Phoenix Hike

Posted 12/09/2017

The View of Phoenix from Camelback

There's an old friend of mine living up in Phoenix who used to be one of the teenagers I was actively corrupting during my Teen Ministry days on Long Island. His name is Jeff, and he is an amazing person.

Back in the day, he was geeky and funny and hilarious and lots of fun to hang around with. His family was wonderful: his dad was an engineer like me, his mom was funny and gracious and very hospitable, his sister was bright and strong-willed and a challenge to teach, and it was always a lot of fun being with them.

Now he is all growed up and doing wonderful work in the inner city of Phoenix, helping kids and underprivileged families and working with a fantastic church, and there just aren't enough words to describe what he has accomplished.

I drove up Sunday morning and found their house, then got to ride with them in their 15-person van to church and then to lunch; and then Jeff and I and some other friends of his went on a short hike up Camelback, which is a very steep mountain on the east side of town.

It was a humbling experience for someone like me who is so entirely out of shape. I didn't quite make it up the hill because my digestive system was giving me fits and we were under a time-crunch (as people are not allowed to be on the trail after dark, and we didn't head up the trail til nearly 4 pm!), which was disappointing. But it was all good. Jeff and I went back to his house and I got to hang out with him and his lovely family for the remainder of the evening before hitting the road again for the two-hour drive back to Tucson.

Got back too late for a real Skype session, and the cell phone doesn't work inside the motel room, so instead I sat outside in the car and talked to my Lovely Lady for another hour. How I wish she were here with me.