What's Mom's number one job?"I would ask my girls as they were growing up. To keep us healthy & safe", they would dutifully recite.

JD is settling in and she is discovering a love of hiking in Arizona. She is trading corn stalks for cactus and getting out to explore the new setting. Expanding her comfort zone, JD started hiking through the Sonoran trails. She was excited to share her newfound love of hiking through Arizona.

When I was a girl, my dad always tried to teach me about cars.  He pointed to what this thing was and he explained how it worked.   And I remember none of what he tried to teach me.  I remember looking at his tan, scarred hands, that grime under the nails that would never come out.  I can close my eyes and smell the mix of diesel fuel and cigarette smoke. That was the smell of my dad after a long honest day's work in the shop.  The literal blue collar with his name stitched across his chest.

Convincing my teenage daughter to hike Pinnacle Peak Mountain turned out to be more than family travel, it was a mother-daughter moment that brought us together.

The saying goes..." it's not the destination, it's the journey". This begins my tale...

As our final trip of 2017, JD and I met up in Palm Springs...