Tempe Run and Grand Canyon preview

Coastal stratus pouring over the hills near San Francisco’s airport.

I awoke groggily to bright sunshine in my eyes. I couldn’t remember a night’s sleep that went this poorly. Between an angry air conditioner that sounded like a diesel truck and the very dry air that parched my skin, it is safe to say I got about four hours of broken sleep that night.
Our travel style is fast-paced and Matt wasted no time dragging me out on a run. It was already 85F by the time we went out at 8am. From a quick glance at Google maps, we realized that a trail was less than five minutes from Isaiah’s, so off we went.

We found ourselves on the Western Canal Path heading into downtown Tempe. I have never visited Arizona before and found myself surprised at the amount of green things growing in this area. It is sad how much water people waste watering their lawn in this desert. Plant some cactus and be done with it, guys.

I’m always surprised how well our local climate prepares us for warm runs. At home on the ocean, I’ve had sweatier and more dehydrating runs on 50F foggy days than I have in hot, dry places. I may not be good with the heat, but once you take away the humidity, I can handle a whole lot of hot. It isn’t fun at all, but not as debilitating as a sudden jump up of 40 degrees would imply.
My mouth dried quickly as we ran along into the sunshine. Any bit of sweat produced instantly evaporated. Matt and I marveled at our shadows. Suddenly, we had little dark friends following our every move. You can tell we either don’t get out much or we don’t get much sun. Shadows are fun!

After our short run, we hit the pool at Isaiah’s. This posh area near Phoenix would contrast sharply with the landscape we would encounter on the rest of our trip.

Our drive to the Grand Canyon that afternoon passed in a blur. Between short naps in the back seat and moments spent gazing out at the giant cactus that dotted otherwise naked dirt hills, I don’t remember much about the drive.

As we entered Grand Canyon NP, I commented on the trees. It looked like the last two hours and remarkably similar to the forests of interior Northern California. “So far, this park sucks!” Once we reached the rim and looked over the mass expanse of the canyon, Matt asked me again, “So what do you think now?”

The layers, the colors, the sheer magnitude of this natural feature were overwhelming. I couldn’t get a look at the entire thing and my brain had trouble processing all the information. I felt as if I were standing in front of a large painting. We took turns daring each other to jump off the edge and test if it was real. Then Matt and I joked about our summer trips. A theme appeared: big holes in the ground. Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, and now the granddaddy of big holes and one of the natural wonders of the world: the Grand Canyon. I couldn’t wait to examine it up close.