day two...

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it off to hike we go...

three days, four nights

As the Earth finished yet another lap around the sun we had the privilege of being the merging point for seven members of our extended family; fathers, mothers, husbands and wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers, cousins, aunt, uncle, nephew and niece all playing, hiking, eating, laughing, and sleeping together. 

How blessed we are. 

Arrivals were staggered so the first night our count was only three but by mid-day on Saturday our numbers reached seven. 

We toured our Indiana family 'round the homestead as this was their first visit. 

  
Then we packed them up and traveled a couple miles down the road to our neighborhood tourist attraction, Goldfield Ghost Town. 

Day one concluded with the first of several battles for dominance in the card game Rook. 

 

 

 Stay tuned for day two and three of our adventures.

dashing through the desert

After two days of death defying painting acrobatics Jay and I took advantage of our day off together via a bike ride to Gold Canyon. I was hoping for a nice sunny ride but the chill and clouds prevailed so we bundled up and wiped the dust off our wheels. Our biking muscles quickly reminded us that we hadn't had the bikes out in quite some time.

brave

fish creek

 After giving thanks that our hike was finally over, we piled back into the truck and drove an hour up and further into the mountains to check out a trailhead we want to try on another day. We arrived at the golden hour and my shutter finger was busy as I hobbled stiffly on sore tootsies a little way up the trail. The momentary pain was well worth the beauty I was able to capture.

 Jay walked a bit further while I took pictures 

then let Lily run back to me by herself...

I love that look on her face. She is such a happy hiker.

After checking out the trailhead and the end of perfect light we drove down to Fish Creek at the bottom of the canyon; dirt road, hairpin turns, and not much to speak of as far as guardrails is concerned. Not a drive my mother would have enjoyed.

While I walked to the middle of the bridge to shoot the moon Jay talked with this young couple who had been rock climbing. We ended up giving them a ride back to their car at the trailhead while they shared amazing stories of their rope adventures in the canyon. I think I prefer to keep my tired toes safely on the soil. Thank you.

 

 

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

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.