Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

FIESTA!!

This weekend as part of our camping trip was a side trip to Sedona and Tlaquepaque...

And margaritas!

(both of which I was forced to drink because DaNece's was too strong...and we didn't think to compare it with mine, which was not as strong...because honestly? If you've already finished one margarita and think the second one is too strong...well, you can imagine how strong the second one was.)

(just sayin)

(It also made me wonder why hers was stronger than mine? Was she cuter to the bartender or was it simply the luck of the pour?)

(alcohol seems to bring out my insecure side)

(It also made that thunder/lightning/hail/rain storm a lot more fun when we went back to camp!)

Camping and Brewing...

Coffee is an important part of my morning ritual.

Without it, I would kill myself and everyone around me.

Ok...

Not so much since I switched to half decaf half regular (I'm also not as "helpful" and "planny" as I once was...which is either age or caffeine...I'm not sure) and having a hot cuppa in my hand while starting out my day camping is just as fun as it is when I am at home...only it's a little harder without electricity and whatnot.

I think I have it perfected now though.

On the trip to Zion earlier this year, I brought my Bodum coffee press (some people rolled their eyes, but not so much when I set a piping hot cuppa down before them in record time upon waking up...) but the coffee press is glass, so I felt a little nervous about that fact, because I was worried about it breaking. I think I solved this problem though. While visiting Manzanita Outdoor here in town, I ran across a coffee mug with a built in press! I love how mostly compact the whole system is (and would be if I had a smaller container to boil water in...Rich does, so no worries there as he's generous with his camping things)

Upon waking in the morning, I boiled water with in my granite ware coffee pot (and I have all the matching dishes for camping as well) on my little Bluet stove (that I think I inherited from my X's grandmother...the fuel ran out this time, so I need to figure out an alternate plan for next time) and then poured it into the mug over the pre-measured coffee grounds (I had put the right amount into little Ziploc bags while packing food for the trip) then, put the lit with the press on...wait approximately 4 minutes, then press slowly...

Heaven.

And the great thing is, the mug comes with the press lid and a regular lid (I guess in case you're near already made hot drinks or tea) and the press lid has 2 holes in the top...one to drink out of, and one to give extra ventilation...which is also big enough to pour cream and sugar into if you need such things with your coffee.

I happen to always bring Silk Soy Cream with me when I have coffee...as that's what I also use at home, and it's just a little closer to real cream.

This way everyone stays happy and alive while camping...

Camping In Pictures...

Beaver Creek Arizona.

Early morning breakfasts consisting of red and yellow potatoes, purple onions, an orange and green bell pepper, a banana pepper, and bacon...fried with olive oil and salt and pepper...with fresh pressed coffee and Chai tea for accompaniment.

We camped at a National Forest site...where there were other people camped around us, and the nicest camp hosts I've actually ever met. It was a great place to start our solo camping trips indeed...we both wanted a successful trip in which to dip our camping toes.

One evening as we were sitting finishing up dinner with smores we heard the little boy from the camp next to us say, "Mom? What's a wet dream?" DaNece and I stifled our laughter as we both fell off our chairs.

We did not hear the reply.

The tents all set up in our site...we incidentally had to set them up in the dark by the time we got to our site on Friday night. This was both DaNece and I's first time setting our tents up. She's met her tent before and was borrowing it for the weekend, but this was my tent's first time out of the box...I recently bought my tent on Geartrade.com. (a lot of wonderful outdoor gear at very very deep discounts indeed!) It is a 3-person North Face Rock 32 and it is an amazing tent! It is very roomy, with two vestibules for extra gear, lot's of net for ventilation, and easy peasy to set up (even if it's your first time doing it without instructions in the dark.) It is also light enough for me to take backpacking (which is the main reason I grabbed it) and water proof to boot!!

I had a chance to test out the water bit during an impromptu rain and hail storm on Saturday...I sat in the tent and watched the water that was running under my tent make the floors ripple and twist...but really, only a few drops got in, and I lost a vestibule (my fault for not staking it well enough) Only Lola was really traumatized (although, she did great for the rest of the trip...) I was giggling from all the rain, hail, ad the lightning and thunder that was all around us as I held the sides of my tent!

Hiking the first day consisted of a lot of rock hopping up Beaver Creek.

We would have loved to have walked in the creek more...but true to this part of Arizona, the rocks are mighty slimy and hard to get a foot hold on.


Local bark at our end spot on the trail.

There were spiderwebs stretched and crossing most of the creek...we found ourselves with mouth fulls of the silk several times...I was betting we were going to be mostly cocooned by the time we returned to camp.


Someone was trying to eat a prickly pear and didn't get very far...but they left a vibrant and beautiful seed trail behind.


The small purple flowers that grow in the red red dirt of the area that climb along side the creek.











DaNece, Lola, and I.

We're forming our own scouting group for our misadventures which will no doubt be famous...

At the end of our hiking adventures on Saturday Lola scared some of the local wildlife while DaNece and I were waist deep in a huge blackberry brier. I heard this rustle behind me, but didn't think too much of it...DaNece had turned around to look to see what it was and when her face turned a shade of white that I'd never seen, along with a horrified expression all while saying,

"it's a...it's a...it's a..."

in a rather high pitch...I decided it would be wise for me to grab her and pick my knees up and run us out of the brier...shrieking the whole time. (I later told her that I was trying to judge if I could throw her down and outrun her, because then at least I knew I would be safe...Lola, the fearless dog was totally nonplussed however...and just stood there rolling her eyes at us, probably trying to figure out what all the screaming was about)

When we were far enough away from the rustling DaNece informed me that apparently we were being followed by a rather LARGE gray snake.

We did not pause to take pictures.


About as ripe as the berries got...

All the ones I tasted were very sour, and the area is just crawling with the blackberries, so that was sad.

I did scratch the heck out of my legs while running from the snake though...so I did take some blackberry souvenirs home with me, just not the kind I can make into pie.


The river ran red after the storm.


It was an incredible camping trip...and I so needed to get away. I have so many projects stacked up ready and waiting for my attention, and I had totally lost my inspiration...I was tired and needed a break.

That's just what I got.

A relaxing and fun filled adventure weekend...reminding me how much I love to camp and hike. There was a lot of talk about backpacking in the future...also something that I've been wanting to do...and now I have a couple of willing participants to have misadventures with!

Off We Go...

Did I mention the all the camping that will be going on this weekend?

Because that's on the agenda...even though the trip was planned since last week, it kind of snuck up on me.

• New tent. check.
• Water. check.
• Sleeping bag. check.
• Butane curling iron. check.
• Collapsible kitchen sink. check.
  
• Coffee/tea press and mug combo. check.
  
• Mascara, pressed face powder and sunscreen. check.
• Camera and hat. check.
  
• Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. check.

Not to mention the millions of other little things that go into a camping trip (that seem to result in a rather daunting pile of "stuff") ...and leaving Meena under the care of a trusted pet sitter.

I'm ready.

Ready for a change of scenery...the chance to get away. Hike. See and play in water...get a new perspective...find some inspiration...be with nature...

You know?

The usual camping whatnot.

See you soon...

My Two Favorite Zion Hikes...

Look at me drag the entire Zion trip out! I tell you, it's a gift. My current goal is to drag the blogging out longer than the actual trip (much like the time I visited Italy and Prague?)

Bear with me though...because there's some pretty awesome photos of me being the ultimate Dork Park Guide...it will be well worth your while.

Total dork picture #1...
but at least my hair still looks good...making me think that this picture was shot earlier in the trip...
See? It's already good stuff!!
(photo by Amy)

One of the hikes that I really wanted to take while in Zion was The Virgin Narrows. This hike leads you through the narrow-ish slot canyons all while walking and sometimes swimming in the Virgin River. It is absolutely amazing back there...evidenced by the insane crowds that flock to this particular site. There were several people more prepared for the intensely cold water than us, whom rented water gear.

We were tough though.

For about 15 minutes.

The Virgin Narrows...and look at all those people!!

After you get use to the initial shock of the temperature of the water, I found that if you stayed in the water you're better off than if you get in and then out. I am a very a slow goer because of some weird issues I have with running water, but you'll be happy to know by the end of this hike I was just finding my walking rhythm and was much aided by the help of one of Tom's Leki Poles (Thanks Tom) Rich's feet about froze off...and he decided to turn back. It was also thundering and some storm clouds were moving in. Whatever. It was downstream so I wasn't worried...but, we all ended up turning around much sooner than I wanted to.

Which means that I definitely want to return and do that hike. And I'm not talking 15 minutes here...I'm talking a couple of hours in to really get the full feel of the whole thing.

The other hike that I was really dying to do was the hike to Angel's Landing. It's some absurd hike that leads you right out onto some crazy rocks via a natural bridge and something called Walter's Wiggles. Since we're early risers, we beat a lot of the crowds and heat...and started up the mountain. Luckily most of the trail was concreted so that we could climb up the path with more traction. Which served us well, seeing as Amy and I noticed we were both hunched over the insanely steep path and found ourselves almost parallel to the ground at one point. That was the worst point of the entire hike for either of us as a matter of fact...and we were under the sweet delusion that it was Walter's Wiggles. After getting our breath back, we scoffed at the absurdity that was Walter's Wiggles!!

Ha.
(scoff scoff)
(various patting of backs)

Rich on the Angel's Landing hike before he turned around.

Rich was actually feeling poorly and had decided it would be best if he turned around a bit before we ascended this part of the trail though...I thought it was rather wise of him, as I was kind of questioning myself quietly using my "inside your head voice" about me finishing out this hike. I really didn't want to see Rich go and almost went back down with him...but I really wanted to see if I could make this hike. Besides, he waved me on. I have an intense fear of heights (add that to the fear list as well...nothing like conquering a few fears on vacation, eh?) and I wanted to see if I could push past it and make it to at least Scout's Landing?

Corridor of coolness...

After the crazy hot strenuous part of the path, we came into this long corridor of shade and water and green. It was seriously like heaven...and we'd already done the "worst" part...Walter's Wiggles Right?

Amy at the middleish part of Walter's Wiggles

Of course not.

Because we're morons.

We finally turn a corner at the end of this corridor and I stop to look up and almost fall over due to vertigo and the insane steepness of the Wiggles (not to be confused with The Wiggles)

We immediately coined the phrase. "Oh you'll know when you get to Walter's Wiggles!" we're big into coining phrases...and I'm sure we'll be in T-shirt production soon. As it was, this little ditty gave us enough energy that we giggled our way right up the intense and steep switch backs of Walter's Wiggles...that led us right up to Scout's Landing.

Me...descending Walter's Wiggles and giving the traditional hiker Jazz Hands...
(photo by Amy)

Scout's Landing happened to be my last stopping point. The trail actually keeps going on...via some serious ups and downs that require you more often than naught, to hold onto a chain railing that has been put up just for the purpose to slow your descent lest you plummet right over the edge of the mountain itself say if you were to get enough momentum up and going (you should see how sweaty my hands are just typing about it right now) My Keen sandals were just fine...I'm thinking that perhaps it was the gal in the Keens that was a little too nervous to take the last few remaining steps to get to the landing...I mean, after all...there is a part that you must walk across a natural bridge formation with 1,800 ft. drop offs on either side.

Yikes.

Amy went on ahead, exclaiming the whole time that it was just a set of sandstone stairs (yeah right. With the slope of them heading towards the outer part of the mountain and over a cliff...) and I sat in the shade awaiting her return. I was going to do some serious meditating and get in touch with my inner whatever...but with the sheer amount of people that were walking by, coupled with the Invasive, yet much cuter (than the squirrels) Park Chipmunks...I decided to just sit and observe instead.

Yeah. That's me...pointing out the awesome view.
If you look out to your Left...please notice the insane drop off...
(photo by Amy and one of the only one's I have of me up there because she used her camera and I can not explain to people how to use mine apparently...and we missed some shots. Damn.)

It was totally awesome up there. I got very close to the edge at points and did not once feel afraid, which both amazed and delighted me (I'm honestly having sweatier hands now than when I was up there and I already know I got back OK...sheesh!) We were both totally proud of ourselves and practically skipped down the trail. Honestly...we were jumping around and outright laughing at points.

Amy at Scout's Landing.

And down we went...to get back to Rich and Tom, and to also get Rich back to camp so he could rest and we could go for a celebratory trip of postcard buying and iced mocha drinking...

I can't tell you how proud I am of myself. I realize that I didn't DO the whole hike to the end...but the place I did get to was just enough. I totally did it.

And we totally shredded.

Oh yes we did.

Hiking Zion...

Upon arrival at our final Zion destination (the un-treed ant-filled and beautiful...in a stark sort of way campsite) we busily bustled around unpacking and setting things up. Which means Amy and I sat down and "supervised". Which means Amy and I sat chatting at the picnic table (to be fair, none of the tents we used were owned by either of us...and we were on dish duty the whole trip, so I'm sure it evened out somewhere) And after a quick lunch (cause we were feeling all fainty by then) we ran down towards the Virgin River.

The Virgin River

Being Arizona girls, it's very hard to put us anywhere near water and not expect us to run to it...and possibly dip our very well manicured toes into it (cause' various shades of pink and peach are perfect to hike in don'tchaknow?!) just to see what's up with the water. I suppose it comes from living in a state that is in the middle of a 10 year drought (how "they" know that, I'll never know...) you are utterly fascinated with water.

And clouds.
(probably because of the possibility of spontaneous shade and whatnot)

Seating ourselves on a rock by the river...we marveled at our surroundings. There was nobody about. No one. We had the whole river to ourselves. And, this is at a national park you know...(At this point in various past trips to The Grand Canyon, I would have at least been shoved 20 times almost plummeting over the edge!) where we enjoyed the sound of the river cascading and pouring down the rocks, watching a hummingbird drink from the middle of the river while alternately riding the air currents the water was making, and exclaiming at the color of the water. Apparently the Virgin River has a type of algae in it that turns the water anywhere from ice blue to green...making it appear quite clean and non-muddy.

The lower pool
(look at all that water!)

The next morning, after rousing early (I'm sure we were still on AZ time, or it was the birds chirping or the sun streaming through our various tents...) and having some freshly pressed coffee (after all...what's camping without your French Press?!) we hopped on a bus and ran up the canyon. You can not get a lot of places in Zion canyon by car...so they kindly run free diesel buses instead. This is a very handy thing. Our first stop was The Court of the Patriarchs...

The Court

About five long strides and you were at the top of this trail. Not quite what anyone was expecting...after all, I was personally at Zion to shred in the hiking arena. We did the prerequisite picture taking and hopped back onto the bus (they come about every 6 minutes) and headed to the hike that would take us to the pools (yeah. About the note taking I don't do as to remember the names of the trails...) There are three separate pools on this hike. The lower pools. The middle pools. and The...come on, you've got it...upper pools. I always thank my lucky stars that I am an early riser...because it gets quite warm in Zion, and a lot of these hikes, while shady, still have sun exposure. Leaving early usually ensures that you're not too hot and there are not too many people on the trails. Although, there is usually at least one person coming down the trail always making me wonder what time they get up??

The lower pools
(water falling...)

This hike is fantastic because you get to see so much water...I mean, as you can probably guess, the hike takes you to all sorts of different pools...depending on how far you want to go. We went all the way up up up the mountain. The first thing you notice about a lot of Zion is how sandy it is everywhere. There is way more sandstone to crawl around on there...not like the sharpie granite we have here...which I breathed a sigh of relief about towards the end of this hike...

The middle pool
(I didn't get a picture of the upper pool because I fell down and was thrown off my photography game)
(I know!)

After reaching the last two feet of the trail leading to the uppermost pool area...I set my foot down, and because I was totally shredding I apparently wasn't paying close attention because I rolled my ankle and fell down...landing with a rather impressive thud (I am told...I was trying not to hurt myself or deafen anyone with my screaming) square on the top of my knee.

I know.

Things that might go through your head upon falling on your knee onto a hard sandstone rock:

*Oh &*$%!! I am too old to be doing this!
*Oh &*$%!! I hope I didn't screw up my ankle on the first day of hiking!
*Oh &*$%!! I hope I didn't screw up my knee on the first day of hiking!
*Oh &*$%!! what if I have to go to the hospital?!
*Oh &*$%!! I hope I didn't scream too loud or look too stupid!

After jumping up and hobbling to "walk it off "towards a rock to sit down on...I wiped myself down, sprayed some Neosporin on my totally now incredibly bruised knee (I know you want a picture of that...it's still very very bruised) I realized that other than shakey, embarrassed and totally traumatized by the Park Squirrels that were now closing in...I was actually OK.

phew.

Same day...total dork.
(picture by Amy)

We sat by the larger pool as long as we could stand the looks of The Park Squirrels and their beady little eyes, before taking off again...for a shaky descent down the mountain (only on my part) and decided to run on up to the hanging gardens...

Honestly, I wish I could tell you what the name of the hikes are...but really? I have no idea. I also don't know how to actually get to Zion if you were to ask me, as I didn't drive...and if I had driven, I could probably tell you a very detailed explanation of how to do it, only the important things like Highway names, roads, and towns would be left out...

The underside of water at the hanging gardens
(hello?!?!? water!!!)

The hike up to the hanging gardens was short and steep but fantastic! (and a bit uneventful comparative to the other one, but my knee held out for the rest of the trip you'll be happy to know) These gardens of Hostas, Columbine and many other plants (some with red flowers. Yeah. Don't know the names of those either, but making me wish Arthur was with us to tell us) all grow under and around a sort of grotto that is dripping with water. I mean...all this water in Utah? Who knew! And the place is literally teeming with hummingbirds and butterflies all clamoring for a piece of the wet flowery action.

Now. There was a lot more hiking action while in Zion, but far too spectacular for this post without making this the longest post in the world...so, you'll have to wait for that. That post will contain answers to questions such as

*Where did all the feeling in my feet go?
*Will Sadira shred as she envisioned? Or will her extreme fear of heights hold her back?
*How will you know when you get to Walter's Wiggles?

Camp ToCheck...

(this is what we named the camp after we decided to request the letter M stricken from the alphabet, in our list of demands...um, yeah. There was a lot of that kind of silliness going around this weekend in Wickenburg...)

Up and out of here on Saturday, where I enjoyed a wonderful trip down with DaNece...good chats and a fantastic way to start our camping journey. Wickenburg isn't that far down the hill from Prescott, and we didn't necessarily have a destination in mind, as Tom and DaNece were just down in the area scouting it out a few weekends ago...and we ended up staying somewhere totally different than we planned. Way off the road, off another road and in the middle of seemingly nowhere...which was evidenced by the hiking of two separate hills/mountains on Sunday, to check out our location.



Yup.

Out in the middle of nowhere...(can you see our tiny tents out there in the plains?? Just squint, we're there)

Except for the cows.

There were lots of cows with lots of mooing. There was also a train, but we didn't see that until Monday morning while we were enjoying the sun coming up...

This weekend was a beautiful one in Arizona. I reveled in being outside, seeing the wildflowers and some darned crazy beautiful lichen, being warm, and watching the clouds play across the backdrop that is my home.



It was nice and warm during the day, with a bit of a cloud cover (making it not too warm) during the day, and still a bit chilly at night. All I can say is, thank goodness for Smart Wool (...just thin enough to fit perfectly under my PJ's, and help to keep me warm and cozy no matter what the weather decides to do.) which came in handy, because I didn't realize until my nap on the second day, in between hiking, that my sleeping bag was inside out. Yeah. Um. I actually just got this sleeping bag...Mountain Hardware...and had never used it. I had washed it (I bought it on the secondary market...so it's missing it's bag as well, which I need to remedy with a stuff sack) and honestly? I was toasty the first night even though I was in the bag the wrong way...but the next night? Well...I was downright warm (go figure right?)

I kind of had to giggle at myself (because otherwise I'd have to admit that I am nuts) seeings as we need to admit the truth, I was a bit nervous. You see, I love camping. I've only done car camping as an adult (backpacking with my dad in my youth) and only after I was married. I haven't been camping since my divorce (which seems like a loooong time ago) and I haven't put up the tent by myself, packed by myself, or cooked by myself, or camped by myself. All those by my selfs really added up in my head...but, right when we pulled out at the perfect spot and let the camp dogs loose to run, Tom and DaNece both ran over to help pitch my tent. I was grateful. Perhaps after the sleeping bag debacle, I should have accepted more help? (Well...you should see how I folded the tent up...that's a major problem in itself. In my defence, it was very windy this morning, and I will attempt to put it away later...)

All in all...it was a wonderful trip. We had lots of fun and giggles and outright side splitting laughter! It must be said that Tom is a great sport, because DaNece cracks me up...and we were a bit nutty at times with crazy jokes and scenarios (it's fun to have dogs along when you camp because you can make them say all sorts of things.) We had tons of great food...complete with fantastic camp snacks (really camp junk-food which is defined as the junk you only bring on a camping trip because you would be too big to leave the house otherwise, and really...it's something extra to look forward to when camping...like marshmallows and thin mints for breakfast) The hiking was fantastic, and the wildflowers were out in abundance. I can say with all certainty that this trip totally renewed my excitement about camping. Now I want to get out more! I also want to try backpacking soon. I've always wanted to try backpacking and the closest I've gotten (except for when I was little) is buying an external frame backpack.

That's close, right?

It was a totally successful camping trip (I even lived through the nighttime bathroom trips...putting my head lamp on and stumbling around in the desert) and the trip did everything that I thought it would. Relaxation, hiking, camping...laughing. Scenting my hair with the smell of woodsmoke for days...making me appreciate indoor plumbing even more? No...really, it was the change of scenery and a big break and a renewed sense of inspiration...I got it all.

As a couple of asides: the Mexican restaurant Anita's Cocina in Wickenburg is top notch. The food is fantastic...and Wickenburg is not a fun place to walk around when it's cold and windy (luckily this was our last day out, so that was fine)

An iPod is a great accessory to bring camping with you. Not only can you listen to some great tunes on the way to your destination...a bit of an episode of your favorite program is a fun way to wind down...

And, wouldn't you know? I found myself changing into what was almost my entire Life is Good wardrobe this trip. Tops, hats...Wow. Me likey the Life is Good products...and hey, after all is said and done...good friends? Good dogs? Good camping?

Life really is good isn't it?