Le Retour des Bornstains

This is the third year that Jacques and Claire have shared time with us here in Sedona. They love the air, landscape, hiking, everything. And Jacques likes to celebrate his birthday here. This year he celebrated HIS birthday by taking US out to lunch at the El Tovar Lodge on the rim of the Grand Canyon. What a way to celebrate. We had a great lunch...


(I guess I could have had them actually pose for this picture.)

and the scenery, Fuggedaboudit!


They both love hiking so we were on the trails a lot. Here are some photos of our hikes.
On the backside of Courthouse Rock

Jacques and I at Chicken Point on the Broken Arrow Trail

Decision making on Cowpie Trail

The hikers coming down from one of the "cowpies"

Page was on Jacque's list this year. So we packed up early one morning and headed north. Unfortunately, Claire had come down with a bronchitis so she couldn't make the trip. It took a little over 3 hours to get to Antelope Canyon in Page. Jacques was astonished at the natural beauty of the slot canyon and only regretted that Claire wasn't there.
Here is Jacques entering the darkness of the slot canyon.


And a great photo of Jacques, Judy and me taken by our Navajo guide, Buddy.
From there we made a quick stop at the Glen Canyon dam which created Lake Powell and controls the eastern end of the Colorado. Our last stop before heading back to Sedona was another amazing natural thing of beauty.
What are these 4 looking at?

or these guys perched on the edge of a 1500 ft cliff?

Yup, you guessed it, Horseshoe Bend

But, the two weeks passed quickly and before you knew it they had to pack up their rental and head to Phoenix for their long flight back to Paris. A bientot.

Bushwhacking at Midgely Bridge

One day Kaleigh and I decided to investigage the creek that runs near our house to see if it could be crossed below the Midgely Bridge. There is a trail across the creek that can only be reached if one hops on boulders or jumps over logs and branches to get to the other side. As the weather had really warmed up, I wore shorts for the first time hiking (why do I mention that, you ask. You'll see.). We quickly determined that the creek was a bit too high to try to ford it. At least I did, Kaleigh was game to give it a try.

The view of the bridge above was really interesting and so we set out to do a little exploring without crossing the creek.

There was no real trail on this side of the creek so we made our way over some slick rock and rubble from flooding. There was a shallow, man-made aquaduct that carried water somewhere that was partway up the cliff towards the road. Things seemed pretty serene there and we enjoyed a couple of photo ops before deciding what to do next.

At this point we had hacked our way about 1/4 mile from the bridge downstream towards our house. I foolishly mentioned to Kaleigh that we could try to work our way along the creek to the house. She jumped all over that idea. Judy and I had worked our way partway toward the bridge from our place so, even though there was no trail, I felt we could find our way. Big mistake.
We immediately hit thick brambles and thorny bushes. We thought about balancing on the edge of the aquaduct but it was too narrow and we would have either fallen into the water or down into the brush. (the water in the aquaduct was only 1/2 foot deep at the most).
So we struggled on finding lots of rubble that washed down the creek from the camp grounds in Oak Creek Canyon. We even came across parts of cars that either came over the cliff or washed down stream.

As we struggled through the thorns we heard someone calling to us from the other side of the creek. The rushing water made a lot of noise so it was difficult to hear what he was saying. I finally figured he was asking us if were were lost. I just yelled back that we were not lost, just stupid. He shrugged his shoulders and went on his way.
We had no choice but to keep going as we were closer to where I thought our house was than to the bridge. At one point, we could see what looked like beaten down brush that lead back up to the aquaduct. I asked Kaleigh to climb up to see if there was a way out. I didn't want to have to climb up and then come back down. She got to the edge of the aquaduct and stepped into it (remember it was not too deep). I yelled, "how deep is the water?" and she yelled back, "it's dry!". It had dried up a little bit upstream. All along we could have been walking in a little water then a dried up aquaduct instead of bushwhacking our way through the briars and the brambles.
Can you see the scratches on Kaleigh's legs from our hike?

As I was not quite as light on my feet as Kaleigh, I got a few scratches myself. Can you see them?

We made it to the house without further damage but I snuck by Judy to take a quick shower to wash away some of the evidence of our hike before she had a chance to comment on our stupidity.

Kaleigh and Mia's Excellent Adventure

Recently, our niece, Kaleigh, and her roommate from UNC spent their Spring Break with us in Sedona. I thought they were supposed to go to Cancun or someplace wild but they seemed to want to take in the sights of the southwest. It was clear they were on student budgets as they must have found the cheapest flight to AZ from NC via NY. They got in about 10:30pm and we arrived at the terminal just as they walked out the door.
Later in the week, we decided to take the Mund's Wagon Trail for a good hike. This trail is about 4 miles long uphill (one-way) starting at the Schnebley Hill parking lot. As I was the least conditioned of the 3 of us, I decided that Judy would drive us up Schnebley Hill road and drop us off as close to the end of the trail as possible. We reached the gate that closes the Schnebley Hill road and the 3 of us walked up to the trail while Judy and Dottie watched us from a scenic overlook. We found where the trail ended and headed back down Schnebley Hill. Just after we started, storm clouds blew in quickly and soon we were in the middle of a hail storm. We could see the blue sky off in the distance so we figured it wouldn't last too long. It was really cool to see how quickly water funnelled down over the redrocks. We managed to make it over some of the slick rock and through some mini flash floods and worked our way down the trail taking time for a few photo ops. Sorry about the water on the lens... You couldn't come to the Sedona area without a visit to one of the Indian ruins. So, we visited Hunanki, a very interesting spot. I always include a little off-road adventure when we visit this location, so I subjected the crew to the back road to 89A. There might have been a few puddles along the way. Next on their "todo" list was Antelope Canyon in Page. We decided to do an overnight and include the Grand Canyon in the trip. We went directly to Upper Antelope Canyon. this was a real treat for Kaleigh as she had seen some photos and this was high on her list. The first steps into the slot canyon are a bit intimidating. Pictures don't always do justice to the slot canyons, but maybe this quick video will give it some perspective.

After the slot canyon we stopped by Horseshoe Bend where the Colorado works its way around a 270 degree turn on its way to the Grand Canyon. Here is Kaleigh looking over the edge. I think that is my shadow on the right, but I look a little emaciated.
Unfortunately, Kaleigh lost a memory card for her camera somewhere near the edge. We came back later when she realized she lost it but we couldn't find it. To provide solace to us all, Mia bought pizzas for dinner which we ate at the hotel while Mia studied for an exam. The next morning, we took another look but to no avail. Photos from her whole senior year at UNC were lost on that card.
Oh well, on to the Grand Canyon. We stopped first at the overlook for the Little Colorado River Gorge where we bought a flute for Bob and Evie Saunders and took in the beautiful scenery.
Once again, at the canyon, Kaleigh was in the forefront of things. I suppose she could have gotten closer and given me more goosebumps.

And here is a shot of the 3 of us enjoying this magnificent natural phenomenom.
It took us about 2 hours to get back to Sedona from the Canyon. I was the only one who stayed awake for most of the trip. Unfortunately, Mia was still studying for an exam for a teaching position and she had to leave the next day to get back in time for the test. It was great having her visit and enjoy the beautiful southwest.

Recent Company

We've had a few rounds of company this year and have really enjoyed them. It is always fun to show people around who love to travel and do things and who have not had the fortune to have visited Sedona.

Henri and Gigi

Our first guests were our friends Henri and Gigi. They were great company and up for anything. Even with a bit of bad weather they still relaxed and enjoyed themselves. Gigi was tenacious with a jigsaw puzzle we brought with us.
But it wasn't all indoor activities. They spent some time in Flagstaff and we had a few good hikes including this one on Soldier's Pass, one of our favorites. Plus they treated us to dinner at our favorite family Mexican Restaurant, Casa Bonita in the Basha's strip mall.
Gigi works as a geologist so she was fascinated with the landscape and we took advantage of her knowledge. She and Judy stopped in some shops in Jerome and picked up some samples of copper. It was good to have someone assure us that the stones were legit.

Bob and Evie
After Henri and Gigi left, we welcomed our friends from Walpole, Bob and Evie Saunders. They jumped right into things by making two large pans of lasagna. We ate one over a couple of days and we are still saving the other one. It was great. The Pear Martinis on the deck weren't bad either.
They were really interested in seeing the Grand Canyon, so that was on their itinerary. But when they saw a brochure for Antelope Canyon in Page, they remembered that one of their daughters had raved about it. So, we heard them leave before 6am and didn't see them again til 8pm when they walked in the door with a pizza. They had managed to cram in a tour of Upper Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon in one day. Quite a trip but shows it can be done.
Bob took about 800 pictures (is that a record?). They were in awe of the scenery. There was some snow on the ground when they arrived so we took some photos with snow on the red rocks. Beautiful.
We took Bob and Evie to our favorite spot for a picnic and passed by the remains of a steer that we have been watching for a couple of years. Judy and Evie picked through the bones until Judy found a nice leg bone to bring home.
We continued up the trail for our lunch sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the colorful landscape.

The morning they were leaving, I took Bob on one last Jeep ride to the Broken Arrow trail. I've blogged on this one before so I won't belabor things. Suffice it to say that when we returned to the house, Bob excused himself to change his underwear.
Then they were off for a visit to the Sonoran Desert Museum and the San Xavier del Bac Mission in Tucson. They had a great time and so did we.

Dottie Folino

Next, our friend and neighbor, Dottie Folino, joined us. Dottie was very accommodating as she shared some of the guest facilities with my niece, Kaleigh, and her roommate from UNC, Mia (more on them in another post). She walks a lot with friends at home, so we got her right out on a nice trail called Marg's Draw. It starts as Schnebly Hill and passes beneath such formations as Snoopy Rock. A great way to start the week.
Dottie really enjoyed the Indian Rock Art at Hunanki ruins
and loved the "moderate" off road experience on the way back to civilization.
She capped off the week by taking us all out to dinner at Judy's favorite restaurant.

It was bound to happen!

It's been a while and I have lots of stuff to add to the blog, but I thought I'd get this one in while it was still fresh.

While our niece, Kaleigh, was visiting ( more on that later ), we worked our way through some back roads to a place called Robber's Roost. Supposedly, it was named that because robbers and bootleggers hid there and could have a clear view across the landscape to see anyone approaching. It was a really cool spot but not for the faint of heart. Kaleigh was ahead of us and had branched off to climb to the top of the formation. Meanwhile, Judy and I hit what looked like the end of the trail as the next steps would bring us along a very narrow, slanted bit of slip rock with a wall on one side and a 150 foot, or so, drop on the other. I said this can't be it. I wanted no part of those few steps as I couldn't see what was around the corner. We eventually found Kaleigh. She wanted to take another look at the narrow path and, after some preliminary scouting, convinced me that it got a bit wider and flatter around the corner. She went ahead and I gingerly made my way across the narrow path behind her and, sure enough, it got flatter and brought us to a unique sight. There was a cave with a stone wall in front and a natural window looking out over the area. Here is Kaleigh making her way along the wide portion of slip rock and then sitting in the window.


On our way back to town, we took another back road and saw a white pickup and yellow tent out in the wilderness. We made a wide circle around it and worked our way up a rocky, narrow trail.
This is when it happened. I must have hit a good sized rock and slid into a tree root because I felt a bump, heard a thump and then SSSSSSSSSSssssssssss. I drove another 10' or so to get on level land and by then my tire was totally flat. I had cut a 2" long gash in the sidewall of the right rear tire. We were about 20 miles from civilization, but luckily I had two terrific helpers who offered all kinds of advice and assistance.


At this point the white pickup came up the trail behind us. I started to wave it around but a woman stepped out to say she had seen us go up the hill and stop and she was just checking on us. She told us her life story in about 15 minutes. She was out camping to meditate and fast, in preparation for doing her thesis on Art Therapy. She said she used to live in Phoenix but got fed up with city life, sold her Harley and moved to Jackson Hole for the peaceful solitude. For someone who wanted a solitary existance in the middle of nowhere, she sure talked a lot.
Last but not least, here is the flat mounted on the back of the Jeep with a pencil sticking through the sidewall. I sent this photo to my brother John, at Sullivan Tire, so he could give me an idea how badly I was going to get screwed when replacing the tire.

Archaeoastronomists in Action

One of our favorite and most interesting sites in the area is the V bar V Ranch. On this deserted ranch can be found some of the most pristine examples of Indian Rock Art in all of Arizona. We have visited this site with company and on our own several times. There are hundreds of pictographs chipped into a rock face.

Over the years, archaeoastronomers have been studying the pictographs, along with the path of the sun over the wall, to try to determine their meaning. Archaeoastronomy is the study of what peoples throughout history and prehistory made of the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role it played in their cultures. Much of what the symbols mean is still conjecture. One thing they have come to agree on is the potential existence of a solar calendar. This solar calendar would be used by the natives to determine times for planting and reaping crops, for example. Shadows thrown by certain rocks sticking out of the wall would point to symbols indicating activities that need to take place at certain times of the year.
Recently, Judy attended a lecture by a local archaeologist, Ken Zoll, who has been trying to determine if the rocks that throw the shadows are naturally in place or have been placed there by the original occupants. He finally arranged to have several Phd's from ASU come to the site to investigate.
This past weekend, a team of 4-5 experts, including Zoll, set up scaffolding to get a closer look at the wall.
They spent parts of the whole weekend getting up close and personal with each crack and crevice.

After close examination of the boulders and the cracks in the wall where they are lodged, the experts determined that there is evidence that the boulders that jut out were origianlly there, but other rocks were placed there or at least arranged there to hold it in its proper place. This was determined because there are types of rocks in the cracks that are not part of the wall itself and were obviously placed there. This gives more credibility to their theories of a man made solar calendar.

This was a fascinating experience for us. Judy was enthralled with it. We could hear the experts discuss things as they examined the wall and were able to spend time talking with Ken to get his take on this research activity and other digs at this very interesting site.

Painting with Michael Chesley Johnson, et al

Recently, I went out painting with Michael Johnson and one of his students who was in town for one of Michael's workshops. As his student, San, was adventersome, we decided to take the Jeep down Dry Creek rd to FR 152. Judy and I had already been down that road this year and determined that the name was accurate as the creek, which is normally over my hubcaps at certain crossings, was bone dry. So, as we would not have any water scenes to paint, we stopped at one of our favorite spots with a 360 degree view of the area. Although Judy and I had been to this spot many times and like to bring our company there, I had never painted there. So, we all set up and attempted slightly different views. Here is my 8x10 version of the backlit side of Thunder Mountain.

From there we drove further down 152 to an open spot, had our lunch and set up for another painting. Here is a photo of Michael and San in the process of creating some masterpieces.
This part of 152 was lower in altitude so we had to look up to compose our potential paintings. We all set up looking in different directions but drove out with each of us carrying another painting. Not sure if this has a name, but here it is.

Michael has been kind enough to invite me to join him and his students any time I can. I'll be taking advantage of that invitation.

Back on line...

It's been an enjoyable week or so here in Sedona. The weather was great for a while, but, of course, when company arrives it is apt to change.

Last week, while waiting for a bay at the local car wash, we met a couple from Manitoba, Jim and Carmen Koepke. He had a Ford 4WD with a winch, so we invited them to take a ride with us out in the outback. First we visited the ruins at Palatki. The site is actually off limits for visitors at the moment. One has to view the ruins from an area about 50 yds away. The docent gives the same spiel but you can't roam around the site at all. A couple of years ago, you could even go into one of the "homes". Last year, that was prohibited as the doorway was collapsing. This year they have heard some cracking noises and fear that there may be a boulder falling soon, so it is off limits.

From there we went to Honanki which has more ruins than Palatki anyway. So, our friends from Manitoba enjoyed that. We took an abbreviated trip through Lincoln Canyon as Jim was a little reluctant to do any damage to his vehicle. (BTW, we heard that scratches in the paint from branches along a trail are called Arizona Pinstripes.)

Our friends, Henry and Gigi, arrived on thurs and we did some of the same things with them. They were blown away by the scenery as you come into Sedona late in the day. The Red Rocks were in their full glory.We also brought them on a hike through Soldier's Pass, which has great sunlight in the morning.

The weather has been a bit of a problem for them, tho. One evening it was beautiful, like in this photo of Cathedral Rock at about 5:00 PM.

The next morning, we awoke to weather like this. It will melt quickly and the scenery will be beautiful again.

Our poor hummingbird had to chip away at the feeder for her breakfast. We really needed the rain/snow as it is very dry here. All the creek beds that I love to splash through are totally devoid of any water. I'm looking forward to getting a little red rock mud on the Jeep.