This year is flying by!
WORK
Well… more wildfires!
October started off with a two-week assignment to the Still Fire, which was located on our Mogollon Rim Ranger District.
Ryan and I were both assigned to the Still, which is always nice! We were able to commute down from Flagstaff together, and we were also able to camp down at the station together.
I think this was also the first time we were both listed on an Incident Action Plan (IAP)’s 203 page together, which is oddly weirdly adorable.
We also brought Yukon down to the station during a slower day on the fire.
After the Still Fire, we switched to our fall prescribed fire plans. We had an oddly long window this season for prescribed burning, so our forest’s prescribed fire projects went on for weeks.
Things have started to slow down now, which is nice! I’m excited to have some time for project work that I’ve been putting off.
VISITORS
I had several friends make it out to visit me this past season!
My high school bestie Kim visited for an extended weekend, and I took her around to see some tourist stuff — like the Grand Canyon and Sedona — and took her to some of my favorite restaurants around Flagstaff as well.
My college friend Jordan and her husband Freddy also stopped by Flagstaff during a tour in their van.
I didn’t have too much time to hang with them, because, Still Fire, but they did give me a tour of their awesome rig and we were able to meet up for dinner at Dark Sky/ Pizzicletta.
And… my mom made it out for a visit!
It was really fun to introduce her to both Yukon and Ryan’s parents, take her on a tour of the Grand Canyon, bring her down to Sedona and walk her around downtown Flagstaff. She learned a bit about local history at the Museum of Northern Arizona and we also took Yukon on a walk around Buffalo Park.
TRAVEL
Ryan and I snuck in a quick trip to Minnesota this season!
We flew out to Rochester to visit Ryan’s family last week. His mom was raised in Rochester, and his brother lives there now, so we were able to attend Ryan’s mom’s family holiday party and watch Ryan’s niece get baptized.
HIKING + OUTDOORS!
Well, since fire season continued well into this fall, I didn’t have too much time to adventure outside.
I did find time to hike up to Lockett Meadow via Inner Basin Trail with my friend Jenni, though!
Ten miles through the aspens this Saturday.
— Randi (@RandiMShaffer) October 21, 2023pic.twitter.com/TqXcUzee1Z
The road up to the trailhead is currently closed for maintenance, so it was about a 10-mile roundtrip journey.
I also found time to hike out to Schultz Tank via part of the Arizona Trail with a few friends.
And, Ryan and I went way off-trail as we hiked out along the base of the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness Area (not in the wilderness area, of course) to cut down our annual Christmas tree.
I’m hoping Ryan and I will find time for a backpacking trip down in the Phoenix area later this winter.
DINING + FOOD
Fall is for two of my favorite holidays: Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving!
My friends Lexie and Nate hosted a Friendsgiving celebration in their new house down in Kachina Village.
FRIENDSGIVING!
— Randi (@RandiMShaffer) November 12, 2023pic.twitter.com/xnT9jjsZHk
Ryan and I hosted actual Thanksgiving dinner at our house, as soon as we found out we weren’t moving. Ryan’s parents and a few of our friends joined us, and I made all of our Thanksgiving favorites for a second year in a row.
An entire day dedicated to both food and the Detroit Lions, the BEST HOLIDAY!
— Randi (@RandiMShaffer) November 24, 2023pic.twitter.com/21QwMyv2we
We also knocked out all of our holiday baking last week.
We made my mom’s sugar cookie recipe, meringues and “Christmas Crack.”
HOME
Well, the biggest news, obviously, is that we didn’t end up moving. I’m incredibly relieved and I’m glad to have a third winter staring out our front window at those gorgeous snow-capped San Francisco Peaks.
And, we mentioned our tree above?
It looks perfect in our apartment.
BOOKS, MOVIES, MUSIC + TV SHOWS
When I wasn’t busy with fires this fall, I was pretty busy with shows and concerts.
Ryan and I joined a few of his friends to see The Used and Sleeping With Sirens back in September when both bands made a Flagstaff stop on their tour.
The Used was one of my favorites in high school, and I introduced Ryan to them last year at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas. It was an easy sell to get him to venture out to Pepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill to see them again.
I also go to see Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness perform here in Flagstaff! It was my second time seeing the Jack’s Mannequin/ Something Corporate frontman live, and I was lucky enough to snag a front row spot at the Orpheum.
I didn’t take any photos (oops), but I joined the same friends that I went to see The Used with at Emo Night at the Orpheum, and the weekend after that I went to a Taylor Swift dance party at Yucca North.
I also went, of course, to see the Era’s Tour film on opening day at Harkins.
Is anybody surprised to see my Spotify Wrapped this year?
Ryan and I have been watching a few TV shows at home, too. “Holiday Baking Championship” is a seasonal favorite in our house, and we’re taking advantage of our three free months of Apple TV+ (thanks to Ryan’s new iPhone) to watch “Ted Lasso.”
And, finally, I did a good amount of reading this fall. You can peruse my September, October and November reads via those clickable links.
YUKON
Yukon has been doing great lately! If you follow along, you know we’ve been struggling with his weight a bit since he was diagnosed with Valley Fever and congestive heart failure two years ago. Safe to say, his weight is no longer a struggle. He’s been devouring his food twice a day and is now close to a healthy 60 pounds.
MISC.
I celebrated my 34th birthday back in October! It was a pretty low key day.
Ryan surprised me with flowers and some necklaces, and we went to brunch at Foret before we wandered around downtown, grabbed drinks at Mother Road and went to dinner at Oregano’s.
I also treated myself to a new computer, finally!
My 2014 MacBook Pro was on its last leg. I had a “service battery now” indication, two broken butterfly keyboard keys and my monitor stopped lighting up so I was using a taped-on external monitor.
I spent forever waiting for the new MacBook Pro line to be announced only for them to discontinue my 13-inch model… so I went for a new MacBook Air instead.
It’s so nice to have a battery that lasts for HOURS, and a space bar that works!
Other than that, it’s just been the usual! Bar nights with friends, Meetups, yoga and lots of cuddles with Yukon.
・・・
What a fall.
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