WASSON PEAK - TUCSON, AZ

We wanted to do the loop we had done last time which was going up the road from the parking area, getting on the Esperanza trail and heading to Wasson Peak but not going to the peak and instead heading down the King's Canyon Trail when we got to the cutoff to the peak. This loop is about 8 miles and 1600 feet elevation.

we started off a little differently by walking up the Gould Mine Trail which connected us with the Esperanza Trail within feet of the old stone building and the mine. (every time i pass one of these old mines i am morbidly fascinated by its unseen depths and imagine falling in and/or wondering what sorts of creatures live at the bottom.)

But another thing we did differently on this hike was not starting out in time to leisurely with ample break time make the loop. (i'm blaming this on bill.) The King's Canyon Trail is steep in places and very rocky throughout its entire length so not a fast jog down.

so we stopped about 200 feet below the ridge and the spur trail to the peak and had a lovely lunch and headed down the same way we came. Watched the sunset too. It was really hot in the sun with hardly any breeze and even when the sun went down i was comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless top.

MY BIG FAT GREEK RESTAURANT

This was the restaurant at Broadway and Kolb which we hadn't eaten at before. I had a coupon celebrating their one year anniversary. We went there after a hike on a friday and were prepared to walk over to In n' out Burger if they were jammed with weekend party-ers. but we got a lovely table off in the corner and the service by Tovah was excellent and the food was delivered fast.

We ordered a spinach salad with candied walnuts, feta cheese and cranberries with raspberry viniagrette. It was a rabbit's paradise; sky high greens. excellent taste except there was too much dressing so by the time we got to the bottom of the salad - the viniagrette (which had a lovely spicy aftertaste - cayenne pepper?) was way too much; made me pucker.

And then we also shared stuffed bell peppers. We got 2 of them and they were overflowing with the meat/rice combo. They were topped with a bechamel sauce and were accompanied by roasted potatoes and vegetables. That dish was perfectly prepared and seasoned.

The restaurant is not very big and a lot of the tables are right in the middle of the room and close together; only a few booths. It seemed whenever someone ordered a flaming appetizer or a dessert or it was a special occasion (so we're talking about every 10 minutes) all the servers would dance around the tables in a line and there was lots of hand clapping and shooting flames and god help me if i heard it one more time - shouts of OPA!

127 HOURS

This movie is a claustrophobic immersion into a slot canyon where we watch James Franco with his forearm pinned by a boulder spend 5 days before he cut through his arm and rappel'd down canyon walls and walked the desert floor till he was rescued by hikers.

It is an amazing feat of endurance and fortitude to overcome the natural instinct to avoid ANY kind of pain; physical or psychological. That he was desperate enough and was determined enough to not give up and die of exposure and dehydration is heroic. This is a true story and the climber is now married and has a son. There were no pictures of him canyoneering post-amputation but there was of him skiing and climbing mts.

He also made a vow that he would always tell someone where he was going in the future.

The scenery was fantastic and the movie showed in exuberant but spare detail the self-confidence (cockiness?) and sense of adventurous risk that he has through scenes of him getting prepared to go on this trip into Blue John canyon in Utah and also his encounter with 2 other climbers before they left and he became trapped by a falling boulder.

Franco was just as good as Tom Hanks in the Castaway movie. When i saw that one I couldn't believe i could stay so interested for an hour or so watching one person interact with himself on an island. And it was the same way with this 127 Hours movie.

the only criticism i have is some of the hallucinating episodes that he experienced went on too long. And also the sentences at the end of the movie which told you follow-up info were in white and were superimposed (partly or wholly) on light backgrounds so i could barely read them. Poor editing job.

Oh and the music was horrid. way too loud; it tended to be competitive with the film's actions.