LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT

San Ramon: At first, I thought it needed explanation. Not true. Top Left: "You're kidding me. After hiking 4 miles from the base below, you still want to climb up there...and snakes...?" The stance revealed it all. The rest is self-explanatory, too. (Not part of the formal trail either).

'LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT: WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HIKE-ABOUT?'

Hike-about is an adventure that commenced June 2010. After storing our household movables, ridding ourselves of a house but retaining our 'home' together, we set off with the purpose of hiking in different parts of the world, not forgetting the home country, the USA.

Our primary focus is hiking to mountain peaks but any challenging hike will do just fine. Extended stays enable us to enjoy and experience living in various places amongst differing cultures. Hike-about has evolved into a way of life. It's also a process of discovery, both the world and ourselves.

We work and live 'on the road' but return to the city in which our grandchildren reside, every couple of months. This provides us the wonderful opportunity to be with them as well as a child or two, even three and of course, friends.

By the end of 2023, the blog contained over 1,560 hikes (less than that actually undertaken), each a set of pictures with stories and anecdotes from the trails. An index to the right allows the viewer to identify earlier experiences.

Finally, we are often asked about the journey's end.
O
ur reply, as accurate as we can state, is: "When we are either forced to cease through health issues or the enjoyment level no longer reaches our aspirations, we will hang up the boots."

"A Life Experience As No Other: Dare to Seize the Day Together", published by Fulton Books, depicts our life on the road and mountains until the beginning of 2017. It has developed 'exponentially' since then.

Jenni and Jeffrey Lazarow

Whereas we continue to update the blog regularly, we circulate email notifications infrequently.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

44.01 Sedona, Arizona 2020: An assortment from a delightful region. (Extracts from hikes 44.01, 44.02 and 44.03)




The sun kisses the mountains and rocks, 'goodnight'. (Nature has a gentle side, too.)




Sedona has always been a special place for us. It's the first town in which we really 'clicked' upon visiting it more than twenty years ago. We would think it's difficult not to find something special about the layout of the place, particularly that it's surrounded by red and yellow mountains and rocks, many in the town itself. Well, often wrong but we don't believe so in this instance.

There are a number of firsts for us in the town besides the aforementioned. On Cathedral Rock during our second visit, Jenni called me a 'wuss'. Her meaning: 'I was a scared little boy'. At the time, I was afraid of heights and as we sat on a rock looking down into an abyss, I developed some negative feelings. After fleeing the position, with the tone and meaning of her words playing through my mind, I stopped, turned around and raced up to the top. A decisive moment. That she could not catch me and shouted out to 'Wait for me', began a new era regarding heights. Since then I have never looked down...um...back.

During our first visit, I noticed a person standing near the top of Bell Rock. I called Jenni to the side, pointed out what looked like an aberration at first and announced, "Look at that idiot. What a fool—he'll kill himself." The following year, we visited Bell Rock and went to the top. Even beyond that idiot's position.

Jen had her first and hopefully, only snake-bite on one of the mountains in this region. We also saw what the concept of "lawyered" means. The clash of humanity, of human kindness versus legal liability. When we returned from the mountaintop, we stopped into a hotel close-by and asked for some antiseptic ointment, or alcohol or anything that might help with the pain, infection or something worse.

"Sorry. Our policy is not to help injured people. Instructions from our lawyers."

In the first book I wrote, I could not help but insert a paragraph dealing with issues of this nature and that 'the good Samaritan law' had to be promulgated to allow doctors and others to assist (without potential liability) in a medical emergency. Something is out of kilter when a person will not aid an injured soul and further, the system discourages kindness. (More later...)



'Bids all others a pleasant night, too.'




"Lock-on". Hangover Cliff: Hike-about attempts to bring out "The Essence, Spirit and Ideals" of a relationship. (Sometimes it works, preferably on a cliff edge...)




Wilson Mountain, from the south. The overlook is ahead. No thought of snow when we were at the base.




A typical view from the top.




Opposite Wilson Mountain. Love this scene, further enhanced by the clump of grey, dormant trees along the river.




Some spectacular sights and positions (Ignore the unnatural sight).




We call that the two-step—some call it confused as Jen rises on a rather steep boulder.




This is Sedona.




and we suppose this is, too. A less frequented view of the town's surround.



Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey


'Golden Girl' goes to the 'Cathedral'.




Climb to Cathedral Rock extension...adds to the adrenaline flow.

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