Silence the noise

I move towards a life less cluttered. Less cluttered with stuff. Less cluttered with distractions. In this day and age it is a difficult thing to do. I’ve eschewed a smart phone in favor or a dumb one – even though all the cell companies tell me they’ll give me one for free, that it will be a minimal extra charge per month for the plethora of additional capabilities I will have at my fingertips. Those same capabilities which will keep me distracted and entertained during times of boredom, and eventually during the non-bored times as well. Dinners with family, conversations with friends, quiet moments alone – all disrupted so I can check my email, google that thing I can’t remember, show everybody the latest and greatest cat video I’ve seen in the last three hours.

 

So I choose the dumber option, which is still more than happy to beep and buzz far too often as it is. I learn to turn it off – to silence the noise. I check it when when it is convenient for me. People don’t understand – and god knows I’m far from adept at it yet – but I’m working on it.

 

We choose not to have television service at the house, and when our room mate moves out we will cancel the internet as well. My truck is gone and I drag my feet on replacing it. I try to rein in those consumptive desires that the current society esteems so highly. I only buy the things I think I need, and I get rid of them when they offer less than I need of them; when they stop adding to my life and start subtracting from it.

 

It does not happen all at once – it is a process like any other. Slow and clumsy at first – but it builds as you build within yourself the environment which fosters the end result you want to achieve. Like taking all the crap food out of our diet – at first we crave that which is gone – but eventually the cravings subside and we are left feeling somehow more whole afterword. Sometimes the things we do just feel ‘right’. A less cluttered life gives me that feeling.

 

What is it that makes you feel right?

A change in format.

Well, it looks like the blog has run dry. At least in its current iteration. And so – it’s time for a change. A change in focus, perhaps a change in design, but a change towards something that piques my interest and allows me to feel like this is worthwhile.

 

So now, instead of posting pictures about my day to day life here in Prescott I’ll be posting something else. Topics will probably focus on nutrition and fitness, some simple living, and maybe a little bit of food porn every now and again.

 

I’ll probably be using more words, and injecting a bit more opinion into it. I’m looking forward to it.

Broke truck and grand vistas.

It doesn’t seem like all that much has been going on in my life lately, but I suppose there are some updates to be posted. For one thing – the 4Runner has officially bit the bullet. With 315,000 miles on the ticker I heard a bad grinding noise and then the engine stalled. When I took the poor gal apart I found this:

 

A shattered valve shim, with a valve lifter shoved a little funky into the block:

 

The cost to repair the valve assembly and replace the head is more than the truck is worth by a good bit, so it’s time for the beast to go on to the graveyard. It’s been a great ride though, and I’ll definitely miss it.

 

So now my day-to-day life is a little bit more local, limited to where my feet can take me, or where Courtney wants to drive when we have time off together. C’est la vie.

 

We did get to spend some time down in the canyon for spring break, which was a blast, as usual. I saw some swirly rocks:

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And some swirly water:

 

I also had the opportunity to get off the beaten path and hike a route called the ARZ, which was amazing! Filled with grand vistas of the canyon (bright angel creek seen here):

 

Not a bad spot to hang out:

 

Other than that:

- I will be starting a new job in the nearish future, making coffee at Starbucks, and scratching another item off the ol’ bucket list.

- Prescott is starting to warm up again, making me miss my daily forays into the woods with the dog.

- Life is pretty great.

A new year already?!

My how time flies! Not much new happening in our neck of the woods. I’m learning to speak Spanish and play the guitar, we both got the new-year cold out of the way. Other than that, there has been a bit of this:

 

And a bit of that:

 

Mostly though, we are just spending lots of time with the friends and family who make it all worthwhile, cooking and eating and drinking with those we love.  It’s a pretty darn good life.

Good things

My cousin just posted a video about what he’s been getting up to in Africa. Pretty amazing.

Imagine Water Sierra Leone from John Campbell on Vimeo.

Turkey day

Courtney, Mom, Myself, and a friend Cailey went to Jerome to have thanksgiving dinner with Nikki at her place:

 

Not pictured – brocolli/chz/potato casserole which was baking during picture time.

A trip to the east

I took a trip this fall to see my friends who live near Washington DC. Chris and Shayla put me up in grand style!

 

We ate out at a ton of restaurants, sat at home and watched movies, cooked, drank, and generally just had the type of amazing time you have with close friends while on vacation. Some pics -

Fall colors in the Shenandoah's:

 

We hiked along the Potomac at Great Falls park:

We saw the loch system that used to get river boats past the falls:

 

And, of course, we went into the city for a bit of the touristy stuff:

 

I couldn’t have asked for a better break from AZ!

Havasupai

Last weekend a group of us went down to Havasupai. It was a great trip. There were seven of us total, We had two nights in the campgrounds, and two of our days were nice and overcast. We swam in the turquoise waters, we hiked to the major falls, we had fun. I took my little Canon G9 camera, and tried not to worry about photos too much.

 

Beginning the hike in:

 

Lil’ Navajo Falls:

 

We swam in the pool below Havasu Falls:

 

We hiked to Mooney falls, and tested our mettle on the chains and ladders that you must go down (here’s a video of somebody else doing it) to continue the hike:

 

And I got a closer look from the top of Mooney as well:

 

We made it all the way to Beaver falls, where we swam and cavorted in the water, ate a lunch, and hung out for a bit:

 

Most of use slept in hammocks, which allowed us a great slice of the stellar view at night (this being the only time the little G9 couldn’t get the picture I wanted):

 

We had a fairly leisurely hike out, stopping at the cafe in the Indian village to eat a breakfast at get some more coffee in our systems. On the hike one of our party caught sight of a little fox lounging in the shade:

 

And at long last we made it out, for the three hour drive back home, with a great parting view:

 

For all the pictures, see the Flickr Set Here

Changes and adventures

The big change around these parts is that I’ve asked Courtney to marry me. Hooray! Now for the wedding planning…

A picture, from right after I asked her, while swimming in Phantom Canyon (at the bottom of the Grand Canyon):

 

So that’s the big excitement. Other than that – I’ve got a hiking trip planned with room mate and friends to go down to Havasu Falls for a few days later this month. Next month I’m going to go out to D.C. to see my best friend again for a week or so.

 

Excitement abounds!

Still don’t feel like writing.

I’m alive, but not in the literary mood, so here’s pictures. Solar eclipse, St. Louis botanical gardens, fishing with family, fireworks:

It’s that time of year

Kicking back, laying in the grass, living spring.

A day at the track? Not quite.

The lady and I wandered around downtown last weekend and happened upon a whole bunch of european cars doing a run from Phoenix to Flagstaff. I didn’t have my camera handy, and we had plans to go out for lunch, so we decided to mix it up. We headed to Jerome for lunch, and stopped along the way to await the cars on one of the many curves of 89A. Good times!

 

The new McLaren MP4-12C

 

A vintage Triumph TR6, of which there were many:

 

A car totally unknown to me, but with styling that was super retro:

 

A Jaguar Mark2 looking luxurious:

 

An Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (a noisy devil!):

 

A Jaguar E-Type:

 

A Rolls-Royce Phantom V:

 

A Jaguar XJ, one of the more modern cars in the lot:

 

A Lotus Esprit:

 

A little MG going through the curves:

 

And the last image of the day, a vintage Ferrari (330 I believe):