Thunder Mountain Trail

Slow day for us - only one 4-mile hike.  Interesting hike because on one side of the trail 200 yards away is a Sedona neighborhood and on the other is a wildlife sanctuary with unbelievable scenery.  It was a good hike: slow, relaxed and a lot of wldlife- mostly birds.

Out of here tomorrow and south to Tuscon. for three days.  Icky has some interesting struff lined up: Kitt Peak observatory, Saguaro National Park, and more.  Naps are out.

Oh yeah, Feather was a no-show. It worked out fine.

Soldier's Pass and Doe Mountain

We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon yesterday which is about 20 miles north of Sedona and on the way to Flagstaff.  We hiked a short way in only to discover that the streams are so swolen from all of the recent rains and snow melt that we could not cross and had to turn back. Bummer.

However, Icky did some quick homework and found another hike on a trail called Soldier's Pass.  Turned out to be a great hike; a loop of about 6.5 miles with some climbing that provided great views.  Along the way we saw some very large sinkholes in the stone (100 feet across and 50 feet deep) and interesting rock formations.  One was named the seven pools because of seven indentions that collect rainwater in a stairstep formation.

6.5 miles is not nearly enough for Icky so we ended the day with a 1 mile hike that climbed 500 feet to a plateau with great views in every direction.  Doe Mountain.  The promise was that there was much wildlife, but we saw very little.  We did manage to get back down from the mountain just before the sun went down.

Today we are taking a hike with an hebalist named Feather.  Stay tuned for a report on this one.

More photos...

The Day in Ruins

Three Great hikes yesterday - 8.5 miles!

First, a short warm up hike of only a mile in to see a 95-foot stone arch.

Then we visited an the Palatki Ruins, an ancient archelogical site close to the hotel which was staffed by very knowledgeable docents from the National Forest Service.  Amazing stuff.   Structures and paintings thousands of years old.

Finally we hiked into the Boynton Canyon, also near the hotel.  Along the way we passed a side trail which Icky had read lead to ruins of cliff dwelling Indians. So we climbed 10,000 feet up the side of a cliff with the climbing gear we just happened to have along to take a look this incredible structure.

We are off to a great start and the weather is perfect!  Going to Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff today.

Yes, that's Icky and yes she talked me into climbing way up there.

More pictures...

Enchantment

Five miles outside Sedona is a resort spa called Enchantment.  It is a beautiful place and we are here because Marsha arranged it for us.  This hotel is really impressive; thank you Marsha! (are you working on your website?) 

Sedona looks like it will be a great place to hike for a few days.  We barely had time to drop off our bags in the room before Icky had us out on the trail right before sunset. 

There are indian ruins here and also a Vortex.  Icky says she feels the energy; it just makes me hungry.

On the Farm and in the Trees

Any weekend is good that starts on Friday and this one was very good.  We spent two days in Athens at the annual Georgia Organics conference. And just like last year, it was excellent.  1,100 people attend and these are some smart, progressive folks who are rewriting the rules on growing food.

This year we learned about growing Shitake mushrooms, fighting insects with natural predators, and planting fruit trees and shrubs. Perhaps the best and most impressive session was one on natural herbs taught by Patricia Kyritsi Howell.  She has a book titled Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians and teaches at her school BotanoLogos School for Herbal Studies in Mountain city GA.

We also heard the closing keynote speech from Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Foods movement.  I think I know where the 'Slow' in Slow Foods comes from after listening to his ramble.

These Georgia Organics folks are really impressive.  Quite an event; we've really learned a lot both this year and last.  Congratulations on a GREAT show!

And Sunday was another highlight!  An afternoon of working on the coolest treehouse I've ever seen.  Mark Fockele was brave enough to let me help him work on part of a two-level treehouse connected by a  skywalk ladder.  It was terrific fun.  Mark and Mildred's daughter Emma is both the beneficiary of the project as well as its straw boss. Don't let him slack off now Emma - you're almost there...

Snow in Atlanta

This has been a cold wet winter. No surprise that the snow would come at least once in conditions like this and it did come on Friday. We reckon about 3-4 inches here beginning mid afternoon Friday through midnight. It was a beautiful snow; not enough to be destructive and no accompanying wind.

A major limb fell from the neighbor's house shaking the whole house and pulling the power cable and phone lines from the house. Fortunately, the power remained connected and Georgia Power came within a half hour to re-attach the power cable. All experiences with the Georgia Power guys have been awesome. They are polite, efficient and really good at what they do.

The pond in the back is more than half frozen again. Looks like more stuff is on the way tonight, only this could be the destructive sleet.

Spring and a little less rain would both be welcome here. 

Here are some additional pictures here if you're interested.

Afternoon in the Country

Here we are writing about food again and asserting that we are not foodies.  Maybe we are after all.  Jan treated Icky, Greg and me to Afternoon in the Country.  And what a treat it was!  This is a benefit for the Atlanta Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (sounds yummy already doesn't it) at Serenbe Farms.

You can read the list of chefs who prepared food for the event, but it's another Who's Who of fine restaurants in Atlanta.  Absolutely beautiful afternoon on the farm; music, wine and teriffic food.  Thanks Jan!!!