Saturday, May 12, 2012

A stroll down the Priest Draw

I knew today was going to be out of the ordinary after a yellow mustang almost hit me head on while passing someone illegally in a residential zone. A shocking sort of day I might say was in store.
Just a day ago Ava and I made the summer pilgrimage to Flagstaff to be reunited with my husband and baby boy. I'm here doing my first of four clinical internships for Physical Therapy school. Being that I am back on my old familiar turf I chose to take my shoes and stroll down the Priest Draw. The area that I have spent countless hours of my life "hanging" out in. (Just love the pun for me. I know its cheeseball.)

It was 9:30 am and the first person I saw was a woman with a baby on her back walking in the new morning air. I started at the White wall, which in my head I call the refrigerator. I ended up trying this insanely hard little problem sort of mid wall with tiny greasy crimps. (Fess up people, who's done that thing. It's stinking hard.)

After flailing I decided to do a nature hike:




Nature's Folly.


I saw this little guy three separate times. I can tell cause he had this weird little stubby tail and sort of red eyes.

Anyway, I was really surprised to see several bikers. By 11 am I had seen more hikers/bikers than climbers. It was strange. It was also graduation last night so I assume everyone was hung over.

I was on my way to Mars Roof when I crossed through what I call the "For the kids" corridor. (a great boulder for kids) and my reminiscing mind was interrupted by this:


               This roof used to look like this:


It always reminds me of a cresting wave frozen in the desert by time. I mean, I've done Anorexic naked and barefoot (alone thankfully). The first v8 I ever did was Carnivore and I got the FFA of it. This boulder is my right of passage and to see it charred and my favorite sitting spot trundled and obliterated was enough to bring me to tears. Assholes.

So I have two questions.

Firstly, can we clean the soot off without damaging the rock?
Secondly, how do we take back the draw?

Something has to change because I have heard that this is not the first fire under the anorexic roof. All I can think of is booby traps. But then I may get a climber and not a red neck...assholes.