Welcome to California

Well, as things turn out, we have been in California for a bit of time now and I am getting terribly behind in my updates to you, faithful reader. Things are seemingly more busy, stimulating and happen much faster here on the coast so please don't despair and have patience. You will be filled in on adventures of Team Ontario and the Anne's in due time...

But for now, enjoy these amazing shots of us cycling through the dunes in Glamis, California before we had reached San Diego...

Lots of love,

Anne the 1st...

Arizona Part 2:Phoenix, Grand Canyon and motorized vehicles!

Marianne and I rolled into Phoenix just in time for an amazing picnic with our hosts Cynthia and Tom. The picnic was at Damon's very cool school just by their house. We got to spend the week-end with these guys and they took us to the Botaincal Gardens and to a very cool soda fountain where I tried on another crazy dress (unfortunately, Mare's camera battery was dead, no photographic evidence is available).

From Cynthia's place, Mare and I rented a car and drove up to... GRAND CANYON! While we thought the Arizonans were exaggerating when they said it would be cold at the Grand Canyon, they were not. We began to see lots of snow in Flagstaff which is still a few hours south of the National Park. We arrived around sunset and quickly pitched our tent in the snow... It felt like a good idea to check out an indoor presentation about mountain lions by Ranger Laurie. So that's what we did.

The following morning, we woke up at dawn to watch the sun rise with a few other hardcore tourists who made it to the rim of the canyon in the blistering wind. We then enjoyed breakfast at one of the lodges before beginning our hike down towards the river.



The hike began on steep switchbacks which were covered with slippery ice. Some of the ice had mule dung on it, which was nice and provided some much needed traction. We descended for about three hours crossing mule trains, other hikers and park rangers and construction on our path. We seriously debated going all the way to the river, however, having gotten a bit of a late start, we knew we would be pushing our daylight hours if we kept going. Having made it to a point where we could see the river, we began climbing back out of the canyon.

After the hike, we drove south towards Sedona where we would stay with Pete and Genie in their very newly acquired home in Cornville. We got to spend some time with them and also drive around Sedona and Oak Creek, two very popular destinations due to the Red Rock formations which were amazing!




After our break from cycling, we returned to Phoenix where we would spend some more time with Damon, Cynthia, Tom, Kit and John. Cynthia very kindly hooked us up with some friends of hers, who showed us around First Friday. This art event happens every first Friday of the month and it is an opportunity for galleries to open their doors to the public for an evening. There are also hundreds of street vendors, performers and people. We checked it out with Felipe and Becka, two of Cynthia's co-workers and got to see a part of Phoenix which is anxious and excited to create a culture for itself in this booming and very new city.

After the art walk, Mare and I got back onto our bikes on Saturday and spent the better part of our cycling hours getting through Phoenix. We stayed in Circle City for the night before heading towards Wickenburg the next day. While we thought we would surely make it past Wickenburg, fate had other plans for Team Ontario, or the Anne's as we were lovingly named by our hosts in Phoenix.

About 10 miles past Wickenburg, Mare broke a spoke on the drive side of her rear wheel. This meant that without a special tool (which we did not have) we could not continue biking. Luckily, we were picked up by Jana, who was driving into Wickenburg to work. She was able to put us up at her parents house and Jim, her dad, very kindly drove us back towards Phoenix about 40 miles to the nearest bike shop where we could get the wheel fixed! So, what could have been a very complex ordeal became a single day setback thanks to Jim and Jana... We owe you guys!

Our last night in this state was spent in a beautiful back garden in Salome, Arizona. When we inquired about camping at the local high school, Sheri, the school's administrator offered us her empty property to camp in. The place had orange and grapefruit trees which we grazed on for the evening and for breakfast. It was very peaceful and relaxing place to spend the night and catch up on some reading and writing.

At this point, you are probably wondering what will happen next. Well, there's only one way to find out. Stay tuned for the next chapter of Team Ontariannes adventures where they enter yet another state (it begins with a C and it's not Colorado) and have a close encounter with another sprinkler system...

Arizona, Part 1

...in which Team Ontario learnes the difference between the artificial and natural features of the Senoran Desert.



Leaving Silver City, Marianne and I were both pumped and energized from having spend time with a bunch of super awesome cyclists. While the plan was to cycle to Mule Creek, we made it about 12 miles further to the top of a 6200 pass and just into Arizona! We camped at the Blackjack Campground just off the side of the road in a beautiful pine forest. We woke up a bit on the chilly side, our water having frozen, ate a quick breakfast and descended the awesome 14 miles into Three Way...

We rode swiftly into Safford, then 9 miles further to Pima where we hung out in the park with four girls who had a million and one questions about our trip, our bikes, our gear and our food. They all had pretty awesome bikes themselves and raced around the park as we prepared noodles. That night we decided to pitch our tent on the emerald green lawn between the fire station and library.

"It will be much easier to drive our tent pegs into the soft turf than it would in the crispy yellow grass of the municipal park a few meters away." we thought. It certainly was easier and at 4:00am, we found out why... The sprinkler system didn't get us wet but it did make a ridiculous racket as it splashed against the walls of our tent, startling us both out of a deep sleep. So, remember folks: when the grass is green in Arizona, always ask why.

The following day began slowly as we had plans to cycle about forty miles to Peridot. A tailwind and shining sun made us decide to go a bit further to Globe, where we met up with Larry and Susan Hansen. These fine folks cycled from Arizona up to Canada with four of their eight children back in 1999 and we saw the video to prove it.





The following day was possibly one of the most beautiful cycling days we have experienced. After an arduous climb out of Globe, we thouroughly enjoyed the 14 mile descent into Superior... We cycled through canyons and saw Hudus.








We also biked through a short but frightening tunnel just before getting into Superior. Going down does not last as long as going up but some of those moments are certainly worth the climb...

After this awesome day of cycling, we landed in Apache Junction in the stunning home of Kit, her husband John ( who turns 23 years old today! Happy Birthday John!) and their dog Sophie. Kit, Queen of the Desert, is a walking, talking encyclopedia about all the plants, insects, birds, snakes and everything else that grows and lives in the Senoran Desert. Like the saguaros which surround her home, we were soaking up every last little drop of cool information she had to share with us. We also did some bird watching and heard the yelping coyotes latter on that evening as we were watching the sun set...

From Kit's, we cycled through the beginnings of Phoenix towards Cynthia, Tom and Damon's house. To find out about that, you will have to wait for Arizona, Part 2...where Team Ontario visits the Grand Canyon, only to learn that, even in Arizona, it can get quite cold!