Books Read:
- My Antonia by Willa Cather
- Midnight’s Children by Salmon Rushdie
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Trails Walked:
- Grand Canyon South Kaibab Trail (Nov 1st)
- Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail (Nov 2nd)
- Dixie Mountain Loop (Nov 13th)
- Superstition Ridgeline (Nov 24th)
- Picacho Peak (Nov 29th)
Well I turned 60 this month.
That’s a pretty big number. I see
the aging taking place on my face, on top of my head, the weird wrinkles in my
arms and hands that don’t seem to be my own.
But inside I still feel very young; as a matter of fact, my whole life,
the way I feel inside always seems to be some constant ageless being. But on an intellectual level I know that the
number of years ahead of me, like my telomeres (Google it), are shrinking in comparison to the years behind
me. I suppose that’s one reason I’ve
decided to start recording my thoughts.
Since two of my favorite activities are reading and hiking, I’ve decided
to center this blog on those two things, but I reserve the right to wander off
topic as I see fit. I hiked the Grand
Canyon for my 40th and 50th birthdays, so figured I’d
continue that trend for my 60th.
One of my college roommates and good friends turned 60 recently and
decided to join me. We had near perfect
weather, a few clouds, with temps reaching the 60s (just like us). We hiked down the South Kaibab trail one day and then back up the Bright Angel trail the next day. I used to love hiking downhill and dreaded
hiking uphill, but that’s reversed as I’ve gotten older. Downhill just seems relentless now, and of
course I’m having to watch my balance more carefully. Uphill is still tough, but I no longer set out
to break land speed records, so a slow uphill pace suits me just fine. We stayed the night at Phantom Ranch at the
bottom of the Canyon, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on
Earth. The stars were out at night in
full force.
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| Grand Canyon from South Kaibab trail |
 |
| Ooh Ahh point on South Kaibab trail |
 |
| Long and winding trail |
 |
| Canyon of many colors |
 |
| Canyon colors |
 |
| Colorado River and Phantom Ranch |
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| Phantom Ranch |
 |
| Phantom Ranch |
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| Bright Angel Creek |
I read My Antonia by Willa Cather on the 100th
anniversary of its being published. It's
the story of a 10-year-old orphan boy (Jim Burden) who moves from Virginia to
the Nebraska plains in the late 1800s to live with his grandparents on their
farm. Their nearest neighbors are a
Bohemian family (presumably Czechoslovakia) who emigrated to the US to make a
better life for themselves. The older
daughter of the Bohemian family is Antonia (accent on the first A). The main story revolves around the deep
friendship that develops between the orphan Jim and Antonia (who is 3-4 years
older but becomes his student in learning English). The story covers nearly 30 years of time and
describes the hardship of life on that prairie (especially in winter), and of
the community of people in the towns and farms that help one another through
the hard times and enjoy each other's company in the good times. But mostly it's a story of friendship, and of
the strength of Antonia who really has a light in her that, at times, leads her
astray, but in the end leads her to have the fullest life she could possibly
have for herself. And the writing is
beautiful and poetic. A joy to
read. One I would love to read again.
I have been wanting to hike the famous Superstition Ridgeline trail for years. I had hiked portions of it, but never the
whole thing at once since you need a car shuttle, a full day, and lots of
stamina. I finally got the chance when
my daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and friends of theirs decided to invite me
along this month. It’s an epic hike
with steep access points on each end and expansive views all along the
ridgeline. I have to say I was a bit
concerned, being twice the age of all the others, but they were kind enough to
slow their pace a bit and gave me a nice rest while they conquered one of the many
peaks along the way as I rested at the base.
We finished the very steep descent on the Carney Trail in the dark with
headlamps, so that gives you an idea of the adventure involved. It’s around 11-12 miles with over 4,000 feet
of elevation gain/loss. I felt pretty
good about finishing this hike.
 |
| Just above the Flatiron |
 |
| Ridgeline views |
 |
| Hiking on the Ridgeline |
 |
| Hiking the Ridgeline |
 |
| Sunset near Carney Springs |
 |
| We better get down there before dark |
The name
Salmon Rushdie seems to attract controversy.
You may recall his name when he became famous/infamous for writing “The
Satanic Verses” which upset many conservative followers of Islam. I plan to read that book eventually, but many
consider Midnight’s Children to be
his best work. This was a brilliant
book. I read it slowly because I just
wanted to keep reading and being a part of it.
The story is narrated by Saleem Sinai, who was born just after midnight
on Aug 15th, 1947 the date when India gained its independence from Great
Britain (therefore cementing his future with India's future). He narrates the story of his family in the
years leading up to his own birth and then for the 31 years following his (and
the country’s) birth. While he's
narrating, his girlfriend (Padma) is sort of his muse who listens and comments
on the story (sort of like the little boy in A Princess Bride). I
enjoy novels that embed real historical events and this book cleverly
intertwines the history of India/Pakistan/Bangladesh with Saleem's family
history. There are twists and turns and
sort of mystical happenings not unexpected in that part of the world. It was complex to read and take in all the
characters, but he did a great job of summarizing every now and then. I don't know how he kept this all in his
head.... brilliant.
I managed two other hikes this month in addition to the big
ones already mentioned. My hiking buddy
and I decided to confront Picacho Peak
between Phoenix and Tucson. Anyone who’s
driven that miserable stretch of I-10 will recognize Picacho Peak as the Dr
Suess-like mountain on the west side of the highway, about halfway between
Phoenix and Tucson. It looks impossible
to climb without ropes. But some clever
cabling and catwalks make it possible without the need for any technical
climbing skills. It’s a fun hike with
great views on top (bring gloves!). In
addition to Picacho, we also managed to knock off one of the nice local trails
managed by the City of Phoenix. We hiked
the Dixie Mountain Loop trail in the
Sonoran Preserve in Northwest Phoenix.
Our access point was via the Bobcat trail, making it around 8 miles
total. This was a typical Sonoran Desert
walk and I really appreciate the work the city and county have done to provide
these trails for all to use and enjoy.
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| Rock and body catcher trail fence on Picacho |
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| Cables and a desolate view west |
 |
| A bit steep here, gloves help! |
 |
| Surprise find on Dixie Mountain Loop trail |
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| Typical scenery on Dixie Mountain Loop trail |
When I helped
my son and daughter-in-law move earlier this year, they gifted me the entire
Harry Potter set of books. I’d never
read them but figured they must be good to have created such a sensation when
they first came out. So, I made it a
goal to finish the 7 books this year. I
read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(book 4) and Harry Potter and the Order
of the Phoenix (book 5) this month.
I have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series. So much depth to the characters and so much
imagination in the creation of this world and the creatures that it
contains. Is there a better villain that
Lord Voldemort? I’m sure he would be
right up there with Mr. Hyde, Hannibal Lecter and Nurse Ratched… I think that
Order of the Phoenix has been my favorite so far. The way the school became divided in their
beliefs and the elusiveness of truth seems to have portended the real-life
future of Europe and the US. Here’s a
quote from the book about Lord Voldemort: “His gift for spreading discord and
enmity is very great. We can only fight it by showing an equally strong bond of
friendship and trust.” Yikes!
November happens to contain my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is all about food, family, and
friends. We had around 30 people over to
enjoy the 3Fs. My wife made her
traditional Thanksgiving red chile enchiladas and everyone else brought enough
food for three times the people there, so plenty of leftovers for
everyone. My toast this year focused on
the togetherness of family considering the divisiveness of the political world
around us. Family and friends will
always trump political viewpoints, and believe me, we have all sorts of
different political viewpoints among our family and friends!
See you next month….
I read My Antonia by Willa Cather on the 100th
anniversary of its being published. It's
the story of a 10-year-old orphan boy (Jim Burden) who moves from Virginia to
the Nebraska plains in the late 1800s to live with his grandparents on their
farm. Their nearest neighbors are a
Bohemian family (presumably Czechoslovakia) who emigrated to the US to make a
better life for themselves. The older
daughter of the Bohemian family is Antonia (accent on the first A). The main story revolves around the deep
friendship that develops between the orphan Jim and Antonia (who is 3-4 years
older but becomes his student in learning English). The story covers nearly 30 years of time and
describes the hardship of life on that prairie (especially in winter), and of
the community of people in the towns and farms that help one another through
the hard times and enjoy each other's company in the good times. But mostly it's a story of friendship, and of
the strength of Antonia who really has a light in her that, at times, leads her
astray, but in the end leads her to have the fullest life she could possibly
have for herself. And the writing is
beautiful and poetic. A joy to
read. One I would love to read again. 
The name
Salmon Rushdie seems to attract controversy.
You may recall his name when he became famous/infamous for writing “The
Satanic Verses” which upset many conservative followers of Islam. I plan to read that book eventually, but many
consider Midnight’s Children to be
his best work. This was a brilliant
book. I read it slowly because I just
wanted to keep reading and being a part of it.
The story is narrated by Saleem Sinai, who was born just after midnight
on Aug 15th, 1947 the date when India gained its independence from Great
Britain (therefore cementing his future with India's future). He narrates the story of his family in the
years leading up to his own birth and then for the 31 years following his (and
the country’s) birth. While he's
narrating, his girlfriend (Padma) is sort of his muse who listens and comments
on the story (sort of like the little boy in A Princess Bride). I
enjoy novels that embed real historical events and this book cleverly
intertwines the history of India/Pakistan/Bangladesh with Saleem's family
history. There are twists and turns and
sort of mystical happenings not unexpected in that part of the world. It was complex to read and take in all the
characters, but he did a great job of summarizing every now and then. I don't know how he kept this all in his
head.... brilliant. 
When I helped
my son and daughter-in-law move earlier this year, they gifted me the entire
Harry Potter set of books. I’d never
read them but figured they must be good to have created such a sensation when
they first came out. So, I made it a
goal to finish the 7 books this year. I
read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(book 4) and Harry Potter and the Order
of the Phoenix (book 5) this month.
I have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series. So much depth to the characters and so much
imagination in the creation of this world and the creatures that it
contains. Is there a better villain that
Lord Voldemort? I’m sure he would be
right up there with Mr. Hyde, Hannibal Lecter and Nurse Ratched… I think that
Order of the Phoenix has been my favorite so far. The way the school became divided in their
beliefs and the elusiveness of truth seems to have portended the real-life
future of Europe and the US. Here’s a
quote from the book about Lord Voldemort: “His gift for spreading discord and
enmity is very great. We can only fight it by showing an equally strong bond of
friendship and trust.” Yikes!