Spending the day planning the rest of the vacation. Not what I wanted to do, but the sooner it gets done, the better. Then I can work around our joint trips for podcast production and moto riding.
Replacement for my bricked Garmin Zumo XT arrived today. Currently doing all the updates. I hope to get it mounted on the bike and working tomorrow.
Morning Walk Sunday Feb. 2, 2025 9:45AM 1.82 miles. Weather: Sunny, 60°. Groundhog’s Day is not a thing here. Today I need to pull a few things together for the coming month. What’s great is that I will be able to do that outside, as the weather is turning warmer this week and becoming comfortable to sit in the shade. Watched Conclave last night. Not too impressed. The “payoff” ending rang hollow.
Pet Peeve of the Day: the incessant barrage of requests for reviews of items I’ve purchased online. I am not your free marketing department.
Morning Walk 9:45 AM MST 1.84 miles. Weather: 45°, sunny. I think the sense of discovery and adventure around the neighborhood is gone. I continue to fight the urge to leave the pavement and head east into the adjoining desert, since it appears to be private property. 🌵
Thursday Jan. 30, 2025
Morning walk: 2.02 miles. Weather: 42°, sunny. My first 2-mile walk in a while. I felt it a little by the time I was done, but not horrible. I am beginning to wonder if constantly walking on pavement is a good thing, but so far I really haven’t felt any detrimental effects.
Over the past two days, AML and I have taken a few short road trips. I underestimated the distances here. When you look on a map, it doesn’t seem too far to get to some of these places, but then you start the drive, and it’s surprising how far you’ve actually traveled. Tuesday we took a trip out to Chiricahua National Monument, known as the stronghold of the Chiricahua Apache Chief Cochise. The medicine man Geronimo also held out in this region. The route took us through Tombstone for the first time, but we did not stop, although we did note the location of the OK Corral. Once we left Tombstone, the region turned into endless grassland not unlike parts of western Nebraska. The road was flat and narrow, without a shoulder to speak of. It is not a place where you want to break down or run out of gas. You also start to get the feeling you have the road all to yourself, as hardly anyone else is on the road.
Currently reading: Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit 📚
I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. If this is so, then modern life is moving faster than the speed of thought, or thoughtfulness.
-Rebecca Solnit; Wanderlust: A History of Walking
Finished reading: A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko 📚 Enjoyable book with humor, drama, history, and mystery concerning Grand Canyon National Park. Should be visiting there during this vacation.
The past two days AML and I have been exploring the region by car. Yesterday we drove out to Chiricahua National Monument, and today we took in Saguaro National Park. More to come!
Jan. 27th, 2025
Morning Walk Sat. Jan. 25, 2025
I know I said I came out here mostly for the light, and it IS sunny this morning, but 25°? Damn! 🌬️
Thursday Jan. 23, 2025
I’m waking up to sunny skies and 32° temperature with a “real feel” reading of 36°. Still too cold to sip coffee outside, even in the sun.
Hall of Famers
Gotta say the Hall of Fame inductees this year is a solid group. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy “The Kid” Wagner all worthy candidates. CC represents, though, a change in how pitching will be looked at in the future. 250 wins is probably the bar now (CC with 251), while his lifetime ERA is high at 3.74 (highest of any LHP). Still, over 3,000K and 3,577.1 IP ain’t shabby. Ichiro - well, we all know his story. Let me highlight just his 10 consecutive seasons with 200 hits, 3,089 hits, and .311 BA - in MLB alone, not counting his NPBL stats. Billy Wagner makes it in his last year of eligibility for many reasons, but 422 saves over only 903 IP with a career WHIP under 1.00 demonstrates his talent. He was a prototype of the modern closer. Dave Parker and Dick Allen arrive from the Classic Era Baseball Committee (I liked Veterans Committee better), while Tom Hamilton, the marvelous play-by-play announcer of the Cleveland Guardians, earns the Ford Frick Award, and Tom Boswell of the Washington Post received the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
Best news of all? A-Roid was listed on only 37.1% of ballots and has only 6 more years left.