Weeks two and three in Munds Park

Arizona has been experiencing record or near record temperatures for the past couple of weeks.  While Phoenix has been in the range of 110 - 115 nearly every day, at least we have decent air conditioning and the pool.  Here in Munds Park, the highs have been in the low 90s - but we do not have air conditioning here at our rental.  What we do have is cool night air because of the elevation we are at, some 6,600 feet about sea leaving (about 2,000 meters).  Since I wake up about 4:30 each morning, I open all the doors and windows and let the cool night air come in.  Then around 6:30 or 7:00, I close all the doors, windows and curtains to keep the cool air inside.  That usually keeps the inside comfortable for the rest of the day.  Then around 5:00 p.m., the outside temperature has started to drop and we can open the windows and doors until bed time.  It is nice for sleeping - I keep one small window open near me, upstairs in the loft and that makes for good sleeping weather.

Even though Munds Park has only a small year round population and is not even an incorporated municipality, there are a lot of homes and streets here, many with unique names.  One reminded me of Megan and Jon's living and working in Antarctica each southern hemisphere summer from October to February.

On the 9th, we went to Flagstaff to visit the Pioneer Museum They had lots of great exhibits about the history of Flagstaff and Coconino County.  There was an extensive exhibit about the Congressional Medal of Honor winners who had connections with Arizona, either being from Arizona or being stationed in Arizona (especially in the fighting with Native Americans).  Outside, they had a nice exhibit about some of the local trains.

 

On the 11th, we drove to the Janice Place trail head and hiked out to and then around the Frog Tank Loop, a nice 3.5 mile hike.  We came across some different wildflowers.

After much discussion, comparison with charts and consultation with Jon (one of his coworkers is from Flaggstaff and has spent much time in the Coconino Naitional Forest), we feel pretty sure that most of the trees we are seeing are Ponderosa Pines.

We finally saw some large animals - a group of six deer crossed the trail about 100 yards in front of us - too far and too fast for me to get a photo.  It took us the first 11 days of June to see something bigger than rabbits, squirrels and birds.  What we did see a lot of was cattle - the US Forest Service has a policy of multiple use for the lands they oversee.  So we saw a lot a cattle as we hiked around Frog Tank Loop.

We also saw the power of water in this dry stream bed.  Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Near the end of our hike, we came across a small canyon which downstream from the washout in the photo above.

Friday the 12th, we looked at the map of Munds Park and it looked like we could walk down to and through the golf course.  Much to my surprise, there are a load of condos on the Pinewoods Country Club. This meant lots of signs that said members and guests only, so we did not go through the golf course but back out and around it.  We stopped for lunch, our first meal ever at the Pinewoods Restaurant and Bar (it is erroneously listed as the Lone Pin Restaurant and Pub, but you can see from the photos on Trip Advisor that the real name is Pinewoods Restaurant and Bar).

Friday evening, our friend Jane came up for the weekend - she was happy to escape the heat of Phoenix for a couple of days.  We walked the dog, took a short hike, relaxed, went to the farmers market, went out for lunch, watched one of the NHL playoff games on TV and just had a pleasant visit until she headed back to Phoenix on Sunday.

The 15th to the 17th, we just took it easy, walking the dog, taking short hikes and enjoying quiet time here in the hills.  To avoid cooking and heating up the house, Monday evening we got take out pizza from Pinewoods Restaurant - they actually make pretty good pizza, really substantial with lots of toppings.  On the 16th, we went out for dinner.  At first, we thought about just grabbing a light dinner and visiting the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.  We went to the Himalayan Grill, advertised as serving Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan food. Patty ordered a glass of wine and I ordered a Taj beer from India - it came in a 22 ounce bottle.  Patty had Lamb teekah (the lamb came out sizzling with peppers and onions with with rice) and I had lamb with bismati rice.  We both ended up getting boxes to take food home.  After the good food and drinks, we decided to call it day and never made it the Lowell Observatory - that will have to wait for another trip.

On the 18th, I went back to Phoenix for some medical appointments.  When I left Munds Park at 9:00, it was about 70 degrees.  An hour later and sixty miles south, it was 105 degrees.

Around the errands I had to run and the medical appointments, the official high tied the record of 115 degrees set in 1896.  After one errand, the car was 125 degrees.  Later it was 129 degrees.

Those hot temps made me happy to get back to Munds Park for dinner that evening.

On Friday the 19th, we went out for a bike ride.

On a prior bike ride, Patty's bike had problems with shifting.  I had used WD 40 on the derailer and it seemed to be okay.  It was okay but only for about the first 20 minutes.  Without the ability to shift, Patty ended her ride.  I looked on Google for bike shops in Flagstaff and found that the best rated one was Flag Bicycle Revolution.  At 11:30, I called them and they said come on in.  So I put the bike rack on the car and loaded up the bikes, and went to Flagstaff.  The shop was as busy as a bee hive, but I took them at their word.  I went to get the car wash, and just as I was finishing, they called me.  The had replaced the tube on my rear tire (it had a slow leak), and greased and adjusted the derailers and gear shifts on both bikes.  I was shocked when I came back to get the bikes - only $11.56 charge!!! Needless to say, I went online and gave them a great rating.

Saturday was another quiet day, but Sunday was Fathers Day and our 40th Anniversary.  So we went to Josephine's American Bistro in Flagstaff where we had Bloody Marys and an excellent buffet lunch - a great way to celebrate and definitely a place to visit again.

After lunch, we visited the Museum of Northern Arizona - this is what is classified as a place museum.  Everything in the museum was related to one place, the Colorado Plateau.  This included the geology, the ethnology of the peoples who lived there, history, botany, even photography.  This was both educational and interesting - an excellent museum to visit.  There was both a book store and a store that had handmade jewelry, pottery, weaving and blankets from the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Pai (including Hualapai, Havasupai and Yavapai) artisans.

Week one in Munds Park

Through VRBO, we found a rental the owner's named "Munds Park Cabin in the Pines" and rented it for the month of June.  Our cabin is on Condor Place, a cul de sac with seven houses, just off Cedar Wood Drive.

Looking east on Cedar Wood

Looking west on Cedar Wood

Shadow at the front door

There is a nice big porch out front.  When you enter, there is a large open area that has a living room and dining room and office space, as well as what looks like a wood stove, but is actually a gas burning stove that heats the building.  The living room has a full size sofa and a matching loveseat, both of which pull out to be used as sleepers.  There is an entertainment center with TV, DVD/VCR and DishTV box.  At the right rear are the stairs to the loft where there are two twin beds and another TV, DVD/VCR and DishTV box.  On the left, there is the kitchen, a pantry and then hallway that leads to the bathroom and master bedroom with a queen size bed.  And beyond that is the back enclosed porch that has the laundry room and storage of household cleaning materials.  Out back, there is a patio, a picnic table on the lawn and a large fireplace; the back yard is somewhat fenced in for a pet to run loose - somewhat because the fence is dilapidated and a small section is missing.

The land is only one house away from the border of the Coconino National Forest.  One of the things we have been doing is taking advantage of this proximity and exploring the different trails in the national forest.

Consistent with the Forest Service's policy favoring mixed use of National Forests, all trails allow hikers, non-motorized mountain bikes and horses.  Separate from these there are generally parallel trails that are much wider and that do allow motorized vehicles such as dirt bikes, ATVs and dune buggies.  And then some even bigger roads that allow all types of motorized vehicles, including trucks pulling horse trailers and trailers with ATVs.

It is the season for all the wildflowers to be in bloom, and we have come across many while hiking.

One of favorites is the mariposa lily.

The trails have excellent signage and are well marked between signs.  In geological terms, a park is the flat area between mountains.  Munds Park is not a federal, state or local park - it is the large flat area between the mountains.  Also in geological terms, a tank is a small pond and can be either natural or man made; there are several tanks in the area, apparently used by the cattle who graze in Coconino National Forest.  And the residential area of Munds Park is completely surrounded by fence to allow the cattle to graze in the forest but not wander into the residential area.

While we have seen lots of ponderosa pine trees and black oak, many squirrels, rabbits and birds, we have not yet seen any large animals in our first week here.  But we have been enjoying the hiking and the much cooler temps than Phoenix - our rental does not have air conditioning and does not need it.  In fact, we had to turn on the heat the first couple of mornings as the low temps were in the 30s and low 40s - a very welcome change from the heat of Phoenix.

Back in Phoenix

Part of returning to Phoenix was adapting to the nine hours time difference between Spain and Arizona.  Patty says the trip was too long - next time she would want to split the trip up as we did when going to Grand Cayman - on that trip, we flew to Houston, stayed overnight and then flew on to Grand Cayman the next morning.  So next time, we will probably fly to the east coast, stay overnight and then fly to Europe, and do the same split on the return.

On Wednesday morning, I had an appointment with my primary care doctor to deal with my feet and hip - Morton's neuroma and peripheral neuropathy, and my sore hip caused by walking differently due to the neuroma and neuropathy - numerous referrals and tests have been ordered.

We returned home Tuesday evening and Martha stayed until Friday morning.  This allowed us to spend some time with her, including going out to eat, going to the Flashlight Tour at the Desert Botanical Garden and doing some easy walks.  We were sad to see her leave Friday.  As always, it is so much nicer to have Martha stay here with Shadow than it is to try and put him into a kennel.

I have enjoyed using Granada park as the afternoon walk for Shadow - it is not as crowded as Steele Indian Park and it is just as easy to reach.   We see many avian friends there because there are two ponds.

Over the weekend, we spent our time packing and planning for the month of June in Munds Park.  This also allowed time for thinning out things and making another load of donations to Goodwill.

I also found that my summer class at Wayland Baptist was cancelled due to low enrollment.  So the weekend was spent with chores, packing and getting ready to go to Munds Park.