Yesterday, Donna and I put on our hiking shoes and went for a walk. Donna had looked at Google Earth and saw what looked like hiking trails across the road from the RV park. Before we left, I walked to the office and asked about hiking in the area.The woman there told me that most people hike across the street on the trails Donna saw. She said she’d never hiked there, but heard tales of dinosaur footprints fossilized in the hills.
We crossed the street late in the morning and followed the trail. It was directly across from the RV park entrance. We hiked down into a wash then started on an uphill path. I put my hand on Donna’s arm and said, “Stop!” There was a snake sunning himself in the trail a few feet in front of us. It was a harmless western patch-nose. I told Donna that snakes are cold-blooded. Since the temperature was in the low 70s, he probably wouldn’t move all that fast. I stepped forward to take a picture of it. He took off like shot and disappeared into the brush. So much for my theory of cold-blooded reptiles being slow at that temperature.
The trail meandered up and down. Sometimes we were hiking in the bottom of the wash, other times we were climbing the hillside. There were many wild flowers blooming along the trail. I didn’t try to photograph them because the were all moving with the wind. I didn’t think my Samsung Galaxy would capture a good image. Along the wash, we were walking under eroded limestone walls.
Limestone cliffs
As we climbed up a hill, I saw motion on my right. We watched as a rock squirrel, startled by our arrival, scrambled up the steep hill side. He disappeared up in the cliff above us. Rock squirrels are the largest squirrel species in Arizona. Unlike most squirrels, they are omnivorous. They will climb in trees and ocotillo cactus to feed on buds and they will also catch and eat birds, rodents and reptiles.
Bottom of the wash
There were trails that crossed the wash. We climbed out of the wash on one of the trails. It led us up to the top of a ridge where it suddenly ended. We took a look around and walked back down. We followed another trail up to a hill top. From there it looked like the trail went on for miles. We turned back.
Donna taking a look over the ridge
It was nice to be able to get away from civilization by taking a short hike across the road. Once we were back in the hills, we didn’t hear anything but the sounds of nature. I wish we saw more wildlife, but it was an interesting hike nonetheless. Donna enjoyed all of the wild flowers. We didn’t find any dinosaur footprints. I’m not sure if I would recognize fossilized dinosaur footprints if I saw them.
Later, I rode the scooter over to the town of Camp Verde. I went to Basha’s grocery and picked up a case of water and some Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon. On the way there, I passed signs for Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. These are national monuments. We’ve visited Montezuma Castle before. It’s a 20-room cliff dwelling. We may go there again today.
I made reservations for us at J&H RV park in Flagstaff. We’ll go there tomorrow and stay for a week. It’s been windy here, but the wind is supposed to calm down again tomorrow. Flagstaff weather looks good for the week ahead.
J&H RV Park should be interesting. They have strict rules. No smoking on any part of the property. No motorcycles or ATVs. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. I’m thinking it will be a quiet place. We’ll leave the scooter in the trailer and rent a car.
Last night I grilled a pork tenderloin that Donna prepared with a chili-maple syrup glaze and sweet potato hash on the side. It was excellent!
Chili-glazed pork tenderloin with sweet potato hash
I start packing the trailer this afternoon. We would like to be out of here around 10am tomorrow. So I doubt if you’ll hear from me tomorrow.