A Prisoner of Birth

Jeffrey Archer's latest book is a winner! Though lengthy, it kept my attention
long into the night.....a sure sign of a "good read"!

The drama begins with a happy occasion: an engagement and champagne.....
and turns deadly within hours. Rich versus poor; educated versus street-wise;
white collar versus blue collar. Who wins?
That's the basis of the story.....
Without giving away the story, an innocent man ends up in prison and vows to
restore his good name and see the guilty parties punished. And, so, the legal drama begins......how can a poor, uneducated man fight
a rich, well-connected one? Education is the key! He learns to read and soaks
up all the subject matter that he can.....fortunately, his cell-mate is an upper-class,
educated man who is more than willing to share his love of learning. The legal drama is exciting.....there are twists and turns....and I found myself
rooting for the underdog! Does justice prevail? Would society believe a man
from the wrong side of town over a well-known, politically- connected one?
Pick up this book to find out. It's exciting right to the end!!


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Desert Botanical Garden

A peaceful stroll through cacti gardens.....desert gardens....herb plantings....
butterfly garden...
huts made from dried plants....active "stations" to grind corn ( our kids did that-many
moons ago)....mountains in the distance - diagrams indicating which mts & the distance...
several school groups having a field trip- how fun is that? The Desert Garden purchased a few BIG glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly...
Gorgeous color against the earthtones of the desert......
several years ago, they had a large display of his work, scattered throughout
the desert gardens...very dramatic!
Another lovely spot to stroll.....

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Tonto National Forest

Doesn't that name conjure pictures of the Wild West? Well, it was "wildly
beautiful".....
Saguro Lake is man-made...River was dammed to create 10 mile lake; trail
winds along lake.....quite dramatic to see mts jutting up all around lake...
photographer's dream; very peaceful; many scenic overlooks.

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pinnacle peak

As the name suggests, THIS is the pinnacle or high peak that can be seen for miles
around Phoenix. It may have been a bit "peak-ier" than we planned, especially since the
elevation at the top was over 2800' ( but the change in elevation from the start of trail
was only 550'). This mountain area is gorgeous: mountains in every direction; peaks and
valleys; sensitive habitat areas with well- marked descriptions; different cacti, bushes, and
small colorful flowers that pop up from between rocks. ....needed several stops for photo
ops and to catch my breath. It sure seemed like more "up" than down.....some pretty
steep paths winding around the mountain, over the "saddle" and then down on the other side of mountain......then, you got to do it again in reverse! The distance was 3 1/2 miles, which
doesn't sound like much on level ground, but.....hike took 2 1/4 hours and was quite
the cardio workout. There were lots of ooh and ahh moments, due to the sheer
beauty of the scenery!
We made it!! And, enjoyed a lovely picnic - including cervesa- back at trailhead. I'll post a few photo a few photos tomorrow- my day of "rest" :)

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Lost Dog Trail

hard to believe how much "life" there is in the desert....dozens of shades of green
plants growing; cacti getting the energy to sprout flowers; small birds building homes
in the bigger cacti; hawks circling around the mountain tops; small lizards and desert
creatures that don't need much water......And, the rock formations are amazing: reds, ochres, oranges, marbleized stones.....
Here are a couple pics from today's hike.....

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different activity today

So, today, we rented a tennis ball machine....really neat: you can set the speed, direction,
spin, and height of the balls being flung at you....great practice without running all over
the court. An hour of hitting ( or almost hitting) the ball is a good workout....surely, muscles
that haven't been used since Fall will be "singing out" tomorrow. Good thing for the jacuzzi
tub to soak sore muscles. Another good day of relaxing in the SW.

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