Date: 2007-03-25
To: Arizona
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I am now in Arizona waiting for baby to come. So far no baby although Sara had a few labor pains today that went away.Getting to Arizona was kind of a marathon - 29 hours from my house to their house. It may not be a record for length but it was far more than I wished to travel. I got to the Sea-Tac airport and my wonderful son hoisted the big awkward box containing my pack and gear on to his shoulder and we finally found the right check in counter. I made it to the gate and found the plane had just been delayed for an hour and a half. The day went downhill from there. When the plane got to Long Beach, a very small airport that looks like a movie set of an airport from the 50s, I knew I would have a long layover. Then a severe thunderstorm hit Phoenix and the plane that was supposed to come from there could not take off so the wait was extended by another 2 and a half hours. When we finally got to Phoenix, the plane that was supposed to go to Tucson had no crew due to the thunderstorm and other re-arranged flights. After a couple more hours that flight was cancelled. After waiting in a long line at customer service I got a flight out of Phoenix for 7:35 AM the next day. Fortunately my ex-husband of many years ago works in the Phoenix airport for TSA and was just getting off work. After a call from Sara for Grandma support, he and his wife graciously provided a bed for what was left of the night and took me to the airport in the morning and sheperded me through the trouble line at the ticket counter. (Thank you David and Mariette!) And, oh yeah, the morning flight was delayed an hour and a half. I finally got to Tucson and was met by Andrew's parents who drove me to Sierra Vista. Whew! I hope the flights to Asheville to begin my hike will be more smooth than that or I will be in trouble.The trip was quite a challenge especially becuse I had only 45 minutes sleep the night before because I was trying to get a thousand and one little tasks done before leaving. I caught up a little on sleep in various airports and on various planes but a total of 9-10 hours of sleep divided by two nights was rather hard on this old body.A couple good night's sleep and a nap or two does wonders though. So, since no baby had yet arrived I drove over to the Coronado National Memorial and took a nice three/six mile hike up Joe's Canyon and to Coronado Peak and back. (1,500 ft elevation gain and loss). I really do not want to lose the conditioning I have built up while I am here and adding a little more would be a good thing. Being here in the high desert country should also help to add a few more red blood cells which will help me in the Smokeys. I had some nice chats with some day hikers who wondered why I had a full pack for a day hike and a nice chat with a Ranger Lady in the visitor's center who thought my time up and back was good. I thought it was just OK but I was happy with it. I hope to get another three hikes in before heading to the AT. The next one I want to try is the Crest Trail up to Miller Peak, the highest point in the Huachuca Mountains. That will be a 10.4 mile hike round trip with a 3,000 ft elevation gain. If I do that one pretty well I think I will do OK in the Smokeys where my first day will be 13 miles and about 4,000 ft elevation gain.Thinking of hiking is good. But I am also eagerly awaiting the birth of the new baby. Sometime in the next two or three days I think baby will arrive.The picture I will try to enter in this journal entry is of the same hiking area I was in today but taken in January with my grandson on my back.All for now.