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Oh, my, my...walking outside this morning was a cool start to the
day...cloudy, in the high 40’s. I was tempted
to go back in and put jeans on but stayed with shorts in the hope that it would
warm up. (It eventually got into the low
60’s.)
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Walked to the bathroom to find Felicia, Ryan, Jason and Angie (our
neighbors) were all up preparing for the cement truck to arrive at 7 a.m. Jason works in cement back in the state of Washington
so he’s been lending Ryan a hand with various projects. Today’s project was the cement pad in front
of the cabin which is just down the way from us.
Early on in the day walking was the best way to stay warm outside, so I
made a couple of trips around the campground...watching the progress as I
passed. On a trip to the clubhouse I stopped
to talk to Ryan and Jason and the three of us were literally sitting and
watching the cement dry. The fact that I
thought it was interesting might speak to the level of entertainment left to me
these days.
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Kim and I went to check out another bird nest in a cactus but the
opening was just too cleverly hidden among the cholla branches to get a
picture. We tried many times but just
couldn’t see the opening of the nest. It
wasn’t as easy as the raven nest in the saguaro...the cholla was trying to grab
the phone, the saguaro doesn’t do that.
The good part is that I learned that my phone can take timed pictures so
I don’t need to bring the selfie stick.
Of course, I learned that because I forgot to bring it this morning. Tool kit is down to tape, walking sticks, and
phone.
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Mom’s foot is doing better...the fact that she could put weight on it
upon waking this morning is a big improvement over yesterday morning. She is also walking most of the time without
wincing....not saying she’s ready to walk a mile but greatly improved. She’s been saying it’s just a sprain but based
on where the pain is located I’d say bruised bone or hairline fracture. Based on what I found online either could be
a possibility...treatment of a bone bruise is rest, ice, compression and
elevation with meds for pain. She’s
agreed to the resting part and will elevate it if I nag her, but not so willing
to do ice or compression. But she’s
doing better and that’s the main thing.👍
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After a late breakfast we left for a truck ride. Decided to head to Sedona for no other reason
than the red rocks are always great to look at.
However, on days with only a general purpose we are open to change. We didn’t make it to Sedona because we got
sidetracked by the Agua Fria National Monument.
I saw a sign for it and wondered aloud if anyone else was interested in
seeing what it was and just that quick we were taking the exit. Ten miles down a twisty, bumpy gravel road
and we were still wondering exactly what the National Monument was and if there
was anything to indicate that we’d arrived. We weren’t the only ones out there; saw
several vehicles on the way in and out. We saw the Agua Fria National Monument sign
½ mile after exiting the highway with a gravel road beyond the sign. That was it.
We kept following the road thinking it was going to lead us
somewhere. Well, it did; it lead us up,
down and through some mountains and desert grassland and across a couple of flowing
rivers. No bridges, just warnings not to
cross when flooded...I figured it was pretty much up to the individual to
define flooding. Kim’s definition was
different than mine...we crossed.
I honestly thought there’d be a closed visitor’s center within a mile of
the sign. When I realized that wasn’t
going to happen, I looked on Google to see if I could determine what we were
looking for. Couldn’t find much info on
my phone; Rapunzel didn’t even know we were on a road. She indicated we were off in a field some
distance from the road. So we bumped
along for about 10 miles completely ignorant of what the Agua Fria Nat' before
we called it quits and turned around to bump and twist back along those same 10
miles. We eventually figured out that we were surrounded by the Agua Fria
National Monument...there was no grand visitor center, no informational
brochures. There was just land, almost 71,000 acres of land.
Found this on the website alltrails.com: Adjacent to rapidly expanding communities, the
70,900-acre Agua Fria National Monument is approximately 40 miles north of
central Phoenix. The area is located on a high mesa semi-desert grassland, cut
by the canyon of the Agua Fria River and other ribbons of valuable riparian
forest, contributing to an outstanding biological resource. The diversity of
vegetative communities, topographic features, and a dormant volcano decorates
the landscape with a big rocky, basaltic plateau. The Agua Fria river canyon cuts
through this plateau exposing pre-cambrian rock along the canyon walls.
Elevations range from 2,150 feet above sea level along the Agua Fria Canyon to
about 4,600 feet in the northern hills. This expansive mosaic of semi-desert
area, cut by ribbons of valuable riparian forest, offers one of the most
significant systems of prehistoric sites in the American Southwest. In addition
to the rich record of human history, the monument contains outstanding
biological resources.
The area is the home to coyotes, bobcats,
antelope, mule deer, javelina, a variety of small mammals and songbirds. Eagles
and other raptors may also be seen. Native fish such as the longfin dace, the
Gila mountain sucker, the Gila chub, and the speckled dace, exist in the Agua
Fria River and its tributaries.
We didn’t see any of the prehistoric sites or pueblos. That would have required a hike and not only were
we not prepared to hike it was 50o, cloudy and very windy...and I
was wearing shorts. But we saw some
beautiful scenery and that road will be seared into our memories forever. Also just before we exited the monument we
came around a corner to see two little butts go scurrying into the brush
alongside the road. Javelinas!! Kim quickly backed up, stopped so I could jump
out and then he joined me. We watched as
they rooted around, panicked a little as they took off running but were
relieved to see them stop a short distance away and walk into a clearing. Perfect photo op!! Despite the chilled air we stayed out there
watching and snapping pictures. For 5
years we’ve been hoping for a glimpse of a javelina...mission accomplished! So we didn’t get to see the red rocks of
Sedona but we got to watch two javelinas. Not a bad trade off. Now if Mom could just see a roadrunner....
Trivia: Agua
Fria means ‘cold water’.
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No
packed lunch today...we were just hoping we’d find a local place that offered
take-out. After we bounced out of the
National Monument we headed back toward Phoenix. Black Canyon City was the first little burg
we encountered...we took the exit. Beni’s
Pizza was open...take-out only. Our pizza
was delivered to the truck and we got directions to the nearest park. Sat in the truck because there were no picnic
tables and stuffed ourselves with a meat lover’s pizza. Yum! 😋
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Then it was back to camp where Mom and I hunkered down inside the
trailer and Kim wandered over to the telescope.
It’s a clear but chilly night.
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