Trail panorama on Infinity Loop Hike.
Infinity Loop Hike
This morning Tammy and I hiked the Infinity Loop trail in Dreamy Draw. We were looking for a longer hike without much elevation today, so this 5 mile loop with just 500 feet of elevation worked well. Plus, we got to make an Infinity Loop ♾ with our tracks!
It was a good hike but we would have lost the trail a dozen times if we weren’t tracking it with the All Trails app. There are no markers and there are dozens of intersecting trails.
Recognizing International Women’s Day 2021 and Choosing to Challenge! We will advocate for and support the women in our lives. #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021
See IWD 2024, 2021, 2020, 2020 @ SPS, and 2018.
Silver King Smokehouse
We took a drive today and for lunch stopped at Silver King Smokehouse in Superior. It was a spectacular lunch most centered around brisket. Their brisket was phenomenal and they had a great outdoor area with picnic tables. If you find yourself in the area, get yourself some delicious barbecue.
It was family movie night and we watched Flora & Ulysses. It is a fun story about a squirrel with superpowers. 🍿
Desert Botanical Garden
Wanting to experience even more desert plant life we visited the Desert Botanical Garden today and it was incredible. Everywhere you looked there were great displays. It was a great day to walk around and take in the great scenery and learn more about various cactus and plants.
A dense field of various cactus.
I loved the red needles on these cactus.
Saguaro cactus with Cholla cactus in the foreground.
At first we thought these giants were Saguaro but they are actually Cardon cactus that grow even bigger. They are less resilient to cold so they do not grow native in Arizona.
Very rare Crested Saguaro cactus.
These Chihuly glass sculptures were incredible.
Music Instrument Museum
We visited the Music Instrument Museum today. This place was absolutely incredible. You could spend an entire day here pretty easily. They had an amazing breadth of musical instruments and musician specific content. You got a wireless headphone that you wore and as you approached various displays you would start hearing the sound, automatically.
We could have used more time to explore. They also did very good with COVID-19 precautions. They sold only timed tickets and only allowed a limited number of people. Everyone wore masks all the time. It felt very safe. This is the only indoor thing we have done here in Arizona.
Mazie posing in front of the Music Instrument Museum.
Giant string instrument.
They many of these artist displays and the sound would just start in your headphones as you approached.
The video that went with this about how a Steinway piano is created was amazing.
There were displays for various countries and their specific music. They had a well populated section on Ukraine.
Family selfie in front of a variety of guitars.
I’m trying to mint an NFT on Zora.co and am shocked by the variability in the network fee. I’ve checked multiple times and the price has ranged 500% in one day. The gwei price moves a lot each day, but closer to 200% difference.
Observation about the Phoenix area — everything is a 30 minute drive away. No matter where you are or where you are going. It is such a sprawling area.
Arizona Chimney Cakes
We tried Trdelník for the first time with a visit to Arizona Chimney Cakes. Tammy came across this unique offering and it was compared to churros which is a big family favorite of ours. Tammy got the Berliner and the rest of us got the Nana. The Nutella was too tempting to pass up. We all liked them but thought if we went again we might get the traditional ones because the bread itself was really good and it would be much easier to eat.
After our hike at the Lost Dutchman and the delightful drive on Arizona State Route 88 we stopped at Tortilla Flat, proudly stated population 6. It is very much a tourist trap, but it was fun to see and goof around with the kids for a bit. We got there just moments before they closed up shop, just in time to get some water and head back to Mesa.
Arizona State Route 88 goes right along Canyon Lake on the way to Tortilla Flat. It even has two fun single-lane bridges that you have to negotiate with other cars. The rock and water is striking with the right sunlight.
We took the incredibly scenic Arizona State Route 88 to visit Tortilla Flat after our hike at Lost Dutchman State Park. The sun was on it’s way down and the light and mountains were lit up so great. As we rounded one of the corners this particular section of mountain caught our eye and we had to grab a photo.
We visited Lost Dutchman State Park and hiked the Treasure Loop Trail. There is a story hear about a lost mine that brings some intrigue to the Superstition Mountains. There are even some documentaries about it. We did a good 2.5 mile hike with 480 feet of elevation. It was a warmer day, Sunny at 80 °F which seemed to hit Tyler and I the most.
We hiked the trail up and took a bit of a break for photos before heading back down the loop. The landscape was very pretty the entire way.
Day 29 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Light
Light coming through one pattern and making another pattern.
Day 28 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Up
Mesa has 296 days with sun a year. When you look up you usually see a completely blue sky, dotted by an occasional palm tree. ☀️🌴
I suggested today’s prompt! 🥳
Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona
We had a great hike on the Broken Arrow trail in Sedona today. We were a little hesitant since some folks online had commented that there were a lot of Pink Jeep Tours on this trail. I don’t think they must have hiked very far because it doesn’t take that long to get to the point where no vehicles are allowed.
We would have hiked much more, but we had to turn back due to time. We did a total of 1.4 miles out and back with very little elevation. It was a great trail and very scenic. We will take this all the way to Chicken Point the next time we are here.
When we were visiting Sedona today we stopped at Tlaquepaque and revisited a spot from the last time we were in Sedona. We remembered a photo we took on the Summer of Love and Mazie and I recreated that photo from 13 years ago. She sure has grown!
Day 27 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Pompasetting
Mazie gave me a showing off look. Seemed equal parts sassy to me. 😊
Grand Canyon
We took a weekend getaway to Flagstaff, AZ and today we visited the Grand Canyon. It was Tyler’s first time here, Mazie’s second but the first she will remember, and my 3rd time and Tammy’s 4th or 5th. We hadn’t been here in the winter before and I can report that the Grand Canyon is cold in February. There was a dusting of snow around that made the place even more scenic.
We only had the day so we spent a few hours on the South Rim and visited the Visitor Center, the Village and drove along the rim and took photos from various places. We did the Trail of Time hike, or walk, along the rim.
As always the Grand Canyon is spectacular and an amazing natural wonder. Tammy and I agreed that the next time we come it is going to be with a permit to go down to the bottom of the canyon and spend a night or two there.
