Kerstin Visit - October 2016

View from Camelback Mountain

After a weekend in Sedona and then a trip to the Grand Canyon and Page AZ, Kerstin arrived back at our house on the Thursday night at 7pm.  Shawna was on her way back from Hartford so Keith and Kerstin grabbed dinner at Mad Greens and then did a weekend of grocery shopping at Safeway. 

We had to work mostly a full day on Friday so Kerstin used the opportunity to visit the Desert Botanic Gardens.  She drove back to the house to pick up Shawna and then back to meet Keith at his office at 2:45pm.  We all connected there and drove together in the 4Runner to the Echo Canyon trail head of Camelback.  Rangers were out in force letting everyone know that every day of the year someone is rescued for overheating and 6 people have actually died this year from the same.  We were all loaded up with water so felt good to go.  The trail is steep but has railings in the toughest parts.  Shawna made it all but the last 15 minutes while Keith and Kerstin made it to the top to see the beautiful views.  Likely Keith's first ascent of many to come!  We then all headed back to the house to cook dinner, with Keith and Shawna splitting a bottle of rose.  Dinner was a grilled flank steak, stacked sweet potatoes baked in a muffin pan, and green beans.  Delicious. 

On Top of Camelback Mountain

Saturday was Kerstin's last day in town.  In the morning we walked Pinnacle Peak Trail, which is a 1.75 mile each way hike.  It is a great walk with heaps of people, along with some super signs  that identify all the plant life.  We went home for lunch, which was a creative use of leftovers: Shawna turned the fish from the night before into fish tacos which were much tastier than how it tasted the previous evening!  We also re-heated the sweet potato stacks which were even better the following day!  Keith had a quick nap before we headed out to the Sanctuary for a spa afternoon.  We intentionally arrived early to spend a bit of time in the pool, then all went for our 5pm appointments.  We all showered and changed at the spa and drove to dinner at Olive and Ivy.  Dinner was delicious: we had the bruschetta, lamb meatballs, artichoke hearts, wild mushroom pappardelle, and the scallops.  We wrapped up the evening with the lemon cake and sorbet.  It was immediately to bed, since Keith was taking Kerstin to the airport at 4:30am the next day.

Pinnacle Peak Hike

It was fantastic to see Kerstin for a couple of weekends and re-connect with an amazing friend.

Sanctuary Resort