Thursday evening, Patty and I went out for dinner at Ticoz restaurant, just a ten minute walk from our condo. We had a nice dinner with a tasty pinot noir.
On Friday January 9, Patty and I went to Granite Mountain trail head in the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
We took a new trail that lead us north around Granite Mountain and over
to the east side of Cholla Mountain and stopping to rest at Balanced
Rock.
We came across this massive nest, nearly three feet wide and two feet high. It is from some type of raptor, probably a harris hawk.
On Sunday Jan. 11, Anne, Josef, Patty and I went to Brown's Ranch trail head and hiked Brown's Mountain. Several switchbacks led to a nice overlook at the saddle at the top of the trail. There is another short trail will went all the way to the summit, but we decided to not go there.
We came across cacti that were splitting rocks as they grew.
On Wednesday Jan. 14, Patty, Anne, Josef and I again went to the Granite Mountain trail head but this time hiked the Branding Iron and Granite Mountain Loop trails.
Josef is Shawn's 27 year old nephew. We have enjoyed several hikes with him.
On Thursday Jan. 15, I drove to Tucson to donate platelets at the American Red Cross blood center.
Josef has a series of photos taken at many high spots on his many hikes. Here are several I took. He always has the same pose.
The week before, I went to a meeting of the American Pilgrims Club. Members are interested in hiking the Caminos in Spain - this is what Patty and I will be doing in Spain in May. We will do the last 110 KM of the Via de la Plata from Ourense to Santiago de Compestela. The meeting was held at the Total Wine store and included a presentation about hiking the entire Via de la Plata from Sevilla to Santiago de Compestela - some 600 KM. At the end of the meeting, the Total Wine staff had two wines for us to sample. I liked the Castillo Clavijo tempranillo wine the best and bought three bottles. We will have more soon.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, President Obama gave his State of the Union speech. VP Joe Biden and Speaker Boehner sat behind him. After getting sick of watching Boehner smirk and make faces, we put up a folder to cover his face. I then posted this photo on Facebook and that generated many interesting comments.
On the way home, there was no unusual traffic. But five minutes later when I went out to walk the dog, I found a street crew out in the middle of 7th St. It appears they were cleaning out culverts.
We came across this massive nest, nearly three feet wide and two feet high. It is from some type of raptor, probably a harris hawk.
On Sunday Jan. 11, Anne, Josef, Patty and I went to Brown's Ranch trail head and hiked Brown's Mountain. Several switchbacks led to a nice overlook at the saddle at the top of the trail. There is another short trail will went all the way to the summit, but we decided to not go there.
We came across cacti that were splitting rocks as they grew.
On Wednesday Jan. 14, Patty, Anne, Josef and I again went to the Granite Mountain trail head but this time hiked the Branding Iron and Granite Mountain Loop trails.
On Thursday Jan. 15, I drove to Tucson to donate platelets at the American Red Cross blood center.
We still regularly take Mr. Shadow out for walks around the neighborhood. Here, I was looking at the frost damage to some of the plants, while he was probably wondering if it was okay to pee on the plants.
On Saturday Jan. 17, we again went to the Brown's ranch trail head and Patty, Anne, Josef and I hiked the Cholla Mountain Loop trail, with stops at Cathedral Rock and the Amphitheater. Since I had left my phone in the car, I have no photos from that hike.
On Monday Jan. 19, it was the MLK holiday. For a change, the four of us went to Gateway trail head (in another part of the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve) to hike the Inspiration Point trail. It is described as 2.9 miles each way and 1,000 feet increase in elevation. Unlike the trails we had been hiking, this trail was rougher, requiring us to watch where we placed our feet. Even young Josef noted that the trail was a much harder climb, especially on the way down. Here is a photo of a rock at the point.
Josef has a series of photos taken at many high spots on his many hikes. Here are several I took. He always has the same pose.
The week before, I went to a meeting of the American Pilgrims Club. Members are interested in hiking the Caminos in Spain - this is what Patty and I will be doing in Spain in May. We will do the last 110 KM of the Via de la Plata from Ourense to Santiago de Compestela. The meeting was held at the Total Wine store and included a presentation about hiking the entire Via de la Plata from Sevilla to Santiago de Compestela - some 600 KM. At the end of the meeting, the Total Wine staff had two wines for us to sample. I liked the Castillo Clavijo tempranillo wine the best and bought three bottles. We will have more soon.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, President Obama gave his State of the Union speech. VP Joe Biden and Speaker Boehner sat behind him. After getting sick of watching Boehner smirk and make faces, we put up a folder to cover his face. I then posted this photo on Facebook and that generated many interesting comments.
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