North bound! part I

this ain't no desert mushroom

Our first trip back home since we left in November greeted us with incredibly lush green, grassy, leafy fullness.  We had no idea to what vibrant extent it was flourishing up here, as MN (and WI) was already hot, humid, and getting rain quite regularly since the end of May.  We left mid-90 temps in Sedona, only to arrive in the same exact temps up north!  That was a surprise.  Altho great to be back among all the mushrooms, flowers, and tall, full trees, in contrast from life in the desert.  I was stoked for a couple full months of MN summer; swimming, camping, frisbee golf, hammocking, biking, mushrooms, time with friends and family, Dance Church, lots of dancing (Maaaaan, I miss my live house and techno DJs!)... etc.  I really do enjoy living in Sedona, AZ, but I was really excited to come back up north.

Our next travel plans out of Sedona were for sometime in late June or early July, to again be part of our local Burning Man event in MN.  But as life and luck would have it, the clouds parted amidst our new work situation, allowing us the opportunity to blast off much sooner than anticipated.  Well-over a month sooner.  So we decided to go for it!  With only several days to figure out a plan and get our ducks in a row, we found a spot to store the RV, ate up all the food in our fridge and freezer, found a babysitter for our sourdough mother and house plants, packed up our tent and sleeping bags, then took off the 4th week in May.

Colorado

We decided to leave the RV behind, and resort to couch surfing between friends and fam, so we could more easily drive through some of the Rocky mountains, and make it in a shorter amount of time, since we had a particular day that we wanted to arrive by:  Joel's mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary + niece's graduation party on Saturday, May 21st. 
Last we spoke to anybody about attending, we were not going to be able to come.  So we kept our change in plans to ourselves, that way we could surprise everyone.  It was so fun to do this!!  I have never surprised so many ppl in so short a span of time.  It was an absolute HOOT.  I was so giddy about this before we left, and my excitement only grew every day along the whole drive up.  Seeing the look on family and friends’ faces, and hearing them freak out... HAHA... it was so much fun.  This went on for about a month! 

Everything worked out and fell into place so wonderfully.  Without even planning, or knowing about it, we arrived only moments before our niece was about to drive off to her high school graduation ceremony.  We were able to attend, and she about peed her pants when she saw we were there!  (Details in part II).  The party the following day was lovely.  We surprised my parents a couple days later.  And more friends after that. 

We left on a Monday, giving us 5 days to get home:

Overnight on the edge of Albuquergue, NM

BYE BYE SEDONA at 4pm.  Today’s driving goal is Albuquerque, about 300 mile away.  New Mexico landscape and scenery felt pretty different from AZ.  Hmm!  Neato.  We hit our goal.  In the wee hours of the ‘morn, we pitched our tent at an interesting city-run campground, just outside/ practically in town.  It rained a bit on our drive.  The ground was wet when we set up our tent and the air very humid.  I thought this was the desert?!  The following morning we overheard a park maintenance worker say that it hadn’t rained there in over a year.  Over a year!  And last night, they happened to get a nice little 10-minute downpour.  I thought it was neato that we were there for it.  (TIMING!) 

TUESDAY was our busiest day (so I'm breaking this blog into two parts), doing a variety of things outside of the truck.  First stop was breakfast in some teeny town just outside Santa Fe, then on to Taos.  We hung out there for a couple of hours.  I'd like to go back and spend more time one day.  Maybe go snowboarding!  The mountains were beautiful.  A fun town with tons of history to dive into.  Lots of yummy native culture.  We shopped in the town square a bit as I was on the hunt for a wooden flute.  (I didn’t find it.  my gut tells me it's back in Sedona.)  Amazing gem and fossil shops!  One place had a lizard stuck in some Amber, not for sale, just for looksies.  The shopkeeper took it out of the display case for us to hold and view closer.  Fascinating.  They claim it’s about 5 million years old.  WooWee!  We left Taos to press on into Colorado.  We went over the Rio Grande for the first time ever.   WHOOWEEE!!!WOW.  holy crap.  What a sight that is.  
Not far passed that I swerved to avoid a live snake in the road.  “That looked like a rattle snake!” Joel said.  I kinda thought so too, going off of the colors of their skin that I’ve often seen in pictures.  So, I finally saw my first rattlesnake.  HeHe.  Not far passed THAT we whizzed by the EarthShip homes community.  I was so excited!  Back when Joel and I were first dating, we watched oodles of youtubes about these amazing, unlimitedly creative, self-sustaining homes that were being experimented with in some open area of New Mexico.  And now, here they were, so close I could almost touch them.  There was a sign down one of their roads that says they gave tours and info.  I wanted to stop in so badly.  But Joel kept us on track.  We had to get into CO, and then some, so we had to keep driving.  

We weren’t sure yet where we were gonna spend the night.  Joel referred to some camping app we have, and came across a very intriguing option, at the UFO Watchtower, located in the “mystical San Luis Valley”, outside of Hooper.  This place is RAD.  Out in the middle of practically nothing, (other than one hot springs facility, and a alligator farm!) there's a tiny dome structure housing a gift shop and admission office, with a large metal deck constructed all around the top of it.  We paid $10 for one night of camping.  There were 2 other campers parked at opposite ends of the land, but we never saw any other ppl.  

Entering Colorado

UFO Watchtower / camping!

We chatted it up for at least a half hour with the kind woman in the gift shop- about consciousness, God, Love, well-being, healing, and reality in general.  What a this kindred soul this was!  She said we were free to climb up to the observation deck after dark, after she’s gone home, but at our own risk.  And if we were to see any activity or have some kind of experience with our space brothers, would we please record it in the notebook that hangs outside? She claims to have had a variety of different experiences herself in this place.  Some of them touched her deeply.  I got to tell her my 2 stories, one happened in Peru, and the other out at my mom and dad's house in Bethel, MN.  Before we headed out the door, she also mentioned that numerous psychics and the like have visited this place, claiming to see/be aware of two very large- TALL- extraterrestrial-type beings on both sides of the structure that appear to guard and bless the space.

Now, I am often wanting to sleep outside without a tent around me.  But not very often do I feel it is a safe and comfortable environment to do so (critters being my main concern.  Or a clean, smooth spot to lay on my inflated pad).  Until today!  When she said we can go up top that night, I thought “WHOA!!  PERFECT.  I'm gonna sleep up there tonight!”  It’s high off the ground.  Nothing is gonna bug us up there, unless we’re sucked up by a spaceship, but that may not even be bothersome, so much as amazing.  I made up my mind I was gonna take my sleeping bag and mat up there and spend the whole night.  I was excited out of my gourd about the idea.

As if this wasn’t great news enough, we still had plenty of time left in the day to scoot down the road only a minute to Sand Dunes Swimming Pool & RV Park  (only a few more short miles from Great Sand Dunes Park Reserve).  We grabbed our suits and went to eat lunch and dip in the water.  This place was so fun!  Ya know what, actually, every single hot springs I’ve ever visited has been a blast.  And all so different;  creatively laid out, clean, soothingly comfortable; each with their own unique flair.  All so rejuvenating.  We paid a little extra on top of regular admission to hang out in the “adult area”- a walk down a lit corridor of old storage containers that lead into a GIANT room that used to be a greenhouse, converted into a luxurious chill space, with various temperature pools sprawling all over, and even a little baby pineapple plant thriving away!  One of their pools is called The Coffin.   HAHA.  We managed to get our entire bodies into it.  And after about 10 seconds, I said “I think we’re about to turn into a soup.  This can’t be good. ”  And Joel agreed.  We had to get out!  I think it was only half a degree before boiling point, is my guess.  (it said and I don’t recall.)

We hung out in the pools and chatted with some great ppl.  One older couple lived on the other side of the mountain range, a couple hours and then some, away.  They come here at least once a year with their RV.  They told us to for sure hit up the sand dunes national park tomorrow.  And suggested the most scenic route we could drive through on this end of the Rockies.  The bartender gal was fantastic- she has this wonderful story of marrying her sweetheart, having kids, living near a big city in CO and realizing she was caught up in the rat race… wanting her family to be closer, spend more time together, maybe even grow their own food, and spend more of her energy on things that really mattered to her.  So they left their jobs, downsized their possessions, moved to some homesteading land, changed their lifestyle quite a bit, and they’ve never been so fulfilled.  She bartends in this awesome place once in a while and just loves it.  Her energy and genuine smile were as beautiful as her story!  She enjoyed hearing our story, too.  There were others we met.  A few drinks had.  Lots of mineral-y water soaked up.  We left feeling ready to go home, set up our tent, and FINALLY have a friggin’ camp fire!!!  This was the first time in MONTHS that we were in a place with a fire pit, and no current fire ban in the area.  There was even a pile of wood left in our spot!  So we put it to good use. 

It was quite windy and had been all day, but we thought it would die down a bit.  It hadn’t appeared to.  It also got cold- much colder than I expected it to.  Would I really wanna hack laying outside in this all night long??  Joel and I meandered over to the watchtower deck to scope out the situation.  We climbed to the top and took in the clear, grand view of the vast sky.  The wind whipped here and there.  I was cold.  I was no longer feeling like putting my sleeping bag up here.  Maybe if I wake up in a few more hours it will be more calm, and I’ll leave the tent then.  WELL, I did wake up in the night.  I unzipped the tent and stepped outside.  I just stood there in my solitude for a few minutes, breathing deeply, looking at the moon, just gorgeous, orange, low to the horizon, with a feeling of calm stillness even though the wind occasionally whipped my hair across my face.  The temperature has dropped even more, as well.  I crawled back into the tent to sleep more, feeling so content under the light of the moon, casting a soft glow into our space.  

~ SO content.  So happy. ~

mornin'!

The next morning Joel stirred the coals and made us breakfast over the fire.  Then we had a loooong, but awesome drive ahead of us the rest of the day.  for that and the rest of our trek, see part II (i'm still workin' on it!)

April showers...

bring May flowers!
(and critters!!)   
It hasn't rained here for months tho.  this is the desert.  It surely blooms it's ass off come Springtime! and new creatures are emerging:  lizards, skinks, BIG spiders (i had an up-close encounter with what we concluded is a "crab spider"), beetles, new birds, more hummingbirds at our feeder, and snakes.  our first encounter with a snake was right in our friend's driveway.  we almost stepped on it!  after Joel heard me gasp and then spotted it himself, we took a few steps back and just watched.  i was fascinated.  Joel says it was a Gopher snake, and that they eat rattlesnakes! (the ones we're most cautious about.)
Just a couple days later we hiked the West Fork trail.  we were down by the creek, meandering through some old building remains, and i noticed a rather tiny, light-colored one, curled up between two stacked cobblestones, its head sitting on the middle of its body.  Joel was standing with his back close to it.  i suggested that he step my way then i pointed it out.  even though it was a baby, it wasn't shaking a rattle. 😄  not sure what kind it was.  I've spotted snakes 6 different times now.


The skink sure was weird!  At first i thought it was a snake but the tail looked odd.  then it moved, and it ran, fast!  then sat for a long time, and i could see itty-bitty arms and hands.  i'd never seen anything like it before and neither had joel.


It's actually May as i type this, and the tall-reaching Ocotillo plants are in bloom, along with baby peaches emerging in our friend's front yard. 

skink

Life's a peach!

bottom of an (enormous!) Amethyst geode with white quartz 

We've slowed down quite a bit... on the hiking.  the weather has gotten warmer, and we've already hit a hot streak- a whole week of nearly 100F.  On those days i work on my tan by the pool, or we head down to the creek with our hammocks.  it's just too hot to hike, unless we venture to higher altitudes, which is on our radar, but for after we return from some summertime fun in MN 😀  We've also got the jobs now, so we've been spending more time with Mike and his inventory of rocks and gems.  i should probably do a post just about that sometime.  i'm learning a lot about minerals, chemical reactions, the geology of the planet, and beholding some absolutely memorizing, dazzling specimens and pieces of stuff from beneath the Earth's crust. 

We took a trip back to Tucson at a few weeks ago for a full week out on the same boondock spot from our last visit.  I gotta say, it is SO FUN to plan a trip away somewhere and not have to decide what to bring and pack a suitcase.  it's so much less to think about!  We get to bring EVERYTHING 😄  How fulfilling to just pull the whole house, with all our stuff  in it, down the road to wherever we go.  Wheeeeeeeee!!

We returned to Tucson for work reasons, altho we did squeeze in a little bit of hiking in the actual Tucson mountains, PLUS the end of our work week rang in the city's most-beloved annual event: the Tucson Folk Music Festival.  they had 5 different stages spaced out around downtown, so we got to play in the actual city a little bit, and enjoy some great live performances with our new buddies, Rob and his wife, Jonie.  Throughout the week they were showing us how exactly they run their gem-selling business.  And even though they knew we had our own home to return to for the nite, they graciously opened theirs to us; their shower, and kitchen... Jonie even made lunch for us all a couple days, and the others they treated us out on the town.  we all get along great, and feel like family 💚  Rob is such a character! and worked with us the most.  we laughed a lot, farted around, crammed loads of info into our brains, and got really clear about some details we need  in order to move forward with our process.  It is going very well, and we look forward to moving the shop up to Sedona at the beginning of August.

the Tucson mtns

Tucson mtns

hooded oriole.  sometimes feeds off our hummer feeder!

prickly pear in bloom

new growth!

So I guess the gem business kinda works in waves: busy for a few months, then off for a couple, and busy for a couple more, then off for a few.  It turns out that Mike and his family have plans to take off a few times this summer around the same times as Joel and I do.  how perfect!  We have begun planning our trip back to MN/WI for a several week stay, and then we'll really dive into a more 'normal' work schedule when we return to Sedona  August.  I'm looking forward to it- ALL!  -getting back up north and catch up with ya'll and play in the lakes, and then return to Sedona, to play more with all these amazing crystals and further nurture the expansion of this business we have become part of with Mike.

Until then, we continue to do some work for Mike, and we're still just honeymooning away.  I cannot express how fantastic it is to own our home, have minimal bills, roll out of bed whenever we want to every day, and just PLAY PLAY PLAY play mini golf, ping pong, our didgeridoos, singing bowls, and try new recipes with our sourdough mother.  I've been getting through some more of my book collection, doing research, learning new things, quenching my brian's thirst for new knowledge.  Lately i'm  designing and making a couple of costumes.  I get outside every day for some hula hooping, and I fire hoop once in a while, but they have county-wide fire-bans going on a lot, so more of that will probably happen come July and August, with the monsoon season.  some nites we enjoy soaking in the hot tub at The Pines, we go swimming in the pool, in the creek, and are now hanging our hammocks over the water, and hiking shorter trails later in the day a couple times a week.  We're keeping cool.  Being outside so much is the BEST.  I can feel it's balancing effects on both my mind and body.  I especially love when we boondock in Sedona.  i find myself naturally going outside first thing in the morning, and we are relatively alone (no neighbors), in the quiet, the sunshine, fresh air, and... i just feel so ALIVE! 

Life knew we wanted this, and we continue allowing ourselves to receive it.  ("Ask, and it is given."  'tis TRUE!!!)  I feel like more of the 'me' that i am really meant to be.  and sure! I could grow into this on my own... but it is so much stinkin' fun doing it with a partner- with my Joel.  my heart is so full.  I continue falling even more in love with him, and the process of life evolving- all of our dreams will keep coming true, as we stay focused in the energies of joy, trust, and appreciation for all that we are and all we are yet to become.  Life is truly a process of creation.  we are co-creators with All That Is.  and it is all GOOOOOOOD 👍
(imho 😉)

Oleander

Ocotillo

May you feel the goodness and love that is always flowing to you, as well.

💖TALLYHO!💗

looking at Thunder Mountain from the top of Doe Mesa (Sedona) at sunset.

a trek to Tucson

back to saguaro land!!!

Mid-March, We hitched up our home and made a run south for the Tucson area, for a good taste of Saguaro national park before 100+ degree weather starts up for the summer, and check out places even further south, like Coronado national monument, mere miles from the boarder of Mexico.  We also went this direction for some work-related stuff.

Some friends of ours who live in town (Sedona) asked if we'd like to help out with expanding their lapidary business.  we've considered it, and feel clearly guided to say "Yeah!!".  Joel is handling the monstrosity of a website situation, and I am going to be their new photographer- taking pics of inventory (if you follow me on instagram, that explains the recent posts of fossils and gems :) creating descriptions for it all, helping fill orders, set up a front office within the warehouse, etc.  All for a comfortable salary, with time off here and there for us to do more traveling, possible field trips together to collect our own minerals, profit sharing, YADDDA YADDA!!  It feels like a great fit for us right now.  The colleague who's business we are integrating into our friends', he lives in Tucson.  We went to meet him one day on this trip, see his set  up, and get the ball rolling.   Leaving on a warm Sunday morning, we made the 5ish-hour drive to Benson, AZ, where another SKP's park awaited us.


They have a fun newbie special ($50 for a week) and it was conveniently centrally located for all the areas we wanted to visit, including Tucson.  Every day we were up to something, so we never made it to "happy hour", but there is this gate with a horseshoe for a latch at the back corner of the property that leads to the top of a hill, and the walking path that goes along the tops of all these... "mini canyons" i'll say.  these trails stretch on for several miles and we were told to freely roam as far as we wish.
Overlooking the climb up the hill stand a large metal-crafted saguaro cactus and a star shape, that light up at dusk every night off their solar panels.  What a brilliant landmark when driving home at dark, in unfamiliar territory.  BRILLIANT!  i got up pre-dawn one morning and caught the sunrise while sitting between them.  Other than spending a day with our friend and meeting our new colleague for business reasons, here's a taste of what we explored:

  (the words in red will take you to photos.  including these ones :)

*Tombstone, the tourist-y time warp town, and adorable little Bisbee, loaded with art, art and more art.  We did a lot of driving around this day, and wandered thru some neat, wild properties in the middle of nowhere.

*Drove so far south, we could practically throw our hats into Mexico.  We stopped in to see the Coronado National monument, commemorating an expedition that happened back in 1540.  it was a steep drive up the mountain with a hiking trail from the parking lot up top that took us even higher, to where we could see the actual boarder of Mexico.  spectacular scenery.

*East Saguaro national park in the morning.  It's clearly Springtime here!  so much in bloom.  FEELS like SUMMER!!  it was BLOODY HOT.  we weren't even able to finish an entire hiking path... we started to melt, so we went back to the car.  The park was a hoot, even just for driving thru.  The rest of the day we spent with our friend and new business colleague.

my 2nd cousin, Desiree 

*I got to meet up with a "long lost cousin".
She was never really lost 😛 but i say that because
1)  she's a second-cousin,
2) i only met her once, when she was 5ish ???
3) she grew up in alaska.  and i have yet to visit alaska!  (an RV trip for our future, for sure)).
She just-so-happened to be living in Tucson for only another week or so (TIMING!!!)  we got in touch and she met up with Joel and I for a hike through the Cochise Stronghold.  I had been looking forward to this hike for a while... reading up on what a "cochise (CO-CHEESE) stronghold" is... and it appears to be somewhat misnamed.  from what i have gathered, the native chief, Cochise, went here not to hold ppl back from attack, but for personal, spiritual refuge.  This place was special, and holy to him, and I wanted to feel it/see it, too.  What a HOT day it was!  the hike was gorgeous.  the rock formations were something else.  we actually didn't make it to the end- we went off the beaten path and found a unique way back.  I would definitely do this hike again to the end.  It was a really fun day of getting to know Desiree better, hearing about the fam, rejoicing in her recent accomplishments, and seeing such beautiful scenery together.  A blessed day it was!  And i look forward to seeing her again.

Chiricahua national park

*hiked 2 different trails at Chiricahua National Monument.  more incredible rock walls, stacks, spires, and funky formations.  it's a giant playground like, yet unlike, the red rocks of our new home.  The weather shifted, bringing in grey clouds and sprinkles.  then we were rained on. it was heaven- the smell of the ground and rocks wet from the showers, the mist and haze that moved across the scenes we walked through...  earthy and mysterious.
Time to leave SKPs in the morning.

*took the RV to the west side of Tucson and parked on BLM land toward the outskirts of town.  there were many other trailors, RVs, vans, tents, and ppl camping out here, some with children.  and we found it to be quite comfortable; very dark at night, and quiet, even though we're not far off two different roads.  again, there is a chuck of hill behind the area, so we scaled it one morning and got some fun photos.

*West Suguaro national park is AWE.  MAZE.  BALLS.  the park i'd been waiting for!  so many trails to hike!  we only had time for a few.  They call the area a forest, and now i feel why they do, once we got up high with a view of acres beyond us.  Saw some of the most clearly-defined pictographs we've come across yet:  spirals, animals, funky shapes- check out the rock piles toward the end of the album (click above).  the cactus themselves are so fun to walk up to, and feel just how BIG a presence they are.  some of them have interesting holes eaten away in them, and they keep growing.  and i wanna go back.  we will go back.

*Lastly, the scenic drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon.  that's a fun little day trip.  Made a stop to walk around a pretty lake that formed from damming up the water at some point.  We got to see the place i wanted to go snowboarding this year.  it never even opened!  they get jipped on snowfall some seasons.  this year was one of 'em.  they still had a chair lift running tho- taking ppl to the top for the views.  we opted out, but chatted a little bit with the guy running it, who told us one year they had a total of 28 feet!  (in the dessert!)

MANY RECOMMENDATIONS have been given to us about visiting the Desert Museum in town.  We didn't have time to cram that in this trip.  After more than a week away from home, it was time to mosey on back.

dusk from our front door

BYE BYE, TUCSON!  we haven't even seen your inner city yet.  what surrounds you is gorgeous.  what more awaits us here?  I know we'll be back to find out.

~Tally Ho!

getting high all the time PART II

the climbing continues:  Bear mountain- WHOA.  Sterling pass- kicked our ass.
more canyons, caves, amazing views...  click the trail name to see all the pics.

with Cam and Veronika

Bear Mountain  Overlooks EVERYTHING around!  it's one of the highest summits in the Sedona area, and let's you see well-beyond it.  once you experience the top, you can pick it out from wherever you are on ground.  We'll be well-across town and one of us will point it out miles away.  "We were all the way up THERE?!"  i still ask, in a bit of awe.  the trail is crazy; not just switchbacky to the top, but it goes UP and DOWN about 50 (i'm guessing) different times, ACROSS an interesting variety of rugged terrain, leading one to tap into their spider-manny skills up steeply sloped red rock, and finally it brings you to MORE climbing up, to what you think is finally the top!
but it's not!  you still have to hike down some more, and then up again, and then down, and then...  it ends eventually.  One of the most strenuous ones we've done, with Joel's cousin Veronika, and our buddy Cam.  need i say it was EPIC?  with snow at the trail end.  I was so thirsty!  i munched to my heart's content.  and caught an amazing view of the mountain to the north- in Flagstaff- where we were snowboarding only a few days previous. I didn't know that was up there waiting for us 😄 it made my day!!  what a sight.  we ate celebratory sourdough cookies at the top.

Jack's Canyon   was just a short jaunt the day after we got here.  Walking the whole thing would bring us down into Jack's canyon and we weren't prepared for that, so we only went a couple of miles.  We were elated just to be out.  Passed thru a bunch of cows to get to it.  Great views of the village of Oak Creek.

Sycamore Canyon  is a bumpy, rocky, crazy-dirt-road-ride 25 minutes away from the tourists, with wilderness beyond it for many miles.  the canyon itself is 21 miles long and reaches 7 miles wide.  Ever since i've been with Joel he has shown me on maps, and talked about wanting to hike deeper into this area than he has been before.  so this one was really special- now we were here together.  we went as far as he'd been before then had to head back.  we will return with our tent and spend some nights out here after it warms up a bit.  lots of new, weird rock spires and formations to oogle at.

Cam and Joel

Sterling Pass   lots of elevation in a short amount of time-- HOLY CATS.  another epic, and strenuous hike.  starts out with BANG- steep climbing up, Up, UP from the get-go, into tall, towering Ponderosa pines, some fallen.  little cave-type forms eroded away in the limestone rock that the boys climbed in and out.  tall, strange pillars standing at random along our way.  We essentially climbed up from the bottom of one canyon, crossed over a gap at the top, and descended into another.  From here we pressed on in search of the Vultee Arch- a natural red rock bridge formation hiding further down the white, grassy canyon floor.  this was a long and tiring hike with almost 1200 ft elevation change.  fantastic views of forest and red rock structures in the distance within the Secret Mountain Wilderness.

Fay Canyon  is really neat- full of carved-out structures from the weather, small ruins crumbling, and crevices to run off and get into.  I brought my singing bowl this day.  the trail end sign stops just before the real fun begins!  a short canyon chock full of stuff to discover and fantastic views from climbing.

Turkey Creek  a less popular trail located out of town with rewarding views.  easy walking for a couple miles, crosses over a (mostly) dry riverbed, then ascends up the north side of a once active shield volcano, known around here as House Mountain.  We didn't take a lot of pics on this one but it was a great hike, and we did captured of few unique views of the red rocks in this area.

Baby bell   a busy spot, but fun walking- flat, easy trail around a few of the various popular red rock structures around town: Bell rock and the Courthouse.  we climbed up on "Baby bell" rock and got pictures of the other 2, and the surrounding red rock walls.

there ya have it- a good taste of what we we're up to most days.  
it's sweet to hear how much some of you are enjoying our pictures.  thanks for letting us know.  i'll post more here and there, but with part I and II, you get the idea  😉

Tally Ho! 

THUNDER MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!

this was such a dream come true.  ever since I first visited Sedona, i wanted to get to the top of this thing!!! 

Like Bear mountain, (see Part II- soon to come) it stands high enough to see Humphrey's snow-capped peak all the way up in Flagstaff, over 50 miles away!  It stretches so long that it covers along the whole hub of town.  Once you catch a view from it's side tho, you realize it's actually quite narrow and jagged along the top, that makes a kind of zig-zag up to the highest point. 

Our friend Cam drove up from Tempe to experience this one with us.  We'd talked about doing it for weeks, and now today felt like the time to do it.  we were pretty amped-up, and even a tad nervous!  it's no mount Everest, but it's a lot of elevation to climb in a short amount of distance, and we'd heard stories of the sheer edges we would encounter.  

It took us 2.5 hours to reach the summit, where it's COVERED in manzanita trees, and two different large rock chunks to sit on and take in the views...  a full-on shot of our snowboarding mountain to the north, and the entire sprawl of Sedona down on the other side.  we could spot Key Hole Cave from our hike just the day before!  and what a sight to look back and realize all the spine of grey rock we walked along to reach this point.

it wasn't as scary as some folks made it out to be.  It was tricky in some areas;  lots of slanted walking, some very steep areas to get thru, and loose rocks left and right.  the best/ most-used path was not always obvious, sometimes seeming to just fade away.  we lost the trail several times both up and down.  but we figured it out and made it back alive 😁  it was so fun to be up there, in breathtaking views, and now deeply satisfying to see it from the ground and say "We did it!"    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE PHOTOS

getting high all the time, Part I

We went out on a hike the day after we arrived in Sedona and...  that's pretty much all we do now- run outside after breakfast and get high.  I'm on a cloud, is this real? and in awe, to find ourselves living within a bunch of different national forests now.  it's WILD!  so much untouched, wild, quiet, clean, pristine, picturesque land everywhere.  Beyond that are mountains, and other untouched wildernesses.
According to some nosing around online, it looks like a rather small percentage of the state is privately owned land, and a significant portion is declared wilderness areas in the form of our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, monuments, and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
So, not a lot of houses, businesses, restaurants or shopping.
just LOTS of playground Earth.

"This land is our land! 💗  This land was made for you and me."

and we love it here.
















Brin's Mesa, located just behind town, was our first time getting really high, to views that took my breath away.  a relatively easy climb to manage if going slow and being deliberate.  along with not looking down (in some places).  holy F*$&!  We also frequent the canyons; fun walks that wind beneath the treetops, our views sometimes very limited, but wandering off the main path usually rewards us with a high point above the vegetation, an interesting clearing, weird nooks & crannies, strange rock structures, and caves, with the occasional massive, carved-out area of red rock that has a feel like being in the barrel of a wave in the ocean.  some of these cave-y spots were fashioned into domiciles by natives hundreds of years ago.  there are a couple different ruin sites only a few miles from us, one of them with pictographs.  a much larger one, also not far from here, is declared as a national monument.  it's pretty impressive!  i'll stick that in part II.

Sedona is a mecca for day hikes.  There are some deep canyons tho, and once winter passes with the nites becoming warmer, we're excited to walk farther into places and do overnight camping.  I'd say we average between 5-8 miles a round-trip.  the most elevation we've climbed so far was on Sterling Pass at almost 2000ft.  A close second was Bear mountain at 1800ft. (see Part II).  holy buckets, they were strenuous.  and amazeballs!!!  most of our hikes are more moderate tho.  Javelina, deer and eagles have crossed our path a few times.  Other than that, i reckon we'll see more critters come Springtime.

I've heard there's over 300 trails to hike in the Sedona area.  We've done over 40.  Sometimes we leave the camera at home.  here's several from when we didn't, in no particular order...

this is PART I

 CLICK THE TRAIL NAME FOR A LINK TO PHOTOS

Brin's Mesa we randomly picked one morning within our first week here.  flippin' fantastic!  one side of it overlooks Soldier's Pass and a bunch of gorgeous landscape.  first time we used the pano-feature on our camera was here.  we didn't even make it to the end of the trail tho, as we were sidetracked by this hill of red rock that gradually slopes up one side... i noticed it, pointed and said  "I WANNA GO UP THERE!".  So we did  😄  incredible views of both the town and surrounding giant red rock structures.

Soldier's Pass  is home to a crazy, giant sink hole!  as well as the 7 sacred pools, then eventually Soldier's arch- a well hidden cave-like structure off the main trail that WOWed our socks off.  we got right up in there, Oh yeah!!  great fun.  the whole trail goes through a variety of different terrain and trees making it a very groovy trip.  come to think of it, we have yet to see this entire trail as well.  we always get pulled off in other directions.

the Bunny Ears  with all the different rock formations out here, ppl have named them after things that look familiar.  there's Coffee Pot rock (can you spot it in the Soldier's Pass photos?  there are several.  it sticks out on the end 😉), Bell rock, Snoopy rock, the coxcomb, lizard head, Elephant rock, etc.  This hike took us to the bunny ears.  there are multiple trail heads that lead to it.  We did this trek just the two of us, then went back a couple days later with our friend Cam and made a hairy attempt at getting up into an interestingly wide crevice.  it was too thick with brush and cactus to make it as far as we hoped to, but it was fun trying.  excellent burgers for dinner!

Boynton Canyon  starts out at a vortex... a tall chunk of rock we climbed up on before the official trail head.  i didn't know this at the time, but this chunk 'o rock is considered a sacred space by the Hopi where Kachina woman watches over mankind.  Beyond here lead us down among tall pine trees, weaving our way through a cool, damp forest, that reminded me a lot of being in the BWCA.  this was a large contrast from the cactus, short shrubbery, and dryness we tend to go through.  a very refreshing, easy walk until the last part, takes you up a steep incline then dumps you out into a big open space with a quaint but expansive view.

Cathedral Rock  not for the faint of heart, even tho it's well-trodden and we saw some small children on part of the ascent!  but not as high up as we got.  it's very steep.  have to do some shimmying up a very long crack in the rock.  and then there is farther to go.  breathtaking views from the top where the trail end sign is posted.  there are other paths branching off from there tho, along a steep climb to reach one of the towering spires.  we got ourselves into the middle of one and hung out for a while.  it was stellar.   STELLAR!!  we started this trek on a trail that crosses over Oak Creek.
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Shaman's Cave  we've visited a couple times now.  smaller caves are dotted all around the same rock structure.  i played my metal singing bowl in one of the smaller caves next to the main one and took a pano pic before exiting.  we spent a lot of time sitting just outside the main cave, staring off at what was around us, soaking up the sun, and... i felt kinda tripped out.  is it vortex energy?  the most time we've spent sitting in one spot on a hike before.  something healing and wonderful held us here.  after a couple hours we climbed onto the top of it and wandered our way down the wavy, molten-lava-looking rock.  very fun!!

the MIGHTY Saguaro! (a weekend getaway)

1930s, Paradise Valley, Arizona

We'd been in Sedona for over a month, plugged in at The Pines resort, exploring the area immensely, but starting to think about visiting the Phoenix area sooner than later, before it gets too friggin' hot to hike around or do anything.  it was perfect timing! that our friend Charlee from MN was coming into the same area for a couple of weeks, and invited us to meet up with him for some dancing in the desert.  Sedona still astonishes me, yet i looked forward to a change in our routine, and to see more of what's around this state.  I've also been longing to sleep outside in our tent, and this would be a fine time to do it.  so we packed up our camping gear, a few days clothes, some food, and took off for a little road trip!
One thing about heading south from where we now live means being among the Saguaro cactus.  these guys don't grow as far north as we are.  they're so captivating.  And like most desert plants, they grow very, very slowly:  “The tallest saguaro cactus ever measured towered over 78 feet.  It can take 10 years for a saguaro cactus to reach 1 inch in height.  By 95-100 years in age, it may reach a height of 15-16 feet, and could start to produce its first arm.” 

HeHe

Saturday-  Joel and I drove around Phoenix but could see it faintly off in the distance.  we would drive through it tomorrow.  Hot air balloons dotted the sky as we looked in that direction.  the sun would set in another 90 minutes.  Foothills all around us.  We rolled into the party location near dusk and found a spot away from the action where nobody else would seem to wander, and pitched our tent right next to a giant saguaro.  it was a fun little dream come true! being i've never camped in the desert before, except for the empty, vast terrain of Black Rock City.  it was too close to dark to get a photo of it.  but i got a classic cactus shot as a silhouette.

Superbowl Sunday- we drove thru Phoenix so i could buy myself some new hiking shoes with a gift card i've been hanging onto for a while.  happy birthday to me.  altho, this day was actually Joel's bday.  (and his twin brother's.  AND his MOTHER'S! 😄)  we split after birthday shoes, over to Tempe, a city just outside of Phoenix.  We walked along the lake, laid out in the HOT HOT HOT, it's already HOT HERE, in the sunshine, and i started getting a tan!  Saguaros.  After baking, we scooted over to our see our weekly hiking buddy, Cam, and spend the night sleeping outside by the pool.  they have a queen size bed out there- we just rolled out sleeping bags, put on our stocking hats and mummied-up for a snooze all nite long under the stars and moon.  the bed was very nice! for being left outside all the time.  we both slept great.  i woke up once to see the moon had finally risen, high above the fence that surrounded us, right overhead beaming down...  AAAAAH!!!  i smiled, tried to take it all in with my sleepy mind then drifted back to sleep.  we awoke in the morning to the birds sitting in the trees right behind our heads, chirping and chatting away.  it was so sweet!  i drifted off for a little bit longer...  Sleeping out in the open air, under the sky = Heaven.  One of many, many Heavens.  

standing in the riverbed @ Saguaro Ranch

Monday- we left Tempe in the direction of the Superstition mountains to visit a place where Joel used to work, called Saguaro Ranch.  lots of saguaros around.  We had plans to meet up with his boss from 10 years ago, and see how much the place had changed.  We got there before Steve did tho, so Joel toured me around the grounds; showed me the horses, the cute little cabins, the river that's not "turned on" right now, where they store the kayaks, the pool, etc.  It was a hoot for Joel to see Steve again! and we had a lovely visit.  Before we parted ways, we were invited to return with our RV to park on his land for a few days, after the busy season, and go kayaking down the river.  so that's on the agenda for springtime/May-ish 👍  After the ranch, we drove deeper into the mountains to meet back up with Charlee and our other friend, Gianna.  Gianna had never been to Arizona before! and we all camped out together in the Tortilla Flats area.  it's a pretty quiet time of year for camping there!  we were practically alone.  surrounded by high rock walls on every side, it felt like we were in a canyon.  we went on a quick hike just before sunset, were in bed by 10:30pm and made a bombin' breakfast the following morning.  

Tuesday- we all got to spend together, taking it easy, enjoying the sun, letting the dog run (Salem) and exploring the area.  We landed in a beautiful picnic space for a few hours on Canyon lake, one of four reservoirs that were formed by the damming of the Salt River back in the mid 20's.  We made lunch there, Charlee swam with Salem (too cold for us!), and it was just a warm, but with a nice occasional chill in the air, gorgeous day.  We left after lunch to get sucked into a tourist trap we'd passed by the day before, called Goldfield Ghost Town.  Joel wandered me into a shooting gallery, where you aim a rifle at little red lights that blink on and off.  it was funny!  peggin' off cans and warning off rattlesnakes- HAHA!  it was fun.  Apache Junction was calling our names for that night, not far from where we already were, at a friend's house.  We ate dinner there, then went back into Tempe for a little bit after dark so Ginanna could have some cool back drops for her photography.  We found a lively bridge to stand under 🌟 The next morning afforded us the most amazing FRESH, PLUMP, CRAZY-SWEET grapefruit plucked right off the tree.  WooWhee!! one of our friend's neighbors grows them in their backyard and we were invited to pick our hearts' content.  I've never cared for the taste of grapefruit, at all.  but i fell in love with these ones HFSB-  they're like candy, all around, i love it, WoW

canyon lake, az

Wednesday- was time to again part ways with Charlee, until after the weekend, and leave the saguaros behind until another day.  We started heading home, taking our time, trucking along happily through the mountains on a route Joel had never been before.  along the way, we came across some incredible native indian ruins, preserved and maintained by the federal parks system.  We swung in to check it out!  it was a slow, steady, steep climb on a nicely paved path to this giant cave area overlooking Lake Roosevelt, another reservoir lake.  This is where the Salado people lived.  They were greatly known for their pottery- decorating with shapes and designs that were unique for their time.  We were told that their pots and handiwork were sought after and traded for by tribes all across the country. ?!  this site was built deeper into the mountain than we have seen before, and we could walk through much of it, so i got a few decent photos.  It was a pretty drive home, the road followed all along lake Roosevelt, and we saw some stellar boondocking areas right on the lake.  i snapped a quick shot of them down on the beach.
Mmmmmmm...  yum.   WHAT A VIEW

Salado ruins

  

Click here for all the pics

~tally ho!