Those of you who don't know, Robbie and I don't have a car anymore, and we haven't had one since June 2013, so every time we go on a road trip, we rent a car. Luckily most casinos on the strip have car rental locations, and luckily we live right down the street from MGM Grand, so car rentals are really at our disposal. Plus, my company offers really good discounts on rentals, too! Most rentals that we get include a free upgrade, so we always opt for a Ford Edge or Escape, and the rental agent hasn't let us down yet! That being said, we picked up our car on Saturday morning, and were on our way by 10am. The game started at 6:30 MST, so we had plenty of time to get there on Saturday. We had been to Flagstaff once before for an NAU game, so we knew the driving routine pretty well. Usually the general thought is that in Nevada and Arizona, it's all desert wherever you go (that's what we thought before we moved here, anyway), but the drive to Flagstaff at least is very lush with pines, hills, and even the Colorado River and some cattle.
We finally got to Flagstaff and checked into our hotel, and we had a little bit of time to relax before heading to the arena. Flagstaff is a nice little city, and it always reminds me of my college city, UW-River Falls. Quaint is a word that comes to mind when thinking about both of the city's.
The arena where the NAU Lumberjacks play is called the Walk-up Skydome, an old football stadium that they converted into the basketball arena. It's really cool inside! And, like the name states, it's really a dome shape!
Being Robbie and Lemons were both cheering for UND (I was really indifferent), we got General Admission tickets and sat behind UND's bench. I just have to say, going into a small college like NAU and cheering for the away team is quite something. There usually aren't that many fans for the away team, and let's face it, who is going to travel from North Dakota to Northern Arizona???!!! We were three (ok, two, really) of only a handful of fans cheering for UND, and we did a great job of holding our own. There were also 2 fans who were cheering non-stop against the visiting team. They reminded me of me when I was in college! I also always enjoy listening to the pep band play at these small colleges. They did very well, and had a strong French Horn section with 5 horn players!!!
The game was actually pretty entertaining. NAU has a Junior on their team, Quinton Upshur, who is way too good to be playing for a small team like NAU, but it made for some fun plays, that's for sure! Also, UND has a Senior, Troy Huff, who was cleaning it upon the court, and we even got his attention during the game. Those 2 players put on a clinic during most of the game, and even dunked a few times!! I love dunks!! At one point, Huff was disappointed that he couldn't attempt an alli-oop! If he did that, I would've gone crazy. Alli-oops are my all-time favorite thing about basketball at any level. UND plays this coming Thursday at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, and Robbie and Lemons are talking about going because Huff, and the rest of his teammates were that fun to watch! UND ended up winning 75-63, but we all left satisfied with the performance we had just witnessed.
We also noticed that Flagstaff got a new establishment, Chick-Fil-A, so we all went there after the game! It was alright!
On our way home the next day, we stopped at Hoover Dam, as Lemons has never been there before. We walked on the (fairly) new bridge, the best vantage point to see the Dam, and we allowed him time to walk on the Dam and take the sights in. While he was doing that, Robbie and I went to a look-outpoint high above the Dam, and zoomed in with my camera to see if we could spot him, but we couldnt. :(
After Hoover Dam, we made one final pit stop at a look-out over Lake Mead. That area is really beautiful, and it is also really alarming how much Lake Mead and the Colorado River depths have been receding. It's been quite the topic of discussion in this area.
Flagstaff is always a nice city to visit. On our way down to Flagstaff, I thought to myself, "man, it's crazy that we have lived in Vegas for not even three years yet, and we already have fun traditions like this." Look for a "Flagstaff 2.0" blog post around this time next year!!
"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller
No comments:
Post a Comment