OMG! Absolutely Gorgeous

So today I set out to conquer the Apache Trail, and let me tell you....today's drive is worth whatever the price is to fly to Phoenix. I made the one hour drive over to Apache Junction where I came across a ghost town: Goldfield Mine. This "town" was equipped with a saloon, a jail, plenty of gift shops, a church, an ice cream parlor, a staged gun fight, and a gallows for hanging people. This place was pretty cool, and the scenery across the street was stunning. But little did I know that the scenery was going to get better the further I continued down the Apache Trail. I started the drive and the roads started to swerve back and forth, and up and down through the mountains while the scenery around me became more and more spectacular. I had my camera in hand, but I also know that pictures won't do any justice to the beauty that my God had created which I was being fortunate enough

to behold. Many who drive the A.P stop when they reach the Tortilla Flats, as just a few miles later the paved road ends and it is 22 miles of dirt, gravel, and severely bumpy curvy, narrow roads. When I reached the end of the asphalt I contemplated turning around and heading back, but everything inside me said to keep going. I must admit, as harrowing as a drive as those 22 miles were, I don't know if I will ever see another stretch if road as scenic or as beautiful as that stretch of road. It is by far the longest 22 miles you will drive, but you will thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. If I can give you a couple bits of advice it would be these: 1) if you are going to drive the Apache Trail, drive the whole thing, don't stop at Tortilla Flats. 2) plan to spend the whole day because you don't want to rush this trip. 3) bring a camera, the views are amazing. 4) lastly, RENT a car. Beat the crap out of a rental as opposed to yours or that of a friend. If you don't enjoy the trip I will reimburse you for your ticket to drive the Trail (it's FREE).

WTF was i thinking?

So today I got up early and set out with one goal in mind....climb to the top

of Camelback Mountain. So I made the 45-minute drive and pulled in the parking lot, and I'm not going to lie, my first thought was "are you serious, that's it?" The mountain didn't look all that impressive from the parking lot. As I set out on my excursion I decided to take my time, shoot a lot of pictures and just enjoy the climb. Even the "little" climb was a lot for an old, out of shape man like myself, but as I got near "the top" I realized that what I was climbing was just a warm-up for the real mountain. There were many times that I thought I was going to pass out from the exhaustion of the climb, but I kept going...(sometimes after nice little breaks of resting and shooting) because I knew if I turned back I would regret it later. I actually had a lady tell me, "if I was out here by myself like you are, I would have turned around. But having been to the top, I have to tell you to keep going." That lady was right. Once I finally reached the summit every bit of exhaustion, pain, and negative thoughts were totally gone from my system. The view was incredible, and pictures weren't going to do it justice. There were many times I thought to myself, "WTF am I doing?" But once I saw the view I realized why I kept going. You just don't see this view in Michigan.

Holiday? Really?

So to start my "vacation" I arrived at the airport around 7:30pm for a 9:15 scheduled flight. My flight was scheduled to arrive in Phoenix/Mesa at 11:10 local time, or 1:10 EST. Well due to some unforeseen circumstances my flight didn't even leave South Bend until 1:30am getting me to Arizona at 3:30am local time. By the time my ride picked my up and got me back to the house it was 5:00am and I was exhausted. After a couple of hours sleep I woke up in a house that I had never before been in, in a state I had never been to, 1800 miles from home and my friends were all gone to work. Fortunately for me I had GPS on my phone and keys to the spare truck. I decided to treat myself to lunch and made a 25 mile trip to an In-N-Out Burger. So 1800 miles from home, and I'm spending Valentine's Day eating lunch by myself. I'm not complaining, but it sure didn't seem like a holiday. Let's see what tomorrow has in store.

Could This Be The Start of Something Bigger?

So I am about to board a plane and head to Arizona for the first time in my life. Although I will be spending time with a friend and his family for the week, the purpose of the trip is to hopefully land a job. This isn't just a job though, it's an opportunity. An opportunity that would allow me to meet people, travel the country, work, earn money, and take my camera along for the ride the whole time.

I will be at the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway over the weekend and hopefully by the end of the weekend I will know what the future holds for me.

So here's to the future, and hopefully the start of something bigger.....and better.