The Good and Bad in Flagstaff

Some things never change. Despite the fact that Bry and I haven't had our weekly outing to B & N with Rachel and Steve in so long, our visit to B & N for coffee and books last night yielded some familiarity. For example, the "man and his dog" were there, as well as the familiar security guard, and even the familiar father and son couple; if you frequent the Flagstaff B & N (or used to), you know who these faces are. Just seeing the familiarity despite the fact that Steve and Rachel aren't in Flagstaff anymore cheered Bryan and I.

In other news: Flagstaff's complete unfriendliness to eco-friendly travel options in the winter. Right now there are piles and piles of snow heaped up on the sidewalks. Sure, there are some open walking areas, but as my friend Sharon aptly remarked, "you're walking along, just walking... and BAM!" (Her "BAM!" of course referring to the huge pile of snow, which is taller than most people who might try to walk outside in Flagstaff in the winter.) Sure, you might opt to take the bus in favor of eco-friendly mass-transit, but the short amount of walking to and from the bus stops or your destination is likewise limited by the lack of ice and snow-free sidewalk space. And of course, the other eco-friendly option of biking is always available; unless you include the fact that most of the bike lanes are under several feet of plowed snow, and that even the turn lanes for cars are about half covered with snow. Hmmm... let's just cozy up inside, shall we?

Colleen and Bryan's Winter Adventures

Well, an update from up north, or "the high country," as the Phoenix-based Channel 3 news crew so fondly refers to us backward-folk up in Flagstaff... Bryan and I have braved the snow so far. We had 3 big storms that dumped a total of about 2 feet of the white stuff around Flag. So far, no falls yet, and hopefully none in the future thanks to mom's present of two pairs of crampons for the icy ground around town.

After Christmas, Bryan and I traveled to Alberquerque for Craig and Abby's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and went perfectly. I've never seen Abby and Craig so happy. Bryan and I toyed with the idea of turning North on the interstate, up toward FoCo (maybe sometime in the spring), but for the meantime are back in Flagstaff. Bryan's back to work at TGC and I've got my 3rd internship coming up and graduation around the corner. We'd both like to wish everyone a happy and safe New Year in 2009!