Snow fell here Monday, at last. Good, we need it. Weâve been parched, withered, absolutely drought-saturated. At this point, we would ve even settled for a nice dusting of graupel, anything for some moisture.
But â and I feel sheepishly guilty even mentioning this â one upside of the dry November and December in Flagstaff was that the trails higher on the mountain had mostly been easy to traverse, sans snowshoes or even Kahtoola spikes.
So it was that, on Christmas Eve morning, I had the unusual pleasure of running one of my favorite short loops one last time before (presumably) the onset of winter makes navigating the path (and the forest road leading to it) inaccessible until spring.
The hulking Toyota Tacoma, off-road 4x4 edition, that constitutes (so far) the fleet for the adventure startup Overland Flagstaff is painted orange, technically. But itâs not a garish orange, not some hideous spray-tan orange, more like a burnt sienna pigment that can blend in well with, say, a sunset in the Southern Utah red rocks.
Thatâs fitting, because the premise behind Mike Rickerdâs idea to rent Tacomas fully loaded with camping gear, from cutlery to tent and everything in between, is to have people get close to nature, to see as much as they can in a limited amount of time, and most of all blend in and become one with the environment.
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Each year around this time, Shan Dan Horanâs thoughts naturally turn to, well, Taco Bell.
No, heâs not hankering for a toasted cheddar chalupa, per se. Heâs thinking back to 20 years ago when, as a 16-year-old saving for college and for equipment for his band, he was working the drive-thru window at a Flagstaff Taco Bell.
Near closing time, two masked men entered, toting guns. One robbed the safe, and the other kept the barrel of a gun pressed against Horanâs temple throughout. The traumatic episode made quite an impression on the teenager, and its memories stuck with him in the years since, rearing up seemingly unbidden every Dec. 14, the anniversary of the robbery.
They come to Flagstaff in moving vans or sedans stuffed with possessions and expectations. Their satchels brim with hope and anticipation, be it an opportunity to hit it big or maybe just cobble together a fresh start with a clean slate. They are looking for adventure, perhaps, or just a foothold of stability.
People move to town for any number of reasons, and inherent in such life changes is a measure of uncertainty compounded now by the specter of COVID-19 and all the economic and social upheaval that has engendered.
Some moves are pandemic-related, attempts to find work or just a safer place to stay, or to hunker down closer to loved ones. Other moves, though, have little to do with our current fraught times; they simply reflect Americaâs storied migratory history, alighting for new horizons to chase oneâs dream of success.