Arizona!

Well I have missed too many days of updating to give a day-by-day account. I will have to sum up.

We've completed all 10 of our Build Days, the last few being in Colorado Springs, CO; Durango, CO; and Prescott, AZ. Colorado Springs was one of the coolest sites, where we got to raise walls for a two-story house! The tallest wall I've ever helped build! Then in Durango I helped tar and prime a foundation, (I still have sticky stuff in my hair, despite much shampoo), put up waterproofing paper and others helped do flooring. In Prescott we did "landscaping" which really meant moving rocks around. I also helped build a rock wall to prevent erosion, which was pretty cool. Prescott Habitat provided us with dinner and we got to meet one of the families who will be getting a home. They also showed us a video about other families who have gotten Habitat homes, and I think it was a great way to end our last Build Day. We got to hear their stories and learn about the people we've been helping.

Arizona has surpassed my expectations completely. After crossing the Four Corners and the AZ state line, it took me about 10 minutes to realize "I was born here..." So I am of course a little biased in saying that I love this state. I was a little worried people would be completely miserable and unimpressed by the HOT, dry desert. But Arizona is so much more than that!!

We spent a couple nights in schools or churches on the Navajo reservation. The landscape was a little desolate, but the red sand and mesas are beautiful. In Kayenta we took a bus tour of Monument Valley, which was awesome. This was where Forrest Gump decided to stop running and go home. It was also filmed for the first scene of Back to the Future 3 when Marty McFly is escaping from Indians. Of course I was also excited to find some cool lizards.


















We also rode through the Grand Canyon, but this was unfortunately one of my least favorite days. It started off as a 57-mile ride, but we were told we weren't allowed to camp in the park and had to ride 90 miles instead. Although the views were beautiful, we got caught in a pretty nasty thunderstorm and ended up camping out in the rain. Luckily the next day was much brighter (and drier). Oh yes! And at our second lunch stop in the Grand Canyon, we were visited by a very strange-looking bug. (Mom, can you and Rylie identify this one?)




















The ride from Prescott to Wickenburg was one of my favorite. I had no idea parts of Arizona were so green! We had some really fun descents and chatted with a bunch of local cyclists. After descending about 3000 feet, we immediately felt the wall of heat.. 100+ temperatures in the hot desert which we'll surely be facing over the next several days. This is the part of Arizona that I know.. saguaro cacti everywhere! In Wickenburg my Aunt Julie, Uncle Marc and cousin Rachael came to see me too. It was so great to see family during this trip. (You can check out my wicked cool tanlines in this picture too)



















Tomorrow we cross our last state line--into California. Only 5 riding days left until rolling into San Diego. We've completed 3,203 miles; 10 Build Days; 3 Days Off... We are hard core!!