Wandering Wednesday

Today I had an off day.
Not as in, a bad, cranky or just not working day, but a day I didn't have to teach.
Monday and Tuesday we managed to get through the content that was supposed to take us through this morning. Therefore, everyone decided to have today off and resume Thursday and into Friday.
This meant I got to get out of Phoenix.
Don't get me wrong, I like Phoenix. It's a city though and I only like being in a city for so long.
I wasn't sure where I was going to go or what I was going to do. There are lots of things to do and see.
I ended up starting my day driving through Tonto National Forest.
Yes, a forest in Arizona.
It's a forest of mostly cacti, and some mesquite scrub.
I didn't really stay there very long. There were signs posted in the parking lots about needing a parking pass. Supposedly you were supposed to know this back in town (8 or more miles away) and pick one up. I did pull over a few places and took some pictures.
After wandering around a bit, I decided I would head towards Tuscon and see what I could find. Someone had suggested I head to Old Tuscon, but I had no idea exactly where this is. I ended up at Picacho State Park. (No, I do not mean a little yellow annoying critter... it's a mountain.) I wandered along one trail for a good 1.5 hours or so. I think I went about a mile or so in and back out. The trail itself actually headed up to the summit and is quite difficult further on. The first two miles or so are pretty easy. I took lots and lots of pictures, playing with my new camera.
Unfortunately, you won't see any right now.
I'm at war with my laptop.
I was having problems getting the computer to recognize the camera.
I bought a card reader to solve this problem.
It all installed quite easily, including the driver.
When I rebooted and tried to use it, I got an error that it couldn't be used because the registry may be corrupt.
Forget it. I'll wait until I get home.
I tell you though, my soul was fed quite well today. I didn't walk far, but I enjoyed every step. Unfortunately, I had to head back to Phoenix. Like I said, it's a nice place, but it is still a city.
What is really funny though is what happened when I walked along the 1/4 mile kids trail. There were about 5 or 6 signs along the trail talking about habitat and what makes one. I found myself thinking about activities I'd do at each station with the kids and the kinds of responses I'd be likely to get. I really truly do miss the nature center. By my response today to the trail, I guess you can say that I am an environmental educator to the core. It's just too bad that I can't seem to figure out how to get it to pay as well (or even half as well...) as my current job. Ah well. my soul will have to be content with these periodic wanderings and orienteering adventures.
Well, I've got a little work do and stuff to get ready for tomorrow.
Peace to all and may your electronics play nice and you find somewhere to enjoy the beauty that is this world.