Phive days in Phoenix

Naa har jeg vaert i Phoenix hele fem dager, og det foerste jeg kan si er bare: jeg digger vaeret! Vi har naa hatt 24 grader pluss minus et par grader helt siden jeg kom, straalende sol og ikke en sky paa himmelen! Det er toert og varmt, og blir det for varmt kommer det en sval herlig bris og alt er i straalende orden igjen.
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Now I've been in Phoenix for five days, and the first thing I can say is just: I love the weather! We've had about 24 degrees Celsius or 76 degrees Fahrenheit plus minus ever since I came, brilliant sun and not a cloud in the sky! It's dry and hot, and if it get's too hot there is a nice cool breeze and everything just allrigh again.

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Bussen var som sagt en time og et kvarter forsinka fra Tucson, saa det var godt aa endelig komme til Phoenix. Gene henta meg og vi dro hjem til huset. Jeg fikk titta rundt i det nye huset som var utrolig stort og flott, hilst paa hestene, geitene, kattene og eslene, og ogsaa Marge og Don, noen venner av Gene og Sue som var paa besoek fra Oregon. Vi hadde en bedre middag og slappa av ved et baal ute utpaa kvelden.

Soendag fikk jeg sovi lenge, noe som var sykt godt, deretter dro Gene og jeg ut i oerkenen paa tur, sammen med de to geitene Marco og Dino, naboen Gary, hunden hans Frida og eselet hans Murphy. Litt av en broket gjeng vi var, hihi. Turen var artig, fikk tatt endel bilder av kaktuser som jeg syntes var goey. Naar vi kom tilbake hoppa Sue og jeg paa hver vaar hest og tok en rolig tur rundt i nabolaget og litt ut i oerkenen, det var utrolig godt aa sitte paa hesteryggen igjen :)

Mandag sto jeg opp tidlig og ble med Gene og nabo Jeff paa deres daglige klatregaatur opp det lille fjellet Pinnacle Peak her i Scottsdale. Det var flott utsikt og bra lys for fotografi, saa jeg klikka ivei. Deretter var det kakao og muffins paa en kafe i naerheten, foer vi dro hjem og ga dyra mat og moekka innhegningene, noe som fort ble en daglig rutine det og. Jeg trengte noen bedre tursko, saa vi svingte forbi en butikk og skaffa meg noen bedre sko, og saa proevde vi aa finne en kamerabutikk som viste seg aa vaere nedlagt (usj), saa etter det dro vi ut i oerkenen for aa se om vi kunne finne noen fine saguaro-kaktuser aa ta bilder av. Det fant vi, og vi klarte i tillegg aa kjoere fast bilen til Gene saa Sue og en av naboene maatte komme aa dra oss loes, haha. Tror det er noe med meg som gjoer at vi alltid havner i biltroebbel naar jeg er her, hihi.

Tirsdag var det hiking, frokost, foring og moekking igjen, og saa spiste Gene og jeg lunsj, foer vi hoppa i bilen saa Gene kunne vise meg en innsjoe i naerheten. Dessverre var veien inn dit sperra etter at hele veien hadde forsvunnet etter en massiv storm noen uker siden, saa istedenfor dro vi ut i et oerken-reservat i naerheten av der de bor og tok en artig fototur. Vi fant masse steinformasjoner som viste forskjellige dyr som vi tok bilder av, i tillegg til noen ordentlig dyr her og der, blant annet en kardinal fugl og en kolibri.

Onsdag samme rutine, og deretter hoppa Gene og jeg i bilen og dro soerover i Phoenix og traff Pam og Callie, svigerdattera og barnebarnet til Gene, paa en ku-auksjon, noe som ogsaa var en ny opplevelse for meg. Deretter dro vi videre ned til foreldrene til Sue som bor soer i Phoenix og besoekte dem, og tok med oss Pam og Callie hjem til Gene og Sues hus. Vi koste oss med god middag og skravling den kvelden, foer jeg soevna paa sofaen og maatte kravle i seng som foerstemann den kvelden.

Torsdag var det samme rutine, jeg gikk hele loeypa over Pinnacle Peak til veis ende, noe som var goey aa faa gjort. Naar vi kom hjem hadde Pam moekka, saa vi spiste lunsj og hoppa i bilen og dro soerover i Phoenix til Tortilla Flat, som viste seg aa vaere et knoettlite sted langt inne i fjellet ved et vann etter en lang og svingete vei. Det var et lite samfunn foer i tiden som var sentralisert rundt ei mine i omraadet, naa var det for det meste et kult turiststed, hvor jeg fikk smakt kaktus-is for foerste gang - det var godt! Deretter bars det hjem for en god middag igjen.

I morra kjoerer Gene og jeg Pam og Callie til flyplassen, da drar de hjem til Oregon, og Gene og jeg skal ut paa nye eventyr. I morra kveld kan det hende Sue og jeg stikker paa kino, vi har litt lyst til aa se Wolfman, og loerdag har vi billetter til Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, et av de stoerste hesteshowene i USA for arabere, DET kan bli goey! Og soendag blir det nok en ridedag for Sue og meg, jeg gleder meg allerede :)

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The bus was as mentioned on hour and fifteen minutes late coming from Tucson, so it was nice to finally get to Phoenix. Gene got me and we went to the house. I got a tour of the new house which was really big and nice, said hi to the horses, goats, cats and donkeys, and also Marge and Don, some friends of Gene and Sues that was visiting from Oregon. We had a nice dinner and relaxed by a bonfire outside in the evening.

Sunday I got to sleep in, which was really nice, and then Gene and I went for a walk in the desert, along with the goats Dino and Marco, the neighbour Gary and his dog Frida and his donkey Murphy. Quite a special crew we were there, hehe. The trip was good, got some cool pictures of som cacti in, which I thought was fun. When we got back, Sue and I each got on a horse and went for an easy walk around the neighbourhood and in the desert, it was really nice to be on a horseback again :)

Monday I got up early and joined Gene and neighbour Jeff in a hike up the little mountain Pinnacle Peak here in Scottsdale. It was great view and lighting for photography, so I went clicking. After that it was hot chocolate and muffins at a cafe nearby, before we went home to feed the animals and clean the pens, which soon became a routine as well. I needed some better shoes for hiking, so we went by a store and got me just that, and then we tried to find a camera shop that turned out to be out of business (usch), so after that we went out in the desert to see if we could find some nice saguaro cacti to take pictures of. We did, and we also managed to get Gene's car stuck so Sue and another neighbour had to come pull us clear, haha. I think it's something about me that always makes us get in car-trouble when I'm here, hihi.

Tuesday it was hiking, breakfast, feeding and cleaning again, and then Gene and I had lunch, before we jumped in the car so Gene could show me a lake nearby. Unfortunately the road going in there was blocked, it had been completely washed out by a bad storm a few weeks ago, so instead we went to a desert preserve close to where they live and went on a photo-trip. We found a bunch of rock formations that looked like animals that we got pics of, in addition to some real animals here and there, amongst other a cardinal and a hummingbird.

Wednesday had the same routine, and then Gene and I jumped in the car and went south in Phoenix to meet Pam and Callie, Gene's daughter-in-law and granddaughter at a cow auction, which also was a first for me. Then we went to Sue's parents who live south in Phoenix and visited them, and then brought Pam and Callie back to Gene and Sue's place., We had a nice dinner and stayed up talking that night, until I fell asleep on the couch and had to be the first person going to be that day.

Thursday was the same routine, I walked the entire trail of Pinnacle Peak until the end, which was cool to have done. When we got back Pam had cleaned the pens, so we ate lunch and jumped in the car to go south in Phoenx to a plce called Tortilla Flat, which turned out to be a nice little place by a water after a long and windy road. It was a little community back in the days that was centralized around a mine in the area, now it is first and foremost a tourist place where I got to taste cactus ice cream for the first time - it was good. Then we headed back home.

Tomorrow Gene and I will drive Pam and Callie to the airport and they will go back to Oregon, and Gene and I will head off for new adventures. Tomorrow night Sue and I might go to the movies, we kinda wanna see the Wolfman, and then Saturday we have tickets to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, one of the biggest shows in the US for Arabians, THAT might get fun! And Sunday might be a riding day for Sue and me, I'm already looking forward to it :)