Rest and Recovery

Having successfully completed my private pilot flight exam, a major life goal, Simon and I decided to make a quick get-a-way Friday afternoon to Northern Arizona for a weekend of camping and relaxing.

Throwing together what we could for camping gear, we loaded up the truck and headed north to Show Low and Pinetop, AZ. A 3-hr drive through the Snake River canyon and then up through the White Mountains (coming from Alberta, I would rather refer to them as the white hills) and onto the Mogollon Rim and finally into the Pondersoa Pine forests. Its an incredible journey from desert landscapes into the lush forests (much like southern British Columbia).

We arrived at the campsite just as the sun was setting so we made quick work of assembling the test and getting settled, only to realize we were short some camping staples so we made a trip over to Walmart, which thankfully was only a few miles away.

With nothing on our agenda, but rest and recovery, we had a fantastic weekend of hikes, go kart races, Frisbee toss, campfires, and my favorite, sunny naps in the lawn-chair. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with overnight lows in the 50s (10-15C) and daytime highs in the 80s (20-25C), it was a nice reprieve from the scorching heat of the valley.

After an early Sunday morning cleanup and breakfast of fresh bacon and eggs, we returned home around lunch time and got everything cleaned up and then headed to the community pool to cool down.

Today I head back to the training center to meet with my new instructor and the training center manager to discuss my new self-paced training schedule. I am very much looking forward to continuing but doing so at a pace more appropriate for me and my family.

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