Talked with Mom and Dad last night on my way home from the bowling alley – Dad spent much of the time adding details to some pictures he texted to Blake and me during the week.

Mom has started hiking with him.  Not the “All-Day-20-Mile-Hikes-With-4,000-Feet-In-Elevation-Changes” kind of hikes that he subjects us to – but much more challenging than I expected.  You need to understand – my mom loves to walk and often walks several miles at a time, but she prefers her walking paths to be paved.  So she has rarely joined Dad on the trails – until now.

Dad, Blake and I walked past these rocks about a month ago, going and coming from “The Dome”.  This is one of my favorite spots around Tucson . . .

I have climbed up on those rocks several times over the years (this one was taken last year).  It’s not an overly strenuous hike to this spot, so I assumed that Mom was just humoring Dad with short stints on the trails.

And then he sent me this . . . and I went into shock.

Blake and I stood between these rocks in a howling wind five years ago.  This is the Bug Springs Trail off Mount Lemmon Highway well above Tucson . . .

And getting to that spot involves doing stuff like this!  When we hiked this trail, Dad hadn’t discovered hiking poles yet.

Thankfully, Mom was able to take advantage of them – Blake and I have seen those rocks as well.  But she said her thighs were really sore the next day. 

I really wish we had been there to see this in person – the words I have typed here really don’t express my astonishment (and pride).