The Arches!
These pictures are of a trip Josh just took to the Arches last week with a bunch of buddies from Utah. It was awesome and from what he tells me plus all the pictures, it sounds like he had a total blast. On their last day there, they took a grueling ten-mile hike that just about tested everybody to the max, literally climbing straight down (and back up) through the rock structures without any foot or hand holds, having to use their backs and arms to brace themselves as they climbed up and down through the rocks....sounds like a blast (NOT!) for us armchair adventurers! He still can barely move from the hike! One of the pictures in the slide show is of a lady who was tucked away among the rocks, playing Indian music on some instrument, similar to the flute. Josh said it sounded so cool to hear her play that beautifully haunting music among the rocks. It's so beautiful here....just another trip I have added to Maddie's and my "Must Do" list in the not-so-distant future!
A few weeks ago, Josh and Mike decided to brave the Salt. With water temperatures somewhere in the 40 - 45 degree range, this truly was an act of heroism (or insanity...I'm still not sure!) So, off they went, one beautiful March morning. Fortunately, this happened to be when Phoenix was experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures in the 90's so they actually picked a good day to go. At this time of year, the river was supposed to have Class III/IV rapids (based on a scale of I-VI, a class I is calm with no rapids and a class VI is impossible to navigate... think Niagara Falls) but I think on this day, based on the water flow, the rapids were "only" rated Class II/III. Here are some pictures of them on the river. My favorites are the pictures where you can see them smiling, which is in just about every single picture. They are grinning ear to ear..check them out! I guess we have a couple of adrenalin junkies in the family because the first thing they both said as soon as I asked them about the rafting trip was, "It was awesome but next time we really need to have more rapids!" Both Josh and Mike managed to stay on the raft the entire trip....that is until Mike decided, at the very end, that they both needed a little swim so Mike tackled Josh and off they both went into the water! They had a total blast and after seeing these pictures and hearing them talk about it, this is something I DEFINITELY want to do so for any of you brave souls reading this, if you are interested in going rafting, let me know and maybe we can seriously get something going!
Well, he finally did it! Justin has been "'threatening" us for awhile that he wanted to get a tattoo but he never quite knew what type to get. Last month, it finally came to him that he wanted something in honor of Doug. Here's a picture of it! It's actually not as big as it looks. It says, "Seat 22" and if you're wondering what those scribbles beneath it are, it's actually Doug's wonderfully unique signature!
So, here's the story behind this as told by Doug. Apparently, when Doug was in 5th grade, he always had to sit in front of the class, directly in front of the teacher, because his last name started with, of course, an "A" for Allred. And, for someone like Doug, who LOVED to talk and goof around, always sitting in front of the teacher made for a very long and boring day at school. One day, one of the kids that sat toward the back of class complained to the teacher that he couldn't see very well so the teacher was forced to switch Doug with the other kid. This stroke of luck allowed Doug to finally move to the back of the class, out of the teacher's direct line of sight. What a mistake this was! Doug apparently got into all sorts of mischief with no one the wiser (I know... it's really hard to imagine Doug getting into mischief, isn't it? ha ha!) Doug figured out that this new seat was actually seat #22 which, from that point on, became his lucky number! (oh, by the way, did I mention my birthday is August 22...coincidence? ha ha!) When Justin was getting his tattoo, he really wanted something that was uniquely Doug so a friend suggested that Justin get Doug's signature tattooed underneath the "Seat 22" and Justin immediately fell in love with the idea. Justin searched his truck for something, anything, that had Doug's signature on it and the only thing he could find was, of all things, a Jiffy Lube receipt with Doug's signature scrawled on it. It worked out perfectly because the signature on the tattoo is unmistakably Doug's. Justin then put it all together and here it is! I have to admit that though the mom in me was very wary of it in the beginning, his tattoo has really grown on me and I am so glad that Justin has done something that makes him happy and keeps him feeling very close to his dad at all times. Plus, he'll always know how to break the ice every time he meets someone new and doesn't know what to talk about! Personally, I think Doug would get a total kick out of it and would be giving him quite a hard time about it, don't you think? Next time you see Justin, don't forget to ask him to show it to you! It's awesome!
Hi! Welcome to the first of many entries about the adventures of the Allred gang! Last week, Josh decided it was high time to go hiking so he packed up his gear and headed out to the Superstitions. He found a really great hike, Siphon Draw Trail to Flatiron, in the
Superstition Wilderness. Needless to say, he found out, after the fact, that this hike is actually one of the most challenging hikes of the Superstitions, 12 miles round trip, through a steady incline of 1,500 feet on nothing but jagged rocks. Fortunately, he said the hike was well worth the effort as the view from Flatiron, the large flat plateau on top of the Superstitions, was amazing. How lucky we are to live in a place surrounded by so much natural beauty! (Ask me again in about 3 months how lucky we are to live in a place that gets to be 115 during the summer, beautiful or not...I just may have a slightly different opinion about this wonderful state of ours at that point! ha ha) You can see the rocks that Josh had to hike up for miles once he got past the initial paved trail in the state park and crossed into the wilderness area. Gorgeous, isn't it? I personally can't wait to try it for myself....in about a year...or two! ha ha!
Okay, most of you know that Josh is big time into recreation and, in fact, is majoring in recreation and tourism management at ASU. Well, we've been hearing about this new show called "Parks and Recreation" that will be premiering on April 9th on NBC and I'm asking everybody who can to watch it so that they can give Josh a hard time about it! I guess it's from the same executive producers as The Office so hopefully, it's just as funny. No, I don't have any stake in this show but I am REALLY looking forward to watching it so that I can razz Josh and totally give him a hard time about all the joys and pains of working in the parks and recreation field! :-)
When Justin and Erica traveled back east for a few weeks in February, their favorite stop, by far, was Gettysburg. They absolutely fell in love with it and sent me, literally, hundreds of pictures. They were fascinated by its rich history and captivated by the sheer beauty and quaintness of the town. Though I've never visited there, my sister tells me that as pretty as Gettysburg is in February, when these pictures were taken, it is absolutely breathtaking in the spring when everything begins to turn green and the flowers begin to bloom after the long, cold winter. I literally had to go through several hundred pictures to select some for the blog but the few that I have chosen do not even begin to tell the story of Gettysburg. I hope y0u enjoy them as much as I have and please ask Justin and Erica if you have any questions...they have become experts on the area and would love to pass on their knowledge (especially when it comes to the ghosts!)
A few weeks ago, Josh and Mike decided to brave the Salt. With water temperatures somewhere in the 40 - 45 degree range, this truly was an act of heroism (or insanity...I'm still not sure!) So, off they went, one beautiful March morning. Fortunately, this happened to be when Phoenix was experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures in the 90's so they actually picked a good day to go. At this time of year, the river was supposed to have Class III/IV rapids (based on a scale of I-VI, a class I is calm with no rapids and a class VI is impossible to navigate... think Niagara Falls) but I think on this day, based on the water flow, the rapids were "only" rated Class II/III. Here are some pictures of them on the river. My favorites are the pictures where you can see them smiling, which is in just about every single picture. They are grinning ear to ear..check them out! I guess we have a couple of adrenalin junkies in the family because the first thing they both said as soon as I asked them about the rafting trip was, "It was awesome but next time we really need to have more rapids!" Both Josh and Mike managed to stay on the raft the entire trip....that is until Mike decided, at the very end, that they both needed a little swim so Mike tackled Josh and off they both went into the water! They had a total blast and after seeing these pictures and hearing them talk about it, this is something I DEFINITELY want to do so for any of you brave souls reading this, if you are interested in going rafting, let me know and maybe we can seriously get something going!
