Update: last night some jackass stole the tires off my bike. And I can't afford new ones. So much for that...

Hiking, Waterfalls, and Rocks

This past weekend one of my friends invited me to go hiking. Arizona is a fantastic place for hiking, or so I've been told -- I had never actually been hiking before. The one we went on was supposed to be a fairly easy and short one, so I figured I would be fine even though I'm in terrible shape.

Ahhh, not so much. Instead of walking along a smooth straight path, pretty much the whole thing involved climbing up, over, and down rocks.

Yeah, those rocks.

I thought I was going to die. It was extremely difficult for me to keep up with my friends, but somehow I managed. Mostly. However, I stopped at the first, lower, smaller waterfall rather than continuing on to the big main one with my friends. There's no way I could have made it any farther, so instead I rested in the shade, took pictures, and waited for my friends to come back.

As a result of this strenuous activity, every muscle in my body has been screaming since yesterday. Ouch! Other than that, it was actually pretty fun. Scrambling up and down rocks like that reminded me of being a kid again. Not to mention it was beautiful country. And waterfalls are always a treat.

More pictures from the hike below:








A more detailed description of my trip can be found on my Border Beat blog here.

Bikes and Monsoons

Due to a complete lack of funds, I've started riding a bike regularly. I can't afford to buy gas or pay for parking, or in two months pay rent or any other bills, so having my mom ship me her old bike and riding that to and from campus is my solution. Also, it will hopefully get me in shape and help me lose weight, while also being good for the environment. I just can't lose!

At least until some brainless 18-year-old student who is too busy texting to watch where they're going while darting around campus in their brand new shiny car that Daddy bought them hits me. And no, I'm not just being paranoid. I've only been biking for a week and that has already happened -- yesterday. If I hadn't swerved away just in time I would be road rash right now.

Anyway, other than having to watch for those idiots, there have been some drawbacks. For example, when I left class at 6:30 pm Monday it was to find that yet another monsoon had arrived and I was going to get very, very wet on my half-hour ride home. So much for the long-held belief that deserts are dry...

But just to show that every cloud (ha, ha) has a silver lining -- something good did come out of that trip. I've been carrying my camera to campus with me every day, so on this particular day since I was already soaked and knew there was no way I could avoid looking like a drowned rat by the time I made it home, I figured I might as well go with it and stop to get some photos.

I love the way the lights look on the wet pavement and had always wanted to get a shot of it, but since I was always in a car before it wasn't exactly convenient to jump out and snap a photo. Being on a bike makes it much easier. So this night I stopped and took multiple shots.

Unfortunately, as tends to happen with my photos, most of them didn't work out. I guess I just don't know enough to fiddle with all the settings and make sure they are correct for the situation.

The very first photo I took, however, did work out quite well and I love it! What do you think?

Little Cutie

My eight-month-old cousin, Severin. Pretty cute, no?