Evening drive San Francisco Peaks

Hubby and I took a late afternoon/early evening drive last night out west of the San Francisco peaks. He, being from Pennsylvania, likes to try to spot the deer as they come out of the forests to graze. I call him "Old Eagle Eye". He can usually spot things before I do. But, not last night! Hee hee! I spotted the first deer (and I was driving!). She was off the road in the woods, right next to the road. So, we continued onward. We found a road that went off and took it, but didn't see any wildlife. So, we drove some more and came to a burnt-out area from several years prior. While there were no ponderosa trees there, there was a lot of grass and small plants...excellent habitat for coyotes. And, soon enough, I heard one, right by the road. We found a dirt road that went back into the hills and sure enough, he crossed the road right after we turned. But, another 2 came bounding back! So, we drove down the road and soon came upon a whole herd of elk! They took one look at us and bounced away! On our way back, I asked hubby, "WHAT is THAT in the road?" I thought it was a cat! Hubby...hehe...didn't even see it! Turns out, it was a kit fox! It went running for its life when it saw us coming! So, we joined the main road again and hubby yelled, "STOP!" Turns out, a whole herd of elk was in the trees by the road. It was too dark to get photos of them, so we just stopped and watched them.

Just as a reminder to everyone...I always drive slowly through forests. You never know what could come bounding out and hubby is a fanatic about this. Having just read Lisa's post on her blog, I always get nervous when people drive 80 mph through forests. I just don't know how they do it...

Enjoy the photos and have a wonderful day.

Pictures from Prescott

We just missed the rodeo in Prescott over the July 4th weekend, but the town was still decorated. We had a delicious breakfast at the Caffe St. Michael in the hotel downtown. Hubby had eggs benedict and I had french toast. Here are some pics of Prescott.

Flagstaff

Hubby and I are currently in Arizona, visiting Flagstaff. We found a wonderful Mexican restaurant, Salsa Brava, on US 66. After checking out their website, we headed over there for dinner. I was intrigued by their salsa bar. The mild salsa is in the middle, and on the outer edges of it are the hotter ones. Of course, I immediately went for the "HOT" salsa and wasn't disappointed. This one had a hot, smoky flavor, which I LOVED! I ordered the sour cream chicken enchilladas and hubby had the beef ones. We were not disappointed. The food was superb, the service was EXCELLENT, and we relaxed after a day of driving. We visited the visitor center/Amtrak train station, got maps, and had THE WORST LUNCH we've had in a very long time at the Downtown Diner, which should be renamed The Downtown Dive!(in my opinion!!!!) ~I had a turkey sandwich (where's the turkey?) with 1 slice of turkey, some cheese spread, and no dressing. Oh, and soggy bread! Hubby had the absolute WORST hamburger he's ever had!!! NO mayo, NO mustard, NO lettuce, NO tomato...NO FLAVOR! And, the service was horrible!!!! We'll NEVER go back there and I would advise you to stay away!

Here's the website for Salsa Brava: http://www.salsabravaflagstaff.com/ And, bravo to them for an excellent meal and wonderful, cheerful servers! No frowns at this place! Everybody was friendly and cheerful.

Today we are off to the Mogollon Rim and places like Snowflake and Show Low.

Wildflowers~Sunday Stills Challenge for July 5, 2009

A couple of quick notes...SOMETHING BIG is in the works~ I don't want to comment yet, but give me a week. Syndi knows of what I speak! Thank you, Syndi, of The Journeys of Captain Jack Splash. You have been a wonderful friend and support and I don't know what I would have done without you and your generosity!!!

And, we're off to Arizona for a week. We have to take our vacations when hubby can get away. We LOVE Prescott and Flagstaff, so that is where we are headed. I really didn't wish to leave the horses, but my family believes this will help the healing process and are all urging me to go. And, the horses are in good care. Thank you, Cathy!

These wild sunflowers were growing out by Sunset Crater when we visited Flagstaff on our last trip. I loved them and spent a lot of time walking out by the edge of their field admiring them. Aren't they beautiful? I also love Sunset Crater. It is another one of those mystical, spiritual places that we enjoy visiting.

Gigondas gets a lesson

My cousin, Valerie, came over this week to give Gigondas a lesson. Gigo was pulling back and immediately yanking the lead rope out of our hands and running off in the arena and we needed to put a stop to that as it was unsafe for both us and for her. So Valerie got out the Dually halter and proceeded to give Gigo a lesson. Guess what? Now she's fine and doesn't do it any longer! Here are some pics from that day.

Scout and Beauty

Scout and Beauty, before we went on our June vacation.

No new news here. Same old. Another horse was moved into Beauty's corral. Time is beginning to heal the wound of her passing. Not easy.

Trying to move on and cope

I spent two days down in San Diego, with my aunt and uncle. We went out for dinner at a wonderful, peaceful Mexican restaurant with a beautiful fountain...very relaxing. I ordered a Mexican coffee and started to unwind (NOT!). It was foggy both yesterday and this morning there, and cool, only about 75 degrees. My aunt and I went thrift store shopping. I found a nice Cherokee denim jacket for $5.99, a denim hat to wear up at the ranch, and 3 neck shawls (all blue) for winter, plus a nice blue and white and yellow baby blanket (hand made) for $2.99. I found a nice, soft liver colored lap throw, too, for $1.50 which I'll keep in the car. We had salmon for dinner last night and a green salad. I slept a LOT, almost 12 hours a day while I was there. I stopped by the ranch this morning on my way home and the horses were all fine. I miss Beauty's welcoming neigh as Scout just ignores me when I drive in. There was a hay delivery on Tuesday and I'll try to post pics of that sometime.