Mission Accomplished!

My New Year's Resolution is pretty basic this year:  Do things for me, to please me.  Maybe that sounds a little selfish, but it isn't mean to sound that way.  What I mean to say is that we (yes, all of us) get so busy doing our routines, the need-to's and the have-to's, that we forget that there is a beautiful world out there, and we should be finding our joy.
   

This was a really busy work week for me - all those Christmas presents being returned make for a lot of work and I was working extra hours in the beginning of the week just to catch up.  Working retail means nothing more than 40 hours per week, once the max is reached, they scoot us out and send us home!  Being it was a gorgeous day when I walked outside, I got home and mandated that Brian get dressed and head with me over to the Lost Dutchman State Park.  I have gone two or three other times with the goal to complete the Treasure Loop hike -- and haven't ever gotten all the way.  One time it was nearing evening, the sun was low in the sky, some clouds moved in; we needed to turn around and head back, as it was nearly dark by the time we reached the bottom again.  Then of course, the rain drenched us just after we reached the car.  (Drenching rain in the desert can make for slippery hiking, for sure.)  The next time, my girls were with, and the little one had a cold.  We turned around and headed back after we'd reached a resting place on some rocks.  Had I known we were less than two minutes from the top, I might have insisted we keep going! 


Yesterday, however, was a huge TAA -DAA moment!  We reached the summit of the hike, and down the other side to complete the loop.  Was THRILLED!  Going up you ascend about 700 feet in just under a mile.  It's a trek if you're not prepared for it, but we were -- plenty of water, snacks and rested part of the way because Sadie was panting a little.  hehehe

It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny at 70 degrees, just right for an afternoon hike in the sun.
A beautiful "me" moment, for sure!

This last picture of a Saguaro Cactus
I like a lot because of the streak in the sky
looks like lightning!

Nature's Grandest

Man's heart 

away from nature 

becomes hard.  

~Standing Bear

Desert Morning

I am an early riser.  I get up with the birds, even on my days off.  My eyes popped open about 4:30am and I thought mmmmm, I get to sleep in.  I left my blinds open last night, and could see the sky beginning to get light.  You never know if there will be clouds in the sky until the sun begins to peek through them, and I wavered back and forth .... should I get up and head out?  The thought that a real photographer would get up and moving, just to get that next perfect shot made my decision for me. But I was surprised at what else came from it.

I hopped out of bed, splashed my face, brushed my teeth and ran a quick comb through my hair.  I grabbed my netbook, my camera and my cowgirl hat, a diet coke, a protein bar and two bottles of water. (well, you never know where things might lead!)  and I sped down the highway toward Superstition.  I pulled into the Needle Vista area, and parked.  The sun was just beginning to show itself.  I rolled down all my windows, and pulled out the netbook to make a few notes.

Here I am, sitting.  Listening. 

Watching as the desert wakes up.

The sky turns a wisp of clouds 

from crimson to pink to golden

as the sun rises.

The birds are awake, 

calling out to each other,

and the morning is so quiet,

you can hear 

the beat of their wings 

as they flit from one cactus to another.

I get out and walk into the desert

and catch a glimpse

of a bright yellow breasted bird.

I hear what sounds like a woodpecker

in the distance

and rustling in the underbrush 

as animals begin their day.

There air is calm and silent

as the sun begins to warm the mountains 

in the distance.

As the sun makes it way

up into the sky

shining down, 

warming my skin,

I can feel the intensity 

of the desert sun

and know it will be 

a warm, sun-filled day.

Treasure Loop Trail

A spur of the moment trip to Lost Dutchman State Park, 92 degrees, 3pm, and my son and I headed out there, started hiking just before 4pm.  I've hiked here before, usually along the trails that parallel the Superstition Mountains (which means its a more level hike).


Today, I wanted to "touch the mountain", so we headed up Treasure Loop Trail.  It's 2.4 miles round trip according to the park's brochure.  According to Google, Lost Dutchman Park is at an elevation of 2000 feet.  We climbed up to Green Mountain, elev. 2580, which I figure was about a mile from the car... so quite the climb!  (Green Mountain is that rock formation just below what they call "praying hands")

 

Even though its "snake season"

here in Arizona, we didn't see

any today... thankfully!  :)

 And we made it!

Superstition Mountain

"You stand there, braced. Cloud shadows race
over the buff rock stacks as a projected film,
casting a queasy, mottled ground rash.
The air hisses and it is no local breeze
but the great harsh sweep of wind from the turning of the earth.
The wild country--indigo jags of mountain, grassy plain everlasting,
tumbled stones like fallen cities, the flaring roll of sky
--provokes a spiritual shudder.

It is like a deep note that cannot be heard but is felt,
it is like a claw in the gut...
...Other cultures have camped here a while and disappeared.
Only earth and sky matter.

Only the endlessly repeated flood of morning light.
You begin to see that God does not owe us much beyond that.”
~~Annie Proulx

Superstition Sunset

It's been quite the month here in the Valley of the Sun - between family visiting, work going totally nuts, and just a general feeling of never enough time to do what needs to be done - on the spur of the moment after work, I headed down a street I never drive, and found myself near Superstition Mountains. Just past 4pm, and knowing the sun would be setting in about an hour, plus there were clouds in the sky .... well, that seemed a perfect combination to me so I kept on driving out toward Lost Dutchman Mine State Park.

Passing the entrance (I didn't feel paying the $7 fee for a few snapshots was worth it), I headed to Weaver's Needle Vista Point. I hiked for about half an hour, up and down hills, my eye on Weaver's Needle. It was so very quiet out there, just a soft breeze as the sun drifted down, shining through layers of clouds as it moved. It was peaceful, and fed my soul.

On my way back toward town, there's a small service road to the back of Superstition Mountain that the locals use to hike some of the trails. I got out and wandered around, mostly focused on the setting sun, and hoping it would break through the clouds at the last minute and shine on the mountain before I left.

As I stood there, silence pressing in on me, the light faded to twilight, I stared up at the clouds. They were drifting ever so slowly, but definitely visible. Sounds from the mountain were audible as I stood there, nothing else moving around me. There's a word for what I was hearing: the breeze was soughing through the mountain. It's not often that you can use that word; and the noise it made was .... a little bit eery, as if something from another time and place was still making sounds from within the mountain caverns.

How often do we let sunsets pass us by?
How often do we not pause in our busy-ness and listen for the wind?
When was the last time you stopped, looked and listened
to nature rather than the radio, or the TV?
If its been a while, or you can't remember the last time, then make time to do it again real soon. Life is too short not to pause and realize how small we are, how short our time here on Earth is.

Nature-ful HUGS to everyone!