April 17, 2023 One Last Hike Before Leaving Arizona

 

Christy is all smiles at the Brown's Ranch Trailhead in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Heading out on Brown's Ranch Road heading to the Amphitheater.

It is another perfect day for a hike in the desert.

As usual, I fall behind right away.

I'm going to miss hiking in the beautiful desert every day.

I love all the unique flora of the desert...

...and how the cacti find so many different ways to survive out here.

 Somewhere we took Powerline Road #2 to the Watershed Trail which will take us to the Amphitheater.

There is so much to see along these trails.

As we walked along the trails near the Amphitheater...

...it began to get more colorful.

The flowering plants show just how beautiful the desert can be if you are here at the right time of the year.

We continued on the Cholla Mountain Loop trail toward Cathedral Rock.

Finally a picture of Debbie where she is facing toward me.

Cathedral Rock

All good things must end. We are heading back to the trailhead.

My last photo of our nine days of hiking in Arizona. A big thank you to George & Debbie for taking us to so many amazing places. Also for the wonderful hospitality at your beautiful house. We had a great time with you on our vacation. We love you two and will see you soon.

April 16, 2023 Our Last Hike at the Grand Canyon

 

It's our last day at the Grand Canyon and we headed out before sunrise. After stopping for breakfast at a Grab & Go place, we began our day with the sun lighting up the east-facing sides of the canyon.

These photos were taken on the Rim Trail in the GC Village.

You can see how the sunlight colors the rocks in this photo.

 Today's plan is to take the shuttle bus to Mojave Point and hike west to Hermits Rest. 

Since we entered the park from the east entrance if we make it to Hermit's Rest, we will have covered the park from one end to the other.

The sun is still lighting up the canyon with lots of colors.

All these photos were taken along the Rim Trail at Mohave Point, The Abyss, Monument Creek Vista and Hermits Rest. 

We saw a lot of interesting trees on this 5-mile hike.

There are more shadows as the sun rises higher.

Once again we have beautiful weather for our hike.

George and I noticed that the rock formations are not as solid as they appeared. We saw several with huge cracks in them. Like the one above.

I've seen many views like this over the past few days and it still amazes me every time.

I'm also amazed at how so many trees manage to thrive while growing on a rock.

Christy almost blends in with nature in this photo.

Not sure if this tree is still alive but it caught my eye and I liked it enough to take a picture. Now I love this photo.

The hardest photo to get on this trip was one of Debbie. She stopped long enough for me to catch up to her and then gave me a smile.

There are so many different views of the canyon along this trail.

The Colorado River is visible in this photo.

Christy taking pictures of this colorful canyon.

Another twisted tree along the trail.

The end of the line for us. 

Three days of hiking at the Grand Canyon and not one of us fell into the canyon. I'd call that a successful weekend spent with good friends. 

The last photo was taken at the Hermits Rest gift shop. This huge fireplace is in the store. Just like everything else in the Grand Canyon, it is very impressive.