Beautiful reflections on the West Fork Trail
May, 2014 – Sedona, Arizona, is an outdoor lover’s paradise. Not only were we thrilled (and challenged) by the wonderful mountain biking in the area, but the hiking was incredible too.
The only problem we had was figuring out which hikes to do! Continue reading
Ready to Ride!!
May, 2014 – Sedona, Arizona, is a mountain biking mecca, and our friend Marcel, whom we met during our winter stay in Phoenix, and who inspired us to take up this sport, was eager to get us out on the trails.
The mountain biking in Sedona is scenic, dramatic and thrilling — but we soon found out that it is far from easy!
There is only one trail in the main system of in-town trails — the Bell Rock Pathway — that is truly for beginners, and we happily rode up and down that 3.5 mile path many times. Continue reading
We have arrived!
May, 2014 – Driving north from Roosevelt Lake in the Phoenix area is a climb, no matter which road you take.
As we drove north on I-17, the rising elevation quickly took us out of the Sonoran desert landscapes.
The air cooled and the saguaro cactus gave way to scrubby evergreens.
In no time, we were in the heart of Arizona’s red rock country in Sedona.
Oh my. Sedona is breathtaking!! Continue reading
Happy Spring!
April, 2014 – Roosevelt Lake is situated near several classic Arizona scenic drives, and during our stay the spring flowers were just coming into bloom. Continue reading
Brittlebush flowers light up Roosevelt Lake
April, 2014 – We had spent the winter months in Phoenix, Arizona, enjoying beautiful hikes and gorgeous waterways, and observing pretty birds and wild horses.
But the desert was heating up with the arrival of Spring, and so were we!
So we headed just a little further east to Roosevelt Lake where the temps are always just a few degrees cooler. Continue reading
Horseback riders on the dusty trail.
April, 2014 – The phrase “wild west” evokes images of horses and cowboys and wide open spaces.
While we were visiting Phoenix Arizona these past few months, we ran into lots of different horses and riders out on the desert trails.
Some suddenly appeared in a cloud of dust, materializing on the trail as if in a mirage, or as if walking right out of a movie.
Their cowboy hats and boots and spurs completed the picture to perfection.
Others rode a fine line between the modern digital age and the wild west of yore, holding the horse’s reins in one hand while chatting away on a cell phone with the other. Continue reading
An artist creates his vision in the desert
March, 2014 – The Phoenix area is full of beautiful hiking trails, and the Windy Cave Trail at Usery Mountain is just one of many lovely places to experience the Sonoran desert.
We wandered out into the desert on marked trails and unmarked roads to go hiking — or at least to go for a walk — every day during our stay on the outer eastern edges of the city. There was always something new to see.
One morning we came across an art class that had set up easels all through the desert.
Spring is springing!
The group of artists was huddled around the teacher as we hiked past, and we found Continue reading
An ocotillo greets us at the start of the hike.
Early March, 2014 – We had been enjoying the rivers and waterways and Saguaro Lake in Phoenix, Arizona, but the cactus filled desert was never far away.
Ready for hiking!
Usery Mountain Regional Park has a beautiful campground and some great hiking.
One hike in particular, the Wind Cave Trail, came highly recommended by our friends, Mike and Donna (FlyingTheKoop.com). They once called this area home and have hiked it many times.
The yellow brittlebush were in bloom all around us.
This is an uphill hike that climbs straight up for a mile and a half, making lots of switchbacks on the way.
The bright yellow brittlebush flowers had just started to bloom, and there were sprays of golden flowers everywhere.
There’s nothing like getting out on a warm, sunny, early spring day!
And the saguaros were standing around having their usual conversations too.
One cactus looked like it was whispering in the ear of another!
“Psssst…can you keep a secret??”
Wind Cave is a popular hike, and we met a lot of other hikers on the trail.
A large group came up behind us, walking sticks and cameras in hand. It was a beautiful day to be out.
We had lots of company on the trail.
What sets this hike apart is the lichen that covers the sides of the cliffs in a broad band along the top of the mountain.
The faces of the cliffs are shaded in the morning, though, so when we started up the switchbacks, the color on the cliff faces was muted at first.
Waving “hi” to his buddy down below.
The rising sun lit up one saguaro
In the shadowed lighting, it seemed like a rather ordinary, though lovely, Sonoran desert hike.
Then the sun began to peek around the edges of the mountain.
Its warm rays lit up a solitary cactus that stood away from the cliffs.
This guy seemed to be looking up at his saguaro buddy who was staning on a little higher ground above him and waving.
An ancient, pock-marked cactus has enjoyed this view for over a century.
As we climbed higher and higher, the views across the valley begame bigger and bigger.
The sun and shadows played hide and seek with the cactus among the rocks.
A lizard scurried past…
At our feet, we saw lizards scampering across the trail.
We listened to the Gambel’s quails and cactus wrens calling all their friends.
The Phoenix area is known as the “Valley of the Sun,” but as you travel around town, it doesn’t feel like a traditional v-shaped valley. Instead, it is a vast, flat, desert floor that stretches to eternity in all directions, broken up here and there by little pyramid peaks.
We were hiking up a pretty tall peak, and the trail didn’t take a break anywhere — it was up, up, up. We progressed very slowly. It was just too pretty to rush, and we ended up taking photos with every step.
There was a crowd waiting for us at the Wind Cave
When we finally reached the top, all the hikers who had passed us were taking a load off in the cool shade of the Wind Cave itself. It isn’t really a “cave” but is more of a sheltered spot that’s perfect for enjoying the views.
A little chipmunk peeks over a rock at us.
The rocky cliff has an inward curving wall, providing welcome shade and inviting people to sit for a spell, eat a little something, and catch their breath.
Lots of chipmunks live up here, and they have learned that hikers carry yummy snacks like granola bars.
The chipmunks kept us entertained as we ate a snack.
The beauty of the Wind Cave trail unfolds
as the sun rises.
These little guys were very brazen, and walked right up to all of us to see if we were had something to share.
Of course, who can resist a cute little furry face looking up at you hopefully? We all gave in and found a few crumbs to spare.
The chipmunks eagerly grabbed their snacks and ran off a few paces to nibble away, holding the treats in their little hands as they ate.
By the time we started down, the sun was hitting the lichen covered cliffs beautifully.
The cliffs are clad in orange and yellow lichen.
The craggy rock faces seemed to be showing off their bright yellow and orange wardrobe, and the vivid colors made a wonderful backdrop for the saguaro cactuses along the trail.
We wandered down the trail to the valley floor and noticed the clouds were moving very quickly across the sky.
A hiker takes in the view of the valley, but the backdrop behind him is just as stunning.
Fast moving clouds frame a trio of saguaros
Mark took out his neutral density filter and let the moving clouds create a kind of crown around a trio of saguaros.
While he was busy setting up the shot, he noticed a tiny hummingbird sitting on a wee little nest behind a thick veil of branches and leaves in a small tree.
He approached the hummer and she didn’t move. She just sat tight, watching his every move.
He hurried away to find me, because I had a long lens with me, and I rushed back to see if I could catch the little bird.
A hummingbird sits on her nest deep inside a tree.
Gosh, she was buried way back deep inside those branches. I moved closer and she flew off her nest.
Inside were two miniature little eggs.
They were so tiny, I was afraid they would get chilled really quickly while mom was off the nest. So I stepped away, and she returned and wiggled her tail end a bit as she settled back down on her eggs.
An early sign of spring!
The wildflowers are starting!
Then more hikers came down the trail and she flew off again.
Her nest site was well protected, but lordy, she could have chosen a spot a little further from the trail!
Oh well. I managed to fire off a few shots of her sitting on her soon-to-be family, and then left her in peace.
Spring was definitely in the air.
Not only were a few birds starting their families, but some wildflowers were beginning to show their colorful little faces too.
We were really excited by the early arrival of spring, and we were hopeful that soon the whole Sonoran desert would be alive with flowers.
Mark pauses by the Salt River
February, 2014 – We were really enjoying the waterways in Phoenix, Arizona, and we soaked in the ebb and flow of river life and all the daily patterns that surrounded it.
The rivers in Phoenix can be reached from many different access points, and we rode our bikes parallel to the Salt River, ducking in towards the shore at various spots to get a glimpse of the river.
We hiked and scrambled along the edge of the water too, marveling at the bright reds and greens of the algae, the surprising presence of all kinds of sea shells, and the thick, jungly nature of the scrubby vegetation that grew alongside.
Colorful shoreline of the Salt River
One morning we came across a fly fisherman, and we were mesmerized by the flowing and rippling action of his rod as he stood knee deep mid-stream.
He didn’t seem to catch anything, but the fun seemed to be more in the casting than the catching anyways, so it didn’t seem to matter too much.
Other animals and birds stood in the water up to their knees and were fishing too.
We spotted a lot of different kinds of birds, and we heard that there were even beaver here. We were really surprised when we smelled a skunk a few times too.
Peaceful banks at the river’s edge
I’d lived in Phoenix for a long time and wasn’t even aware that skunks can make a living here in the desert. They seem like so much more of a woods animal than a desert one.
A fly fisherman casts his line
The river was at a standstill in a lot of places, giving off perfect reflections of the trees above.
Shorebirds hope for a catch too
In other places, though, it rushed along at a good clip. One morning we watched three ducks taking a fast joy-ride down the river.
Three ducks take a joy-ride downstream
They slipped through some mini-rapids lickety split, and you could almost see the grins on their faces and hear them quack, “Wheeee!” as they effortlessly zoomed past at full speed.
Saguaro cactus give a standing ovation
In between the waterways, the saguaro cactus stood guard in armies that seemed to have been positioned with an almost military precision.
Saguaro cactus aren’t really loners at heart; they prefer to gather in groups. However, each cactus likes to have a bit of space around it.
They’ll stake out a claim across a valley or down a hillside, and stand at attention as if waiting for someone to issue a battle cry.
Or maybe they’re just cheering together in a standing ovation for some performer that just wowed them on the stage of the opposite hillside!
Trying to get the perfect cactus photo with mountains behind, I stumble across another part of the Salt River
We love these desert people and have ridden our bikes past them on these roads so many times over the years. Yet, little did we know — as we snuck through a fence into the open desert one day — that just a quarter mile in from the highway the Salt River flows full and strong.
I was hunting down the ideal saguaro cactus to photograph, staggering through the desert, tripod over my shoulder and eyes fixed on the horizon as I tried to line a cactus up with the mountains behind it, when I just about walked into the river.
What a surprise!
There it was: water flowing, ducks paddling, and saguaros right down to the river’s edge.
The drive to Saguaro Lake is just gorgeous
It had never occurred to me that the roads here are cut at such odd angles because they run parallel to the waterways.
And I sure didn’t know as I drove and rode my bike along these roads for all those years that a river was just out of sight to one side.
Whether by bike or car, the road from Fountain Hills to Saguaro Lake is one of the most scenic drives around Phoenix.
We kept finding ourselves taking detours to include this drive in our route, even when it sent us a bit out of our way.
Wild horses come down to the river for a drink
The road winds and curves and soars up and down, making its way between thick groves of cactus and casually stacked boulders, while a view of some rock cliffs in the distance slowly takes shape ahead.
After the road dips for a final dive down a steep descent — making you feel like you are being thrown into the open embrace of these stunning cliffs — it swings past a scenic overlook.
One day we spotted wild horses as we passed this overlook, standing in the water far below.
Cliffs along the Salt River spring to life as the sun goes down
But it is in the late afternoon when this special spot really comes alive.
As the sun falls low in the sky, the shimmering rock faces of the cliffs light up in brilliant hues of orange and red while the water at the base mirrors it all in vivid shades.
One afternoon, when the lighting at this overlook was just way to beautiful to drive past, we stopped to find a group of photographers hanging out with their tripods all around the water’s edge.
We joined right in with the group, savoring this golden hour and wondering what the sunset might bring.
The sunset didn’t materialize that night, but Saguaro Lake itself drew us back again the next day to scope out the scenic vistas there.
Saguaro Lake Marina — water toys in the desert!
Brittlebush bloom on the shores of Saguaro Lake
What a spot! We love all the Phoenix area lakes, but this has to be one of the prettiest.
The bright yellow flowers of the brittlebush had just come into full bloom, and the shores were dancing in their golden spray.
Saguaro Lake was formed by damming up the Salt River. It is wide and lake-like at the dammed end, but it wanders on a snaky, riverlike path upstream.
There is a marina in the widest part of the lake, and the boats were shimmering in the noon-time sun.
A funny little factoid is that Arizona has the highest number of boats per capita of any state.
There it is – a saguaro on the lake at Saguaro Lake!
This is odd for a state that contains so much desert land, but the low number of citizens in the state — and their very parched nature after they have lived here a while — surely contributes to this unexpected statistic.
Saguaro Lake Marina
We wandered along the waterfront, and dined at the wonderful Lakeshore Restaurant where we got seats on the patio overlooking the action on the water.
What a great way to while away an afternoon!
We didn’t take the little excursion paddle boat ride on Desert Belle this time around, but it is a delightful outing we did once, years ago, to celebrate Mark’s birthday.
The paddleboat Desert Belle goes
upriver on enjoyable outings
We watched folks eagerly lining up now just as we had done way back when.
Happy days together!
At the further end of the lake there is a small, gravelly beach where tall, very undesert-like trees grow.
This isn’t much of a beach, as beaches go, but it is an intriguing spot in the desert. The trees are very large and it is a great spot to launch a kayak to explore the lake and the river upstream.
Saguaro Lake has a wonderfully natural feeling to it, even though it is a lake that was made by damming up a river.
A lovely cottonwood tree spreads its branches over the beach
In contrast, the lake in the center of nearby Fountain Hills is totally manmade without the help of a river.
It was made by digging a hole, lining it, and filling it with water. At its center there is a fountain that shoots water way up in the air every hour for a few minutes.
This lake is an urban lake, with a paved walking path encircling it, and pretty landscaped lawns all around.
Whereas the desert around Saguaro Lake is natural, and you have to guess what kind of cactus put all those sharp needles into your hiking boots, there is a garden by the Fountain Hills lake where all the desert plants are labeled — and de-thorned.
An unusual “desert scene” on the beach Saguaro Lake
Each lake is lovely in its own way, the one a bit wild and free with towering cliffs for a backdrop and seagulls and powerboats punctuating the scenery, while the other is small and civilized and boasts one of the tallest fountains in the world.
The most intriguing thing about both lakes is that their presence makes it seem like water is plentiful and in total abundance in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Not exactly “natural,” but the fountain at Fountain Hills is very cool
Water is flung about with carefree abandon, shooting into the sky and supporting a myriad of boating activities.
This seemingly endless supply of water may be an illusion, but it is an illusion that is alive and well in Phoenix.
Illusion or no, we were enjoying ourselves in this part of Arizona so much that we felt utterly content and felt absolutely no compulsion to go anywhere else.
Mark channels Ansel Adams in the Sonoran Desert
The days ran into each other pell mell, and we basked in the unusually warm weather and even warmer friendships we were forming with other travelers we were meeting everyday.
At the end of each day we looked at each other and said, “Wow, what a great day that was!”
The days streamed by in a happy blur
We were busy from morning til night and each day was completely different from the one before it.
The buggy says “goodnight” to the sun
The more we saw, the more we wanted to see, and do, and experience, before we moved on.
So we settled in and relaxed and made the most of this very special and unusually summery winter in Phoenix.
The Sonoran Desert is a special and unique landscape
February, 2014 – We had been living among the saguaro cactus on the outer fringes of Phoenix Arizona for a few weeks, loving life in the sweet Sonoran desert.
One of the most elaborately shaped
saguaro cactus we’ve seen
The weather continued to be stunningly warm, with temps in the high 70’s every afternoon, and we hiked and biked all over the place, soaking in the beautiful views of the aged and stately cactus whose personal histories reached back before Arizona achieved statehood in 1912. Heck, these guys were saplings in the 1800’s!
Peeking through the trees at the Salt River
While visiting friends in nearby Fountain Hills, we took a bike ride through the Fort McDowell Indian reservation. Poking around the back roads, we took a turn down a lane and suddenly found ourselves standing next to a flowing river.
It’s funny, even though we’ve called Phoenix “home” for a long time, it hadn’t really sunk in for me that there are rivers here that flow year round.
You just don’t notice them as you drive around town.
The Verde River joins the Salt River
These are vibrant riparian habitats where long legged birds go fishing, animals of all kinds come down for a drink of water, and tall reeds grow by the water’s edge.
Several rivers flow through Phoenix, and we spent a few weeks exploring the shores of two of them, the Verde River and the Salt River.
In the Phoenix area the Salt River runs east-west and the Verde runs north-south.
Kayakers fly downstream
The scenic confluence of the Salt and Verde Rivers
They converge in a corner of the Tonto National Forest tucked between Fountain Hills and Mesa.
This confluence is a very special spot where kayakers paddle up and downstream, fishermen stand patiently by the water’s edge waiting for a catch, and people of all ages picnic and hike along the craggy shoreline.
What a surprise it is to see a river that flows non-stop through the desert
After being immersed in the Sonoran desert for a few weeks — a landscape rich with flora and fauna that can thrive on just an occasional spritz of dampness — we loved watching the leaves and algae and twigs floating lazily downstream on this steadily flowing body of water.
Red Mountain forms a beautiful backdrop
Fishermen wait for the catch of the day
Whether stalking that next beautiful photograph with camera and tripod, or riding our bikes on a road that paralleled the flowing water, or hiking along the rocky banks at the river’s edge, we were floored by the change of scenery from the classic Sonoran desert to this watery world, a transformation that takes place in just a few steps.
A little girl in pink boots tries her luck with the fishing rod
In the late afternoons the shoreside trees and reeds come alive with the raucous clamor of birds singing and calling each other and deciding who is going to roost where (and with whom!).
The Salt River doesn’t flow fast, but it is steady.
A long legged egret waits for fish among the reeds
“It sounds like I’m in the Amazon,” Mark said to me one afternoon. We had staked out a spot to catch the late afternoon light, and the shrubs were alive with exotic squeeks and squawks.
There is easy access to the south side of the river, but the north side doesn’t have any roads or trails, so I was surprised when I suddenly heard the loud crunching noises of branches breaking from across the water on the north side of the river.
It sounded like the deliberate movements of something very large that was cracking tree limbs. I stared into the reeds wondering who the heck was over there.
I couldn’t imagine there could be a person weed-whacking their way through the dense vegetation. It had to be an animal.
We had heard reports that wild horses had been spotted down by the river, and I studied the shore across the way, hoping for a glimpse of a wild horse.
A cow comes down to the river’s edge for a drink
After a few minutes, the tall reeds parted and a big brown cow emerged and slowly made its way down to the water.
Well, it wasn’t as cool as a wild horse, but it was still pretty darn cool considering the concrete jungle of freeways and humanity that were the essence of greater Phoenix all around us just a few miles away.
A little reckless driving in the early morning
The cow took a long drink, stared at me for a while, and then dipped its head for another sip before slowly vanishing into the reeds once again.
Dusk on the riverbanks was beautiful and different every evening
This incredibly beautiful and peaceful spot can’t keep the insanity of the city at bay all the time, though, and one day while we were out on a bike ride we saw the bizarre sight of a car flipped upside down on one of the small national forest roads.
For us these were happy lazy days
We found out a young fellow had come blasting down the tiny, twisty roads of the area at breakneck speeds.
Luckily, he escaped breaking his neck when he lost control of his car.
Mark took this wonderful photo of our friends Mike & Donna’s rig
and they put it on their blog banner at www.flyingthekoop.com!
He was seen walking off into the desert, although police later found a loaded gun in his car.
Trouble in paradise, I guess!
The Golden Hour on the river
For us, however, life was full of contentment, and we enjoyed a steady stream of quiet, happy days.
Mark got the barbecue going in the evenings, something we had not done in our boating lives and that we had missed sorely, and we met up with new friends of ours, Mike and Donna, whom we had met in San Diego.
They began full-timing last July and have a fun blog, www.flyingthekoop.com, with the delightful motto, “From real estate to wheel estate.”
Rain nearby gave us beautiful orange cloud formations
The late afternoons and evenings continued to lure us down to the water’s edge every day, and we were treated to some glorious sunsets.
There is a “golden hour” just before the sun leaves the sky when everything seems to be lit from within with a truly golden glow.
We caught this heavenly light one afternoon when the water was totally still. This created a perfect mirror for everything on shore.
Rain was falling in the distance, and the clouds were streaked and heavy with moisture, creating a mystical air in the twilight.
River reflections
The light turned from a crisp, radiant yellow to a burnt orange and finally to a soft pink blush that lit the river’s edge in a luminous warmth. There was a peace here that soothed our souls.
We loved the mirrored hues of late afternoon
The last blush of sunset
A fisherman amid sunset reflections in the river
We didn’t realize what an unusual sunset this was until we after we had tried to recapture it every night for a week.
Every afternoon, as the sun began its final descent, we ran down to the water’s edge, tripods in hand, hoping for a repeat of that ethereal light.
However, the special light we saw that night, that warm glow that faded from gold to a pink blush to a lavender mist was never quite the same again.
Many sunsets were spectacular, but that fleeting moment where the whole river seemed to hold its breath as everything shimmered in a rose colored halo had been utterly unique and never happened again.
So it is with nature, and we are learning to savor every day that comes.