Hidden Beauty

(Cottonwood, AZ) Another beautiful day in Sedona. Not only was it beautiful and warm but it was a great day for our family. We went on one of our most favorite hikes.

This, however, is one of those hikes that I can't figure out how in the world Mike ever found it. There are good things and bad things about hikes like that. The bad thing is that they are always miles out on dirt roads. There are also a lot of cattle guards - extremely stressful for poor Slugger. The good side however is that since it is so far out on a dirty little road, it is doubtful you'll see anyone else there. The good definitely outweighs the bad!

This hike isn't exactly in Sedona. But it is somewhere in the surrounding area. I didn't notice any signs at all so I can't even tell you the name of this hike. But I hope you enjoy the scenery anyway. I found that this was another place where it is impossible to capture the beauty of it in pictures - but I tried to do my best.

When we very first started the hike, Wazzu found a log that she was sure was hiding a little animal. The second the other dogs saw her under the log, they all had to run over and help.



The were all scurrying around the log and taking turns being underneath.



This was the first time that Boogie really showed much interest in what the other dogs were looking at.



But certainly the most determined was Slugger. Quite some time after the other dogs had given up, Slugger was still there. And now he was determined. He started taking big chunks of log in his mouth and ripping them off the log.



Here you can see a very large piece that he tore off the log - but he wasn't done.



Look at all the pieces he tore off! Whoever is living there now has a little more air conditioning.



Just after I took this picture, a little ground squirrel came running out of the log. All four dogs took off after it but it was way too smart for them and managed to hide someplace else. The dogs were running every which way as fast as they could but the little guy easily outsmarted them.

It took some convincing to get them to move along and actually get started on our hike. Once we did get them going, they forgot all about the "almost" catch.

This hike has such a different look at the beginning than it does later on. It starts out as a very flat field with a beautiful view ahead.



As we continued down the trail we came close to a big red rock hill to our left.



As we progressed down the trail, we got closer to the canyon and the views just kept getting prettier. Off to the left there was a long rock hill that had a red streak down the middle.



As we expected, we were the only ones here - in fact, we were probably the only ones within 30 miles of here! The dogs were running this way and that, totally enjoying their freedom in their own private wilderness area. It's hard to see but all four dogs are zooming down the trail as happy as can be.



As you know by now, I love trail pictures. And since this trail changed quite a bit as we went along, I took pictures of the different parts of the trail. This was one of my favorite views as you could see many different kinds of trees and different color rock hills (and I could see my girl having fun).



Here the trail got much narrower and we started to go down into the trees.



As we continued along, the trail met the Verde River and continued along beside it.



At one point we came around a corner and there was this beautiful serene little pool area in the river.



This would be an awesome place for a picnic as you could sit on the rocks amid the beauty of the area and watch the dogs swim around in the pool - the water was plenty deep enough for swimming.



It was a great spot for the dogs to get a drink on a nice warm day. They all had fun splashing around for a while and just investigating all around the area. Slugger had fun watching the water, birds, and trees from atop the rocks.



After playing around in this beautiful area for a while we continued down the trail. The trail led us away from the river and we were hiking through a bit of a forest area. While I'm sure it's past the real pretty changing leaves, there were still some pretty colors.



I thought this tree with the white bark was very interesting among the other trees.



Around every turn there was something different that was pretty to see.



After about another 20 minutes of hiking we were surprised to come around the corner to see that we were once again at the river. It's scenes like this that makes we wonder how many beautiful places there are in the world that are rarely seen. This spot is so hidden and away from everything. But so beautiful and peaceful.



Who would have thought we'd see something like this from the looks of what we saw at the trailhead. Cool.

From here the trail went on a narrow ledge along the red rock.



At first the ledge was fairly wide, relatively speaking, but it got narrower as we went along.



At one point, where the ledge is too narrow for people, the trail actually stops and goes across the river. We could see the trail on the other side of the river but there was no way for us to get there without hip boots.

The dogs however had no trouble navigating their way across. How they knew that was the trial, I'll never figure out. They never tried to go across the water anywhere else. But here they didn't even wait for us - they just went across. Wazzu led the way.

Here is Sparkie coming back across to see why we aren't following!



Gosh, she makes it look so easy!



Poor little Boogie couldn't begin to make it off the first rock that led across the river. He whimpered and cried and tried to take a step off - but each time he realized there was no way he could do it. Oh, look at all the fun they are having over there that I'm missing out on!



Mike was kneeling on a rock next to the river enjoying this little waterfall. There was one little fountain of water that was shooting straight up that he wanted a picture of. Even though it was really cool, you can't really see it in the picture. Shucks. I guess you'll have to use your imagination.



One by one, all the dogs came back to this side of the river and joined Mike on the rock. Look at sweet little Boogie peaking around from the end.



Here is my wonderful family enjoying some time together in the beauty of the wilderness.



Speaking of my wonderful family, I have come to know that they are so talented. Don't believe me......well do you have anyone in your family that can stand on water? The water here is very deep and the dogs did a lot of swimming for sticks.



Boogie showed off his talent of running on a narrow ledge.



As you can see, I must have some talent as well as to take this picture I had to walk on these narrow ledges.



Here is The Great Thinker. Okay, I don't know how much thinking is really going on, but he did sit here for half an hour while the other dogs played.



Maybe he was just enjoying the beautiful scenery along with me.



On our way back we took a trail that was off to the side. It seemed to be more of a dry riverbed. We didn't go all that far along the trail but at one point we did stop and somehow Mike came up with this game that the boys just loved. Why it was so fun, I don't know. I actually think Mike enjoyed it more than the dogs even.

The boys were standing next to this very tall portion of a red rock wall. Mike started taking pebbles and throwing them high up on the wall. Slugger would look up each time Mike threw one.



Then the boys would look all around on the ground to see what fell. Slugger seemed to catch on a little bit as he'd look at Mike with big eyes waiting for the next pebble to be tossed. I didn't think we were ever going to leave as Mike thought this was hilarious and wanted to keep playing. I was beginning to wonder which one of my boys was the youngest!



Wow, it looks like I even came along on the trip.



It was a fantastic day. All six of us had a great time. I just love days like this.

I'll leave you with a couple more shots. This first one is for my little buddies, James and Shawn. Can you find Slugger?



I don't have anything to say about this picture - but it was just too cute not to include!



Debbie
11/29/07

Seeing Red

(Sedona, AZ) We awoke to a beautiful day. This area really is one of the most beautiful in the country. In addition to nice weather and pretty scenery, there are a lot of really nice hikes here that we can take the dogs on.

One of our favorites is Faye Canyon. You may recognize the area as we've hiked here a couple times before. And I'm pretty sure we'll hike here again.

The dogs didn't get to do much yesterday so they were really ready for a nice long hike today. Boogie was especially energetic and was ready to attack anyone who would play with him.

The only one that would oblige was Wazzu. Boogie plays like this all the time but I've never been able to capture it before. Take a look at those pretty teeth!



Today the sky was a very nice blue and it seemed much more clear than on previous trips here. I think because the sky was so blue, it really made the rocks look even more red.



Boogie was such a great boy on this hike. He stayed right on the trail and never let me get out of sight. What a good little boy to wait for me.



I sure hope he stays this well behaved as it's so much easier to hike with him off leash. He seems really smart about it so far. He's also really good to make sure he sticks close to one of the girls when he's running around. Good thing - otherwise he'd have to stay on leash. Here he is learning the ropes from Sparkie.



I think it is a universal thing when hiking to mark a trail direction with a pile of rocks but it seems to be much more prevalent here in Sedona. The pile of rocks helps you see a trail or reminds you which way to go when you return. Some are just one tall pillar of rocks but most are pretty artistic. Here is an example:



I don't know if it is true or not but it sure seems like the dogs have come to recognize that a pile of rocks designates a trail. I wouldn't doubt it. Slugger has learned the signs that designate a cattle guard. He is petrified of cattle guards as they make the car bump and shake. As soon as he sees the signs now, his eyes get really big, he starts shaking and he ducks. Poor guy.

Back to the hike. Mike and I were both busy taking in the beautiful scenery while the dogs were busy doing whatever it is they do!



I can't imagine they were seeing anything that was nearly as nice as what we were looking at.



It's really hard to share the beauty with you as you only get to see one tiny section at a time. When in reality, there were spectacular views in all 360 degrees around us.



We got to the end of the main trail where most people turn around. The other option is to climb up a very steep rock area up to an extremely small ledge where you can see way off in the distance. We decided not to do the complete climb for a number of reasons. But I did want to go up just a little ways to see if the view of the distance was any less hazy than the last couple times we've been here.

While I slowly made my way up, Sparkie made it all the way to the top, looked around and was already coming back down - all very effortlessly I must say.



Boogie had no fear at all. While he couldn't keep up with Sparkie it didn't stop him from scampering up and down the mountain at all. I think while I was carefully navigating my way, Boogie probably made ten trips up and down between me and Mike - who was waiting at the bottom.



I stopped climbing as soon as I had just the slightest view. While not perfectly clear, it was much less hazy today than on previous trips.



Normally this is where everyone, including us, turns around. But the dogs really seem to love rock climbing - especially the boys. So Mike decided to climb a little ways up so that Slugger could do a little bit of climbing. Slugger was so excited that he quickly took off up the steep incline. At one point there was a very tall rock that was straight up. He certainly couldn't climb it so he decided to jump up to the top. He got his front feet up but didn't make it with the back feet. So he's hanging by his front feet trying with all his might to pull himself up. I've never seen shoulder muscles so huge! Mike was extremely worried that Slugger was going to fall down onto his back. So he tried to hurry up so he could get up there to help Slugger - but by the time he got there, Slugger had somehow managed to pull himself up. We'd never seen a dog do a pull-up like that.

Even after another little climbing session the dogs still wanted to do more. So we decided to go up a rock river that we saw off to the right. It wasn't as steep as the climb up the large rock wall but still looked like some fun climbing.

I was going to wait at the bottom while Mike took the dogs on a short climb. Wazzu went part way with them but didn't like it one bit that I was left behind so she came back to see where I was. Look at the beautiful view behind her.



After a little while, they all came back to get me. You can see from how Mike is hiking that it is still fairly steep.



They came back to tell me they had found another trail and that I should come along. So off we went to see where this new trail would take us. The dogs were very silly and were quite entertaining on this part of the trail. I don't know what got into them but they were all being very funny.

Everyone then took off up the trail. Boogie was so sweet and waited for me. I could just see him thinking - come on Mom, I'm waiting for you. It's really very comforting to have both Wazzu and Boogie wait for me on all our hikes.



We were very pleasantly surprised to find a whole other canyon that we hadn't been able to see from the other trail.



There were some very interesting formations on the side of one tall rock wall. But from every vantage point there were trees in the way. I finally had to climb down the side of the hill to find a place where I could get at least a partially unobstructed picture of it.



The rocks were particularly red in here and they were huge! It was like finding a hidden treasure. The farther we went the more beautiful it became.



We would have kept going and going but the trail ended at a very steep ledge. Mike and the dogs tried to go on a ways but very quickly it became clear that only Sparkie had any chance of continuing on.

We didn't meet one person on the entire hike. It's just amazing that on such a nice day in mid 70's, on such a gorgeous and fairly easy trail, that we were the only ones there. I'm not complaining - I'm raving!! This was perfect. We took our time the entire way and just enjoyed the scenery and enjoyed watching the dogs have such a great time. They all love rock climbing so it was fun to see them show off their climbing skills.

Another perfect day.



Debbie
11/28/07