The Canyon

I mentioned that our family enjoys Sabino Canyon.

There are some good reasons not to like it. For one, it can become much too crowded. When a person takes a quiet nature hike, sometimes they might actually want it quiet. And natural. It has quite a bit of concrete poured around out there.

It can be dangerous too. Here is some actual video of the canyon being dangerous. (careful, it has a bad word at the end.....:>O). If you are unaware, a couple of hikers were killed there last year by a flash flood like the one shown in the video. And it has the usual outdoor collection of falling rocks, steep cliffs and wildlife.

Now that I am thinking of it, I had a buddy in the Air Force that broke his arm falling off a cliff at Seven Falls. He only fell from one of them, but I guess that was enough. My other friend got some sort of a medal for carrying the broken guy out.

It gets very hot. Like the rest of Tucson, summer temperatures hover around 345 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

But, here are some reasons I like the place:

It is a great place for our family to hang out. This year, Abby has really gained in stamina and walking ability....thanks to the running club and her sister pushing her to exercise regularly. Ethan is also much more capable of staying with the program than he was last year. Consequently, we can all go bang out a few miles together up and down some hills. Emily, Diane and I are still faster and can go further than the others, but they do well enough that it is fun when we all go together.

It is a place where Tucsonans have historically gathered for recreation. For years the natives have come and enjoyed this place. That seems kind of cool.

It is a place where people seem to get along. We live in a very independent community in an independent society. While there are many good things about being independent, it leads us to forget that other people are around. In the Canyon, people seem to remember that there are others around. People in the The Canyon will help one another out, talk to each other, and generally be polite and respectful. If we were helpful, willing to communicate and polite and respectful everywhere else, it might make everywhere else a little nicer too.