nawl

Phoenix

From the air, Phoenix sprawls as perfectly square built-up blocks across a uniformly brown desert, broken here and there in straight lines around pointy hills.

On the ground, the blocks are strip malls and subdivisions. Few buildings are more than one story high. The roads between blocks are four or six lane highways. Particular developments are edged by decorative lawn in that very short, very fine, very green grass that is peculiar to desert climes where people seem to feel that growing grass in a desert is worth building dams and depleting aquifers. In an unscientific survey of a particular parking lot, more than half of the vehicles were enormous trucks or SUVs.

During the day, it is 105 degrees outside, and every single person is inside in the air conditioning.

I suppose it's the ultimate American dream: cheap land to cover in settlement, cheap fuel to burn in huge cars.

One day we hiked along the South Mountains. From there, the city extends as far as the eye can see to smog-blurred mountains in every direction.

Along the trail the cacti were in bloom.

Sedona

According to a tourist brochure, more than 60% of visitors to the region come to visit "vortices". Ok.

The red rock formations are beautiful.

We rented mountain bikes and went for a bumpy ride along a canyon trail. Mountain biking is hard on the wrists. And crotch.

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is really big. It's impossible to capture on camera how big it is. It's impossible to comprehend in real life how big it is. It sort of looks like painted scenery.

We did an afternoon hike into the canyon, down the Bright Angel trail to the campsite at the plateau. The trails are lined with signs warning hikers not to try to make it to the river and back in one day. On our way back up, we were passed by a great Dane carrying only a small water bottle who was coming back from the river.

The squirrels on the rim appear to have learned how to beg for food.

Burglary

Driving up to the house in Phoenix, we noticed that the shed was open. And then that the screen on the kitchen window had been cut out and the window was open.

Inside, every drawer and cabinet was open and things were strewn everywhere. The TV was gone, and the stereo, and the laptop bags with computer paraphernalia, batteries and chargers and credit cards, passports, social security cards, medication.

In an incredibly lucky stroke of paranoia, we had left the laptops with a friend before leaving.

I was lucky to not lose anything. The thieves declined to steal my STOC proceedings, despite the fact that it almost certainly cost more than the digital clock that they did take.

The policeman said that robbers target old people who have lived through the Depression and don't trust banks, that one couple lost $400,000 that had been stored under the mattress.