Home Again, Home Again

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

After two days out on new trails it was time to get back to the familiar. I asked the kids and the wife if they wanted to go but they declined. Kahlua had no such choice; she's on a leash. I wish I had one for the other family members but they probably wish the same thing for me.

I headed out on this familiar trail and am happy that as I'm heading out six people are heading in. Kahlua and I have this little wilderness to ourselves.

Kahlua the hunter is always on the lookout for something. If a bug so much as moves, she's on it.

I don't think she should mess with this, though.

We go a different way then we've ever gone before and it looks like some moron painted his IQ on this rock.

This trail continues and is one we've not done before but it looks in good shape and well traveled.

The trail heads up to this mountain. It's an interesting spot with lots of holes in the rocks.

This area near the hill is flat and smooth and would make a wonderful campsite.

We didn't bring any camping gear so we have to head back but we'll be back. There's no end to what we might find out here and that's what keeps us coming back.

There Goes the Neighborhood

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE

The higher than usual humidity is still with us but at least the temperature is lower. Today when I went out to hike after work there were no clouds to chase so I decided to keep close to home and take the dog on a little walk. Poor thing gets depressed every time I go without her.

Today I really didn't feel like chasing anything I just walked out of my front door and started walking. It's a good thing there are several trails nearby.

I've gone up this alluvial fan a couple of times this year, once alone and once with local kids. Today I brought Kahlua for company and plan to go further than either of the previous times.

I get toward the top of the bajada and am amazed at how much the banks of this wash have been scoured by water. In the twenty-plus years that I've lived here I don't think we've ever had a storm big enough to do this kind of damage.

But the water has had enough power to move this HUGE boulder into the center of the wash.

I get into where the canyon narrows and find this large, heavily varnished rock. I could make this my turnaround point but want to see what lies beyond it.

It's readily apparent that someone else has been up this canyon and decided to stay a while.

They even had time to make this little stone throne. But I don't have time to just hang out. I've got more to explore.

Up the canyon a little further I find a couple of little dens on the side of a hill.

No critters in here now but it's obvious this is used as a resting spot for something that flies or that is very nimble. This is a hard place to reach.

Today I can't go any further but there is more to see up the canyon. I'll return once it starts to cool down some more. I decide that on the way back I'll try a shortcut through this pass.

It's tougher than it looks. Several hundred feet of loose crumbling rock awaits me. Great.

At the bottom I find another sign that someone's been this way before. Rocks don't just end up on boulders like this by themselves.

There are a couple of post modern petroglyphs up here, too. These certainly aren't ancient because there are too few and they're just a little too neat.

I appreciate finding new sights but I prefer authenticity to some modern facsimile. There are some many places to find real petroglyphs so I don't think we need to start making our own. Nobody likes a phony.