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| An Aging Zeus on his Mountain Top |
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| Typical Trail Signs |
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| A Typical Landscape |
Well, it' 6:15 and I have been up for a half an hour, to a sky that continues to turn from light to dark blue, not a cloud, 57º but the highs each day are climbing, today it will be 86º. And I just checked out the Chautauqua weather and they are predicting a chance of snow showers tonight.
Well, yesterday we bit off more than we could chew, forgive the cliche, as we walked for close to three hours, over 5 miles, on a very sunny and warm day. We picked my brother in law up at 8:00, drove about ten minutes to the parking area, just as the base of the Mc Dowell Mountain range. We talked with the ranger, at the gate, and she guided us on what we thought was about a two hour walk. It turned out to be closer to 3:00, probably because we walked so slowly compared to the others, stopped often for water and pictures, and were in no hurry. We walked what they called Lost Dog Trail up to the Taliesin Overlook, about an hour, a gradual up hill walk, though wash and scrub. Taliesin is Frank Lloyd Wright's western architectural school, still functioning, out in the middle of the desert. From the Overlook, we continued back about a half mile and picked up more of Lost Dog, walking for another hour and ten minutes to the Lost Dog Overlook, with a view off to the south of Phoenix and east. Our last segment was the final 1. 7 miles, about forty five minutes, down mostly along rocky trails to the parking lot. Along the way, we met lots of people, though it was not as crowded as Pinnacle Peak. We also saw a couple of mountain bikers and two women riding their horses up to the Taliesin Overlook. We met a couple of guys on the way down; one thought he recognized Evie, wondered if she worked out at his Gym, making her day. It was much warmer than the other hikes, less breeze I suppose but the views were just as spectacular as the other days, though the trails were not as severe, less mountain more gullies and hiking through the scrub. I am not sure I would hike this far if it were not for Evie. She's the one who is possessed, wants to hike at least four or five miles each day. I am just along for the ride.
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| Pat and Evie Starting the Trail |
We dropped Pat off at my mother in law's house and came back to Claire's for a swim and some wraps and a beer. Evie and Claire decided to go out shopping, hitting three or four different stores, Costco, Sprouts, and of course, T.J. Maxx, taking up a good part of the afternoon. I went out briefly to a Hiking Store, which closed two years ago. Nice. I was back in fifteen minutes and because it was quite warm outside, I stayed inside and watched the Master's on TV for a couple of hours. Around 4:00, Dot and Pat came over, and we watched the end of the Masters, waiting for Claire and Evie to get home from shopping. We then sat outside before dinner, sipping Margarita's and munching on chips, with salsa and guacamole. Claire and Evie bought chicken and beef, in a Mexican marinade, chicken asada it was called. So I grilled the chicken thighs and beef out side and Evie and Claire put together a salad, rice and red beans, and the fixings for our chicken tortillas. We had a Mexican feast, the chicken tortillas were great, as was the rice and sides, and all of us were stuffed with good food. Pat was tired so Dot and he left about 8:30, partly because his son Sean, was driving in from Vegas, and was going to meet them at Dot's home. We stayed up talking with Claire, watching TV, surfing the Net and went to bed dog tired, from our walks.
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| Dinner, with Dot, Evie and Claire |
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