pretty pink flowers at 9000 feet
Henry with our first find of the day
Elden Lookout, North of Flagstaff
Or should it be "Sandy Steep Trail"?
click on images to enlarge
An awesome day today! We started early (9:00 a.m.), heading up Oak Creek Canyon through Flagstaff and on towards Elden Mountain and Elden Lookout Tower. The weather was great...clear, sunny, and cool.
The gravel road was rough, as it climbed up and around the mountain to 9299'. The gate was locked to the tower, so we couldn't go all the way up, but the views were amazing nonetheless.
Then the fun began. Geocaching! Our first cache was a multi cache, 3 total. That's where the hiking came in...all 1 1/2 miles. Not a very long hike, but it felt good to get out again. With the forest having been closed, it sure put a stop to our activities.
Dark clouds started moving our direction, so we picked up our pace, headed for the jeep and started our descent. And then..here came the rain..and thunder..and lightning...and LOTS of it. It was great!! And scary, all at the same time. (I worry about flash flooding, Henry's concern is lightning.)
We still weren't done playing, and wanted to find at least one more cache. We usually hike the last 1/4 mile or more to any cache, but it was raining so hard. Good thing we have the jeep! We left the road, over the tree stumps, over the rocks, to within 20 feet of it. We found it! The 'rock 'n root' cache! A small round tin filled with trinkets. After signing the log book and rehiding the cache, we ran to the jeep and hit the road.....One last stop...Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff (chicken 'n dumplings/coleslaw/mac and cheese/hashbrown casserole...and blackberry cobbler for Henry) and then home. It was a perfect day.
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