After we landed in Phoenix and collected Kev and the car, we stopped at Chuy's for a late lunch.
After a night in a hotel in Tucson, we drove to Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona and did a 7.5 mile hike.
Andy brought his slingshot.
Taking a break in the shade.
It was a long but very scenic hike.
These totems were formed as the cliffs eroded.
Another break.
At the top, we saw some amazing balancing rocks.
This one is called, predictably, "Balancing Rock."
Bry perches for an apple.
The formation in the distance is called "Cochise Head." Can you see it?
It was an amazing panorama. Here is the movie. (20 sec, 1.8MB)
"Camel Head"
After our hike, we set up camp.
Then we drove to an overlook for the sunset.
The next morning we broke camp and drove to Douglas, Arizona. Then we walked across into Agua Prieta, Mexico.
The next stop was Bisbee, Arizona, an old 1880s mining town.
We peered into the ginormous Lavender pit mine.
Then we drove to Colassal Cave Park and set up camp for another night.
While driving around scouting the campground, we spotted a Coatimundi.
He scampered off into the brush.
Then we took a hike around the area before it got dark.
The next day we had the first of two consecutive lunches at this joint.
The boys loved it.
Then we drove up to Kitt Peak National Observatory to tour the big 4-meter telescope.
Amazing photos of distant nebulae.
Lots of other telescopes up there.
And quite a view.
We headed back to camp.
We saw a complete end-to-end rainbow. Here is the movie to prove it. (18 sec, 1.5MB)
Then the sun began to set.
It really lit up the desert.
The colors just got more and more intense.
These photos were not touched up at all. It was that vivid.
After a stormy night, we had breakfast at a Waffle house in Tucson.
We spent a windy morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Prairie dog at the museum.
A beautiful clear day.
We hiked nearby up to an old mine.
This cactus narrowly missed Bryant. Not really.
We hiked back along a wash.
We saw some ancient rock art.
The place was lousy with it.
Bryant even found an old grinding hole.
Back to the car.
We set up camp again in a slightly less windy spot.
While we were collecting rocks to hold down the tent, we came upon this scorpion hiding under a rock. Yikes!
The next day we hiked in Sabino Canyon.
We hiked back into Bear Canyon about 2.5 miles.
The scenery was spectacular.
As we climbed, we encountered some water.
Then finally, we reached our destination - Seven Falls.
We messed around in the bedrock pools for a long while.
Sabino Canyon is a Wonderful place. Later, we drove to Kartchner Cavern. It was amazing. No cameras are allowed, so you'll need to Google it if you want to see some photos.
We spent Thursday night in a hotel in Tucson. Then on Friday morning we hiked in Catalina State Park.
We hiked about 2.7 miles back to a place called Romero Pools.
Bry found a little spot to relax.
Here is a movie of Andy throwing a rock in. (5 sec, 425KB)
On the way back, we came upon another grinding hole.
After our hike, we visited Nenetta's family in Scottsdale, then spent the night at our friend Jamalee's place near the airport. We flew back to Chicago on Saturday morning and drove home, arriving at about 9:00pm. Whew, what a great week.
