Pinnacle Peak Trail

(from Penny)

Last Sunday, July the 2oth, we got up early to get our first Arizona hike under our belts. We chose to do something close to our home, Pinnacle Peak. It is about 1.75 miles each way and is well groomed. I figured we would be virtually alone on our adventure- I mean, who gets up this early to exercise... When we pulled into the parking lot at about 6:15 am, it was already half full! The trail was busy and some people were already finished with their excursion. There were many trail "runners" and just as many hiker/walkers. It seems to be a very popular venue.

This was a perfect introductory hike for us. The desert is a little intimidating and I am hesitant to doing anything "too rustic" or daring. The kids had a great time and Thomas was ready to go again the following day. This coming weekend we are heading up to the Flagstaff area to camp and hike.

Color Wheel Jewelry

Hi, from Alex!
My hobby is making jewelry. It is relaxing and creative. My favorite colors are blue, green and purple. Earrings are the most fun to make because it doesn't take very long to see what I have created. My best friend Ana Wilhelm and I have a business together. You can see what we have for sale at http://etsy.com/. You will have to select username from the pulldown menu and type in colorwheeljewelry.

Fresh squeezed in Pittsburgh - McMullen/Sckolnick painting

I really do mean squeezed! Not that it was a struggle to produce this painting.... it wasn't. It was one of the more fun paintings I have ever done; However, I did manage to work on this piece up until the morning that we moved from Pittsburgh! My timing isn't always what it should be but I do put my all into my work.

The clients were interested in vibrant earthy colors; such as those found in minerals and gems, water and plant life. I drew inspiration from photos of their travels as well as from satellite images of earth, maps and stones I collected. Together all of these ideas came together to create this painting. Let me know what you think! Thanks, Penny

Jumping cholla

Alex here and I have some advice for you...

DON'T KICK THE JUMPING CHOLLA!!!!!

Once when my family and I were visiting my Grandma Ruthann here in AZ I did kick the jumping cholla... I can tell you from first hand experience, it does not feel good. When you kick the jumping cholla it doesn't roll, it doesn't bounce, it won't fly into the air. It WILL stick to your foot, drive needles into your toes, pierce your skin, and it will burn like heck! Then you will have to pull them out one by one! You will have itchy red dots to remind you not


TO KICK THE JUMPING CHOLLA!!!!!





They call it a jumping cholla because it will drop parts of itself onto the ground which will then seemingly "jump" and stick to you if you brush slightly past-or of course if you choose to try to kick it like a soccer ball.
To learn more, you can check out this link...
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/may/papr/chollas.html