Fabulous Fourth Fun

We had a leisurely morning on the 4th of July. Will made bacon and blueberry pancakes. Outside the storms were building up, but the blue skies did peak through occasionally. Will asked if we wanted to do anything, and I mentioned wanting to take a drive down to the border and see where a road went. We decided to head out after lunch.

We headed south on Highway 92, driving towards the Coronado National Memorial, which we have been to a few times now. Then on past the parking spots for the cave hike. The road heads up into the mountains, becoming an unpaved road that hugs the side of the mountain and makes many hairpin turns. This may or may not have been a road my mom mentioned to me once or twice. I was driving and didn't get to enjoy the spectacular views until we got to the top and stopped to look around.

It was rather chilly up there in the saddle of the mountain. Looking out towards Mexico you could see the border fence stretching on and on.  There are signs stating that being this close to an International border means that smuggling and illegal immigrants are common in that area.

Looking towards the west, one saw clouds butting up against the mountain top, trapped for a moment before pouring over them to head to the east. It was beautiful.

We climbed back into the car, but not before Natalie took a spill. She is learning to run and doesn't always see rocks in her path. She tripped over one and since she was going down a slight slope she fell then hit her face on the ground. She has a small cut from that. But it wasn't the last time she would fall on our trip.

Down we descended into the Coronado National Forest, on the south side of the Huachuca mountains. This side gets more rain which was evident by the vegetation. So much green. Even the rocks were green, not mossy, but bright green lichen on them. I'm not sure why I didn't take any pictures through this area, probably just enjoying looking too much. Gwen spotted some mule deer up high. I didn't see them but did see many Mexican Blue Jays.

We drove for what felt like forever, winding our way down and around. The west side of us was black from a fire last year and possibly another one this year. The road seemed to be a break for it, as on the other side the plants seemed to be just fine. We arrived at Parker Canyon Lake around 2:30. We got out and walked around, watching the swallows, as they swooped down.

We spent quite a while at the lake, talking about fishing and letting Lily smell things.  There is a cement path partway around the lake and we walked along that. You could see how much less water there was in the lake than there normally is.

 Natalie had a great time eating mud. Gwen was catching little frogs and Rhayn was just watching the water.

When we left the lake we headed home. Not really sure how to get there, but we knew we'd find it. We took a chance and turned right onto a road that directed us to Fort Huachuca, it took us in the back side of the Fort, and through and area that was beautiful and remote feeling.I am pretty sure this is a better way to get to that lake without driving through Fort Huachuca.

As we got into town the rain was coming down hard. But we needed to stop and get something for dinner, even though, as is traditional, we wanted hamburgers. The rain would keep us from being able  to grill. The grocery store parking lot was a flash flood. The water was running up and over the curbs. Will dropped me off and I ran into the store.

At home, we rested while watching Napolean Dynamite. Then ate dinner and watched it pour rain hoping that it would let up in time for the fireworks.

At 7:30ish we headed into town to find a place to watch the fireworks. It was still drizzling at that time. The rain stopped at 7:50, the fireworks started at 8:10. It was perfect. The weather was awesome, so cool out. We were able to get close enough to the fireworks that we could smell them. Natalie did not like the loud noises, but she seemed to like the bright lights. I put her in the sling and nursed her though much of the noise.

We were able to get out of the parking lot fairly quickly and home by 9:20. Perfect.

Easter hiking.

Easter was a lovely day, so we went for a short wildflower viewing hike. We took our dogs, and met up with some friends. It was a little warm, especially for Penny. But we all had a very nice time. It felt good to be outside enjoying what may be the last nice weekend until November.

Gwennie did a great job hiking. She would start dragging but as soon as she had a drink of water, she was off again.

Rhayn enjoyed the time outside, but its nearly impossible to even get her to LOOK at the camera, let alone to smile at it.

Penny quickly found shade any time we stopped for a few minutes. Unfortunately Penny also had diarrhea on the trail, which caused us to turn around and head home soon after this rest stop.

Lily enjoyed the shade as well, but she wasn't as quick to settle into rest. Lily was excellent even allowing Rhayn to walk her for a while. I was really opposed to the Gentle Leader face harnesses, but it makes walking these massively muscled dogs so much easier. The control we have over the dogs is amazing. I still don't like the way these look, but I love the control.

Pretty flower on a cactus, you can't really tell but this is a fairly small cactus.

On the Rio Salado

Will had the day off so we went for a hike. Since we didn't get to do anything else all weekend (what with the great water heater replace of 2010.) Rhayn asked to go to the place with the green slime that Gwennie had been to. We took the dogs.

The weather was perfect for a short hike. The sun was shining and a slight breeze was blowing. We took our time, letting the girls (and dogs) explore the smells and sights. Lily actually stepped in the river, on purpose. She was fine with it all, until she stepped in a little deeper than she felt comfortable with. She turned and hopped out.


Lily was being so well behaved that for a short time Gwennie walked her. (I was next to or near her at all times, in case Lily saw some people or forgot her manners.)


Rhayn never holds still or looks at the camera long enough for me to get good pictures of her. Most of the pictures of her that I have taken lately are of the back of her head. She was gathering rocks and rinsing them off in the river.

Along the Rio Salado

I'm not sure I'm in Phoenix anymore!

On Friday afternoon Gwennie and I had a little bit of time to waste and I had recently read a blog post about the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area which is located just south of downtown Phoenix.

I had seen the signs for the Phoenix Audubon society many times, thinking "I really should check that out." When Gwennie and I went, we were impressed. We were only able to see a small portion of it, parking just off of Central Ave and taking a short hike. However the trails along the river extend about five miles.

There was a much to see, including some slimy algae that Gwennie did not want to touch. I had to coerce her into it and then she wanted to go back and touch it again.


One of the things I dislike about living in the city is not being surrounded by nature. However finding places like this and the one in Gilbert (via another blog that I love) has revived my outdoors spirit. Sure, its just the beginning of February and the weather is perfect here, but these places rejuvenate my love of Arizona.