Hot days in Arizona

We've had scorching sun and daytime temperatures in the mid eighties every day. We try to get our hikes in in the morning before the desert heats up. I came down with a sour stomach yesterday and am trying to recuperate so that I am not so lethargic. I'm still taking a morning hike with Nancy and we have had a couple of outings to take care of errands. But my stomach is constantly aching.
Tomorrow we move on to Roper Lake State park east of here but still in Arizona. The altitude is about the same as it is here so the weather should also be similar.
Yesterday we toured Suguaro National Park and marveled at the huge cactus forests growing in the foothills. The ancient people here believed that the cactus were people and were to be treated with respect. As you look across the desert you can imagine that there are people standing about with their arms stretched out.

Hiking into the wilderness in the Santa Catalina mountains. Dogs are not allowed in since they are re-introducing bighorn sheep to this area.

We met some cowboys and girls from Wisconsin along the trail.

 

A fishhook barrel cactus as tall as Nancy.

Purple Cholla taller than Nancy!

Desert Poppies were starting to bloom.

A soaptree yucca with it's plume shooting into the sky.

Our cousins the saguaro standing guard in the desert.

The indigenous people were very active here in this desert.

Indian art on the rocks. They etched their designs into the rocks, and they have remained for centuries!

A record of the hunt!

This is as close as we got to old Tucson. It appears that it's a tourist trap at $18 per head to go in and see the wild west sets for the old Hollywood westerns.

Oh, well, happy hour at camp turned out to be a better choice!

Catalina State Park just west of Tuscon

We are staying at Catalina S.P. for five nights. We are back in the desert and the weather is HOT. Eighty five in the afternoon but it does cool down at night. We went down to thirty seven last night, but it warms up as soon as the sun comes up.
We did a long hike up into the Santa Catalina mountains behind the park today and made it up to Romero Ponds about two and a half miles into the mountains. The water was nice and cool and we washed our faces and cooled our feet on the rocks. What a joy!
Tomorrow we will be going into old town Tucson where they have the old movie sets from the old Hollywood westerns.

The Santa Catalina mountains near Tucson

David and his girlfriend Sarah near Jerome, Arizona

Here we are hiking near Sedona at the Red Rocks

Nancy, David and Sarah on a big chocolate cake rock. (Look close on the top. They are the candles)!

Shopping for goodies at the gift shop.

Saying goodbye to David and Sarah

Our friend the roadrunner at Catalina. We didn't see Wily Coyote here.

Cooling our feet at Romero Ponds up in the mountain.

Through Sedona, the Oak Creek Valley and on to the Grand Canyon

Red rocks of Sedona. What a great hiking area!

On the trails at Sedona

Here we are on the Slim Shady hiking trail.

Oak Creek Valley road winding down the mountains.

Mt. Humphrey just outside Flagstaff.

Our first glimpse of the grand Canyon at Duck Rock

We saw small bands of elk grazing near the road.

The Bright Angel Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the U.S.

Hiking on the rim trail.

One of the overlooks into the canyon. 

Sunset creeps into the canyon

Mule deer along the hike back to our cabin

The bad moon rising over the Grand Canyon

Our cabin at Bright Angel Lodge

The Lodge at the main hotel, "El Tovar"

El Tovar opened in 1905

The old tourist train

The west end of pavement, "Hermits Rest"

Raven gazing into the big abyss

Desert View Watchtower on the east end of the park

Indian art in the tower

Leaving Grand Canyon on Monday

 

One last look

Exploring Northwest Arizona

We spent Sunday night at the Grand Canyon at Bright Angel Lodge at one of their cabins. We enjoyed the rim trail Sunday afternoon and hiked four miles along the trim trail in the afternoon and four miles back, two of which were watching the sunset and moonrise over the canyon. It was just spectacular seeing the rocks light up with the different angles of the sun.
Monday morning we walked through the historic lodge lobby and then drove west to Hermits rest which is the western end of the pavement along the rim. Later we headed west along the rim, had a picnic lunch and did all of the scenic turnouts on the way out of the park.
The eastern end has Desert View Watchtower which was a spectacular stone tower with majestic view in all directions. The building was done under the direction of Mary Colter and was decorated by Indian artists and craftsmen.
We drove back to Cottonwood on Monday afternoon and in the evening David and his friend Sarah joined up with us. We showed them around the mountains west of Cottonwood on Tuesday and spent the day on Wednesday hiking around Sedona and then visiting the down town shops.
Weather has been excellent and we are having a great time.

Now at the Grand Canyon!

What a trip! From Texas to New Mexico, to the border of Mexico in southern Arizona to Maui and now to Midwest Arizona and the Grand Canyon! We've seen some sights this year.
We drove from Cottonwood through Sedona and Flagstaff to the south rim of the Grand Canyon today. The drive was gorgeous with bright blue skies and awesome scenery. We walked the rim trail at the canyon for several miles and watched the sun set and the moon rise. Later we had dinner at our cabin near the rim. I have some pictures I want to post but the signal here is not strong enough to load them. I will catch up as soon as I get a good WiFi signal.
I hope everyone is well back home.

The Cottonwood area is great!

We didn't have any idea what it would be like here, but we have been pleasantly surprised. The elevation is about 3500 feet above sea level so we are a little cooler than Phoenix and Apache Junction where Tom was with us. Daytime temperature is around seventy and nights are at 45. We are in the Verde River valley here, and the high desert. Lots of beautiful scenery and Cottonwood has all of the conveniences only two miles from camp.
Yesterday we drove over to Jerome which is an old copper mining town that is now a tourist destination with shops, boutiques, art studios, and restaurants. It hangs on the hill side at 5300 feet above sea level. In it's hey day it had 15,000 people, but after the copper mines closed in the 1950's the population dropped to only a couple of hundred inhabitants. Eventually the town has been restored and is now once again flourishing. From there we drove through Clarkdale which was a smaller town where the railroad came to ship out the copper. This was a small quaint town with cute houses and a nice small town feel.
After that we visited an old dwelling from ancient people here that has been excavated and is now a national monument. Lots of history here. 
Today we took a drive to Sedona with it's red rock mountains. Hiking in the hills there offered incredible views in every direction. This is one of Arizona's premier playgrounds and the stunning mountains were the backdrop for many Hollywood westerns.

A few pics....

Our new camp at Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood

A bald eagle near the lagoons at the park

Jerome is an old mining town perched on the mountainside

My favorite store in Sedona. Skulls, antlers, dried pepper, t-shirts and other good stuff!

The back road in Sedona looking towards the mountains

The beautiful red rocks outside of Sedona, Arizona

We moved to Cottonwood Arizona today

We had a great week with Tom and Evey, but all good things must end. They left for Detroit yesterday from Phoenix which was 90 plus degrees to arrive in Michigan where it was a balmy 20. Before they left we went horseback riding on Monday. We all enjoyed it especially Evey, who rode her very own horse!
Today we packed up camp and moved north to Cottonwood which is about two hours north of Phoenix. We are near Sedona with it's red rock mountains and Jerome with it's wine region. We are looking forward to exploring here, and on Sunday we are taking a side trip to see the Grand Canyon and staying in a cabin there overnight. Lots of fun in the sun.

Here are the four desperados of the desert. Riding out from the OK Corral near Apache Junction,

Adios Amigos! Tom and Evey headed to Phoenix to fly back to Michigan.