Live from the Desert

I'm blogging from Arizona right now. I vowed to stay away from the computer this week, but as you can see, I'm weak. Since I'm staying in a place where my cell phone is blocked by a mountain range, I thought I'd take a vacation from technology. Then last night I gave my dad a call to see how the pup is fairing at my parents' house (he's spent the week hiding under a blanket on the couch.) Well, I heard the "rumor fact" (as Bipin would say) about SAP buying my company, Retek. My dad was so excited, he just had to tell me Retek was in the Pioneer Press. Last night I was so jazzed up I could hardly fall asleep. Who knows what's happening next? That's the beauty of the rumor fact - the anticipation of some unknown possible event.

For now, I'm enjoying the Sonoran desert. Today I climbed up a mountain near the Tonto basin to explore a pre-historic cliff dwelling occupied by the Salado people. The light slanting into the deep mud walls of the cave dwelling cut a swath across undisturbed artifacts, such as a manos, a round rock used to grind corn. The original roof, made from the ribs of a giant saguaro cactus, is still intact in parts of the dwelling. Afterwards, I ate some ice cream flavored by the fruit of the prickly pear cactus at Tortilla Flat, a former stagecoach stop and town of 6 people in the Superstition Mountains.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can. Today I caught a great photo of the Roosevelt Dam and a nice photo of a runaway horse that was stopping traffic on Highway 188 outside of Globe, AZ. See you soon!

Tonto National Monument, Site of the Salado Cliff Dwellings


Bell Rock in Sedona - I was there yesterday!


Here I am near an FAA tower on a mountain top outside of Scottsdale.