It’s Oh So Grand

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

We’ve not seen all the sunrises that have ever risen over the Grand Canyon, but we’ve seen every one of them we’ve been present for, and that’s probably more than either of us might have ever expected had we imagined such a thing after our first visit here together. The thought strikes me that we might only be here at the edge a couple of times this year when these first rays of light reawaken the spectacle of this treasure, and while that will be infinitely more than the fraction of less than .01% of humans that will even visit the canyon and even less than that who will wake up here. While we are certainly in a fortunate minority of humanity as measured by those who will greet the first light of day from within a national park, it feels like there’s room for more. Maybe we can…I was going to write, “…add another day this year,” but before I could jot those characters down on my keyboard, I went ahead and looked for availability on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and there, on the last day of the season, found a cabin that had “Book Me!” written all over it. I obeyed.

El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Of course, breakfast would be had at El Tovar, the home of Belgian hot chocolate, and as far as the Grand Canyon (and maybe all of Arizona), this is the only place to indulge in such a treat. We’ve been lucky enough to spend more than a few days in this famed hotel at the precipice of the canyon, but rooms are now hard to come by and have grown in expense. Rightfully so, considering the likely enormous upkeep of such a historic structure. So, while we may not want to spend so much of our budget on lodging, that doesn’t mean that we won’t attempt to eat every meal we can here.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

From Grand Canyon Village, we head west on foot in the direction of Hermit’s Rest, though the likelihood of getting that far is slim at best. Who cares? We’ll just walk out on that rim trail as far as time allows.

Elk at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

About a dozen elk were also heading in our direction, though their stopping to forage meant we were moving a bit faster. While they appeared nervous about us, we were equally nervous about them as they have a big weight advantage over us puny humans. Be that as it may, it is amazing to be in close proximity to such graceful wild animals that appear to daintily nibble at things and walk with a light gait.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

There were light patches of snow still present, though much of the white stuff had iced over. Speaking of ice, there are smatterings of that in shady spots in the Village as well as on the trail. Prior to choosing the rim trail, we’d already read that most entries into the canyon were loaded with enough ice to require crampons and walking sticks just to be safe, and we had brought neither.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

We did bring wide-open eyes, ready for expansive vistas that we’d calculated would communicate directly with our memories and imaginations to remind and inspire us that what we thought we knew would appear new and unique. Searching those previous experiences, we couldn’t find a hint that we’d ever walked this trail as far as we are now, but even if we had, could that familiarity possibly diminish something that looks like this?

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Right down there in the black rocks known as Vishnu Schist, a.k.a. the Basement, lies the river called Colorado, which is a place we have very minor experience with. Over ten years ago, as I’ve probably shared a thousand times by now, Caroline and I were aboard dories right down exactly there. We were on Day 7 of our journey and had woken up at river mile 84.6 above Clear Creek. We’d run a couple of rapids, one called Zoroaster, that was quite large, before taking out at mile 88.1 for a walk to Phantom Ranch. After an hour or two along Bright Angel Creek, visiting a gift shop, and visiting the first flush toilets in a week, we were again riverside where we’d have lunch before passing right through here to our next camp that was only 6 miles downriver.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The view from here is one of expanse and the immense flow of time. The gargantuan landscape stretches out in all directions; there doesn’t seem to be a beginning or an end. Down in the canyon, the world is ancient, within grasp, and extremely detailed until you try to reach out and experience it. From our perspective on the canyon rim, it feels like you could reach the other side rather quickly, but that’s an illusion, while on the river, there is no outside world. Infinity is nearly within reach of being understood if you’ve been on the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, but it’s an illusion as the North Rim is only about 14 miles away while the South Rim is under 8 miles via the Bright Angel Trail. Not that those distances really mean anything, as the majority of your time on the river, there is no way out other than straight ahead. Of the other trails in and out of the canyon, many are treacherous and difficult.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Today’s walk here on the Hermit’s Rest rim trail is one of extraordinary ease, other than the acclimation to the cold and elevation.

Caroline Wise at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The swerve of the trail has the pleasant effect of bringing the canyon below into view again and again.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Look at the river in the center of the photo, just to its right, and on the opposite shore is Granite Camp, which is next to Monument Creek and just above Granite Rapid at river mile 93.8. On the 28th of October, 2010, we slept right down there. While I’m no hydrological expert, I’d wager that the sandbar you can see is the result of the Class 8 rapid just upstream.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Framing, shadows, air quality, clouds or lack of them, season, time of day, and intensity of the sun all contribute to how we’ll see the Grand Canyon on any particular visit. Just stop in any of the gift shops and look at the photos on offer: aside from the fact they were taken by people with great cameras, being present at the right moment when conditions are just right plays an important role in what version of the canyon you might witness.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

As the time inches past noon, we spot what looks like a perfect place for lunch right here at Mohave Point.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Before we set in for a mid-day meal, we spotted this lost necklace that had been placed on a branch awaiting its owner’s return. We are now the owners of this necklace; well, Caroline is. The chances of the person who lost it at some random spot on their walk ever returning to look for something they had no idea of when it fell from their neck is likely zero. So that it might continue to charm someone else who will now associate it with a perfect lunch stop at the Grand Canyon, it seemed only natural that it should continue its journey to other places.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

It was Caroline’s idea to bring our thermos with us and a couple of bags of Heisse Liebe (Hot Love) tea from Germany. [Heisse Liebe is the name of a popular dessert in Germany, a combination of vanilla ice cream with a hot raspberry compote. Just to give the gentle reader an idea of what the flavors in this tea are – Caroline] After sharing a sandwich we had picked up this morning, we enjoyed a couple of cups of hot love and the smiles that come with that. [And also the memories of our first shared cup of tea from this very thermos in Winter in Yellowstone back in 2010 – Caroline]

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The perfect dessert feast for the eyes was next up on our mid-day break that included visual culinary delights such as this one.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The closest either of us was getting to this Mormon tea plant growing on the very edge of the cliffside would be from this photo; while I love most everything about the canyon, standing near areas where a gruesome potential death awaits those of uncertain footing drills into my acrophobia with tensions that extend empathetically to those nearby.

Caroline Wise at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

While neither you nor I can see Caroline’s face, I can tell you from experience that her eyes are telling the story of how deep these impressions she’s taking in are resonating within her. If not from nearly imperceptible extra moisture emanating from tear ducts, then the way she’ll smile at me with eyes pleading for my understanding of how monumental the experience and memories that flow through her. My wife, while vitally realistic, is also a romantic who loves indulging those things that plum her wellspring of love and sense of profound awe that we are so lucky to experience such gifts.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

We made it out to the Abyss, but it turns out that we had nothing to fear as, apparently, we’d vanquished the monsters that might have looked into us. Instead, we are happiness personified by looking at an intrinsic beauty contained in the arrangement of rocks, plants, and reflected light that paints these images for all to see.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The cost to stay at the Bright Angel Lodge is $139 per day, and the price of three meals within the park will set you back between $100 and $200. Transportation to get to the Grand Canyon will depend on where you live, but if you are a mule deer, it’s all free, aside from the risk of being hit by a passing car. If you consider that a mule deer lives an average of about ten years, life in the Grand Canyon would cost us humans over $875,000. The lesson here might be: have cloven hooves instead of hands, and you may not have to toil a lifetime, never being able to afford real luxury.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

I can’t remember a visit with such clear air as we’re enjoying here today. That is Humphreys Peak standing over Flagstaff, meaning we can see 70 miles (112km) south of here.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Maintaining a snail’s pace in order to allow even more of the canyon to seep into our souls, we required a solid 8 hours to walk 11 miles of rim trail out and back. It would have been 17.5 miles had we made it to Hermits Rest.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Returning at sunset, our hunger had grown large, and without a reservation at El Tovar, we could only hope for a table. We could have never guessed that this would be where we’d be sitting for dinner but this is exactly where we were seated and without any wait at all. It was dark as we finished, and the lounge had a waiting line, so a slice of apple pie and an Old Fashioned were not going to happen; instead, we headed to the upstairs part of the lobby to grab a table. I opened the computer to work on photos, Caroline brought out her knitting, and we listened to the piano player arpeggiate pop songs and lounge favorites into a glissando wormhole as big as the canyon just outside.

An encore of starlight for the walk back to our room was provided by an obliging clear sky that allowed us to marvel at a Milky Way that all too frequently is not seen by us city dwellers. Come to think of it, nothing about this time in the Grand Canyon is common to those of us who live in big cities.

Heading Towards a Giant Hole

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Highway 64 to the Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, Arizona

Today’s title could allude to a lot of things, such as something financial, emotional, or possibly even intellectual, but the reality is much more mundane, though the gravity of the hole is immense. This hole of immensity is mere hours away from our home, and for those encountering this blog post who have the knowledge that we reside in Arizona, it should be apparent what this reference means. That’s right, we are going to the Grand Canyon National Park, which lies just 217 miles north of us.

I’d love to find an appropriate metaphor to stand in for the destination and relate our adventure to some esoteric thoughts I’ve recently been reading or writing about, but trying to be real, we are going somewhere beautiful and likely extremely cold to go walk with one another because that’s what silly people in love do. Sure, we could walk around Phoenix and save the expense, but our mission to help keep the American economy humming demands that we rent a room on the South Rim for a couple of nights.

Bedrock Campground near Valle, Arizona on Highway 64 on way to the Grand Canyon National Park

The other benefit of this brief excursion is that it will inspire me to photograph things that will force me to write about our experience, so I might offer the appearance that important events happen in our lives other than eating, defecating, and sleeping. But here I am at the coffee shop hunting for wit instead of heading home to finish the last-minute packing and making lunch that would allow us to skip out of town, but as I’m not impossibly feeble (yet) to control things, I’ll add a period to this sentence, call it a paragraph, and get moving.

Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, Arizona

Living only three and a quarter hours from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon allows us to leave at nearly any time, but it was our intention to catch the sunset in the canyon, so leaving at 1:00 p.m. would give us plenty of margin. Sure enough, it’s shortly after 4:00 as we reach the park entrance. There will be no selfie here as we’ve got that photo from a previous visit, maybe more than one. Then again, we likely have many versions of the next image, too.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

A little more than 28  years ago, we made our first visit together to the Grand Canyon. Just a few days before, we’d gotten married in Las Vegas on a trip from Frankfurt, Germany. Back then, we had no idea that one day we’d be living in America; as a matter of fact, it would be the following year, in 1995, that we packed up and headed west. As I sit here at the lounge in El Tovar following dinner trying to write this, I apparently don’t have enough fingers to be able to count how many times we’ve been to this corner of Arizona, but I’d guess we’re approaching a couple of dozen times.

Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, Arizona

Once we arrived at Yavapai Point, we were not interested in chasing the setting sun. We could be happy right here. I could be cynical and say we’ve seen it all before, but that would somehow diminish the intensity of feelings still experienced as maybe the view is no longer new, but the memories we’ve shared with so many friends and family continue to echo out of the depths and crevices that have captured our oohs, aahs, and astonishment.

Caroline Wise at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Have you noticed that all three photos are of the same location? Can you tell that Caroline froze to death where she was standing as I asked her to wait one more second until the light was just right? It’s a brisk 32 degrees or a big fat ZERO Celsius for our friends in other countries, and with a bit of breeze, we were slightly, but only slightly, chilly, probably in part because we are wearing those warm, cozy things Caroline has knitted for us just for these occasions.

Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, Arizona

As we were losing available light, it was time to head up the road to the Bright Angel Lodge, where we were spending the next couple of nights. Without dinner reservations, we were hoping to get a table over at the El Tovar, and with luck on our side, we were seated without so much as a 10-second wait. That put us here in the lounge with an after-dinner Old Fashioned for Caroline and a hot chocolate for me. By 9:30, the place is empty, our bill is paid, the stars are certainly out in the millions, and after we bundle up into these many layers of winter clothes, we’ll take the short walk over to our hotel.

Nothing is really as easy as it first sounds when it involves doing something in a timely way when we are in a place of such immense beauty. With the moon out of the picture, the Milky Way screamed out at us for our attention while absolute quiet surrounded us. Where is everyone else who should be out here gawking at the sky? Caroline points out how lucky we are that they are already tucked into their warm rooms and cabins because if they were here stargazing, they’d probably also be chatting up a storm. Instead, it was just us and millions of dots of light as we strained our hearing, certain we’d pick something up of that far-away light that worked so long to reach us.

Leaving Town

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Discount Tires in Phoenix, Arizona

Not even out of town yet and need to make an unexpected stop. Not that we were ready to leave yet anyway, but I seriously didn’t anticipate that we’d be having all four tires changed on our car today. This all started with a low tire sensor pressure alert as I started the car; with cold weather, it’s not surprising a tire would show low. I stopped at a nearby tire shop for more air, but as I went to remove a valve cap, I saw why that particular tire was seriously low: a nail was poking out of the sidewall. This changed the equation from just filling the tire to replacing it, but they didn’t have my size in stock and couldn’t have it in before 2:00. We were planning on getting out at noon, so this wasn’t going to work.

At Discount Tire, they have my size, but I’m also informed that my two front tires are low on tread. Okay, let’s change them all. That’ll be $1008, sir. Nope, that won’t work. Well, we have tires for only $530, but those won’t provide you with all the benefits of the others. That’s fine; I’ll opt for the inferior tires the manufacturer made that probably fail to meet the Department of Transportation requirement for road safety. For nearly the cost of one of those tires, we’ll sell you insurance that should you attract another nail; we’ll replace that tire for free. No, thank you. That extra cost of the insurance actually pre-pays that tire should I need this service, and this is only the second time in my 42 years of driving a car that I’ve had a sidewall puncture.

So, instead of taking things easy and heading to the coffee shop for that all-important first cup of the day, I’m sitting here in this lobby grinding my teeth at the $500 bill that arrives on the heels of learning that our rent is going up 32%. While I don’t typically complain about anything financially related, this is starting to feel like it’ll impact either our savings for retirement and/or our travel budget. These concerns, though, should not be addressed here and now in the hours before we leave for our weekend getaway, but again, here I am sitting in a lobby, forced to listen to The Joker by the Steve Miller Band and these insipid lyrics about loving some girls peaches and the dude being a midnight toker and I have nothing better to do.

Joshua Tree Parkway in Arizona on Highway 60

Like clockwork, we’re gone. Almost like clockwork, we were gone, but first, I needed to stop for lunch at In-N-Out. Part of my ambitious travel plans for 2022 with these 24 adventures out of Phoenix is that we don’t drive down the same roads from trip to subsequent trip. We need a break of familiarity and so while we drove to L.A. via Interstate 10 two weeks ago, today we are leaving via Highway 60 in the direction of Las Vegas. Not that we’re going to Vegas, hopefully ever again, but that’s the general direction towards which we need to point the car. Here on the 60, we pass a stretch of road referred to as the Joshua Tree Parkway.

Driving north in Arizona

Still on the 60 but now well north of the Joshua Trees, we start to wonder what the weather forecast says about things up this way, but it’s too late to give that much concern; plus, we don’t have great phone service to check anyway.

Driving north in Arizona

We’ve left Kingman after refueling both our supply of caffeine and gasoline. Should you wonder if I am so foolish as to take photos while I’m driving down the road? Heck no, I put the car in auto-pilot self-drive mode thus freeing me up to take photos, selfies, blog, take a nap, and ponder the big questions regarding life. I should also share that Caroline has steadfastly been reading In Search of Lost Time by Proust to us for a solid couple of hours by now, I think we might be down to the final million words soon.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at the Nevada Stateline

We’ve never taken a selfie in front of this state sign because the last time we were through here, this sign didn’t exist. The sign wasn’t there because the road wasn’t there. The road wasn’t there because the bridge was still being built. What bridge?

Hoover Dam in Nevada

See that giant shadow of an arch on the right side of the Hoover Dam and the rocks? That’s what we are standing on to take this photo. It’s the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge that was built as a bypass because the Highway used to go over the dam, which slowed traffic down considerably. I wish something would slow down traffic in Vegas, as that’s what we had to pass through after leaving the Hoover Dam and Boulder City area. Vegas traffic somehow feels worse than L.A.’s, which might have something to do with the fact that if Los Angeles has its fill of disappointed aspiring actors and musicians fleeing dashed aspirations, Vegas is chock full of people who’ve lost not only a lot of money, maybe all of it but likely their dignity too. With nothing to live for, they drive with a hellish death wish as they cascade forward in a frothy mess out of the chaos of failure and loss with little hope of recovery.

Crowbar Saloon & Cafe in Shoshone, California

Dinner was here at the Crowbar Cafe & Saloon, which will likely be where we eat dinner tomorrow night, too, and quite possibly Sunday breakfast. How our server convinced us to share that hot apple pie with ice cream when we were full can only be attributed to the idea that this is a holiday and other rules are at play when we’re out living it up. Plus, I don’t think we actually absorbed any of those extra calories because…

Hot Spring fed pool in Shoshone, California

…after walking back across the street in a howling wind and changing into shorts and not much else, we drove down the block to where this hot-spring-fed pool was available for our use. Being dry before getting into the very warm water, not hot mind you, we kept our heads above water and started wondering how we’d get out of this as the blustery cold wind was icy after spending time here submerged in the not-hot-but-pleasantly-warm spring. Just out of sight on the right is the pipe that delivers the water, and right next to it, it’s mighty warm, seriously cozily warm, but moving back to the center of the pool, it takes a moment to acclimatize and feel the warmth again. Caroline foolishly got her face wet and then complained about how the searing wind burned as it buffeted her sensitive, wet cheeks. Obviously, I simply needed to berate her how she shouldn’t do that and I’m now sure she’ll heed my admonishment the next time.

Getting out was a pretty ridiculous matter that risked us falling into hysterics because we couldn’t get over how cold the wind was on all this exposed dripping skin we were offering the gods of Did You Forget It’s January? Yes, I know I should have taken a selfie of us “in the water” because who’s going to believe we really braved this, but I swear that if we have a morning or evening where the winds are not trying to kill us, I’ll get a photo as proof that on a chilly winter moment, we know how to have fun. But how does this relate to that pie indulgence I spoke of? If you had been witness to this great dumb idea, you’d know that the amount of shivering involuntarily and violently performed by the vast amount of skin the cold wind was able to make us aware of owning, we easily burned off a quick 500 or 600 calories before jumping back in the car and turning the seat heaters on high.

Family Time – Day 1

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Caroline Wise, Jessica Aldridge, and John Wise on the road in Arizona

What is the problem with these women I’m traveling with? We are delving into the depths of hell, and they smile while my look of incredulity (not to be confused with uncertainty if my fart was wet) is signaling that something is wrong in this car we are currently in. I’ve said it before, and I should say it again: driving is no excuse to stop taking selfies in a moving vehicle, even if that selfie requires multiple takes and posing.

My original plan saw us leaving Phoenix at 9:30 for the road eastward that would bring us to Miami, Arizona, and the fine Mexican cuisine found at Guayo’s El Rey, specifically their carne asada, which is probably the best I’ve ever had. By leaving at 9:30, we’d arrive as they opened the doors at 11:00; well, we didn’t get out until shortly after 11:00 because I got stuck conversing with an old friend at the coffee shop into which we were dipping for 2 minutes in order to grab coffees for the road. It turned out that we were all finished with our coffees before we ever got underway.

Out near Safford, Arizona

Hey, what’s this hell you speak of? First things first, lunch was amazing, and with stomachs stuffed full, we were back out on Highway 60, driving east through heavy rain until we reached Highway 70 and continued towards Lordsburg, New Mexico. Somewhere out on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, the clouds started breaking up, and near Safford, Arizona, we were treated to dramatic skies and this small bit of rainbow.

Last night (or was it this morning?), we finally decided on our reading material for this road trip: Lord Of Dark Places by Hal Bennett. Mind you that Caroline and I are currently immersed in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, but dropping Jessica right into the middle of that book (we’ve already finished Swann’s Way, which is Part 1 of 5) would be unfair to her as it takes some time to get into the flow of this tome of flowery prose, so we opted to start something else.

Out near Safford, Arizona

Something else is an appropriate description of Lord of Dark Places. I first heard of this book from YouTuber Cliff Sergeant, who publishes under the channel titled Better Than Food.

Out near Safford, Arizona

Lord of Dark Places opens rough and becomes jagged quickly. Glimmers of light are not to be found under the gloom as the horizon is filling with carnage and depravity. I am reluctant to share that we’d even read this or would be willing to mention the name of this gut-puncher, but the incredible writing pulls you forward like a log being dragged into a buzzsaw. While I’ve now given this nod to Lord of Dark Places, I find myself unable to share much more than the fact that we could barely travel more than a couple of minutes before the next stretch of rough, cringy road was encountered and, obviously, I’m not referring to the road on which we are driving east.

Jessica Aldridge in Duncan, Arizona

Here we are ten years after Jessica, and I passed through here on a day trip out of Phoenix at the very same truck in Duncan, Arizona, in which she sat as part of a short story that was included in a book we put together for her during a spring break.

Somewhere in southwest New Mexico

We are near the state border with New Mexico and still fully entrenched and mesmerized with the book that continues to deliver body blows to our senses, though the aesthetics of what is unfolding couldn’t be more real.

Somewhere in southwest New Mexico

Day is about to give way to night, and the delay from the poor weather earlier is impacting what time we thought we’d arrive in Socorro, but we should make it in time.

Jessica Aldridge in Socorro, New Mexico

It’s 8:30 as we pull into a parking spot at the El Camino Family Restaurant in Socorro, New Mexico. While Jessica was just here with me back in August, Caroline hasn’t been here in years. It’s been said countless times before, but this New Mexican version of Denny’s is our favorite roadside stop for breakfast or dinner while we are visiting the western side of the state. Getting in at this time was nearly too late as the kitchen now stops taking orders at 9:15; sadly, prior to the pandemic, this place was open 24/7.

Today’s journey across the desert, while beautiful, was overshadowed by the power and depravity found in Lord of Dark Places and the places it brought us to. We won’t have a lot of time in the book on Christmas day as we have other plans that won’t see us on the road very much, but having gotten halfway through it, we should be able to finish it on the way home. As for my Steak Tampico here at El Camino? I’m never disappointed with the same thing I have every time we eat here.

Family Time – Day 0

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Desert Plant

Things unfolded quickly when nearly at the last minute my daughter was able to clear some things over in San Diego and head over to Phoenix to join us for our unorthodox version of Christmas. In light of not having a tree, I plucked these leaves from a nearby desert plant but couldn’t find lights or ornaments that were small enough to decorate them so this will have to do, plus it minimizes what gifts will fit underneath it. Not that gifts matter as there’ll be none of that exchange thing happening here.

By the way, if you are looking for some heartwarming story about family traditions, you should heed this warning and leave right now because this is not one of those. While over the course of these three and a half days, Caroline, Jessica, and I will have a most amazing journey into a surreal escape from everything that typically signifies this time of year, for a reader tomorrow’s entry could touch on things uncomfortable, disturbing even. Seriously, ignore these posts and come back after the 26th.

As of this evening, you are still safe to continue reading as what lies ahead is mundane. After the obligatory greetings, hugs, and small talk I got into the kitchen bringing Jessica along with me to show her how I prepare Sundubu Jjigae a.k.a., kimchi-and-tofu stew. Come to think about it, this Korean dish is red and white just like Santa Claus making this quite the festive, even celebratory, pre-Christmas dinner.

Just before dinner, we three decided that it might be interesting to see a movie this evening. It turns out that my daughter hasn’t been in a theater since before the pandemic, so since dinner comes first and then Caroline and I need to get some more walking in, we buy tickets for a 9:30 showing and head into our neighborhood.

Not only are we getting in those much-needed steps but also taking a route that showcases the skills of neighbors who made the extra effort with their Christmas decoration prowess. First up was a tree standing at least 30 feet tall and strung full of lights. We had found out the other day that a $400-a-day cherry picker was rented for this Herculean task. Further down the street was the most interesting blow-up yard decoration we enjoy, arriving in the form of a Santa opening the door to the outhouse from the inside and waving at us. Yep, even Mr. Claus has to take a leak between commanding all those reindeer from chimney to chimney.

With 9:15 approaching we were ready to trundle off to the movies because the showing of The Matrix Resurrections would be starting soon. In addition to actively avoiding Christmas music, we are also trying to keep clear of the 20 minutes of ads and trailers before the movie starts, one of the joys of reserved seating!

How was the new Matrix? Like so many movies these days, you have to bury 15 minutes of messaging into two hours of car chases, explosions, gunfights, humans flying, narrow escapes, and other action escapades that will satisfy the game players while the few real nerds who come for something bigger than that have to wait for deeper things. In this iteration of the franchise, we are challenged with the idea that we cannot differentiate between reality and entertainment because we are blind and deaf to our own enslavement to the endorphins we need to have pumped into our vacuous meaninglessness. But, should we choose by some freakish chance not to merely exist behind the facade of perceived reality, we will be confronted with the uncertainty of knowing who we are. Finally, if we’ve learned to love ourselves through the encouragement of others who help convince us that we are worth loving, we might come to understand that we have an abundance of love to give to others which will propel them too into being the greatest person they are capable of. So, wherein the previous iterations of the Matrix our hero Neo was becoming “The One,” this episode sees the woman he loves finding her full potential and together the two become The One…

…but the trick of perspective is a joke played on the audience. Trinity and Neo confront the Analyst in his San Francisco home claiming victory which offers the viewer the idea that love has conquered all and evil was put in its place, they thank the Analyst for giving them another “shot” and they fly off into the sunset, the standard well-worn trope of American romantic cinema. What may not be explicitly understood by the audience is that these characters are “in” the Matrix as their game-playing identities and are not dealing with code in reality or working to dismantle the alien possessor. After we saw the film we learned that there was an end credits scene where the game marketing people are still talking about how to bring the Matrix back talking about a concept featuring felines for a parody called “The Catrix” Those who’ve seen this thought the clip was an insult as it didn’t feature allusions to future episodes or supply hope for the next installment. What they missed is the idea that they themselves got caught up with the idea that these two game characters have “won” something and are freed of their shackles of living in a simulation but are in fact, still existing in a simulation except now they are digital heroes that the viewer can believe were real in the first place.

To be explicit, yes I liked the movie while the cinematic fireworks were absolutely unnecessary for this viewer. It was 12:30 before we left the theater and it was 2:00 in the morning before we fell to sleep. No matter, as we can depart for New Mexico in the morning whenever we want to. Tomorrow things will start to be imbued with the surrealism I mentioned above. Again, as I don’t know how explicit I might go with the reasons things skidded into absurdity, just don’t read the next few days of entries though you are certainly invited to enjoy the amazing photos that will be shared.

Caroline’s Geburtstag

JWise Photo of the Day

Caroline Wise in Phoenix, Arizona

After taking Caroline the 28 miles from home to the Korean corndog joint in Mesa for her birthday last year it seemed impossible to top that and so I didn’t even try. As a matter of fact, we were standing in the kitchen this morning when she suggested that I should treat her to breakfast in bed which had me asking her, why should I do that? “Well, how about because it’s my birthday?” Oops.

We’d talked of her upcoming birthday multiple times over the previous weeks and while I knew that I’d do absolutely nothing for it, I wasn’t supposed to outright forget it on the very day it was occurring. Even seeing the missed call from her father and stepmother that had arrived at 4:30 in the morning to my phone (the ringer was turned off because who wants to be woken at such an hour) didn’t trigger me that he might have been calling for his daughter’s birthday. So with that embarrassing stuff out of the way, on to the rest of the day.

I did end up making breakfast for her, even her coffee, but she wasn’t able to indulge it while horizontal as her sister and brother-in-law were Skyping her to wish those kinds of greetings that typically show up on this type of day. Afterward, she phoned her father to return his call, and then it was on to her mom Jutta. Regarding my mother-in-law, she’d get to enjoy celebrating Caroline’s birthday twice today as just a few hours after she and her daughter hung up the first call, Jutta called us as she had just remembered that today is Caroline’s birthday. Such is the memory of someone mired in dementia.

With family phone calls out of the way, it was time for us to grab some lunch, which I nearly forgot as well until Caroline stopped me and asked about going to Otro Cafe, a New Mexican inspired place near downtown Phoenix that we’d agreed just the day before to visit. Sheesh, where’s my head? I’d like to claim it’s stuck in a daze from staring at this face I find absolutely delightfully beautiful, but that would be an easy copout, though I do love staring at it. If anything at all, I’d say that with the creatures of habit thing that’s happened to a large extent this past two years, if we are home, we are likely staying put and doing a bunch of whatever.

However, that bunch of whatever is about to get shifted to the point of relentless change. John, what do you mean? Well, Caroline’s 54th year promises to be extraordinarily busy if we can maintain the intention to follow through with a travel itinerary I’ve been working on that starts soon. How soon? Real soon with the first trip taking us back to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of Socorro, New Mexico, where our fetish for birds, lots of birds, is able to be satisfied in much the same way as llamas eating hands.