Arizona!

So, we decided to get away and our fingers landed on the map of Arizona. I had heard rumors of Sedona being beautiful and between Traci hoping to find cooler temps with less humidity and me hoping for warmer temps, humidity irrelevant... we sealed the plan- Sedona it was! A girls trip was in order and it was perfect that we both would only have to fly a few hours to reach each other; a meet in the middle of sorts. We met at the airport and before long were zipping through the desert.

Off we went into red rocks country, stopping to shop here and there, but mostly enjoying the outdoor recreation of the area. We even had a rendezvous with the Grand Canyon, where we challenged ourselves to a good huff and puff hike and watched the sun as it set from the surreal vista.

One night we climbed up to a beautiful perch on Bell Rock and watched the sun set in Sedona. The red rocks quickly took on a orange, then pink tone and the beauty was just indescribable.

We had plenty of good laughs, healthy food, and enjoyed being young and crazy again. It's been a while since I've been in tears laughing- the kind where you can hardly breathe because one giant hysterical outburst comes right after the next.

Sadly at the end of the trip, we were cursed with food poisoning which came close to jinxing us from seeing our lifelong friend, Donna. Donna has been in both of our lives since childhood and was a bridesmaid in Traci's wedding. Since she lives only a couple hours from Phoenix, she drove up to meet us our last night of the trip. Both Traci and I were reeling from the effects of food poisoning but somehow seeing Donna made things better. After a little peppermint tea and some saltines, we were well enough to grab some 'light' dinner with her. It wasn't quite the evening we had originally planned, but seeing her was a great highlight and I feel so grateful for the opportunity. She still has her giggles and fun personality and it was refreshing to see her and realize that time has been no opponent.

As always, I put some good miles on the camera. Here are a few pics!

Truer words have never been written.

Hiking the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon.

Sedona was every bit as spectacular as I had heard!

This tiny birds nest was in a jumping cholla cactus, where the little peeps were well protected from predators.

Mountain biking in red rocks country!

The famous Sedona sunset

Donna!

You might remember these two explorers from a previous trip where they were spotted at Niagra Falls (see the second picture here). Lewis and Clark once again led the way in the Grand Canyon.

Scenery Sunday

The hummingbirds are back, but the feeder action isn't constant like it becomes in May and June. This little guy was enjoying his tiny perch.

This is like where's Waldo. There are 4 Juncos and 3 Stellar's Jays in the pic.

Stellar's Jays are so beautiful and boisterous. They are related to blue jays and found in the northwestern areas of the US. Interestingly, the further south they get, the more blue instead of black shows up on their head feathers.

They are highly intelligent and often imitate birds of prey such as rough-legged or red-tailed hawks.

Sad news...

He was a darling little bear cub and he won many hearts. For the most part, with modern medicine, survival of the fittest is lost on humans. But nature is still very much in the throws of 'only the strong survive' and no matter how much we stomp and cry, there is no such thing as 'fair' in the animal kingdom. So, it is with a heavy heart today that I share the sad news of the passing of little Jason, one of Lily the bear's darling cubs. Big sister Faith seems to be developing fine and is right where she should be, but my breath is being held until she's old enough to survive on her own and until the weather cooperates.

The cause of death is not yet known on this precious little one, but over several days he had become weak. Lily had moved her whole family 0.26 miles away from their den, which was starting to flood. The long walk for such fragile young bears was difficult and biologists noticed a little lethargy afterward. Faith, the other cub seemed to recover and gain her strength, but little Jason became weaker and weaker until his passing yesterday. There is lots of speculation about the cause of death and lots of opinions, but the facts remain that one of the babies is now with the animal angels.

Rest in peace, Sweet Little Brown Eared Boy.

Scenery Saturday

This is Vil's latest flying toy. It's a mini-airplane, which has ailerons to help him do tricks and fly upside down. He's gotten really good a flying these!

Not far from the plane, another flying object was found. This is a turkey vulture which was riding the thermals yesterday.

Mt. Si and North Bend from ledge 2.

The main ledge, Rattlesnake Lake and the Cedar River Watershed. Yesterday the sun came out after about two weeks of rain. Everyone was outside sunning themselves in the 49 degree weather!

Indian Plum is blooming and salmon berries aren't far behind. There are lots of hummingbirds around the lake enjoying the nectar of these two plants.

It's mating season for woodpeckers! There must have been 6 or 7 red-breasted sap suckers at the lake yesterday. They were pecking on metal signs and making all kinds of noise. The metal pecking is used to establish territory and attract mates. They are so fun to watch.

"Whattchu Lookin' at Willis?"

"Wait...I was just on THAT side, but you say I'm supposed to be on THIS side?"

I found the easter bunny, well ahead of schedule!

And little Douglas was working the tree nuts and greens.

Trail Grandpa

With megawatt smiles and beautiful hearts, there are some people that brighten the world, just by being in it. Meet, Roman...my little German Trail Grandpa (Opa).

Roman entered my life about 2 years ago on a particularly cloudy day. I was running down the ledge trail almost done with my workout. My mind noise was buzzing with the errands to run and tasks to complete and I was mindlessly jogging down past other hikers without giving them a second thought. Then around the corner pops this old German man wearing a little felt German trinker hat, complete with feather and looking like he belonged in a mountain meadow playing an Alphorn. His beaming smile lit up the forest and happiness was pouring out of him like beer at Oktoberfest. I had to stop. Roman tipped his hat and with a thick German accent said "Good day to you". I smiled back "Good Morning". "Say, how long does it take you to go up this mountain"? I told him my time and he gave a sudden head movement back as if in shock. The movement was followed by a big smile, and a "that's fast"! We chatted for a minute about the trail and finally we were both on our way.

Throughout the next couple of years, I ran into Roman often. We frequently stopped to chat and I learned so much about him. Roman was 85 years old and a neighbor of mine, living about 2 miles away. Boeing brought him and his wife to our town 30 years ago from a small town outside of Munich. His children were grown, their children were grown and now he's a great grandfather. He does all of his own yard work, cares for his wife by cooking and cleaning and told me lots of stories about his garden and his frustration with the elk eating his tulips. In his prime he'd been a mountaineers and scaled many peak, both in Europe and the US. At 85 years old, Roman was climbing the ledge three times a week. Three, unbelievable times a week! I found out, he's a bit of a local legend as he's appeared in books of Mt. Si and is pretty well known in the community. He walks slowly with trekking poles and takes lots of breaks, but is astoundingly steady on his feet.

Yesterday I hiked down with him and he and I agreed that since my beloved Grandfather had passed on some years ago, he could be my trail Opa. As we hiked, there was not one person that Roman didn't tip his hat to and bid 'good day'. Whenever possible, he stops and chats and lifts the spirits of everyone. People see him in his little felt, feathered fedora and smile long before he stops. Roman is humbled and kind without a trace of negativity in his spirit. As we departed yesterday, I told him to call us if there was anything he and his wife ever needed. He smiled and agreed he would. Then, he pulls out a little piece of paper and gives me his phone number and (ready for this) his email. With a twinkle in his eye he said "You call me when you are going up the ledge next. We won't be able to hike together, but give me a time and Opa will meet you at the top." He bid me "Tschub" and sang the tune of "Auf Wiedersehen" as he headed to his car.

He inspires me to be a better person and to continue living a healthy lifestyle. Everyone should have a trail Opa!

In this picture, he insisted we trade hats. He's wearing my sun visor and I have his little trinker hat. It was such a crack up.

For the birds...

The action at the feeder has been picking up as I've been mixing the seeds with thistle and nuts. For the most part it's black capped and chestnut backed chickadees, but the dark eyed juncos and stellar jays have moved in too. We even have a douglas squirrel who has figured out how to jump from the trees to the feeder and makes a huge mess after the swan dive.

I've seen a bobcat hunting underneath it once already, and he may have come back for round two. The other night as we were sitting out in the hot tub, Pup came alive from his resting spot on the deck and flew toward the feeder barking and chasing something up the hillside. He was so far way that we could only hear his muffled barks as we called to try to get him to come back. We suspect that may have been a bobcat, too as a bear would have made more noise as it went through the forest. Whatever it was, Pup scared the liver out of it. The thought of a cougar crossed my mind, but that would have been far less likely. We'll see how the feeder fares when the bears are out roaming around.

I was thrilled to see a hummingbird at the feeder yesterday. He's been back several times today and seems to use both of the feeders. He's so tiny! Can't wait to get some pictures.