silly hike

One of Lily and my favorite things to do together is hiking up Silly Mountain. Because life has been so dog-gone busy we've missed the best hiking months this year.






Determined to not let all the season disappear without enjoying the fact that we have a trail head a mile from our house we (well technically I not we, as Lily's schedule is always open for hiking) made time this past week for three jaunts up our favorite Silly Mountain.

On the way up the hill we found this hiker's trail marker with and added thought. I looked to see if there might be more signs along the trail but didn't discover any more.

I love the trail names on Silly Mountain. Here we are at the intersections of Coyote Loop Trail and Jackrabbit Trail.

 

I've not yet perfected the art of selfies but have been trying to include the human element in my photos and the size of my hiking group made the selfies necessary.

The March weather encourages late afternoon hiking when the sun is fading. The bonus is the wonderful colors the scape takes on as the sun sinks in the west. The picture below is a view of Gold Canyon, the community that is visible from the far side of Silly.

Good Night Brittle Brush Flowers,
Good Night Saguaro Cactus,
Good Night Superstition Mountain.

tired tootsies...

but so worth the climb...

Superstition Mountain

Lost Dutchman State Park

Apache Junction, Arizona

up up up the mountain

 Lily loves hiking!

 Jay and David headed up higher at this point. Eventually Steph and then I joined them although Lily and I didn't adventure to all the nooks and crannies the rest of the crew explored. Our delayed assent (and the neon windbreaker) gave some good perspective to the climb.

up the mountain

The day before David returned to winter in Minnesota and another semester of school we spent hiking on our backyard mountain. It was perfect weather for climbing although in the shadow of the mountain the temps dropped the higher we got. My camera batteries died on the first (and only) group shot of the day but thanks to two smart phones we were not without picture taking capabilities. Here are a series of photos that I had fun playing photo shop with. While my thighs recover from the climb you can enjoy the view from the comfort of you computer chair.

a different perspective

Same Superstition Mountain from a different angle.

up the mountain

The last two weekends we have found oursleves "up the mountain" visiting with our former house guests, Rob and Sue. I always enjoy visiting Payson, it's cooler and there are trees and green things. I typically like to take my camera for a walk down the country road and see what interesting things we can spot in the viewfinder. Last Shabbat morning Jay offered to join us. This is what I saw...

One of Sue's newly acquired bees (get it...Sue Bee Honey?) investigating her roses. We are scheduled to bee sit once the weather turns cold.

Looking for gold in the wash-what else would he be doing down there!

after the rain

It rain all day Friday, a chilly windy rain. But before the day ended there was a ray of sunshine that crossed the horizon. The overcast sky and golden light made a stunning combination out the back door. 

After shooting multiple angles I was headed back to the warm but paused again when I spotted my two favorite people framed in the window with the mountain reflected in the glass.

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.

day six, a rainy hanukkah

We heard news that there was a big storm headed across the Pacific Ocean early this week. The clouds rolled in yesterday afternoon. Overnight I listened to the wind blow. The morning was wet and chilly. Funny how it startles me to open the curtains and not see the mountain.

The sun battled with the clouds in the afternoon creating some interesting photo ops.

double blessing

During dance practice in our worship room on Monday afternoon a double rainbow appeared framing the mountain. The colors were vivid and seemed to splash off the ground where they touched the horizon. Three times the promise reminders appeared, disappeared and reappeared.

Photo credit for first 2 photos: Jay