2002-10-20 - 21:32

Was it Texas or was it Canada?

Having somebody else in tow with me in a new city feels odd. I'm much more used to plunking myself in a hotel somewhere and getting out on my own. The only exception to that system would have been the L.A. trip with Liam; but that worked fine, since we have similar interests and we came up with a plan each day.

In fact, the best part of the trip for me was yesterday, when I left Dr. J and made a day trip to Sedona. That trip was rather haphazard but very enjoyable. Everybody kept saying that Sedona was a cool spot to see, so Saturday morning I booked a spot on the shuttle. Once I arrived, I looked around, saw a little mountain that seemed like it would be fun to climb, and set off.

That was a very fun climb. Mostly, I took it easy. Putting myself in any positions that involved a reasonable chance of falling down and mangling myself in the desert, where nobody knew my exact whereabouts, seemed like a bad idea. Nonetheless, I found a few fun spots to scramble through and I eventually made my way to the top.

I was a little disappointed that the view on the far side of the mountain also included buildings. I was hoping for something that would allow me to forget the existence of other human beings. As it was, though, while plowing through without a trail, I managed to be free of people, which pleased me.

My only complaint with the Sedona trip was that I was rather constrained by time, so I had to limit my rovings. However, I still was able to spend an afternoon playing on the rocks, which is enough to make me content. I also took quite a few pictures, both on the way up and on the alternate path that I took down.

Red rocks, sunny skies, cacti (and other evil, thorny, spiky plants) . . . it was certainly a cool change of scenery. I very much like the desert. Sparse and understated.

Today was less adventurous, but also fun, as the boss and I stayed in the city. I enjoyed checking out Alice Cooper'stown, since I've been a fan for ages. Remember the Coop, huh?

Everything went well with work last week; and hopefully all will stay strong as we wrap up. Right now, I'm about ready to plow through two more days and head home. October has been enough of a road trip for me that I'm eager to see my house again and hopefully stay put until Christmas.

J.