Exit 219: A Place for Rock-Climbing, Ostrich-Feeding, Porn Enthusiasts

Sure I could have gone with an obvious title for this weekend's recap post, but something like Exploring Southern Arizona or Seven Falls Trail: Tough Hike but Worth It just didn't seem as attention grabbing. Even though, it was my attention grabber I'll come back to the title later. Stay tuned.

As for the weekend, my original plan as I stated in the last post was to do a little local wandering. This is exactly what we did on Friday. Before Jenn got off work, I decided to use my to try to find a new trail to hike. My strategy was to go south of my place and just drive straight until, I hit Estrella Mountain. Unfortunately, there is this stuff called private land, that prevents that from happening. Anyway, I did find a new trail but it was on South Mountain (the system I hike all the time). Just when it looked like it would be a complete flop for new discoveries, I found a road side pinon stand in Laveen that had roasted and salted bags. I wanted to surprise Jenn because she had never been able to find roasted and salted pinons in the area, so I drove home and drove her all the way back. $40 worth of pinons later we were off for the next adventure.

After some delicious Korean Fried Chicken at Crazy Chicken Crazy Crab in Chandler, we laid around the apartment attempting to digest and figure out something for the night. The final plan would be us showing up too late to buy tickets to a comedy show, starting out over Tempe Town Lake, and watching The Struts in concert. The funniest part about this was that we sat and ate frozen yogurt on a bench while the rest of the crowd rocked out.

So Friday was okay, but Saturday was the start of the weekend adventure. I already posted about Destination Roulette so I won't get into that, but it's a fun game. If you're interested in wandering, I highly suggest playing. Tucson turned out pretty good. Our luck streak continued with us landing a campsite in the first place we stopped, Molino Basin. The campsite was gorgeous, with great views of the nearby mountains.

Sunday we woke up early to attempt our chosen trail, Seven Falls in the Sabino Canyon rec area. The hike was a moderate 8.2 mile out and back path. Jenn and I decided (subconsciously, I guess) that 8.2 just wasn't hard enough, so we decided to add an extra 3 miles of trail in the completely wrong canyon system. Tip to anyone who hikes the trail, when you get to the sign that's difficult to tell which path it's pointing to, stay on the paved path. The hike is long, I'd recommend bringing a lot of water if you hike in the afternoon. The creek crosses on the path are really nice and there's a great spot to dip your sore feet about 3 miles in. The falls are gorgeous, with some nice wading pools.

Unfortunately - here comes the embarrassing but honest portion of my blogging - right as we begun our final assent into the falls I stretched my leg a little further than my shorts wanted to allow. Anyone who has ever experienced the shear terror of the sound of ripping cloth, can probably put themselves in my shoes. There it was the same tear I experienced in my most embarrassing first date story (long story, different blog), a tear right by my "special area". I would spend the rest of my time observing the falls knowing that my boxers were in full view. That put a little damper on such an amazing sight. Out of fear that I'd end up getting arrested for indecent exposure, I skipped out climbing to the top of the falls. Being a good girlfriend, Jenn stuck by my side. I'm sad my embarrassment cost her a chance to enjoy the falls in all their glory.

Before I wrap this whole thing up in a nice little bow, I guess I should address my attention grabbing headline. On the drive back, I notice something that I didn't catch on the drive down: Exit 219. I remembered catching each individual element: the really cool peak, the ostrich farm, and the porn store billboards. What hadn't dawned on me is that all 3 were at the same exit in the middle of nowhere between Phoenix and Tucson. This is one of those interesting things I've come to appreciate about traveling by car and something people who only travel by plane miss out on. Somehow, in the middle of nowhere a state park, an ostrich farm, and a porn store have defied all business related demographic research by managing to coexist and somehow stay operational over the years. Queue the Lee Greenwood God Bless the USA to add some extra patriotism to that thought.

And now the bow, I admit I let the clothing tear ruin what should have been amazing time in nature. My self-conscious side took over and took me out of the moment. Luckily, I have pictures to remind me of the Falls. The part of the hike that I remember and will probably always remember is a moment when we were nearly done with the hike. I was exhausted, hot, and a little dehydrated. I looked out and saw a beautiful view of the valley below and then I looked behind us and saw something that made it worthwhile. It was the shadow of Jenn and I holding hands.

Take pictures of the sights so you can remember. Soak up the important moments so you never forget.