it’s not. It’s my early morning road run that I’ll sometimes squeeze in real quick before Paul heads to work, with this wash being my destination. Beautiful, eh?

A gila monster scaling a rock! AWESOME!

Your’s truly psyched as all heck to stretch my scrawny running legs

And me and my other fav running chica, Linda

Virga. “In meteorology, virga is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates or sublimes before reaching the ground.”

The Catalina Mountains again as seen from Douglas Springs Trail, this time at sunset.

Tucson is down in the green flatness. Hard to believe with all the spring vegetation in bloom right now.

Mandy rockin’ it on Phoneline Trail on yet another cloudy, cool and stormy day just last week!

Sabino Canyon from Phoneline Trail. And no, that’s not virga this time. Real rain in the mountains threatening to come down and pummel us.

A sea of saguaro cacti with the Rincon Mountains on the left in the distance and the Santa Ritas further away on the right

Photos from Paul’s run with John on the Bear Canyon trail

Seven Falls

The Bear Canyon Trail as it wraps around Seven Falls

A pool at the bottom of the Falls

Another pic from a Paul run, Sycamore Resevoir

And yes, the stroller runs still continue too, although they have been modified just a tad. I sold the B.O.B. Duallie and just use the Single now while Silas rides his bike. Assess, adapt and run on! 🙂

posted by arr