Where Have We Been?

Where we have been and what we have done:

2/1 – present – Flagstaff, Arizona

• Sharon went to work in a full time temporary position with the Youth in Action AmeriCorps program
• Sharon and Jay worked on a multi-use trail in Sedona with the Suburu IMBA Trail Care Crew
• Jay volunteered with the Grand Canyon National Park vegetation program removing invasive species at Toroweap
• Sharon and Jay volunteered at the Wing  Ding Fundraiser for the Whale Foundation
• Sharon gives tours weekly at Riordan Mansion State Historic Park and Jay helps with projects on the grounds
• Sharon and Jay volunteered at the Viola Awards fundraiser for Flagstaff Cultural Partners
• Sharon volunteered on the live radio show at Sun Sounds of Arizona

1/25 – 1/31 – Sharon in Fairfax, VA and Jay in Grand Junction, CO

1/18 – 1/24 – Phoenix, AZ

• Sharon volunteered for Project Connect

1/15 – 1/17 – Cochise Stronghold

1/13 – 1/15 – Bisbee, Arizona

• Couch surfed and explored the town 

1/12 – San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area

• Went on our first bike packing adventure!

1/10- 1/12 – Sonoita area

• Jay rode the Kentucky Camp stretch of the Arizona Trail

1/7 – 1/9 – Tubac, Arizona

• Jay volunteered with Lee Blackwell (AZ Trail Steward) to scout a possible re-route of the Arizona Trail near Patagonia

1/4- 1/6 – Tucson, Arizona

• Volunteered with Trips for Kids Tucson to introduce families to mountain biking for the first time

11/21 – 1/4 – Phoenix, Arizona

• Jay rode Flight of the Pigs
• Sharon worked for UPS
• Sharon volunteered for the new Fresh Start Treasures thrift shop
• Jay helped build a new section of trail called Lost Arrow in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve
• Sharon and Jay joined VOAZ in rerouting and maintaining trails in South Mountain Park

11/19-11/21 – Dewey, Arizona

11/12 – 11/18 – Grand Canyon National Park

• Backpacked to Phantom Ranch to remove tamarisk along Bright Angel Creek in the Grand Canyon

11/7 – 11/9 – Montrose, CO

• Built a pump track with COPMOBA
• Visited Horsefly Brewing Company

11/2 – 11/6 – Avon, CO

• Visited Gore Range Brewery and Crazy Mountain Brewery (but neither was serving their beer)

10/28 – 11/2 – Grand Junction, CO

• Volunteered for trail maintenance with COPMOBA in Fruita
• Visited the Kannah Creek Brewery and Palisade Brewery
• Mountain biked at 18 Road and Lunch Loop and the Riverfront Trail

10/26 – 10/28 – Canon City, CO

10/26 – Boulder, CO

• Visited Dean Bicycles
• Visited Upslope Brewery

10/25 – Fort Collins, CO

• Visited New Belgium Brewery, Fort Collins Brewery, and Odell Brewery

10/21 – 25 – Colorado Springs, CO

• Mountain biked at Red Canyon
• Visited Trinity Brewery and Phantom Canyon
• Volunteered for Make a Difference Day at the Garden of the Gods

10/21 -  Longmont, CO

• Visited the Oskar Blues Brewery and the Left Hand Brewery

10/20 – Nederland, CO

• Mountain biked on the Magnolia Trails and Heil Ranch
• Visited the Wild Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery

10/19 – Arvada, CO

• Visited the Yak and Yeti Brewery
• Mountain biked at Walker Ranch

10/16 – 10/19 – Denver, CO

• Volunteered at the SAME Cafe
• Attended the National Meet, Plan, Go event

10/14 – 10/16 – Moab, UT to Denver, CO

• Mountain biked in the North Fruita Desert
• Visited the Glenwood Springs Brewery

9/30 – 10/13 – southern Utah

• Traveled north from Chinle to meet up with Jay’s parents in Moab, Utah for a mountain bike adventure on the White Rim road in Canyonlands
• Mountain biked in Moab
• Sharon volunteered at the Wabi Sabi Thrift Store in Moab

9/28 – 9/29 – Chinle, Arizona

• Volunteered through the Muskoka Foundation to run a photography workshop for Chinle Junior High School students

9/25-9/27 - Arizona Strip

9/22 – 9/25 – Kane Ranch, Northern Arizona

• Volunteered with the Grand Canyon Trust on a native plant demonstration garden
• Volunteered with Arizona Game and Fish, the North Kaibab National Forest, Arizona Deer Association and Grand Canyon Trust to restore mule deer habitat

9/20 – 9/22 – southern Utah and the Arizona strip

• Mountain biked on the Rainbow Rim Trail on the North Kaibab Plateau

9/18 – 9/19 – Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

• Volunteered with Capitol Reef National Park removing invasive weeds and clearing brush

9/11 – 9/17 – Fishlake National Forest and Manti La Sal National Forest

• Volunteered with the Grand Canyon Trust

9/5 – 9/11 – southern Utah

• traveled through southern Utah camping in Dixie National Forest, Zion National Park, and Fishlake National Forest

9/3 – 9/5 – Las Vegas, Nevada

• Visited Rachel and Luke Langley
• Biked at Lake Mead National Recreation Area

9/1 – 9/3 – Flagstaff, Arizona

8/31 – 9/1 – Grand Canyon, Arizona

• Volunteered with a new employee bike sharing program

8/28 – 8/31 – Flagstaff, Arizona

8/26 – 8/28 – Prescott, Arizona

• Mountain biked in the Granite Dells area
• Sharon volunteered with the Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance building trail
• Visited Jay’s family

8/22 – 8/26 – Flagstaff, Arizona

• Visited Riordan Mansion State Historic Park and attended the volunteer potluck

8/21 – Dixie National Forest, Utah

• Visited Bryce National Park
• Mountain biked in Red Canyon

8/20 – Great Basin National Park, Nevada

• Toured Lehmann Caves

8/19-20 – Wells, Nevada

• was involved in a rescue on Angel Lake

8/18-19 – Boise, Idaho

• Mountain biked
• Visited the Territorial Prison

8/17 – Walla Walla, Washington and the Umatilla National Forest

• visited the Laht Neppur Brewing Company

8/14 – 8/16 – Spokane, Washington

• visited with the Hutchison family
• visited the Steam Plant Brewery

8/5 – 8/14 – Fairfax, Virginia

• attending Terri Defazio and Phil Jordan’s wedding (Wedding #4)
• volunteered building trail with the Bureau of Land Management in Lorton, Virginia
• visited Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA and Mad Fox Brewery in Falls Church, VA

7/30 – 8/4 – New York, New York

• celebrating Sharon’s sister’s birthday
• volunteered at Materials for the Arts in Astoria
• visited the La Birreria rooftop brewery

7/29 – Spokane, Washington

• Visited Northern Ales Brewery in Kettle Falls on the way to Spokane

7/27-28 – Rossland, British Columbia

• Jay rode the Seven Summits IMBA epic

6/26 – 7/3 – southern Alberta: Crowsnest Pass, Frank Slide, Pincher Creek, Waterton Lakes National Park

• Volunteered at the Napi Friendship Center in Pincher Creek to through the Muskoka Foundation Photography Program
• Celebrated Canada Day at Waterton Lakes

6/25 – Fernie, British Columbia

• Mountain biked on local trails

6/23 – 6/25 – Montana: Missoula, Whitefish

• Mountain biked on local trails
• visited the Kettlehouse Brewery

6/18 – 6/22 – Bob Marshall Wilderness, near Hungry Horse Montana

• Volunteered with Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation clearing the Black Bear Trail

6/15-17 – Minnesota, Montana

6/12 – 14 – Wisconsin and St. Paul, Minnesota

• Visited Terri Tupper

6/9-11 – upper peninsula of Michigan

• Jay rode the Copper Harbor IMBA Epic
• visited the Marquette Harbor Brewery

6/6- 6/8- Ontario

• Visited Niagara Falls
• stayed with friend in Guelph
• met new friend in Bracebridge

6/2-6/5 – Pennsylvania

• Camped and biked at Raystown Lake
• Volunteered for National Trails Day on North Country Trail at Allegheny National Forest
• Visited Roy Pitz Brewery

5/17 – 6/2 – Fairfax, Virginia

• Volunteered at Ronald McDonald House and Relay for Life Bank Night
• Wedding #3
• We got engaged!
• Sharon attended her commencement ceremony for her Masters of Science in Organizational Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University

5/16 – Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee

5/15 – Rogersville, Alabama

5/12 – 5/14 – Nashville, Tennessee

5/10 – 5/12 – Huntsville, Alabama

• The car died.
• Mountain biked at Monte Sano State Park

5/9 – Cathedral Caverns State Park / Guntersville, Alabama

• Volunteered for tornado relief in Guntersville

5/8 – William Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

5/7 – Phil Campbell, Alabama

• Volunteered for tornado relief in Phil Campbell
• visited Dismals Canyon National Natural Landmark

5/6 – Tuscumbia, Alabama

5/5 – Oxford, Mississippi

5/4 – Helena, Arkansas

5/3 – Hot Springs, Arkansas

• Volunteered for tornado relief in Vilonia

5/2 – Talihina, Oklahoma

4/27 – 5/2 – McKinney, Texas

• Wedding #2
• visited the Franconia Brewery

4/26 – Abilene, Texas

4/25-26 – Carlsbad, New Mexico

• visited the Living Desert Museum
• visited the Carlsbad Caverns National Park

4/24 – Artesia, New Mexico

• visited the Wellhead brewery

4/23 – Cloudcroft, New Mexico

• mountain biked on the Rim Trail

4/22 – Mountainair, New Mexico

• Visited the ruins in Carrizozo

4/21 – Pinetop, AZ

• mountain biked in the White Mountains trail system

4/5 – 4/21 – Phoenix, AZ

• Volunteered at Scottsdale Culinary Festival
• Wedding #1

4/2 – 4/4 – Amado, AZ

• Overland Expo 2011
• visited Barrio Brewery on our way to the expo

3/22 – 4/1 – Phoenix, AZ

• Recovering from Jay’s burn

3/17 – 3/21 – Las Vegas, Nevada

• Jay was treated at the burn center in Las Vegas and then we were able to stay with a NAVPLG colleague while he recovered

3/16 – Death Valley National Park

• We had planned to stay for several days, but Jay was seriously burned in a cook stove accident caused by a heavy wind gust.  See post for details.

3/14-3/16 – Lake Mead Area

• Volunteering with a revegetation project at the Grapevine Mesa National Natural Landmark
• mountain biked and hiked at the Grapevine Mesa National Natural Landmark
• camped at Lake Mead
• biked at Lake Mead

3/11-3/13 – Flagstaff, Arizona

• Conducted a food drive with friends

3/9-3/11 – Phoenix, Arizona

• mountain biked on the Black Canyon Trail

3/6-3/9 – Prescott, Arizona

• mountain biked in The Dells

3/4-3/6 – Flagstaff, Arizona

• Volunteered at the Viola Awards, a fundraiser for Flagstaff Cultural Partners

3/3-3/4 – Prescott, Arizona

2/22- 3/3 – Phoenix, Arizona

• Sharon and Jay’s mom volunteered at the Garden of Tomorrow in Phoenix
• Volunteered at the Red Balloon Picnic at the Wellness Community

2/17-22/2011 – Sharon attended the StartingBloc Institute in Los Angeles, California

2/16/2011 – Phoenix, Arizona

• Jay rode 24 hours at Old Pueblo in Tucson Arizona

2/15/2011 – Leasburg Dam State Park, New Mexico

2/14/2011 – Brantley Lake State Park, New Mexico

2/11-14/2011 – McKinney, Texas

• Volunteered at a community garden in Plano Texas

2/10/2011 – Shreveport, Louisiana

2/9/2011 – Birmingham, Alabama

• biked at Oak Mountain State Park

2/8/2011 – Atlanta, Georgia

• Visited HandsOn Network headquarters
• visited the Five Seasons Brewery

2/7/2011 – Congaree National Park, Columbia, South Carolina

2/4/2011-2/6/2011 – Chapel Hill / Carrboro North Carolina

• visited the Fullsteam Brewery

2/1/2011-2/4/2011 – Richmond / Glen Allen Virginia

• visited Pocohontas State Park
• 20 hours of volunteering at Byrd Elementary School
  • Updating the library catalog, shelving books, fixing labels on books, talking to fourth grade students about infographs, prepping a raised bed for planting, applying sealant to wooden structures, installing a wooden mural, fixing a weather vane, installing curtains at the outdoor amphitheater, assembling a potting bench, inventorying greenhouse pots, hanging bird houses,  tidying up the courtyard