The last few days of my trip were certainly not the least! We finished strong.
Tuesday: Hiking With a Dear Friend
Anne from Texas had planned a visit to her parents, and so I arranged to meet up with her. Anne had been disappointed that her planned trip had to be postponed twice. When her plans got quashed the second time, though, selfishly I was happy when I could finally jump on.
I was honored to join Anne on one of her treasured secret hikes on Tuesday morning. It was a lovely spring day, and we chatted and marveled at sights big and small for a little more than five miles. It was a treat! Thank you, Anne!
Enjoy the photos.
First, the required stop at Anderson Overlook. Seriously. Never gets old.
And then the hike.
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| Do you see a giraffe? |
Life grows where it can:
Closeup:
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| Not only do I marvel at plants growing in rocks, but lichen is (are?) a friend of mine. |
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Toward the end of our jaunt, shortly after she spotted (and left, natch) an ancestral pottery shard, Anne spied an Ancestral Pueblo ruins. Amazing!
Every day this week, but especially today, I had been mindful of my footsteps traversing the land that others had inhabited a thousand years ago. It is important to be mindful of those who have gone before. It was a deeply moving moment for us, encountering the past here beneath our feet.
Anne and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Pig n Fig (if you go on Tuesday, get the daily special: chicken salad on croissant. Delish!) and parted ways with a big hug.
On one of my town walks, I had pinched a tiny, but freakin' fabulously fragrant, lilac stem. It accompanied me back home. Every time I needed a hit of home, I took a whiff.
That afternoon, I packed up Poppy and battened down the hatches. I had cut my visit a tad short due to forecasted rain on my route, so Tuesday afternoon I buzzed down to Albuquerque for another restful night at the Cracker Barrel!
Found some friends there:
Wednesday
After a restful night, I headed a little south to:
I again varied from my uszh. Instead of a breakfast burrito, I had huevos rancheros, Christmas. Yummy.
Plus a sixer to go. Poppy has a freezer, after all!
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| IYKYN |
Belly full, I headed west once again, and just east of Flagstaff I decided to stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument.
The site holds the cliff dwellings of Ancestral Puebloans. They used the naturally occurring overhangs from the limestone layer in the Kaibab Formation to form the roof of their dwellings, and they stacked rocks to make the walls.
Who among my geology friends can explain this bulge?
I'm a sucker for wildflowers.
CB again on Wednesday night.
Thursday
My son Kevin had been urging me on my numerous trips on I-40 to stop at Calico Ghost Town. This time, I did.
It was a short-lived silver mining town in the late 19th century, bought and restored by Mr. Knott of Knott's Berry Farm in the 1950s. He handed it over to San Bernadino County, and it is a cool little regional park.
There's Poppy!
It was just a few more hours to home! Filled up one last time...
And home sweet home!
Finally, a video compilation of some of the critters I encountered over the week. Thanks for hanging in with me and reading!
Til next time!
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