Upside down Switzerland

Then we were off to the Grand Canyon. We weren't sure quite what to expect, since we knew that (1) the Grand Canyon is always crazy busy with tourists, (2) many of the hiking trails are closed in winter, and (3) even more trails would be closed because of the heavy snow that had fallen while we were getting wet in the Superstitions. We dove up from Flagstaff for a day hike, enjoyed the day hike, decided that the snow and people weren't a big problem, and decided to do an overnight hike. So the next day we descended to the bottom of the canyon, zig-zagging our entire way down to the river. The elevation difference from top to bottom is nearly 1 mile, so it kind of feels like your walking into an abyss.

Hiking there is a bit like hiking in Switzerland - it's as if the Grand Canyon was the mold used to create the Alps. You can walk up hill, or you can walk down hill. When you get to the bottom of the canyon, you can go get a beer at the "ranch". You can even sleep at the ranch if you're not cheap like us. There are people everywhere, but you learn to ignore them by soaking in the spectacular views. Sound like Switzerland? Neither of us had been there before, and I'm not sure if we'll be going back anytime soon, but we definitely enjoyed it.

We were feeling pretty good about ourselves on the hike back to the top of the canyon. We were much faster than we anticipated, and we managed to overtake quite a few people on the way. We were feeling good, anyway, until we were overtaken by a runner who had started at the top, ran to the river, and was then running back to the top. This was over 16 miles horizontally plus 1 mile down and 1 mile up. We were impressed. I almost felt inspired to start a rigorous training program.

After reaching the top we drove to Phoenix, slept through New Year's Eve celebrations, woke up early the next morning, and flew back to Fairbanks. We were greeted with nearly two weeks of -40 C (-40 F).

Views of the south rim:

The trail downward. Don't look at this next photo if you get vertigo.

The Colorado River:

Inari jumping into the abyss:


Some of our friends and acquaintances have perfected the art of jumping photos. We still haven't quite figured them out, but you have to admit the leaping into the Grand Canyon is rather dramatic.

Arizona, part 3

As usual I'm falling behind on my blogging...

After our hiking experience in the Superstitions Inari and I decided to head north to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon (which are about 2 and 3 hours north of Phoenix, respectively). On our way to Flagstaff we stopped at a couple of archaeological sites. We first went to Montezuma Castle National Monument. I would've loved to have lived in such a place. Nowadays though you're not allowed to enter the dwelling, which is an extreme disappointment.

The dwellings must have been a pretty ideal place to live: sheltered from cold winter nights and hot summers and next to a river that allowed for cultivation of corn, squash, okra, and other foods. Nowadays there are some beautiful Arizona sycamores growing in the low lands.


We then continued on to Wupatki National Monument, which is basically a bunch of pueblos (sort of like manor houses) in what appears to be the most inhospitable landscapes imaginable. No food, no water, no wood. Basically just rocks and silence. Very stunning. What I found most surprising was that people lived in this landscape, when just a few kilometers away (less than 50, anyway) the desert rose up into pine forest that must have supported some big game.


Highlight of the day: seeing a jackrabbit, a roadrunner, and a fox within a span of two minutes.

joys of teaching

So far I have spent the beginning of this semester in a front of a computer playing tag with my students, trying to stay one step ahead of them. No matter how much work I put into preparing my lectures, there are always six more to give next week. An endless cycle in a making, but I digress.

This semester I have also seen an increase in student email. Clueless questions varying form "How come you don't have text book listed on the textbook ordering site?" (because I don't require one, honey) to "Where is the Art department located anyways?" (I dunno, maybe looking at a campus map would help). Yesterday's in-class exchange was priceless though. One of the classes I am teaching is called 2-dimensional design, a beginning art class about design elements and composition. After giving a lecture (Intro to composition, art and life or something equally lofty) I am going around, helping each student to do their in-class assignment. Halfway, I reach one them, carefully crafting his name in the tiny print on the middle of the paper. The drawing itself is good, but I raise the issue of paper size and urge him to reconsider the placement and size of his text. He looks at me, confused, and asks: "You mean that this class is about composition?"

I don't know what he thought 2D design was going to be. Maybe I should have asked.

Library criminal

That's how I felt this morning.

---------------------

Story: I've been slowly reading Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. It's an interesting book, but not a page turner, and besides, after spending all day trying to use my brain I'm not always motivated to read at night. I first checked out the book from the public library in October. The first renewal wasn't a problem. When I went to renew it a second time I had to ask for permission from the circulation desk. Today, I went to renew it a third time.

Me: Hi, I'd like to renew this book. I've already renewed twice, so can I get permission to renew it a third time?

Librarian: You've already had it three months?

Me: Yeah..

Librarian: I don't think we can do that.

Me: And... why not?

Librarian: We don't like books being out of the library for long. How much longer do you need it, a week?

Me: I was hoping for another month. If somebody wants it can't they just put their name and list or have you contact me?

Librarian: ...

Me: Well, whatever, I don't need to renew it, it's okay.

Librarian: Let me see if we have any extra copies...

Librarian gives me a dirty look and says "I'll tell the check out counter that it's okay to renew it again".

---------------------

Is it wrong to keep renewing a book? Why do I have to ask permission? Should I be treated like teenager that is continuously late for class? People aren't exactly waiting in line for this book. On top of it all, our library's method of dealing with overdue books is to send out weekly reminders in the mail. There are no overdue book fees. Seems to me that the solution in the future is to not even attempt to renew the book.

Shouldn't technology (i.e., e-mail and online library accounts) have prevented this conversation from ever happening?

my 5-year anniversary

Of dry* cabin life.

And what kind of dream did I have to celebrate this occasion? I was dreaming about a nice, hot shower (this part of the dream was fairly grounded to reality too, unlike other instalments that included a new transportation method where people were lift up by their necks). Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

*Those of you that are not familiar with Fairbanks realities: dry means a cabin without running water. All water needs to be carried in (and then out). We have an outhouse too.

Feeling superstitious

I've been raving about the U.S. southwest to Inari ever since we met. This year I finally got the chance to take her there. We spent the first two nights in Phoenix with a friend from my Widji days. It was good to catch up with him. But then the desert called us. We thought it was telling us to come have fun and be warm, but we know now that wasn't the case. It was about to rain cats and dogs and all other sorts of creatures that could be used to describe a hard rain that doesn't stop for 36 hours.

But we didn't understand what the desert was telling us, so we headed east to the Superstition Mountains. The Supes, as they are called, are just on the outskirts of Phoenix. As such they are heavily used, but we managed to avoid the crowds by being there over Christmas. We nearly had the place to ourselves. It probably would've felt fairly remote if planes from Phoenix hadn't been buzzing overhead all week.

I vaguely remember being quite miserable on several occasions. Something about wet boots from numerous stream crossings, not having an extra pair of dry shoes for camp, a rain jacket that no longer works, strong gusts of cold wind, and sleet. Christmas Day may have been my most miserable (memorable?) Christmas ever, but I'm not sure. It's just a vague memory now. Actually, I do remember the wind quite well. It was really cool, because you could hear the gusts of wind funneling down the valley before they hit the tent. Sometimes the gusts would pass over the tent. It was like a train coming toward you, but you didn't know if you were standing on the tracks.

There must have been some good times too, because I seem to have lots of photos of cacti glowing in the sun. Such bizarre shapes they have!


After the rain stopped were treated to beautiful colors as the sun was setting:


A view of Garden Valley:


An impossibly gargantuan saguaro cactus:


My favorite cactus, the teddy-bear cholla:


P.S. If you find yourself in the Superstition's, don't try to fight the "cat's claw". You won't win. I didn't.

San Francisco

This December I went to San Francisco for the American Geophysical Union geek fest - 15,000 scientists from around the world talking about science for five straight days. I still can't decide if I like the conference. On the one hand, it's exciting to be in such an international community. On the other hand, when I read through the program I find that many of the talks and posters sound really boring. And by corollary, this must mean that the reverse is also true: that most people who read my abstract must think that my work is really boring.

Inari came down to San Francisco near the end of the week to rescue me from the conference. We spent a few days exploring the city, seeing museums, visiting Alcatraz, and eating really good food. We had to get out of there to avoid going broke.

View of downtown from the Nob Hill area:


Some random shots from Alcatraz:


This last one is for you, Anu: