The same day we hiked the west fork of Oak Canyon. After the desert heat I thought I'd want to swim but it was a cool forest with a freezing creek. I loved it.

I can't believe how big some of the smashed rocks are at the bottom. The rock slides here have to be like meteors hitting the earth.

(e:paul) and I thought the sheer cliffs on the side looked like a desktop background while the sun went down.

Was the first hike (e:paul) and I did in Sedona. It was the first real rock climbing I've done besides something like little rock city.

The sun was super intense on the way up. The rock is rough sandstone so shoes stick to the side and you can walk right up to the rocks that jut out in the middle.

Once we got up there I slipped a little and my stomach dropped. I freaked out, (e:paul) had to coax me to keep going around the rock. I really thought I was going to fall off and die.

Eventually we made it all the way to the highway side of the rock, and tried to climb to the top via a canyon. We kept getting stoned by ledges that were way taller than us.

Luckily this native Sedona guy, his GF and sister came walking by and offered to show us the way up.

It was a lot easier, besides the cactus I got stuck in my hand. We made it all the way to the top, where (e:paul) and (e:terry) had made it last time (e:paul,45458). There's a book you can sign, and we took pictures while the couple did weird yoga moves standing on each other. They almost fell off once, no fucking way would I descend if that actually happened.

The view was incomprehensible. We were so high up, it's hard to believe we actually climbed up all that sandstone.

After being the at the top coming down was nothing. Even when the climber had us hugging the wall on a 4 inch ledge. If the sister could do it while talking on the phone, we could do it with both hands.

After we got down (e:paul) and I went out to lunch at a cheap tamale place called Sedona Tamaliza. I never had a tamale before but it was basically Mexican spiced polenta in a corn husk. For only $5 you got a super spicy vegan spinach and mushroom tamale. (e:terry) would have loved them.

To be written about

Before we dropped (e:terry) off to go home, we went for one real hike up Papago Park, in the middle of Scottsdale near the airport. It juts up in the middle of the flat sprawl, with a zoo and golf course nearby.

It's pretty easy to get up and has a 360 view of endless Phoenix.

Afterwards we ate Filiberto's and dropped (e:terry) off for his flight home. I really missed him, and wished he could have come along ;(

So last year we sent Basra the tortoise to Phoenix because he was getting too big to keep inside (e:joe,60300).

Since we were around, we went out to see him at the Phoenix Herpetological Society in Scottsdale. It was out by some ranches, in the way north of Scottsdale.

Well anyway, I think we saw him. We sponsored him so they knew what pen he was in but that's all.

Have you ever seen so many tortoises? As soon as they see someone at the fence, they stamped and swarm towards you.


Feedin' time! These tortoises don't give a shit, they crawl over each other sideways like food driven robots. No pathfinding, just a beeline to the nearest green scrap. It makes me think they'd attack you if you went in the pen with colorful clothes on.



Which one is Basra? I don't know. We tried matching from pictures I took. Shell sloped down on the sides, slight pyramiding, curved backside. There were so many that mostly fit the size and shape but who knows how big he is now?

We got a show out of it, too.


I felt bad keeping him trapped inside in Buffalo, but was nervous to send him somewhere random.

It didn't sound good as the other places (e:paul)'s tortoises have gone, but all the tortoises at the refuge seemed healthy and lively. Plus he's outside for the whole year instead of 5 months.

I think he's better off Phoenix. (If he is here?!)