A Walk in Beauty

Currently In:  Phoenix, AZ
Going to Lake Havasu this week

We have spent most of this past week re supplying, fixing the rig, and relaxing.  Because the weather was so hot yesterday, we actually went to an afternoon movie to beat the heat!
But onn Friday we took the opportunity to drive up to Flagstaff and hike the Inner Basin Trail in the Coconino National Forest.
It was 87 degrees in Phoenix and 62 degrees in Flagstaff, just 90 minutes north but 6,000 feet above seas level higher.

I read a Navajo Blessingway at the start of the hike.  The sun was reflecting on the sign so I couldn't get a good photo, but here it is:

          I walk with beauty before me.  I walk with beauty behind me.
          I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
          I walk with beauty around me.

 We started out at 8400 feet and hiked through a forest of ponderosa, limber and white pine.  It's been a while since we have done a hike in the woods!

We crossed a couple of dry creeks.

Lots of aspen leaves had fallen already.

Naturally, my favorite part was the aspen grove in Autumn .

When we got to the end of the trail, we found a stone structure that houses a water main that collects water from several Inner Basin springs.  The spring water is used by Flagstaff primarily in the summer.

We found snow at 9600 feet! We think it is left from the snowstorm that we drove through last week.
By the way, the green shed is a pump house for the spring water.

We saw this sign at the top, too.

So I got this shot of the snow covered San Francisco Peaks on the way down. I think this one may be Humphreys.

HOF

Currently In: Phoenix, AZ
Heading to Havasu City and Yuma in November

Last weekend Johnny traveled to Cleveland to spend time with family as Notre-Dame Cathedral Latin High School  honored his aunt, Sister Margaret Kerr, for athletic achievement by inducting her into their Hall of Fame.

Of course Johnny also had dinner with Michael - no photos.

Friday night Sister and four other alums were honored after Q1 of the football game.  The other honorees have a few inches on her, huh?

Saturday was the luncheon and induction.

Sister was asked to say a few words which she obliged in her typical humble way.

Sister was no doubt a pioneer in women's athletics.  She played inter mural basketball, baseball, and volleyball long before Title IX.  I'm so proud of her!

Johnny also hung out with some cousins from the other side of the family Saturday night. (photo with his brother Kevin)

Me?  What did I do all weekend?  Cleaning, reading, blogging and lots pool time!

On a silly note, Johnny and I missed out on In N Out Burger when we were here last Spring.  Not to be denied, we stopped off on the way home from the airport!

On the Rez

Currently In: Phoenix, AZ
Staying warm in AZ for a while!

The drive from Moab to Phoenix was 450 miles, so we did a two night stopover in Tuba City, AZ, about half way.  How lucky for me because it gave us the chance to see a long time family friend - Fr. Jay Jung, CM.  I was in high school when Fr. Jay and I met!
We went out to dinner at the Cameron Trading Post - a beautiful building.

Fr. Jay's Parish, St. Jude, is in Dine', the Navajo Reservation.  Dine' translates to "The People", and is the word this Native American tribe prefers in reference to themselves.  Fr. Jay gave us a wonderful tour of the parish grounds and buildings.  Although he is the only priest, he works with 4 Daughters of Charity sisters who run many programs.

St. Jude's serves a diverse congregation: Anglo, Native American and Filipino.  There is a food bank, all purpose room, and a garden on the parish property.  We learned a lot about the people of the area and the work that is being done to keep the Catholic faith alive in this small town on the Reservation.

On the day we were to finish our drive to Phoenix, we woke up to this.  It was October 16!

Our trip through Flagstaff was an adventure!  Taking the RV out in a snowstorm - a first for us.

We hadn't seen snow in so long; it did look kind of pretty.

I must say, I was relieved to see the blue skies of Phoenix!

Some on roading and some off roading

Currently In: Phoenix, AZ
Next Up: Havasu City, AZ


One of the most popular things to do in Souther Utah is off roading.  There were lots of ATVs at the campgrounds!

So we decided to explore a couple of the off road trail ourselves.  There are lots of difficult trails in Canyonlands NP, but a Park Ranger told us the Shafer Trail is a good one for beginners with a Jeep that has not been modified.

Of course, first we had to drive down into the Shafer Canyon!  We are headed to that road in the top picture.  Not quite as nerve racking as the Alpine Loop, but still had me on the edge of my seat.  We're going to be on that road riding through the canyon in a minute!

The La Sal Mountains were part of the beautiful scenery. 

Check out this switchback!  Yikes!

The scenery was fantastic.

Which way to go?  Follow the sign.  32 miles left!

Ran into some rock on the road.

Um, ok this is all rock.  Gotta go slow.  Real slow.

The sun was starting to set just as we got to the main highway.  Whew!

The La Sal Mountains were right outside our campsite, but in the clouds most of the time.  We drove the La Sal Mountain Loop road so we could see them up close.  Loving the snow at 8,000 feet!

It was still kinda cloudy, but a nice drive after we had been stuck inside all day with the rain.

We saw a touch of Autumn too.  Oh, the Aspens.

Oops - Open Range here.  They lick the salt in the road put down by the snowplows.

At one point the fog was so thick we couldn't see the mountains!

Into view once again.

Near the bottom the snow was gone so the mountains took on a different appearance.

The end of the loop put us back in familiar territory!

On our last full day in Moab we decided to do one more off roading drive recommended by several RV friends.

The landscape on the way to the bridges was quintessential Moab.

I love this one of Arches NP and the mountains in the background.

The Gemini Bridges look like an arch.

But there are actually 2 arches right next to each other!  This open space separates them.

You can actually walk across the bridges.  I am the tiny thing standing on top!

There was a cave right across the way.

 There was some other cool terrain around the Gemini Bridges.

Finally, the last day it Moab, it cleared up so we got a full view of the LSM from our site.  Nice!