Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Several weeks had passed since the boys and I had gone out on a desert hike. I try to take them out on semi-regularly on a little loop in the San Tans near our house, an easy 1.3 miles that Noah is now running through and Thomas rides in the back carrier for the first half and wanders around the…
Blinding morning light shone hot over the Superstitions, pouring over the highlands around Bluff Springs and Coffee Flat and trickling onto First Water Trailhead. Katie and I moved like two well-practiced machines under the hot sun. There were sunhats to put on the kids, sunscreen to apply, snacks…
The drive up to Lost Dog Wash Trailhead is around an hour from my house - a bit on the long side when you have two impatient sons squirming in the back of the van. We survived the drive with minimal issues, though, and pulled into the parking lot just before Chris. Preparation took some time, as it…
One of the central locations to the Lost Dutchman story is a small sloped piece of land called Massacre Grounds, within a few miles of Siphon Draw and First Water. According to legend there was a bloody massacre of Mexicans on these slopes during the 1840s that is tied to Peralta mining deeper in…
A few miles from our house in Gilbert is a little county park that I have barely explored. Well, maybe I misused the word 'little'. San Tan Mountain Regional Park is over 10,000 acres and offers miles and miles of trails. Until now the only loop I've really explored is the Goldmine/Dynamite, both…
It's not easy to get my two sons out on a hike these days. Their nap schedules conspire against family activities, being offset just enough to limit the amount of time everyone is awake. The days are short with the coming winter. And then there's the weather to deal with. Even though we live in the…
Katie and I stepped out of the van like a pair of well-oiled machines. She immediately got Noah out of his seat and started applying sunscreen while I took Thomas, our six-month old, and got him situated in the Tula. Within a few minutes the four of us were ready to go, and after a brief distraction…
This was the second time my parents were visiting us down in Arizona. The first time had been a few weeks after Thomas was born and we spent most of the time fawning over the newborn and getting things done around the house. We did fit in a quick hike over to the San Tan Regional Park, though it was…
Afternoon hikes in Phoenix are tricky things. On one hand I'm still working on Eastern time, which means that most days I'm done with work between 2 and 3 in the afternoon. That leaves me with several hours of daylight for a short hike during the work week. However, I'm in a desert. Hiking under the…
Noah and I pulled into the well maintained parking lot a bit frazzled. It had been a long drive to get here, longer than he was used to, and the little guy was rearing to get out. We were north of Scottsdale and almost a full hour away from our house. I hoped it would be worth the drive. Today was…