Fall into winter...

That golden, honey light lasts a long time these days. Bike rides happen in the afternoon, since for this Phx guy, mornings are just too chilly. Any excuse becomes a good excuse to not ride when it’s cold and breezy. And that is just not acceptable when the colors are vibrant for so long.

That being said, afternoons become the time period of choice. No warm bed to entice one to forgo riding and thereby avoid chilly, dark, and breezy environs. To that end, we ride the fitness loop, enjoying scenery, conversation and the sound of tires on trails.

Deem Hills, at dusk.

cloudy days make great sunsets

Last full sleep before 2009 goes away.  Happened to be a cloudy day, which after checking the NOAA website and seeing the extent of the clouds, thought, hey this may lead to a great sunset.  Asked Malissa if she wanted to take out the cameras and hopefully catch a great sunset.  She said sure, so off we went, to get a relatively clear view of the western horizon.

Found a good spot, just not a great one. A great one would have been on top of a mountain, but we didn't have quite that much time.  So, get out the cameras, take some scouting shots,

and wait for the action to happen.  It started out slow -

but still, had some cool features, like the rays from the peaks of the White Tanks.  So, the fire was started, and was getting up to speed.

Yes, that's what we were hoping for - sun blazing in the sky, reflecting off the clouds in the foreground.  Good stuff that.

Now, if only it were the backdrop for a campfire.  Oh well, if that was the case, then I wouldn't be making pad thai for dinner.

a hike with the girls

The girls and I decided to partake of some mountain trail. There were a few clouds in the distance, so I suggested to Malissa that she should take her camera, maybe we would have a good sunset. West Wing Mtn is a little 3 mile trail close to where we live. City of Peoria developed them, some are good for bike riding, most are not. Shawna had some other stuff to do, so, set off we did. I like these evenings, we get to talk about all kinds of things, bugs, shoes, camping, it's all good. Part of the joy is just discovering who we each are, and how to revel in that.

Anyway, Malissa picked out some spots, told us how to pose, and did some timer shots as well as some of the sunset. Here they are, August in Phoenix.