I do feel guilty posting now...knowing that NJ is getting slammed with a blizzard! You guys know that I much prefer the winter and its nice refreshing weather (except for endless shoveling!), so enjoy all that for me, will ya? Seriously though, it is really nice not to have to worry about weather wreaking havoc on our plans for later in the week!
When it is cloudy here in Phoenix, the "sunset" show is spectacular. My pictures don't capture the vibrancy and variety of the colors. Its the whole sky that lights up on cloudy evenings like this, not just where the sun is setting. We are always totally aware of the sunset because of the glow all around, and the rapidly dropping temperatures. It really chills off in the desert!
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| start of the sunset show |
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| more |
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| looking east |
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| looking west |
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| magnificent |
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| wow |
Saturday we took a field trip to Scottsdale to explore a little bit of the area. Our first stop was the McDowell Sonoran Preserve for a nice 4.5 mile hike on Gateway Loop. For more information, click
here.
This hike was so enjoyable, up and down on rocky trails. It was a very good workout in a scenic environment. The trail was really crowded, being that it was Saturday, but that did not take away from the enjoyment of the trail. We met quite a few other hikers too, and everyone was extremely friendly. What a fun day! There are quite a few hikes in this preserve, and we will be back to check some of them out before the weather gets too warm.
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| ready Susie? |
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| a few other hikers here as well |
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| hello saguraros |
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| lovely Scottsdale |
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| weather is perfect |
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| fair amount of elevation on this hike |
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| pssst.....go that way |
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| we love looking around at the environment-never know what you will see |
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| like a few nests in a saguaro |
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| up up up |
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| we're going that way.... |
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| wish i had my big dorky hat |
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| still heading up |
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| nice view of Scottsdale down below |
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| more |
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| great hike |
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| still heading up |
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| that's the half-way point....the "saddle"....can you see the others in the middle of the pic |
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| almost there |
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| at the "saddle"...the view was great and the other hikers were fun to chat with |
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| what happened here? |
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| veiw of the other side of the mountain |
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| heading back down the other side (this trail is a nice loop) |
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| top of the saddle |
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| here we go...down... |
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| views are so nice |
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| a look at the trail ahead |
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| really enjoying this hike...and its pretty windy today (nature's air-conditioning!) |
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| check out that twisted cactus! Is there a vortex here? |
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| another view of Scottsdale |
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| random cliff wall...with cactus growing in it |
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| its all about the light.....don't these just glow? |
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| is spring coming? We are noticing buds on a lot of the cacti |
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| closeup |
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| more |
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| closeup |
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| more |
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| not sure what that it actually |
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| wow...that bird feels no pain sitting there on the cactus. Don't try this! |
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| bubye.....not sure what happened to this guy |
After the hike, we drove around a bit in the hope of checking out Old Town Scottsdale. Being Saturday, everything looked pretty crowded, and we had a lot of trouble finding parking. There were a lot of cool looking restaurants, and we decided we'd come back another day and do lunch as well. The Art District looked good to me too...so maybe we will stroll through some galleries another day as well.
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| busy touristy section |
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| cool building |
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| shopping |
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| superbowl paraphernalia |
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| Old Town Scottsdale |
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| pretty busy and no parking |
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| lots of galleries- would be fun to check out, right Tom? |
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| more Old Town area |
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| more tourist area |
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| you never know what you will see |
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| looks like a fun restaurant (among many!) |
After stopping in a bead shop we had planned on going to (not ready to admit to all the beads i bought), we drove over to Mesa to Organ Stop Pizza. Just about everyone here in the campground recommended this experience, so we just HAD to go there. Wow! The place opens at 3:00, and when we got there, a line had already formed. Before long, we had a great salad and pizza at our table in the balcony. We had a great view of the musician playing the "mighty" Wurlitzer organ. For more information, click
organstoppizza.com.
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| line forming already |
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| looks like a German beer hall |
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| pizza not the greatest...a little like pizza hut |
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| but the salad was great |
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| the entertainment begins |
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| that entire wall is part of the organ...its mesmerizing to listen/watch the entertainment |
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| this guy was really good! Played lots of Disney songs! |
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| not too cheese -y :) |
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| oh wait....i thought we were in Munich |
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| ya do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around......(animated) |
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| oops....going down....taking a break |
Once back at the campground, I had gathered my camera and other things as we approached our site. Guess what we saw? A flock of quails! How very exciting for us. Since I had my camera in my hand already, I got a good shot of a female, which doesn't have the beautiful brown marking on its head like the male does. These 2 were so funny...traveling together across the empty campsite like an old married couple. We had fun watching them for a minute or two. I know....get a life. But really, its the little things:)
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| female quail in front |
Another stunning sunrise out the camper front window. This is my view in the morning if I am sitting at the computer. The colors were so intense in this sunrise, but again, I could not capture it. You have to come see this for yourself.
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| start of another glorious day |
