About Coconino County

About Coconino County

Encompassing 18,661 square miles, Coconino County, Arizona, is the second largest county in the U.S. but one of the least populated. Our county includes Grand Canyon National Park, the Navajo, Havasupai, Hualapai and Hopi Indian Reservations, and the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world. Elevations range from 2,000 feet above sea level along the Colorado River to 12,633 feet at the summit of Mt. Humphreys in Flagstaff.

Leavin' On A Jet Plane Today


This morning I feel like I did the day I left for the beginning of my six-month Appalachian Trail hike: filled with anticipation but anxious about the unknown. And like that adventure, I leave today for my three-month stay in Nepal with no doubt I can finish what I'll start. Who knows what future starts this experience and book project will lead to, but how dull life would be if we always knew what was in store for us.

So, I'm down here in Phoenix, Arizona, having just woken up in a shaft of sunlight with a sweat ring around my neck. Amazing what a difference a two-hour drive can make. Had I awakened back in Flagstaff, where it was snowing yesterday morning, I would have grabbed a fleece as soon as I'd have gotten out of bed. But I'd better get used to waking up warm, as it'll soon be monsoon season in Nepal--hot and extrememly humid.

My plane leaves at 8pm this evening. I change airlines in Los Angeles, then sit for another 13-some-odd hours in another flying tin can with a couple hundred of my closest friends (flying--not my favorite pasttime) till I arrive in Hong Kong at 5:30am. Thirteen hours wandering and people-watching there, and I'll be in another airborne capsule for seven hours or so until I land in Kathmandu at 10:30pm on May 5th (which is about 9:15a.m. on the 5th here in Arizona, I believe.)

Once I clear customs with my one large suitcase--mostly filled with t-shirts, synthetic, convertible pants, at least 15 pairs of underwear and nearly as many pairs of socks--a half-empty duffel bag and a carry-on backpack full of electronics, I'll hopefully find HRDSN member Karna Bahadur Dura and Yolanda, Ingo's Swiss friend who runs a hotel not far from the airport. I'll go to the hotel for at least one night, but I hear there could be "political unrest" in the city, so I may make my stay in the capital a very short one before flying to Pokhara.

As with all mostly unplanned adventures, though--and even most that are planned to a T--we shall see.

Related reading:

Nepal Project Facebook Fan Page (where I'll be posting lots of photos and videos)

My Adventure in Nepal: The Himalaya Rescue Squad

My Adventure in Nepal: Travel Information