first water

 Jay, Lily and I took advantage of the extended Thanksgiving weekend to check out a new hiking trail. The majority of our hiking has been to the east of our backyard view. This time we headed west, just a couple of miles down the road, to First Water Trailhead. Our wanderings took us back behind our mountain into a valley of sorts with mountains all around. 

 There were a lot of interesting rock formations and a good view of Weaver's Needle. I was practicing a "better photo" hint that I recently read....that being that photos, in general are more interesting when a human is included. Seeing that I had lots of scenic views and only one human to work with you'll see a lot of Jay in this post.

Time for a break in the shade....
and a yummy trial mix someone clever threw together.

The day was lovely and perfect for a march around the desert. By the end we figured we covered around 9 miles. As we turned to head back we crossed paths with this lone hiker...finally, someone else to photograph! She seemed please to have people to talk with and stuck with us for the remainder of the trail. 

The day was lovely and perfect for a march around the desert. By the end we figured we covered around 9 miles.