June in N. AZ

While vast areas of AZ are currently burning to a crisp (literally), it's mighty nice up north. It's still windy at times, but the weather is gorgeous and life here is coming into full bloom. Bees are out, trees are filling in, and evenings are nearly t-shirt weather.

Last weekend we went to the north rim of the grand canyon to ride the rainbow rim trail. It seems some nice forest service folks decided to put in 20 miles of singletrack along the edge of the grand canyon. The north rim is a neat area. At 8000ft elevation it's amazingly pleasant with shady woods, lush aspen stands, deer, and amazing views of a monsterous canyon. We drove up from Flag on Sunday eve, camped at the edge of the canyon light up by moonlight, woke up to amazing sights, and then went on a bike ride.

The trail has 5 different viewing points/trail heads met by forest service roads. In between those it meanders away from the rim and into the woods to follow the terrain with minimal elevation change. There are still some modest climbs and descents, but all in all the trail is fun and fast winding through the woods and out to amazing sights. Wanting to ride the whole trail, we parked in the middle and rode out and back in each direction with a lunch break in between back at the car. Having ridden the first leg of 20 miles, and consuming a lunch of sandwich, chips, and beer, my body protested the second half and I turned around mid way while the boys rode on. A couple we met on the trail was doing to ride in two days, which would be fun too, although a day seems doable if you're a manimal or you take your time and enjoy the sights.

The past month has also included some bike camping which I've enjoyed a lot. With so much beautiful forest out our back door, there's little excuse not to cruise out after work now and then to sleep out under the stars.

Finally, a quick trip to Williams was underwhelming but a good recon mission. There is pie, beer, and burritos. I chased tourists around to take pictures, explored the wild west display downtown, and we walked through neighborhoods outside of the touristy downtown trying to get a feel for the place. I get the feeling that there isn't much going for a lot of people there aside from country living and a tourist economy. I felt myself walking a bit faster as an absent looking young guy walked by with sunken eyes, aged beyond his years. America is an interesting place.