Flagstaff, Arizona is so amazing.
When I got back from my trip back from Panama, it was 3 AM in the morning, and of course this little mountain town was pitch dark. The stars were so unbelievable. You would think I would have had better star-gazing while on vacation... but as I like to say, I live in a vacation spot!
Today, Felipe, Iris, and I rode mountain bikes out to Fisher Point on the mouth of Walnut Canyon. We explored further back into the canyon and found a deep, cold cave in the sandstone cliffs. We walked back into it and soon ran out of light, but we felt our way along the cave's walls as far back as we could and soon found an opening that went further back. Upon getting on our hands and knees to crawl through we saw light on the other end - a tiny tunnel to the other side! We crawled and squeezed through and popped out on a different section of the canyon. Super fun :)
We headed back to the mouth of the canyon and explored another mini cave. This one had a huge fault-crack - my favorite! I took off my shoes, wedged my body between both walls, and began to climb. I climbed up a good hundred feet or so using a fallen tree wedged in the crack as a good resting point, and I explored the top sections of the canyon. After downclimbing back to the cave, we watched a canyon wren hang upside down on the top of the cave and chase bugs. He caught one butterfly, but the bug eventually got away (down one piece of his body it seemed).
We rode back to Felipe's place and on the way back the clouds rolled overhead and it began to rain while lightning flashed. We enjoyed the cool summer rain and the smell of dirt getting wet, got home, and gathered food we had gotten in the morning from the farmer's market. After lunch, Felipe and Iris played some awesome renditions of Edward Sharpe's 'Home' as the rain fell right next to the porch stoop and the lightning flashed. The monsoon rains cleared off and we were left again with beautiful blue skies and distant booms of thunder. We slacklined and watched as a myriad of birds - grossbeaks, orioles, several species of woodpecker and hummingbirds, among many others flew around us in the yard (they love Felipe's bird feeders).
When I got back from my trip back from Panama, it was 3 AM in the morning, and of course this little mountain town was pitch dark. The stars were so unbelievable. You would think I would have had better star-gazing while on vacation... but as I like to say, I live in a vacation spot!
Today, Felipe, Iris, and I rode mountain bikes out to Fisher Point on the mouth of Walnut Canyon. We explored further back into the canyon and found a deep, cold cave in the sandstone cliffs. We walked back into it and soon ran out of light, but we felt our way along the cave's walls as far back as we could and soon found an opening that went further back. Upon getting on our hands and knees to crawl through we saw light on the other end - a tiny tunnel to the other side! We crawled and squeezed through and popped out on a different section of the canyon. Super fun :)
We headed back to the mouth of the canyon and explored another mini cave. This one had a huge fault-crack - my favorite! I took off my shoes, wedged my body between both walls, and began to climb. I climbed up a good hundred feet or so using a fallen tree wedged in the crack as a good resting point, and I explored the top sections of the canyon. After downclimbing back to the cave, we watched a canyon wren hang upside down on the top of the cave and chase bugs. He caught one butterfly, but the bug eventually got away (down one piece of his body it seemed).
We rode back to Felipe's place and on the way back the clouds rolled overhead and it began to rain while lightning flashed. We enjoyed the cool summer rain and the smell of dirt getting wet, got home, and gathered food we had gotten in the morning from the farmer's market. After lunch, Felipe and Iris played some awesome renditions of Edward Sharpe's 'Home' as the rain fell right next to the porch stoop and the lightning flashed. The monsoon rains cleared off and we were left again with beautiful blue skies and distant booms of thunder. We slacklined and watched as a myriad of birds - grossbeaks, orioles, several species of woodpecker and hummingbirds, among many others flew around us in the yard (they love Felipe's bird feeders).
