Showing posts with label Hiking & Exploring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hiking & Exploring. Show all posts
Monday, February 8, 2016
Friday, December 12, 2014
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Spelunked
I took the day off to go outside and play...
But ended up inside.
In complete darkness in a place full of
...guano.
We went to visit a cave...
(guess I'm into rocks this week...)
It's fairly newly discovered, as far as caves go.
A couple spelunkers discovered it a few years back.
It even had breakfast on the menu...
bacon
and eggs...
Weird, huh?
(couldn't take pix in there...so these are some from the internet,
but surprisingly similar)
Indy couldn't go with us this time.. to help fight off the giant sloths.
Friday, February 18, 2011
What in the heck is that!?
dog?
coyote?
...dinosaur?
I don't know, but when I bent down to pick up something near it,
it about scared the life out of me!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Hiking part 2
The next hike was up in one of the canyons.
My dog, Bolt, was over her I-think-I'll-throw-up-the-bone-I-scarfed-down-in-3-seconds pukies, so she got to go this time.
We drove up to the trail head, only to find it was closed in December.
UH. It's not even snowing! This is the best time of year to hike, what's up with THAT?
So we found our own trail down the road a bit ;)
(better adventure anyway, I say...)
My friend said she had ridden her horse on this trail a couple years ago...and remembered it being pretty spectacular. ...so off we went.
I think we ended up hiking 5 miles that day... nice and uneventful... with only a sunbathing lizzard spooking us. We did make a few mental notes concerning the purchase of some Camel-baks and better fitting jeans for carrying heavy pistols. Don't want to moon the coyotes, now do we?
I should have taken a picture of my dog when we got home... it's hard to wear her out, but when she walked in the house; she got a huge drink of water, made a beeline for the couch ...then laid across the top of it, like a cat, with her legs hanging over the sides ...and slept for a couple of hours.
hehee. Funny dog.
We got to the parking area of the trail heads... normally, there aren't too many people up there, but today the Army was training.
Bolt saw men in uniforms and lunged out of the car barking. (she never plays hard to get. ?? ha ha) They didn't flinch... they were too busy drawing circles in the dirt. But they did glance at our pistols..
I can't help my curiosity... I asked what they were up to.
"Training ma'am... we're practicing our tracking skills."
Oh. Good. Backup if we get lost...
Off we went... leaving the Army to deal with the footprints today.
We got about a half mile in and came across an older couple picking up trash and had come upon what appeared to be a homeless persons temporary campsite.
There was a creepy sign that read I'M WATCHING YOU...
The couple told us about some good spots to hike... and also how some recent illegals had completely trashed the ridge just above us. Garbage, backpacks, old blankets, water jugs... trash everywhere.
They both said we would almost cry to see the mess it was if we were to hike up there... there's not enough volunteers or manpower to keep up with it. The news reports it somewhat... but most people don't understand the extent of the problem until they actually come here.
These mountains and canyons are some of our nations most pristine forest lands...but illegals constantly trash them...
We did talk with the couple a little about the hunters in the area. (In AZ, you just have to be 1/4 mile away from houses to shoot pretty much anywhere) ... people hunt near the trails because they can hunt in the canyons where the big deer are... but I'm not sure they all passed hunter safety.
I have a friend who has lived up in this canyon for over 20 years. On a previous hike with her, she told me she's had bullets whiz by her more than once... I thought she was exaggerating at first. Then we met 3 hunters a couple miles up the trail. One was pale. A pale Mexican is unsettling to look at. He said he just shot across the trail in our direction. He told us a few times, like he was trying to get over the shock of us being there.
We thanked him for being a bad shot.
daaaannnng.
OK. I believe her now.
A couple friends and I got permits from the ranger station to gather firewood... we're going out to gather wood for winter this weekend. I didn't think I looked like a deer, but I think I'll wear my orange Remington ball cap in case Red-neck Jose is out there hunting again.
My dog, Bolt, was over her I-think-I'll-throw-up-the-bone-I-scarfed-down-in-3-seconds pukies, so she got to go this time.
We drove up to the trail head, only to find it was closed in December.
UH. It's not even snowing! This is the best time of year to hike, what's up with THAT?
So we found our own trail down the road a bit ;)
(better adventure anyway, I say...)
My friend said she had ridden her horse on this trail a couple years ago...and remembered it being pretty spectacular. ...so off we went.
I think we ended up hiking 5 miles that day... nice and uneventful... with only a sunbathing lizzard spooking us. We did make a few mental notes concerning the purchase of some Camel-baks and better fitting jeans for carrying heavy pistols. Don't want to moon the coyotes, now do we?
I should have taken a picture of my dog when we got home... it's hard to wear her out, but when she walked in the house; she got a huge drink of water, made a beeline for the couch ...then laid across the top of it, like a cat, with her legs hanging over the sides ...and slept for a couple of hours.
hehee. Funny dog.
One of the nice views from way up high...
Then there was Day 3.
We decided to hike a different canyon... weren't up for the peak of the last one yet, and needed a more level trail to condition on. ...or recover from the last hike...or something.We got to the parking area of the trail heads... normally, there aren't too many people up there, but today the Army was training.
Bolt saw men in uniforms and lunged out of the car barking. (she never plays hard to get. ?? ha ha) They didn't flinch... they were too busy drawing circles in the dirt. But they did glance at our pistols..
I can't help my curiosity... I asked what they were up to.
"Training ma'am... we're practicing our tracking skills."
Oh. Good. Backup if we get lost...
Off we went... leaving the Army to deal with the footprints today.
We got about a half mile in and came across an older couple picking up trash and had come upon what appeared to be a homeless persons temporary campsite.
There was a creepy sign that read I'M WATCHING YOU...
The couple told us about some good spots to hike... and also how some recent illegals had completely trashed the ridge just above us. Garbage, backpacks, old blankets, water jugs... trash everywhere.
They both said we would almost cry to see the mess it was if we were to hike up there... there's not enough volunteers or manpower to keep up with it. The news reports it somewhat... but most people don't understand the extent of the problem until they actually come here.
These mountains and canyons are some of our nations most pristine forest lands...but illegals constantly trash them...
We did talk with the couple a little about the hunters in the area. (In AZ, you just have to be 1/4 mile away from houses to shoot pretty much anywhere) ... people hunt near the trails because they can hunt in the canyons where the big deer are... but I'm not sure they all passed hunter safety.
I have a friend who has lived up in this canyon for over 20 years. On a previous hike with her, she told me she's had bullets whiz by her more than once... I thought she was exaggerating at first. Then we met 3 hunters a couple miles up the trail. One was pale. A pale Mexican is unsettling to look at. He said he just shot across the trail in our direction. He told us a few times, like he was trying to get over the shock of us being there.
We thanked him for being a bad shot.
daaaannnng.
OK. I believe her now.
A couple friends and I got permits from the ranger station to gather firewood... we're going out to gather wood for winter this weekend. I didn't think I looked like a deer, but I think I'll wear my orange Remington ball cap in case Red-neck Jose is out there hunting again.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
AZ Hike
Day oneWe diverted off the dusty road to a trail that goes along the river. (Keep in mind that in border areas of AZ, riverbeds are often used as illegal freeways, so to speak.)
As we enjoyed the beauty of autumn's masterpiece of painted trees against a brilliant turquoise Arizona sky, we hiked along the river trail, taking in the beauty of the golden dried grasses swaying in the breeze.
We began noticing lots of signs of animals; tracks, scat, dens, etc.
...but along the trail were also some other telltale signs...footprints...bare feet? strange imprints from shoes we'd never seen in any stores here.
...then Border Patrol boot prints. (my friend knows those... she's married to a pair).
And lots and lots of cut barbed wire fencing...
But we enjoyed an uneventful walk...
until..
we saw...a man writing down information
alone.
and no truck.
a utility guy should have a truck. or a buddy or, I don't know... a tool belt?
We weren't really afraid, but it didn't feel quite right.
After we rounded a curve in the trail where he had stood in the open... he was gone. The taller-than-the-grasses dude vanished like a ghost after he spotted us (we both pack... she carries a .357, I carry a .40 ...I like to think it was a good deturrant)
The trail split... we pulled out our guns. I checked behind us for movement...she checked ahead. It "felt" ok... and we didn't see an sign of movement so we forged ahead.
We didn't talk... but were both wondering to ourselves why in the heck we EVER watch Border Wars. It's like reading Grizzlies of the Glacier, then going to Glacier National Park to wilderness camp in the backcountry with bacon and a frying pan.
No. Not really quite the same.
We live here.
This is our backyard.
...and illegals pour through it all too often. Some with the simple intent to find a better way of life, but others to find new paths to traffic drugs... and they aren't the scouts we grew up with.
As we enjoyed the beauty of autumn's masterpiece of painted trees against a brilliant turquoise Arizona sky, we hiked along the river trail, taking in the beauty of the golden dried grasses swaying in the breeze.
We began noticing lots of signs of animals; tracks, scat, dens, etc.
...but along the trail were also some other telltale signs...footprints...bare feet? strange imprints from shoes we'd never seen in any stores here.
...then Border Patrol boot prints. (my friend knows those... she's married to a pair).
And lots and lots of cut barbed wire fencing...
But we enjoyed an uneventful walk...
until..
we saw...a man writing down information
alone.
and no truck.
a utility guy should have a truck. or a buddy or, I don't know... a tool belt?
We weren't really afraid, but it didn't feel quite right.
After we rounded a curve in the trail where he had stood in the open... he was gone. The taller-than-the-grasses dude vanished like a ghost after he spotted us (we both pack... she carries a .357, I carry a .40 ...I like to think it was a good deturrant)
The trail split... we pulled out our guns. I checked behind us for movement...she checked ahead. It "felt" ok... and we didn't see an sign of movement so we forged ahead.
We didn't talk... but were both wondering to ourselves why in the heck we EVER watch Border Wars. It's like reading Grizzlies of the Glacier, then going to Glacier National Park to wilderness camp in the backcountry with bacon and a frying pan.
No. Not really quite the same.
We live here.
This is our backyard.
...and illegals pour through it all too often. Some with the simple intent to find a better way of life, but others to find new paths to traffic drugs... and they aren't the scouts we grew up with.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
It IS a grand Canyon!
I took my munchkin to the Grand Canyon for fall break...
because you CAN'T live in AZ and not have seen it!
Is there a cleft in that rock under those blue skies?
Walking the trail up to Horseshoe Bend...
from here, you'd never guess what was ahead.
The Colorado River looks small down in that bend...
The rock...of Horseshoe Bend.
cool, huh?
But we didn't see any California Condors.
(They must have been in California)
It is really strange to watch birds fly below you...
Much better pictures someone else took of Horseshoe Bend...
The most perfect fly fishing spot in AZ
...it was a beautiful spot to watch the sunset too.
I know, I know... I was wayyyyy to close!
AND it's rutting season...
But he was lying on the grass right next to the sidewalk.
I HAD to take his picture....
Canyon walls near Navajo Bridge.
South Rim
Rest for the weary.
Looks like a mushroom...
I'd never get tired of a sunset anywhere in the canyon...
Nice way to end the day...
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Blurry... or is it?
Some days can be blurry ...my camera agrees.
I took my dog for a romp into the canyon this morning.
The creeks were running from the rains...
not sure of the terrain before them.
The forest: cool, lush, and fragrant.
Trickling water
Tranquil and Serene
Hypnotic
Refreshing
The re-newer of life
...when you live in the desert.
Tiny purple butterflies danced above a babbling brook
as if they were auditioning for the movie
Fantasia.
...and as if on cue from an invisible conductor,
they all disappeared in one motion,
only to open their wings again in complete unison
as the music of the brook regained its rhythm.
As we climbed up out of the coolness of the canyon's floor,
Love marked my trail
to show me the way home...
But my great protector of beetles and bears
couldn't keep her eyes open for the drive back.
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