The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 6: It was the best of times (I'm in Flagstaff.), and it was the worst of times (It's cold.) Day 4

   Well, I'm on to the last day of Episode 6 so let's get down to business with a little extra fun on top!

   So, we got up early (yet again) and headed off to the Snow Bowl. Thankfully, there was no wind so we could actually go skiing instead of being turned away at the foot of the mountain so we headed off to the Snow Bowl. We arrived at 9:30 AM (for the record, one hour late) and rented out skis, poles, and helmets. My mom used the two 50% off coupons that we had gotten the day previous because it had been too windy and she says that the coupons saved her $80. After grabbing all our gear, we headed off to the super easy hill because this was only my second day skiing, the first being lessons about a year ago. If you want to know, I don't have any Sock Monkey pictures for this part because if I had brought Sock Monkey, I would be skiing down the hill with a sock monkey flapping behind me. Which is why I don't have any pictures. I did seven runs in the course of about six hours so for all you math geeks out there, that's roughly 17/20 of an hour, or 51.45 min. Also, I found some pictures, but they don't have Sock Monkey in them. See below.

Up the lift...

...down the hill.

The view from the top of the hill.

After the Snow Bowl closed and the people nicely kicked us out, we packed up and headed back home (after a stop at Burger King) to warm up. And that concludes Episode 6 of "The Adventures of Sock Monkey"! If you feel the need to tell me something, please check out my comment board. It gets awfully empty sometimes. Well, that should be it so thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 6: It was the best of times (I'm in Flagstaff.), and it was the worst of times (It's cold.) Day 3

   Well, two days down, two more days to go, so on with "The Adventure of Sock Monkey Episode 6 Day 3"!

   We got up super early in the morning so we could go skiing (because we actually remembered to get up early) and hurried to eat breakfast before driving off to the Snow Bowl. But, when we got to the road leading up to the Snow Bowl, we were turned away because it was too windy and the lifts were blowing sideways. Apparently, the winds up at the top of the mountain was clocked in at 80 mph. Eighty miles per hour! That's a lot of wind! So, we couldn't go skiing but the Snow Bowl people gave us a 50% off coupon so we could go tomorrow. Good enough. So, instead, we made a detour and headed down to Sedona to go hike. We decided to go hike at West Fork, which is a trail that goes into Oak Creek Canyon and crosses Oak Creek a few (aka thirteen) times. So, after grabbing some improvised hiking gear along with lots of water, we set off. As said before, it was a very windy day. And wind + no sun + creek + winter = COLD!!!! Simple math. Also, there had been a fire there recently and you could still see the charred trees and burnt logs and stuff but there was new plant growth and didn't look super burned. Nevertheless, it was still super cold. The wind definitely did not help. Once you get into the canyon, it gets so cold that the snow from five days ago still hadn't melted. I even found icicles on a branch. See below.

On to West Fork!

The monkeys go marching one by one...

Over the river...

Getting cold!

Evidence of the fire

Want your Christmas tree back, Charlie Brown? 

Best buds forever!

Cold! Very cold!

Anyway, after the super cold hike over the river and through the woods, we headed back to the hotel to warm up. And that is just about it for the day! Anything else that you feel that I should know, please check out the comment board because it's getting awfully empty. Other than that, I guess I'm done so thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 6: It was the best of times (I'm in Flagstaff.), and it was the worst of times (It's cold.) Day 2

   Now, Day 2! One day down, three more days to go! Well, here goes!

   We woke up at 8:30 AM and were supposed to go skiing. Oops. Since we didn't wake up early enough (more like we didn't get out of bed on time), we couldn't go skiing so my mom decided that we should go hiking. Yippee. After getting super-rushed to finish breakfast, we drove to Red Mountain Trail. It is the remnants of a kind-of-blown-out cinder cone volcano that is about one million years old. I have a picture of a sign that should help. See below.

Onwards!

Anyway, the hike was cold and relatively flat with little patches of snow until you actually got into the crater. Then it got cold, slippery, icy, and even more cold. There was even a little tiny frozen creek in the crater. See pictures below.

Gotcha!

Walking in a winter wonderland...

I even found a frozen footprint probably from the day before in the ground. Also, if you look on the ground, you should find some pinyon pine cones. They do have some weird sticky stuff on the outside but there are pine nuts on the inside. Picture!

Pine cones that I think smell like strawberries! 

But I digress. We went to the Snow Bowl after finishing the hike and played with snow because the Snow Bowl is pretty much the only place with snow. I built a snow fort with some other kids, had a snowball fight, built an igloo, destroyed an igloo, and basically had a ton of fun. See below.

Pop goes the sock monkey!

What goes up....

....must come down

Sock Monkey's fort

The rest of my day was sitting in the hotel room blogging/reading on my tablet. And that just about sums up the exciting part of my day! Anything that you devoted readers feel like I should know, I have a comment board so check that out! Well, that should be it so thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 6: It was the best of times (I'm in Flagstaff.), and it was the worst of times (It's cold.) Day 1

   So! Here goes with Episode 6 of "The Adventures of Sock Monkey" Background information: We're in Flagstaff. I'm not going to spoil anything else so onwards!

   We started heading off north at 10:30-ish in the morning and started driving up towards Flagstaff. The drive was mainly uneventful, save a pit stop or two. But as soon as you get up north, it really cools off (compared to Phoenix) and is just nice in general. We stopped by the hotel first to drop of our stuff (we're in Wyndham Resorts again but in Flagstaff) and then ate lunch. After we ate, my mom decided to go hiking somewhere so we headed off to Walnut Canyon. If you want to know, Walnut Canyon is a canyon (duh!) with Native American pueblo ruins. Here's the link. 

http://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm

There's an easy hiking trail that goes into the canyon but watch out for the stairs! There are, according to the map, 240 steps on the trail and they are steep! Luckily they have a sign for that. See below. 

Well, here goes nothing. Or in this case, everything!

Sock Monkey's summer house

Up the stairs....down the stairs....

Not exactly a five-star hotel...

Best...view...ever...

Off to see the Wizard of Sock Monkey!

Peekaboo!

After hiking the one-ish mile trail, I finished a Junior Ranger booklet before we left for the day. If you want to hike there, just remember to get there before four o'clock because the trail takes about an hour or so to finish and the rangers won't let you go out to hike after four because the park closes at five. Anyway, we stopped Safeway to grab some food and cookies (cookies!!!) and then headed back to the hotel to eat dinner.

Our Cabin. With a bunch of other extra add-ons. Like the Jacuzzi.

When we were done, my mom and I decided to go to the Bear Paw Clubhouse, aka the recreation center. The movie theater was cool (beanbag chairs everywhere!!) but some of the board games were missing pieces and honestly, some of the games weren't in the best condition. But, nonetheless, it was fun anyway. Well, that just about sums up day one so anything that you feel that I need to know (like grammar or spelling problems) or some feedback (like comments on how utterly amazing Sock Monkey is), check out the comment board. Otherwise, I guess I'm done so thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 5: Over the River and Through the Woods, to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon We Go Day 3

   On to the third day! Wow. Since this beginning seems to short, I will add this super long sentence to fill up some space! Sorry. It just looked so empty... But I digress.

   We woke up 6:25 AM (again) and got ready for the mule ride back up. after boarding our mules (Yeah. Mule Airlines. Please fasten your seat-belts.), we headed back up. Through tunnels, up cliffs, over rivers, across empty plains, up more cliffs, taking breaks in the middle of nowhere (see below), up more cliffs, letting the mules take breaks, up even more cliffs, watching a bajillion ravens fly above you on a thermal, up more cliffs, getting pictures taken of you by everyone you meet going down and up, up more cliffs, riding casually through a herd of elk lounging on the side of the path and walking down the road, up even more cliffs, and so on. You get the idea. Hopefully the "up cliffs" idea. But don't take me wrong! It was fun. But personally, I preferred going down to going up, but I think I'm alone on that preference. :( Oh well. That's okay! Now see below for our visual guide to our journey ($0.50 each!).

Up...

...and up...

...and up...

...and up.

Sock Monkey on a not-so-hoodoo. Or, in mathematical terms, a hoodoo-soid.

All the mules!

Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere. Souvenirs? 

The pack mules that take stuff down and up. Or up and down. Your choice.

Can you spot the raven?

After dismounting, we took the van that the park crew brought to drive us back to our lodge and everyone was officially named "Order of the Master Mule Skinners". Especially Sock Monkey. The rest of the day was just driving back home and stopping by fast food restaurants for dinner (I know. Not exactly healthy. Oops.). And that concludes Episode 5 of "The Adventures of Sock Monkey"! Stay tuned for more posts and adventures to come! Questions, comments, spell-check or grammar corrections, comment board! Please leave a comment! Other than that, I guess I'm done so thanks for reading!

Update: Since I feel (or at least my mom does) that this post is not educational, I'll make it educational. Yay.

Word Bank
Bat
California Condor
Ring-tailed Cat
Scorpion
Rattlesnake

1. Who am I? 
I am nocturnal and spend the daytime hiding under rocks and logs.
I am an arthropod (related to spiders).
I use my pincers and stinger to catch my dinner, like grasshoppers and moths.
I have six eyes. 
I am a ______.

2. Who am I?
I am a nocturnal mammal.
I have big ears and big eyes with rings around them.
My tail is long, bushy, and black and white striped.
I am an agile tree climber. 
I am small and weigh only two pounds.
I am a ______.

3. Who am I? 
I can consume 500 insects in one hour of eating.
When winter arrives, I will migrate or hibernate.
I use echolocation to find insects to eat and keen sense of smell to find my babies.
I'm not blind, but I can't see color.
I am the only mammal that can truly fly.
I am a ______. 

4. Who am I? 
I like the warmth of the inner canyon.
Some of my relatives have a pink color. 
I am  reptile. 
My rattle warns you that my bite is venomous.
I am a ______.

5. Who am I?
Scavenging is what I do. 
I am big and black with a red head. 
I am a bird. 
I am endangered and need the canyon's safe habitat to live in.
I am a ______.

And please send answers via comment board! No cheating, peoples!

Grand Canyon Ecology 
The South Rim elevation is 7000 feet (2100 m), the North Rim is 8000 feet (2400 m), and Phantom Ranch is 2500 feet (760 m) above sea level. You (or in this case, I) traveled down a vertical mile to get here! Conifer forests are on the rim. Desert plants like cactus are at the bottom. At the bottom the temperature can be 20ºF (11ºC) hotter than on the rim. The bottom averages 9 inches (22 cm) of precipitation and the rim 12-20 inches (30-50 cm). These differences make the canyon home to a wide diversity of plants and animals.

(Borrowed/Adapted from the Phantom Ranch Junior Ranger Packet)

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 5: Over the River and Through the Woods, to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon We Go Day 2

   So! Here we go for Day 2! Now this is the fun part. And I like fun parts, so let's get to it!

   We woke up 6:25 AM and packed up all our stuff before watching the sunrise. We checked out of our hotel via phone and walked to the stone corral where the mules are kept so people can board the mules without getting kicked off the edge of the Grand Canyon. More people came as it got later until there were a total of nine people, including the three of us, all decked out in our smelly rubber slickers/raincoats. Our guides were Camille and Lori and the showed us which mules we were riding, where we put our stuff, how to "motivate" (ie: smack with leather strips) our mules, and how not to become the first mule-caused casualty in 120 yrs. Crazy, isn't it? My mule was named Corky, by the way. See below.

We Three Mules
(Left to Right: Corky, Berta, and Blackburn)

Giddyup, cowboy!

 After everyone got settled, we started down. Personally, I prefer going down compared to going up, but that's just me, because everyone else's backsides hurt after riding for an hour because of all the steps. Back to the fun. We stopped once for lunch at Indian Gardens which is about halfway down the canyon and we ate our box lunches which consisted of Gatorade, cheese sticks, beef jerky, Fritos chips, baby carrots, a dinner roll, an apple, and...wait for it...Oreos. No milk, though.

Yum.

Anyway, we left Indian Gardens and headed towards the bottom, crossing rivers and going through woods and whatnot. We passed a certain corner named Oh Jesus Corner. So you know what to say when you go around because the mules head goes over the edge but the mule doesn't go over. Usually. We arrived at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon at Phantom Ranch after crossing the bridge of DOOM!!! Just kidding. It's the Black Bridge, which was black *gasp*. 

From far away...

...to up close

 We finally got to Phantom Ranch and after dismounting, we checked into the cabins and dropped of our stuff before deciding to go check out camp also known as tromping around the general area of our camp and going in places people aren't supposed to go. Oops.

Little help?

Photo-bomb!

Afterwards, we ate a steak dinner at the cantina and it was super good! Well, that's about it. Any questions, comments, whatever, comment board. And please actually comment! Thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Episode 5: Over the River and Through the Woods, to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon We Go Day 1

   I send greetings from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! Umm... I really don't know what to say so let's get to it!

   We left our house at 8:30 in the morning and headed north towards the Grand Canyon. The drive took 4 1/2 hours before we finally reached the Grand Canyon (after a few pit stops, of course...) and we enjoyed the scenery while we waited for our room to be cleaned. See pictures of scenery/Sock Monkey below. 

I didn't know that fire hydrants have ears...

I see you!

Our cabin/HQ

Can you spot the sock monkey?

And a sock monkey in a pine tree!

Can you see me?

 We also stopped by the desk in the lodge where we got our super awesome ninja gear (just kidding) for the mule ride that we were going to do. If you want to know, the hotel we are staying in is called the Bright Angel Lodge and it's in the national park. See below.

Now Arriving At: Bright Angel Lodge

Care for a drink (that tastes like lemons and plastic)?

 When our room finally opened, we dropped off our luggage and extra stuff, and then we went back outside to walk around and enjoy the Grand Canyon in its hugeness. We watched the sunset while we cooked our dinner in a rice cooker and made our cabin and everything twenty feet around it smell like Alfredo chicken, and then went back into the cabin to relax after sitting in the car for a super long time and to eat dinner. Quick suggestion, bring warm clothes because after dark, it gets cold. And I mean five-jackets-and-two-shirts-and-I'm-still-freezing cold. So dress warm, people of earth and intergalactic space! But I digress. After we finished our dinner, we took a moonlight walk, and since there is almost no light pollution, you can see a ton of stars. But it was still cold. All in all, the day wasn't super action-packed (unfortunately...). But that's okay! The fun part is to come! So, one day down, two more to go! Any questions, comments, sarcastic remarks, anything, please check out the comment board. Other than that, I'm done for the first day so thanks for reading!