Forest Service Road...jeep

6300' up..roads below
The "virtual cache"
Henry on the 'outer edge'
First stop today, unknown to me, was the outdoor store. Henry told me I was buying hiking boots. Yay!! After slipping and tripping yesterday, I really needed some good boots with traction and support. And what a difference! Love my hiking boots!(I got me some cool (they breathe) socks, too)
Today, we started with locating a quick cache, then on to hike cow pie trail, (seen in the picture above with Henry, down below) and found our 2nd cache of the day. The cow pies are enormous rock formations in the shape of a 'natural' cow pie. We thought the view from there was fantastic...then we hit Schnebly Road!
Schnebly is open all the way to the interstate now, all 12 miles of it. And, we were in the Jeep today, so of course, Hot Loop trail aka forest road 153A, was too much to resist for Henry. Whew! What a ride! Huge, okay, VERY large rocks, were the road. But, no problem for Henry or the jeep. I was a bit nervous, but it was completely worth all the careful maneuvering around several high clearance rocks. The pictures of Henry and I above were taken at the highest point, an incredible view we would have missed had we not taken the FR road.
Oh, then we continued on to find our 3rd cache, which was pretty cool, because it contained a travel bug. A gumby travel bug! Which means I need to move him along to another cache.
We promised ourselves that we would get out and do things on our days off, and so far, we're doing it and having a blast!

West Fork, Schuerman, AND found 3 caches!

It's a duck!
looking up from Oak Creek
picturesque
(click to enlarge on all photos)
We started out the door this morning at 10:00 a.m. with backpacks, lunches, plenty of water and our GPS units. We headed up the canyon 11 miles to West Fork, the most popular and scenic hike in the area. There were 2 caches we were searching for on this 3 mile trail.
As we got close to the first one, we decided the huge red rock in the middle of the creek would be a great place to eat our lunch, and take a nap (of course, we didn't). Turned out, the cache we were looking for was right at the spot we chose to eat our lunch. Behind the "Christmas tree", there it was, a Christmas cookie tin buried under the rocks, full of small items from other geocachers.
From there, we continued on to finish out the trail, another 2 miles through the canyon. On the return, we began our search for the 2nd cache. The GPS was directing us to an area that looked untraveled and was straight up. Henry followed the GPS up the side of the rocks, and I elected to stay put and watch. He was right! It was there. So, Henry enjoyed the views, found the cache, and logged his find. (I should have made the climb, darn it). We hiked our way out of the canyon and back to the car, now 4 hours later. On our way home, we decide it's the perfect time of day to do Schuerman trail, find the cache, and watch the sun set. Short 1/2 mile hike in, easy find on the cache, incredible 360 degree views, and back down the mountain to home! I'm bushed, and ready for dinner! (I think Henry is bushed, too).

A beautiful piece written by Chase, Amanda's friend

"No, not hills at all, these are mountains, twenty miles by snow machine, surrounded by home, not my home, not home to any man or men, but the house of God, the hills have eyes and how can we deny what we see? I look into the sun-capped mountains and rolling plains, there is no place I have been, no wonder of the world I have seen, or no miracle I have witnessed greater than this place around me.
How can you or me or anyone deny God? How can we even imagine that this was an accident? Perhaps the works by Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Michaelangelo were all accidents...but this is a masterpiece beyond those of the masters, Shakespeare never pieced a phrase worthy to describe the beauty in this land we live in, mountains and plains, rivers, the sun by day and a myriad of stars by night, we live, we breathe, we see how the fingers of God ran lightly down the mountains, we see how with a pinch of his thumb and index finger the peaks were formed.
And is this not his smile that caps the peaks? Fish swim up river and toss, breaking the surface tension and soaring through the air.
What then is the blush on the mountains at sundown? Is it not the love of God reminding us? With this beauty he reminds us of something more, not just hills formed by tectonic plates, or ocean waves formed by wind and gravity . This is the breath of God.
It is in these hills - these mountains, - that I find peace with He that created them and I.
The biggest miracle of all is of course this one-He created me. He created the mountains and ocean and stars and galaxies-and He created me.

What our daughter is learning in college....?

Post-It Note-ing the car (that's a lot of post its)

AJ - Cruisin'

The girls were up till 3 a.m. covering this guy's car in post it notes, only to have campus security remove all of them before the guy could see it....personally, I think it looks pretty cool!

Thanks!

We love it that you all are looking at our blog! This is such an awesome way for us to share with our family and friends what we've been doing and where we've been going. We are having the time of our lives, and are so thankful that we are able to live our dream.

Oh, remember you can 'click' on any of the photos for a larger image, and please feel free to post comments.
Until next time,
Henry & Cindy

Chimney Rock...the hike...the find

Chimney Rock from the trailhead, (oh boy)

making our way & have found the first of 4 caches

getting closer and climbing higher

Made it to the top & we found all 4 caches!!

The cache was titled "The ballad of Tangled Ted"....and was well thought out, well hid, and very exciting to search for. Upon finding the final cache, we 'took something' and 'left something' as instructed, signed the log book (which dated back to 2003), and started our descent, before the sun went down. Can't wait to search for another cache. (Bell Rock is my next choice....but will see what Henry thinks).

Geocaching!

The cliff where we had lunch
Devil's KitchenSoldier's Pass Trail
click all to enlarge
I have found a new passion! Geocaching! Henry's been geocaching off and on for about 3 years in Alaska, and I never was too interested. Probably because of cold and snow, but now we are in a warmer climate, and what fun searching for caches based on Lat and Long coordinates! You can hike and search at the same time! I bought my own GPS unit and got my own backpack, loaded with all my own goodies. I have found 2 caches right here in the park we live in, and the photos above are part of our search for a 'virtual' cache. It was quite the view! We had our lunch on the edge of a cliff (literally).
The next post will be of Chimney Rock, our 2 mile hike UP, and the discovery of a multi-cache totalling 4. For the curious minded, like myself, searching and finding what someone else has hidden is pretty exhilirating!

Desert...about to Bloom

Jerome

click to enlarge
Highway down below, Cottonwood in the distance
our jeep, far left

4 Wheelin' in the Jeep

The mountain we are standing on in pics below

Henry
Me

We just got the jeep and there are so many awesome jeep trails in Arizona, it seemed only right that we check out a couple of them.

Yesterday, we drove the 10 mile rocky road up to the Honanki Indian Ruins. Along the way, we spotted a road off the main road and away we went. We took it as far as we could which may have only been a couple miles. It eventually took us to a pretty steep ascent up rock, which we didn't take, because it had been raining all day and the rocks were extremely slippery. Back to the Indian Ruins which were interesting, with the Sinagua Indian cliff dwelling remains and minimal rock art. But, honestly, I enjoyed the jeep ride far more!


This morning the weather was still rainy, so we decided to head to the town of Jerome. Jerome is an historical copper mining town, built into the side of a mountain, literally. It has become a town filled with artists and photographers, who all have opened little shops, all of which look like they're hanging by a hinge on the edge of the cliff. I loved it!! All the buildings have been restored and updated somewhat, yet they have managed to retain much of the original stone and brick and the historical aura. The Grand Hotel was incredible! To me, walking through it felt like I could have been in the year 1883. The picture below is taken from the parking lot of the hotel.

Jeepin'

So, we finally found a jeep! Now, we can check out the 4 wheel trails in Sedona, and we have a good tow vehicle.

This picture was taken before Henry got his hands on it for detailing, so I will post pictures later when it's gotten the 'once or twice over'.

Another great day off!

More of Long Canyon...

view on the way
see, nature walk

Click to enlarge all photos

Deadman's Pass and Long Canyon

At the top of Long Canyon

The view coming down
Today, we hiked almost 7 miles..the first mile being Deadman's Pass, and the rest Long Canyon. It seemed more of a nature walk, because there were a lot of trees and vegetation, yet our climb took us about 800 feet higher in elevation, to 5433 feet, and to a beautiful vista overlooking the tops of ponderosa pine and a wall of red rock in front of us. From there is where the top two photos were taken. We ate our lunch and rested for about 20 minutes, then started the journey down. Of course, being rested, fed and now hiking downward, we were feeling energized and pleased with ourselves. It wasn't until we reached Deadman's Pass again that we were beginning to feel tired. But by then, our car was only a mile away, so we talked about mountain biking , and work, which took my mind off the fact that my hip was beginning to ache. It was another good day in Sedona! Oh, one more thing. We know we have the same clothes on today that we did last week when we hiked Cathedral Rock...it honestly is just coincidence...OR 'our hiking clothes'.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

click to enlarge

And then we hiked to watch the sun set...

Cathedral
Home, below
In all her Glory
the end of a perfect day

Two more photos from above

Chapel of the Holy Cross,
(center of photo)
what an amazing view!
as always, click to enlarge

At the top

click to enlarge
you can see the creek below, where we started

Our hike up to Cathedral Rock...awesome!

The creek along the way there it is..cathedral rock, the path so far, easy

We went on our first trail today. Took us 3 hours and was 4 miles roundtrip. The trail takes you as high as you can go up Cathedral Rock. It was all fairly easy, until about the last 1/4 mile, where the trail becomes pretty vertical, making the final ascent up rock. Once on top, the view is amazing! Being afraid of heights myself, I struggled with some of the rock climbing, but Henry's encouragement and persistence kept me going. It was definitely worth the climb! I'm ready today for another hike somewhere.

That was then...
This is now....what a difference. I much prefer the 'then'.

Kokopelli and the "drink of the day"

"Kokopelli" -My early Birthday gift from Henry - a new stained glass window for our door

Drink of the Day - Henry's concoction
1 oz. vanilla vodka
1 1/2 oz. kahlua
scoop of vanilla ice cream
ice
Shake it up and serve!

(I'm not a fan of vodka, but this drink is good!)
Brian and Sarah - you'll like this one.

It's Snowing....

gorgeous reflection of the sun setting
Yes it's March, Yes it's Arizona and Yes, it is snowing. Of course, we are used to cold weather and snow....but the people around here are a little freaked out by it. I'm not talking 4 feet of snow, I'm talking it's not even sticking to the ground..yet anyway. But, the good news is the Visitor Center will be closed tomorrow because of the snow, so I get tomorrow off!

Coyotes, javelinas, rattlesnakes and dumpster diving

5 days of work, we had today off...and back at it tomorrow!

Yesterday, there was a smoldering dumpster at one of the campgrounds, so Henry was sent to check it out. He jumped right in, literally. Someone's charcoals were disposed of a bit prematurely. The fire department showed up and sprayed about 6" of foam inside the dumpster, and all was fine.

It's been an interesting first 5 days of working. I've been told by 3 different people to watch for rattlesnakes when I'm putting the flag out in the mornings. Henry has heard about the scorpions and their nasty sting. Last week we saw a coyote less than 200' away from us...and last night we saw javelina droppings on the road we walk every day.
Lots of 'critters' that we don't even have in Alaska.

Anyway, work is easier with each day. We both see ways they could be so much more efficient and organized....then we have to remind one another that we are only here temporarily...we don't want to work too hard and don't need a career, we just want enough income so we can vacation 3-6 months during the winter.

Henry's first week: He's replaced a sink, relocated a refrigerator, done some electrical work, split wood, loaded 100 bundles of firewood, and of course the inventory of uniforms! Yes, Terri, he's going to be buff and tan by the time summer is over.

I guess I've got the easy job. Talk to the tourists, recommend hiking trails (because we all know I'm so familair with the area and have done a lot of hiking!), balance the money at the end of the day, and fill the campground hosts supply orders. Pretty easy stuff! I think it's actually going to be fun!

So, that was our first week of working in Sedona.....