I came home from our week in California with a full heart…and a full-on cold. I’m finally getting back to normal. I’ve been mostly relaxing, trying to kick this thing, but thankfully there were three Six Nations rugby games and catching up on the week-long Paris Nice cycling race. Could have been much worse.
While in California, I walked almost every morning on The Strand, a beautiful paved path that runs for miles between the beach on one side, often filled with volleyball players, and the houses on the other side, often overwhelming in their opulence.
However, there were also moments of peace and quiet.
Once I found out my husband had Saturday off, I made plans to head south for Tucson; south, but with the intent of going to the top of Mt. Lemmon in search of snow.
The road to the top of the mountain is designated a scenic byway and scenic it is, with many twists and turns, but plenty of pullouts to enjoy the views or to get out of the way of someone behind you.
Because the road starts in the Lower Sonoran vegetative life zone and climbs to the high forests of the Canadian zone, it offers the biological equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a short stretch of 27 miles. Here you’ll find plants and animals and geology that exhibit some of the most wide-ranging natural diversity to be found in any area of comparable size in the continental United States. ~Go-Arizona
Somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, we came across snow. Yes, I had a big smile on my face. :-)
As we got higher, the amount of snow increased, despite the ski area at the top not being open due to not enough snow. We weren’t there only ones enjoying the snow. A flock of about twenty wild turkeys sauntered across the narrow road after comically hopping a very short fence.
Peek through the aspens in the middle and you can spot the ski lift taking people to the top, presumably for the view. Although there was no skiing, people were sledding and throwing snowballs, reveling in the chance to experience winter.
Want to make it easy to find your vehicle in a parking lot or push things out of the way? Here’s an idea.
Hoodoos feature in one section of highway. Wikipedia informs us that:
A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations
Although you can’t see it in this photo, the hoodoo on the right had several pitons attacked just below the top “cap”, while the one on the left had a rope attached, evidence of someone with more nerve and skills than I.
After a delightful time breathing crisp, cool air and enjoying the winter sights, we descended back to reality in Tucson, our next destination the botanic garden of Tohono Chul. But, as they say, that’s a story for another day.
Seeing the northern lights is on my husband’s bucket list, so my sister-in-law in Norway sends us photos of them for our enjoyment. Some of these she took and some a friend took, but she said I have permission to use them, so I offer them to you to brighten your Friday.
Swords in Stone (Sverd i fjell)
Three enormous bronze swords stand monument to the battle of Hafrsfjord in the year 872, when Harald Hårfagre (Fairheaded Harald) united Norway into one kingdom. The monument was designed by Fritz Røed (1928 – 2002) from Bryne, just south of Stavanger. It was unveiled by Norway’s King Olav in 1983.
The swords, which are about 10 meters tall, stand for peace and unification. One sword is larger than the others. This was Fairheaded Harald’s sword. The swords are planted in solid rock – representing peace and are found at Møllebukta which is a bay area on the southern shore of Hafrsfjord.
The name “Møllebukta” derives from “mølla” (mill) and “bukt (bay). There used to be a corn mill here. Today the area is one of Stavangers most popular recreational areas. ~Stavanger-Web
I love a good sunrise. This one greeted me at the start of my last day home, a day I’d hoped to do more exploring in Bear Ears. But as you can see from the clouds, rain was in the offing, dogging my drive for most of the morning, so despite passing through more spectacular scenery, my road lead straight home, although with one interesting historical stop.
Still more to share about my trip, but we’re off to California tomorrow for a long weekend of family time and cooler temperatures.
“What are men to rocks and mountains?” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Yesterday’s cliff dwellings are spectacular but I thought you might like a glimpse at the land around them. The trail went upward not too steeply, but sometimes the path disappeared on one side of slick rock to emerge on the other side, forcing me to slow down a bit. Partway along, I considered going back for my hiking boots, but I managed with my athletic shoes/sneakers/trainers. As I mentioned yesterday, it was hot and I’d left my water bottle in the 4Runner, so stopping periodically to take a photo was the perfect excuse for a short break. What? You thought I only did it for you, faithful Reader? 🙂 Well, that too. Besides, the views were well worth stopping to see.
Utah is red rock country, color on display in the buttes and mesas. You can see from the shade at the front of the shot that this was the perfect place to stop, turn, and shoot. There were several benches on the way up, tucked into whatever shade could be found.
The prickly pear were fruiting. Both pads and fruit, are edible, but getting the fruit ready to eat is a lengthy, tricky process. This isn’t the type of fruit you can pick, wash, and eat!! If you’d like to read a bit about the preparation, click here. We had prickly pear lemonade once which, besides tasting delicious, was a glorious pink.
If you live in or visit a desert, you must at all times be aware that, although you may not see much water most of the time, when rain comes, it can come quickly, rushing down creek and river beds or lower areas such as below. The dangerous part is that it might not be raining where you are, but if it’s raining upstream somewhere, you have to be aware and stay out of low spots. If driving, do NOT enter a low spot with water in it! Every year people are swept away while on foot or in a vehicle. Don’t be a statistic.
“Rocks and minerals: the oldest storytellers.” ― A.D. Posey
Some things had finished blooming but still retained the beauty of a dried plant.
Not far from the top, I had to make my way across quite a lot of slick rock but on the way, I discovered the gold of the desert: water. I image the creatures of this area quell their thirst in these puddles.
After looking my fill at the cliff dwellings, I turned to find dark clouds gathering, so I quickly hiked back down, then drove back to my motel. Although the winds blew fiercely, it didn’t rain where I was and I spent a quick evening. The rains arrived the next day, though, putting the kibosh on my plans to do more hiking and exploring. This, however, was a day well spent.
Mountains and horses. Porches and wildlife. At the cabin, every day except Thursday (the horses’ day off) starts the same way: empty the moth catcher, do my stretching routine, have some granola while the tea’s steeping, sip and read until about 9:30 when I put on my riding jeans and boots and head for the corral where Lacy is waiting.
Riding takes me places that take too long to get to on foot, places where it feels as though I can see forever, places in the woods where I might see wild animals…or come across cattle grazing on government land (with permission.)
After lunch, sitting on the porch with tea and a good book, taking time to enjoy the view, life is good.
When my brother and sister-in-law are at the cabin, they like to put out seeds for the chipmunks. So when I sit outside, a brave one sometimes scampers back and forth before trying to sneak up on me, just in case I have seeds. One year, one climbed up my pant leg into my lap! It’s difficult to move slowly enough not to frighten it off before I can manage a photo.
You never know what you might see while out walking. This guy was definitely flicking his tongue at me but although he (she?) looks large in this shot, it was only a few feet long.
In the afternoon, a walk’s usually on the agenda with another one in the evening. Although I may not stop and smell the flowers, I do stop for them in order to get a photo. Prior to this year, all I could do with my phone here was mooch off the internet from the cabin nearby (with permission) or by going to the corral to use the shared internet so I can delete emails as quickly as possible, test, and sometimes download or return and ebook on my Kindle. But this year I was introduced to calling via FaceTime audio, which made it easy to keep in contact with my husband and various family members without hiking or driving the several miles to “the phone booth”, a ridge at the edge of the Bighorns where I can both see forever and get phone reception. Loved that, although one of the pleasures here is not being in constant contact with everyone and everything.
Winter in Wyoming was quite harsh this year, killing huge numbers of mule deer and other animals, so I was thankful to see a few deer. A large number of hunters gave up their tags and hunting privileges so that the deer have a better chance of recovering.
I plan meals carefully because the nearest store is a number of miles away down and then back up an unpaved road that can be rather hard on vehicles. Having a four-wheel drive vehicle this year made it much easier, but I can’t just run to the store if I forget an ingredient. One of the first nights, I made a 9″x 13″ pan meal that ended up lasting me the entire time I was there; unexpected but it worked out well and tasted great every night. Things start to close down around 10 pm and if you want to go out and look at the stars, you can see all there are to see as there’s no ambient light.
Next morning, it starts all over again, the perfect rhythm to every vacation day. Breathe out, breathe in, relax. Repeat as often as possible.
(I got back just a few weeks ago and always find it discouraging and disconcerting how quickly it seems I never left at all.)
Since moving to Arizona, my annual trip to Wyoming took me from Arizona into New Mexico, where I hung a left in Albuquerque before heading straight to Wyoming through Colorado. The enjoyment of that journey ended once I entered Colorado, where driving through Colorado Springs and Denver ranged from the good, just traffic, to the bad and the ugly, traffic jams and construction delays, not my idea of a good time.
So this year, I took an alternative route, north through the Navajo Nation, into Utah, part of Colorado, and then Wyoming. In the Nation, there’s no cell service, perfect for enjoying the quiet and the scenery, although possibly worrying if you have a mechanical issue. Two-lane roads lead me through spare lands filled with beauty…and lots of rock formations. Here are some of my favorites.
The first couple bring to mind fortresses.
Twins. But fraternal, not identical.
I wouldn’t have wanted to be on this road when those rather large bits came tumbling down, although perhaps the from two are some sort of alien spacecraft that petrified in the heat.
This might have been my favorite, a stone beehive or temple of some sort. Which is your favorite or what do you see in these formations? It’s a bit like looking at clouds and imagining, although the shapes of these don’t morph quickly into something different. Rock on!
You might remember this great library on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. I think we really need to go inside and, as it’s a library, check out whether it matches the outside. No ID or library card needed.
Anyone other than me channeling “Hogwarts?
There was a lot of glorious glass.
The glass here doesn’t seem to match the modern chairs (which really look uncomfortable to me.)
Before heading out the door, let’s take a right up the stairs. Here I’m thinking Narnia more than Hogwarts.
I walked up this entire set of stairs, which went even a bit higher than what you see here, so I was going a bit gingerly since I’m not in love with heights and when you get to the top, you’re kind of up there as you’ll see in the next shot.
Even standing back from the edge, the view was rather good. I did peek down but carefully. 🙂 Have to know your limits.
This, that and the other thing 