8 posts tagged “cave creek”
Slowly, but surely, Carol is changing from city girl to "Cactus Carol", girl from the wild, wild west.
On New Year's Day, Carol and Jessica went horse back riding in the local mountains of Cave Creek.
On New Year's Day, Carol and Jessica went horse back riding in the local mountains of Cave Creek.
This recent photograph of mine has garnered a few awards over at flickr. My first "award winner". I still can't believe the sunsets out here!
Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was 65 degrees with the humidity around 28%. We had a bit of rain in the last few days so the desert seemed to be far greener than usual.
I also noticed that the skies were the clearest that I have seen since we have been out here.
Today hike was at the Spur Cross Recreation Area which is a part of the Maricopa Park system. Today we hiked around 2.5 miles on the Spur Cross Trail and the Metate Trail. The Metate trail was fabulous as it criss crossed Cave Creek (the actual creek...not the city). I am certain that this area is home to many species of animals because of the fresh water supply.
With all the under brush available I suspect the Javalina are plentiful in the area.
We continue to explore the area and are fabulously in love with Scottsdale and Arizona.
I also noticed that the skies were the clearest that I have seen since we have been out here.
Today hike was at the Spur Cross Recreation Area which is a part of the Maricopa Park system. Today we hiked around 2.5 miles on the Spur Cross Trail and the Metate Trail. The Metate trail was fabulous as it criss crossed Cave Creek (the actual creek...not the city). I am certain that this area is home to many species of animals because of the fresh water supply.
With all the under brush available I suspect the Javalina are plentiful in the area.
We continue to explore the area and are fabulously in love with Scottsdale and Arizona.
Carol has, on more than one occasion, called me a geek. Evidently, because of my natural curiosity, this is "geeky" to her.
One of my curiosities, now living in the mountains, was that of elevations. It seems that I am always wondering how high we are from an elevation perspective.
To satisfy this deep longing, I decided to purchase this $40 Altimeter on Ebay. It also has a barometer, compass, and thermometer.
As I read the directions from cover to cover I decided to put the device on my belt loop and play with Carol's head a bit. I walked into the room, with the device on my belt loop, and told her that I intended to wear this around for a few months so that I could get a sense of the varying altitudes in the area.
Her comment was, "all you need now is a pocket protector"! "Hmmm...great idea", I proclaimed.
Of course I was kidding, but I do enjoy playing with her head from time to time.
By the way, our home is 2,250 feet above sea level. We went to dinner last night, with new friends, at the Capitol Grill and it was 650 feet lower than our home.
Now...don't you find that interesting????
One of my curiosities, now living in the mountains, was that of elevations. It seems that I am always wondering how high we are from an elevation perspective.
To satisfy this deep longing, I decided to purchase this $40 Altimeter on Ebay. It also has a barometer, compass, and thermometer.
As I read the directions from cover to cover I decided to put the device on my belt loop and play with Carol's head a bit. I walked into the room, with the device on my belt loop, and told her that I intended to wear this around for a few months so that I could get a sense of the varying altitudes in the area.
Her comment was, "all you need now is a pocket protector"! "Hmmm...great idea", I proclaimed.
Of course I was kidding, but I do enjoy playing with her head from time to time.
By the way, our home is 2,250 feet above sea level. We went to dinner last night, with new friends, at the Capitol Grill and it was 650 feet lower than our home.
Now...don't you find that interesting????
Now that our home has all it's pieces in place it is time for the final touches. This morning Judyth, Carol's cousin and decorator extraordinaire, begin putting the final touches on the house.
We are going to add some valences around a few windows to bring in some color and balance. We also plan to remodel the kitchen, bathroom, and the patio.
Carol loves doing this kind of stuff and it is fun to see their creations come to light.
Decorating is truly an art and we are fortunate to have found Judyth. If you would like to contact Judyth for a consultation, you can reach her at this e-mail address.
I highly recommend her. She whipped this house up in no time at all. She has a gift for understanding your tastes very quickly and guiding you through just the right touches.
We are going to add some valences around a few windows to bring in some color and balance. We also plan to remodel the kitchen, bathroom, and the patio.
Carol loves doing this kind of stuff and it is fun to see their creations come to light.
Decorating is truly an art and we are fortunate to have found Judyth. If you would like to contact Judyth for a consultation, you can reach her at this e-mail address.
I highly recommend her. She whipped this house up in no time at all. She has a gift for understanding your tastes very quickly and guiding you through just the right touches.
Today we ventured off to hike the Clay Mine Trail in the Cave Creek Recreation Center which is part of the Maricopa County Park System.
This particular trail was a fairly easy trail, clearly marked with just a bit of elevation climbing. Nothing strenuous enough to get the heart really pumping. Our trip today was somewhere around 2 miles round trip.
One of the things that is striking to me, in hiking Arizona, is the huge differences in the landscape in just short distances. Today's landscape was quite a bit different from yesterday. Our elevation was not quite as high, I would guess somewhere around 2500 feet.
As we began our walk we noticed what appeared to be decayed tree stumps all over the place. Being a novice to the area, I began to wonder if we were witnessing petrified wood. Upon reading the article that I highlighted for you, it seems that petrified wood is created underground and the photographs in the article looked nothing like what we were seeing today.
It is hard to see from these pictures that I took, above, but it was uncanny how much this area looked to be an old forest with old stumps left behind. When you touch the material is was clearly rock, but fairly brittle.
The temperature was a beautiful 68 degrees today with a south wind blowing around 10 miles/hour. We found a nice place to sit and contemplate the valley, our lives, and just listen to the sounds of silence. I absolutely love quiet. There is so much noise in our lives these days that when you hear quiet....it is so relaxing.
We came across The Clay Mine about 10 minutes into our hike. It is now fenced in to keep people out of the mine. I took the shot through the fencing. Evidently this mine produced a talc like substance that was peddled as a patent medicine many years ago. Who knows, perhaps it was sold on the Well Fargo Wagon!
Tonight, Carol's cousin Judyth is coming to spend the night and early in the morning we are going to look at granite for our kitchen. Carol hooked up with Judyth a week ago and hadn't seen each other in many years. Evidently Judyth was a maid of honor in Carol's first marriage. She is an interior decorator and moved to Arizona a few years ago from the Cincinnati area.
Well...that's all for now. Now....it's your turn to write. See that e-mail button on the top write? Click it and say hi.
This particular trail was a fairly easy trail, clearly marked with just a bit of elevation climbing. Nothing strenuous enough to get the heart really pumping. Our trip today was somewhere around 2 miles round trip.
One of the things that is striking to me, in hiking Arizona, is the huge differences in the landscape in just short distances. Today's landscape was quite a bit different from yesterday. Our elevation was not quite as high, I would guess somewhere around 2500 feet.
As we began our walk we noticed what appeared to be decayed tree stumps all over the place. Being a novice to the area, I began to wonder if we were witnessing petrified wood. Upon reading the article that I highlighted for you, it seems that petrified wood is created underground and the photographs in the article looked nothing like what we were seeing today.
It is hard to see from these pictures that I took, above, but it was uncanny how much this area looked to be an old forest with old stumps left behind. When you touch the material is was clearly rock, but fairly brittle.
The temperature was a beautiful 68 degrees today with a south wind blowing around 10 miles/hour. We found a nice place to sit and contemplate the valley, our lives, and just listen to the sounds of silence. I absolutely love quiet. There is so much noise in our lives these days that when you hear quiet....it is so relaxing.
We came across The Clay Mine about 10 minutes into our hike. It is now fenced in to keep people out of the mine. I took the shot through the fencing. Evidently this mine produced a talc like substance that was peddled as a patent medicine many years ago. Who knows, perhaps it was sold on the Well Fargo Wagon!
Tonight, Carol's cousin Judyth is coming to spend the night and early in the morning we are going to look at granite for our kitchen. Carol hooked up with Judyth a week ago and hadn't seen each other in many years. Evidently Judyth was a maid of honor in Carol's first marriage. She is an interior decorator and moved to Arizona a few years ago from the Cincinnati area.
Well...that's all for now. Now....it's your turn to write. See that e-mail button on the top write? Click it and say hi.
Today is the one month anniversary of our departure from Lansing, Michigan. Carol and I were talking today and we have not seen any clouds in a month! Hooray!
Today we went for a hike in the Tonto National Forest to visit the Hohokam Ruins. Above are a few shots from our trip. The colors are not very vivid as we were hiking in the mid-day sun. A perfect 71 degrees I might add.
The village dates back to somewhere around 100 AD. All that is left today are the rocks and boulders that were used for their shelter. You could make out the foundation of many of the huts. Typically the Hohokum would have two rooms of shelter as well as two "outside" living areas in their individual homes.
I believe were we up around 3,500 feet so this altitude would be quite cooler than the floor of the valley. There was also a very nice breeze that I suspect was their friend during the heat of the summer. We learned, from plaques spread around the ruins, that these people were primarily agricultural and created vast canals to water their crops.
It was interesting to sit there and take in the scenery that they certainly must have shared with us. All I can say is that I would not want the job of carrying the water up the mountain from the stream below. At least the sign said there was a stream, I could not see any evidence of it. I guess my Boy Scout skills from Michigan are fairly worthless here in the Sonoran Desert.
Today is the one month anniversary of our departure from Lansing, Michigan. Carol and I were talking today and we have not seen any clouds in a month! Hooray!
Today we went for a hike in the Tonto National Forest to visit the Hohokam Ruins. Above are a few shots from our trip. The colors are not very vivid as we were hiking in the mid-day sun. A perfect 71 degrees I might add.
The village dates back to somewhere around 100 AD. All that is left today are the rocks and boulders that were used for their shelter. You could make out the foundation of many of the huts. Typically the Hohokum would have two rooms of shelter as well as two "outside" living areas in their individual homes.
I believe were we up around 3,500 feet so this altitude would be quite cooler than the floor of the valley. There was also a very nice breeze that I suspect was their friend during the heat of the summer. We learned, from plaques spread around the ruins, that these people were primarily agricultural and created vast canals to water their crops.
It was interesting to sit there and take in the scenery that they certainly must have shared with us. All I can say is that I would not want the job of carrying the water up the mountain from the stream below. At least the sign said there was a stream, I could not see any evidence of it. I guess my Boy Scout skills from Michigan are fairly worthless here in the Sonoran Desert.
