Thorpe Park and Frances Short Pond, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020

Sunday morning, Megan and I were both up early and chatted both before and during my usual morning walk with Paulie.  I shared some photos of the sky and we discussed the impending stormy weather.  While temps in Flagstaff were in the 60s and low 70s on Saturday, the forecast was for freezing temps and snow on Sunday evening  (and comparable cold for Phoenix).  I sent her some photos of the stormy sky here in Flagstaff.

After lunch, Patty and I decided to take a leisurely exploration of Thorpe Park and Frances Short Pond - I had read about them in the local paper and we enjoyed our three plus mile walk in the park and surrounding neighborhood. 

We saw this scarecrow that looked like an old woman who needed a better bra.

The pond is a man made pond and is part of the local flood control system, and it is stocked by the Arizona Fish and Game people, so people can fish there.

After passing the pond, we took the FUTS north and as we crossed the street, we saw lots of tiled artwork on the bridge over Rio de Flag.

Patty found another Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

After a bit, we left the FUTS and headed back south on the street parallel to the trail.  And we saw some delightful yard signs and bumper stickers.

This refers to a twenty kilometer run, not to driving and drinking.

After our hike, we drove up to the entrance of Lowell Observatory, but it is only open by appointment.  There is an overlook there and we stopped to enjoy the view and get a different perspective on the parts of Flagstaff where we regularly travel to hike and to run errands.

That white circle in the middle is the large domed sports stadium at NAU where Patty volunteered during the Presidential Primary in August.  Our home is about 3/4 of a mile to the left of that.

 

 

And then it was a latte at Matador's drive through coffee shop which we enjoyed at home with some ice cream.  A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Another Ten Days of Mostly at Home due to Covid 19, October 15 - 24, 2020

 I have started volunteering at Walnut Canyon National Monument.  Much to my surprise, they provide uniforms.  So far this has included two shirts, a jacket, a summer hat and a winter hat.  There are three national monuments that are administered as the Flagstaff Area National Monuments: Walnut Canyon, Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano.  This is the winter hat I received on the 15th.

The lead interpretive ranger publishes a weekly schedule of what we are doing, hour by hour, on the days that we are there - this is for both the paid staff and the volunteers.  This was my schedule on Saturday the 17th.

Unlike my experience at the Desert Botanical Garden where there are hundreds of volunteers and regular classes (including mandatory continuing education), we are left to our own devices to read materials and to explore the monument.  On item I was given to read is the publication from the Museum of Northern Arizona in 2016 on the 100th anniversary of the creation of Walnut Canyon National Monument.

 

During my assigned time for reading, I walked out to the historic Ranger Cabin and took pictures of some of the informational signs along the way - this helps me remember some of the information about the cabin that was started in 1906 when the first US Forest Service Ranger was stationed at Walnut Canyon, before it was designated as a National Monument and was transferred from the US Forest Service (part of the US Dept. of Agriculture) to the National Park Service (part of the US Dept. of the Interior).

They have done and are continuing to do renovations of the cabin.  Because of the remote location, they have placed tanks of water to use in case of fire.

On one of my morning walks, I liked how the early sunlight made the top of the tree a different color from the rest of tree.

We have been taking Paulie to rehab on Thursday mornings.  One of the things she needs to do is use her back legs to improve their strength and climbing stairs is one exercise the vet recommends.  So several times each day, I get her to climb the six stairs up to the landing by the front door.  Since she is so motivated by food, I now bring her meals up to where I sit on the stairs up to the bedrooms and she eagerly climbs the six stairs.

Patty noted that there was a streetlight that was out on the street behind our house and I noticed one a couple of blocks further down the same street.  So one evening, I took pictures of the identifying numbers and reported them to the city to get them repaired.

Some mornings, we have beautiful and unusual colors in the sky.

On one of my walks on the Sinclair Wash FUTS, I nearly tripped over this northern flicker.  I stood no more than 18 inches away and took both this still photo and the following video - she was not at all bothered by my presence.

Like the rest of the USA, Arizona numbers are rising again.  This includes total numbers of people who test positive, percentage of positive tests and numbers of hospitalizations but not numbers of deaths.  We are not as bad yet as the mountain west states like North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho where they are running out of hospital spaces, but we are not far behind.  We have a long way to go in dealing with Covid 19.

Leaf Peeping While Hiking the Aspen Loop, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2020

Wednesday we drove towards the Arizona Snow Bowl on Mount Humphreys.  About 2/3 of the way up to the Snow Bowl is the Aspen Curve, a very popular spot for hiking - my best guess is that it is somewhere around 9,000 feet elevation.  The name comes from the 90 degree turn in the road and the large number of aspen trees, all of which are turning color now.  It is nothing like what we saw around our former home in Vermont, but it is still very pretty.  This is the view from where we (and many other visitors) parked.

From the parking area, it is less than a half mile to the Arizona Trail, where we turned north and headed out into Hart Meadow (where the US Forest Service is trying to bring back the Meadow).  About halfway across the meadow, we took pictures, some looking northeast toward the ski area and some looking southwest across the meadow.

Then we headed out on the Aspen Loop - as we approached a large stand of aspens, the views were colorful.

For about a quarter of a mile, the trail took us through the aspen grove.

We met hikers, joggers, mountain bikers and even people on horseback - everyone was enjoying the beautiful views and weather.

After we exited the aspen grove, we were in an open field but west and north there were many more groves of aspens.

I am not sure what they were, as we did not get close enough to identify them - but some of the trees had orange leaves.  Perhaps they were Gambel oak.

Near the end of our hike, Patty found a "Charlie Brown" style Christmas tree - it appeared that much of the lower bark and branches had been removed by deer or elk.

It was a great day for a hike and to see the fall foliage.