I can’t believe it’s been seven days since my last post! Our son flew in last Saturday to spend the week with us and it’s been a whirlwind ever since (in a good way).
The snow finally melted here (not at West Fork, as you’ll see below) and the weather’s warming a bit so we’ve made the most of it with day trips and lots of hikes.
We drove to Jerome, AZ on Tuesday. It’s an 1800's copper mining town but now the hotels, brothels and saloons have been converted to shops and restaurants for tourists.
The town was built on a mountaintop so the ride up isn’t for the faint of heart.
I took the picture above from an art gallery window. The building was built right on the side of the mountain cliff and the ground was hundreds of feet below.
The next day we drove up the switchbacks towards Flagstaff to hike the West Fork trail. It was higher in elevation than Sedona so there was still 4-6 inches of snow on the ground, this made for a slippery hike.
West Fork is a challenging hike on a good day, with 13 creek crossings in 3.3 miles, but was considerably more treacherous with the snow and ice. I’m happy to report none of us fell in the creek, we just had wet feet. Thank God for our skating legs, we had good enough balance to keep us upright. When driving up and down these mountains you can experience such wild differences in weather it's like experiencing three seasons in one day.
Our last hike of the week was Bell Rock Trail. It was sunny and in the low 60’s for this hike so it was absolutely perfect.
Without having to worry about slipping on the snow and ice we could concentrate on the spectacular views, which were breathtaking.
Our Bell Rock hike was longer than anticipated. According to my Apple Watch I burned 613 calories and got twice the exercise I needed for the day. We were all very ready for a meal after this.
Our son has to leave for the airport tomorrow and begin his journey back to Minnesota. We’re only here for another couple of weeks but plan on making the most of it. Following is a slideshow of all of our pictures from the past few days, we hope you enjoy them.
I saw my first honeybee today and the desert flowers and plants are just about ready to burst into bloom. I expect to have some great pictures to share very soon of Spring in the desert southwest.
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
~Eric Vance Walton~
(Photos are original.)
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