Hike up Cat Mountain. It felt like we hadn't hiked in ages... With all the biking and rock climbing, we had forgotten how much we liked hiking too! How much more contemplative it is than biking... especially in the desert with all the cacti (no cont… — Hike up Cat Mountain. It felt like we hadn't hiked in ages... With all the biking and rock climbing, we had forgotten how much we liked hiking too! How much more contemplative it is than biking... especially in the desert with all the cacti (no contemplation allowed!).

We went to one of the many tents of the Rock and Gem Show, the biggest in North America. Here Aïsha spent a lot of time touching and admiring her favorite stone, Malachite. We ended up talking for quite a while with the owner of the booth, in French… — We went to one of the many tents of the Rock and Gem Show, the biggest in North America. Here Aïsha spent a lot of time touching and admiring her favorite stone, Malachite. We ended up talking for quite a while with the owner of the booth, in French (he was from Congo) and the Malachite came straight from there!

This guy spent a good 10 minutes telling the girls about different fossils (here shark teeth) and showed them a black diamond ring selling for $16,500!

The man was grilling bacon-wrapped chicken... We might buy bacon only once every 2-3 years, but when we do, we eat it in style!

Yes, we are still in Tucson. We renewed our rock gym membership for February. The BLM where we *live* feels like home now. The hippies drumming and fire hoola-hooping in the distance, our closer neighbors made-up orchestra of guitar and violin playing at all time of day and night. Even the dogs know each other now! We've had many communal bonfire nights, lots of great conversations and good laughs.

We know most of the regulars at the gym now. It feels good to be able to work on the same routes over and over, to feel ourselves getting stronger and getting some technique in. We are pretty excited to go spend the weekend at a beautiful rock climbing spot in our tents and Westy (real camping!) to celebrate Jen's 40th birthday.

I am not in this space that often lately, but you can find me almost daily on Instagram or on Facebook (and no, I don't post the same thing in both places).