Despite being on somewhat restricted movement, we have had a relatively full summer. After the birthdays, graduation, and confirmation in mid- June, the two youngest and I took a quick trip to Arizona to visit our oldest, who just moved into his first apartment and started his first salaried job. He is officially independent, although I think I am still paying for his cell phone (that's going to stop...) and we loaned him a bit to get him started out before his first paycheck. I mention this to remind myself of our approach when the next few take flight and leave the nest. I want to help our kids out as they head off into the world, but I also want to treat them each fairly, while at the same time. I acknowledge that different kids may need different levels of assistance getting started. We were blessed to inherit a bunch of furniture and cast off household goods when we first started housekeeping because my grandparents were breaking up their home to live with my aunt and uncle at the same time. It made starting out easier - although now I still own some random kitchen implements that I can't get rid of because they are antiques...
At any rate, visiting my adult son was a novelty. He has a couch and a bed and an air mattress. I brought him a table and chair that I bought at a garage sale. I also tried to bring him a box spring, but we had a mishap on the drive out. My husband had strapped the box spring to the top of the Suburban, but halfway through the desert, the straps strapped, and the box spring went flying off the roof. The metal part of the ratchet tie hit our back window and shattered it. I had to pull off the highway, run down a bit to pull the box spring off the road (it already was mostly on the shoulder.) Praise the Lord that it didn't cause an accident. I tried to use a bit of packing tape we had in the car to secure the tarp that had covered the box spring over the broken window (too many prepositional phrases there), but it wasn't secure enough to drive another 3 or 4 hours, so we stopped in the next town where one of those mobile glass repair trucks met us an a gas station and taped up some cardboard over the broken window. They didn't charge us a thing - just asked for Yelp review, which of course, we gave them, a glowing report and five stars.
Once arrived in Tucson, we had another bit of a scare when we took a wrong turn on the way to my son's apartment complex. We found ourselves in front of a building that looked like a halfway house, or worse. Surely this was the wrong address. And it was - a south number instead of north or whatever the mistake was. But this area, with barbed wire fences, free roaming pitbulls, and condemned buildings is only about a mile away from where our son has found a place to live. He went for cheap and close to work instead of a prime location. He'll probably only live out his year lease because then he gets married next summer. His complex is clean and has a nice pool, but I don't see his fiancee loving the location. The school where she is teaching is a 20 minute drive, so not far, but for the next year, she will live in an old convent on the campus with the other volunteer teachers.
Tucson is an interesting city. We didn't really explore the town much, although we sampled two different shaved ice places. We ate Chinese take out for dinner one night and choose your own entree from Trader Joe's the next night. The first day we did a little shopping for household goods, but we also got up early to take a hike through the Saguaro National Park, which actually has two locations, on the east and west sides of Tucson. A hillside rings the city, so it is surrounded by hiking and biking trails, although one mountain was burning, apparently under control. It was far enough away that we couldn't smell the smoke, but at night we could see the flames.
We probably should have started our hike an hour or two earlier, because even at 9 am, it was hot. And by the time we finished shortly after 10, it was over 100 degrees. Time for more shaved ice. The hike was relatively flat, but difficult to follow in a couple areas, because determining where the trail winded through the cacti was sometimes difficult. I couldn't stop taking photos of the saguaros. They were just finishing their blooming season, and the fruits were beginning to burst like another burst of red flowers. And the cacti themselves were enormous. Their arms were so expressive, pointing in different directions. I loved the hike, but the girls were wilting.
Three days were all we stayed in Arizona, because we needed to get back to celebrate Father's Day together. It was a very low key day, capped by some surfing time. Poor dads. They don't get the pomp and circumstance that moms do.
Not wanting to let the dust settle on the Suburban, I loaded it up a couple days later with camping gear. My 14 year had asked to go camping with her friends, and even though the Arizona trip had been a little stressful between the drive and also having to finish grading some coursework, I didn't want to let a request to go camping go unanswered. This time we went north east to the San Bernardino National Forest. The campgrounds weren't crowded midweek. I don't know why we haven't visited this area before - it was beautiful, and only a 2. 5 hour drive. Maybe because it is close to LA? Or close to Big Bear, the ski resort area? Or because it was on fire a couple years ago? At any rate, I already want to go back and hike Mt San Gorgonio, when is the highest mountain in Southern California (if you count Mt. Whitney northern California).
Again we met with a little stumbling block at the beginning. The camp spot I had reserved was pretty and had large sites, but minutes after setting up our tents, a couple pulled up to the site across from ours. The man had a beer bottle, and the woman, who was driving, was crying and cursing and accusing him of wanting to break up. They were obviously intoxicated or high or something. I kept hoping they would just hurry up and break up and leave, but the woman kept setting up the tent while the guy occasionally called her mean names and responded unintelligibly to her shouted accusations. It was a scene. When the camp manager came around to check people in, I asked him if we could move. Unfortunately, this campground didn't have any sites with two nights availability, but he directed me down the road a couple miles to a more primitive campground that was first come first served. Since it was also a National Forest property, the fees I had paid could apply to this place, too. He told me to give that camp manager his name, and we'd be all good. He didn't seem to be too upset by the warring couple, but he didn't seem surprised by my request to move.
So the girls and I threw our stuff back in the car to check out the other place. It was infinitely preferable. The sites were shaded by big pines and redwoods, and only a few sites were occupied. A creek ran through the middle of the campground dividing the tent only sites from the sites with access for trailers. But there were no electric hook-ups here and no flush toilets, so most of the other campers were in tents, too. And the trail I wanted to try was just across the street. Despite the inconvenience, we felt like we won the lottery. So the girls set up the tent, complete with battery operated fairy lights, and we made ourselves at home. They had a great time burning marshmellows and pine cones and settled down early to sleep. I had my own tent with the six year old, who was thrilled to be camping and delighted in every detail, except getting left behind by her sister and her friends.
The next day we did a six mile hike to a river, which wasn't the prettiest. We saw lizards and squirrels and plenty of birds and butterflies, but no bears or deer. The only other wildlife was some lady relieving herself right at the trailhead. She didn't even attempt to find cover, and then she yelled at the girls to look away - which of course, caused them to look right at her. Embarrassing all around. She, too, didn't seem quite sober.
I promised the girls ice cream in the afternoon, so we drove to the little resort town to get treats. After waiting in the longest drive through line ever, we were finally refreshed and ready to head back to the site, when we ran into another road block. A fatal accident had occurred on the twisting mountain road near where we were staying. The road was closed and the coroner was still two hours away. I debated turning around and heading back into town for pizza, but after consulting with the road crew who were manning the road block, I decided to wait a bit. One of the guys was trying to get permission for people who weren't going all the way down the road to be allowed to pass. Just as I was about to give up hope, and the girls were beginning to get anxious for a bathroom, the road crew moved the barrier for "local traffic" to go through. So we were able to go back and cook our hot dogs and baked beans and then hike up the hill behind the campground to watch the sunset. I don't like feeling aggravated by someone else's tragedy, but empathy was elusive.
After these two adventures, we settled in to celebrate a couple more birthdays - 18 and 16 - and the Fourth of July. We had two neighbors over for a cookout on the Fourth, friends that we have seen regularly for wine on the porch or long exercise walks. But I was struck with guilt when, the Monday after the Fourth, our son found out his boss at the pizza place, was Covid positive. Although we were tertiary contacts, we let everyone know and my husband decided to work from home until our son was able to get tested and get his results. We found out yesterday that he is negative, which we assumed, because he and his boss consistently wore their masks at the restaurant. It was a scare, though. And now our 16 year old needs a test before he can go back to his job washing dishes at the French bistro in town. This was cush job for him, but we've had difficulty getting him a test because his PCM won't order one for someone asymptomatic, and the walk-up site only tests people over 18. Since we waited in line there, I went ahead and got tested myself. We have an appointment scheduled at a state testing center next week, but I'm halfway worried they will turn him away, too. He may not be able to go back to washing dishes. Since he made about $500 already this summer, he isn't too sad about having his weekend evenings back.
So that brings us to the present. The 16 year old's birthday was yesterday, and since we were on restriction waiting to hear about our older son's test, he didn't see any friends, except a couple who dropped off gifts for him on our front porch. Plus he was already on restriction for not being where he said he was going to be on the Fourth of July. I might have been a little more than a little upset when I found out. There were a few illegal displays of fireworks around the area. Another concern is a breakout of positive Covid tests among some kids in my older daughter's class - a graduation party that got too big. Thankfully, it didn't involve anyone in her small circle of friends, but some of these kids work around town in summer jobs. I'll be happy when a vaccine is developed.
I have a couple book posts brewing in my mind, but by the time I get around to writing them, I likely will have forgotten what I wanted to say ... the peril of not writing down thoughts immediately.
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| A balcony shot - I did not get very good first apartment photos. |
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| Fire on the hillsides of Tucson. |
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| Desert landscaping at the school where my future daughter-in-law works |
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| Starting a desert hike - still smiling. |
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| Looking for lizards |
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| Petroglyphs |
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| Saguaro NP landscape |
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| Don't touch the prickly pears. |
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| A tunnel web |
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| Cactus flowers |
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| Large saguaros. The sky even looks hot. |
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| A dying saguaro is a home and food source for other creatues. |
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| Relief from the heat |
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| A home of his own |
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| Father's Day feast |
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| I picked up a couch at a yard sale, so we rearranged our family room. A place to lounge |
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| The fateful first site. |
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| Someone loves sleeping in a tent! |
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| Trees for hammocks at the second site. |
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| Crossing the creek |
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| Redwoods |
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| Snapdragon like wildflowers |
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| Trout lilies? |
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| I want this cabin in the woods. |
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| Waiting for sunset and bears. |
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| Wait for me! |
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| Our third hike was to Jenks Lake, a pleasant little fishing lake in the hills. |
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| Baby ducks |
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| A legal adult! |
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| Ice cream cake with whipped cream frosting, a brownie crust, and a chocolate chip cookie middle layer. Yum. |
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| Happy Fourth! |
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| Sparklers! |
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| Worn out! |
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| A short hike to Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve |
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| As you can see, the landscape wasn't quite fairy land - or as pretty as the San Bernardino NF |
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| Olivheim Reservoir |
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| Playing in the creek to cool off after a hot hike. |
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| Sweet sixteen! |
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| Cherry icebox pie and eclair desert instead of cake for this guy. |
