Hike Through Juniper Pines

Cindy and I took a day trip up to the mountains to enjoy some time away from home.  Being at home all the time is challenging, even for introverts!  We were both sort of irritable on the drive up, and we did some ranting, by the time we were headed home, we were both relaxed and happy.

Sunset Point was our bathroom stop on the way up, as usual.

"Poisonous snakes and insects inhabit the area." - !!!

When I parked, I noticed there was a sandwich under the car - free of charge!

Cindy wasn't interested.

Also there was FREE pudding!

Wildfires have been burning a lot of acres around Arizona this summer.  The area to the east of Sunset Point was all burned, black, and sad.

The area on the other side was still okay.  Dry (desert), but not burned.

There are the red hills of Sedona!

We decided to try finding available parking near the river, but all the hiking spots and riverside areas were full, so we kept driving up to Flagstaff, where the temperature is usually a further 10 degrees cooler than in Sedona (Sedona is usually 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix in the summer, and Flagstaff is usually about 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix).

We looked on the AllTrails app to find a reasonable hike and found this one through the juniper pines.  It smelled delicious.  

First we had a picnic, since we'd been driving a while.

I took a stuffed pepper with brown rice and baked sweet potato wedges.

Clarabelle (my Nissan Kicks) was happy to be adventuring out in nature!

The trees and the breeze both smelled fresh and clean and wonderful.

Here's our trail.  It was hot in the direct sun, almost chilly in the shade.

There were lots of pinecones:

We walked the path for about an hour.

It was pretty.  We read in the hiking app to start at the end of the hike instead of starting at the beginning, but we didn't know how to do that.  We plan to try again and research a little more beforehand so we can FIND the end of the trail first!

Can you see Clarabelle in the background?

She is happy in the forest.

Here are my footprints in the dirt going both ways!

We stopped in McGuireville on the way back for a potty break.

It was a pretty rest stop.  We were able to see the red hills of Sedona from the rest stop.

And *someone* fell asleep on the way home . . . 

I'm looking forward to another adventure soon!