Not All Who Wander are Lost (Part 1)

July 11, 2018  •  Leave a Comment

For the first half of 2018, I have not gone on any major excursions (what is wrong with me??!!), but that's not to say I haven't gotten away and enjoyed a hike or a beautiful scene.  Here are a handful of little road trips that collectively are worth posting...

In March, I headed north of Phoenix to a place called the Agua Fria National Monument and hiked a couple of trails for 5 miles or so.  It was on a Saturday morning and amazingly, I never ran into another person the whole time I was back there.  I wouldn't call this beautiful countryside, but it was definitely peaceful and was a nice break from the chaos of city life.  The Agua Fria River was mostly dry, but I was able to find the beauty of natural patterns even in a dry river bed.  Check it out!

Natural PatternsNatural Patterns Agua Fria River in ArizonaAgua Fria River in Arizona

Next, in April, I visited the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting the Tucson area.  It is an outstanding showcase of flora and fauna of the desert and it is so amazing the diversity one finds in the hot dry areas of the world.  It is so cool to learn about how plants and animals not only adapt and survive, but thrive.  A special thanks goes out to Frank, Darla, Dianne, and Yesenia for joining in the fun.  Here are a couple of pictures... 

Red Fox at the Arizona Sonora Desert MuseumRed Fox at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Prairie Dog at the Arizona Sonora Desert MuseumPrairie Dog at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum CactiCacti

In April, I also took a business trip down to Clearwater and got the chance to meet some people that I had only heard over phone calls.  Got the chance to dine right on the beach and captured this sunset photo...

Sunset on Clearwater Beach, FloridaSunset on Clearwater Beach, Florida

Next was a last minute buddies trip down to Puerto Penasco (or Rocky Point) in Mexico.  We stayed at the Mayan Palace and played 63 holes of golf over three days on the gorgeous Vidanta Golf Course. This is a golfers dream! Right on the ocean, white sand beaches, salty breeze. It was an extremely tough course too. In the end, I took some money from the guys, so a special thanks to Tim and Al for the invite, for driving, and for donating to Sigmund Golf Foundation.

Puerto Penasco in MexicoPuerto Penasco in Mexico Vidanta Golf Course in Puerto Penasco MexicoVidanta Golf Course in Puerto Penasco Mexico Vidanta Golf CourseVidanta Golf Course

In June, I took a drive down to Tucson and up the Santa Catalina highway which climbs over 7000 feet in elevation.  I did about 5 miles which included a hike to the very top of Mount Lemmon, which tops out at 9,157 feet above sea level.  Gorgeous views...

View from the Santa Catalina Mountains in TucsonView from the Santa Catalina Mountains in Tucson View from the top of Mount Lemmon in TucsonView from the top of Mount Lemmon in Tucson

Then, over the July 4th weekend, I went camping with my brother in the White Mountains, near Alpine Arizona.  On Thursday the 5th of July, the temperature in Phoenix reached 115 degrees, so I had enough of that.  A 4 hour drive later, we were sipping a beer along the Black River and it was 75 and cloudy.  We got some rain and even hail up there... perfect weather for a desert dweller!!  We stayed in the same camp site a year earlier, and in fact, I blogged about that here.  Here are a couple of pics, including one from the previous year and one new picture from a vista point along the Black River Canyon.

East Fork of the Black River near Alpine ArizonaEast Fork of the Black River near Alpine Arizona

Arizona has some very remote, peaceful, and special places and this is one of them. An amazing vista point from the rim of the Black River canyon. No signs of human presence for miles...

Black River Canyon near Alpine ArizonaBlack River Canyon near Alpine Arizona

Hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful day!!


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