schlagging.com

What I learned in Mexico

Posted on May 19th, 2008 by Josh.
Categories: travel.

1. The Mexican military and Department of Tourism don’t seem to have open lines of communication. Case in point:
   
   
   
   Just minutes before getting into Rocky Point, we came upon a stop in traffic. Cars were backed up as far as the eye could see. Why, exactly? The Mexican military set up a roadblock so they could search for drugs. Apparently drug running is on the rise in Sonora, MX, and I guess they got a tip that there may be some trafficking going on. It was pretty lame. What made it worse, though, was that my fellow tourists thought it would be a good idea to make more lanes, therefore creating a bottle neck and slowing traffic to an even slower crawl.
   
   
   
   I like to think I made the best of things, though.
   
   
2. Roger Clyne is awesome.
   
   When he says he’s got a 45 song set ready for the night, he’s not kidding. Grab a blanket, some beers, and tequila.
3. Jack and Jose can be friends.
   
   Saturday, 10am: Jack and Diet. Sunday, 1am: Jose. Various combinations of the two and beer throughout the day. It was a good day.
4. Jet Skis are fun. I finally got to ride one. It’s like riding a motorcycle on the water, and it’s a lot more forgiving if you fall off. Dragging knee on the water = lots of fun.
5. Mexican guacamole FTL. This isn’t really new to me, but I figure maybe I’ll find something better one of these times. Either we’re going to the wrong places, or American made guacamole is like eleventy billion times better than Mexican guac. Guac I’m used to up here is kinda chunky with all sorts of good stuff in it. Guac down there is simply avodacos in a blender, watered down, with a bit of cheese on top. Meh.

Here’s a link to the rest of the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshua_schlag/sets/72157605143792441/

2 comments.

You say you want a resolution..

Posted on January 1st, 2008 by Josh.
Categories: beer, travel, random, exercise.

Three things:

• Get into better shape, so I can dominate the John Muir Trail. This means being consistent with gym visits, and eating better. Probably more hard alcohol over beer, too. Good thing I’ve discovered scotch..
• Be even better with my money. I will keep my own set minimums in my checking and savings accounts, set budgets for types of spending, and learn how to invest wisely in the stock market.
• Lastly, I will keep my room clean, and stay on top of my laundry pile. Which means that there shouldn’t be a “pile” of laundry in my room ever again. I’ll be honest - this will probably be the hardest one for me to keep.

That’s it. I’m out. Happy New Year, by the way!

0 comments.

A magical place, indeed

Posted on January 12th, 2007 by Josh.
Categories: travel.

Having been to EWR a few times in the last month, I can attest to this. Industrial New Jersey is a dirty, dirty place.

0 comments.

Camping is in tents!

Posted on October 9th, 2006 by Josh.
Categories: youtube, travel, flickr.

flickr site

Rob climbs a tree, then gets pelted with pine cones.

Danny does the Lambeau Leap.

Jumping over fire and dancing. Not sure how this happened.

1 comment.

El Canyon Grande

Posted on May 19th, 2006 by Josh.
Categories: travel, flickr.

It’s recap time.

Last Thursday night, I took a little trip down to Tucson with Chris and Byron to celebrate minor league baseball and cheap beers at the T-Town tradition that is Thirsty Thursdays at TEP. Pictures here.

The next morning, we drove back up to PHX, I went in to work for a little bit, ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to pick up last minute supplies, picked Chris back up, and started our trip to Peach Springs, AZ, on the Hualupai Indian Reservation.

We got there just in time to see the Suns beat the Clippers in game three of the Western Conference Semifinals. The other two cars meeting us, however, were still on the way, and we had no cell phone reception. They couldn’t just go to the front desk and ask for a key, either - as the reservations were for two people - not eight. So I staked out the window while watching the game, and eventually saw some guy pull up in a car. Turns out this guy was Beck, at first unrecognizable because he had just buzzed all of his hair off. Anyway, the other car arrived not long after, and we got settled in for the night - alarms set to wake us for a 4am start.

After a rough night of sleep, thanks to the constant trains passing right next to the hotel - we got going on Indian Road 8 and made it to the trailhead a little after 6am.

After five hours of hiking, sitting, a lot of picture taking, and lunch at the Havasupai village general store - we caught our first glimpse of the Havasu Falls!

A few minutes further down the trail, and we were at the campsite, with a sweet location right next to the running water.

The next day, we set out on our trek to Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls. Upon reaching the top of Mooney Falls, we found that we had to climb down a steep cliff - going through tunnels and hanging onto slippery metal chains as we navigated our way down.

Continuing down the path, we crossed the water a few times and came across a rope swing. Time for a break!

After the diversion, we came across a dozen foot ledge, where we had to literally pull ourselves up on a rope. Just like junior high gym class. We could tell that this was the point where many gave up and turned back. But not us. I climbed up there, pack on my back and sandals on my feet.

After some further hiking, we came upon Beaver Falls. Time for lunch and a whole lot of swimming!

The next day we weren’t feeling nearly as adventurous. We pretty much figured it would be a good idea to take things easy and relax a bit before the hike back out of the canyon the next morning. So we backtracked a little bit from the hike down and found Navajo Falls. We found that people were climbing up the side of the falls and jumping from the top into the pool below. I wasn’t wearing shoes - and besides, my feet were pretty beat up at the time, so I refrained - but Chris, Beck, and Liz braved the climb up and made the leap.

After that excitement was over, we lounged about for a while, started gathering things together, and I set my alarms for 3am. Yes. Three o’clock. In the morning. We actually did wake up that early, too - got everything packed up and were on the trail by 4:30. It only took us four hours to get back to the top of the canyon - we were determined to beat the sun and the threatening rain clouds. From there, it was only a matter of hours before a return to civilization and a juicy Double Double from In ‘n Out in Prescott.

Click here to see all 400+ pictures from the trip.

Would I do it again? Hell yeah! But not anytime soon. We have a lot of other places to explore now that we have all this equipment. Yosemite 2007, anyone?

2 comments.

Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego

Posted on July 29th, 2005 by Josh.
Categories: travel.

..which of course in German means “a whale’s vagina”.

I’m getting out of the desert for the weekend and heading to sunny California - my old home, San Diego, to be exact. Should be fun. Baseball, bars, and the beach. Gotta love alliteration.

Yeah, I’m a nerd. I know.

1 comment.