Getting Out


Kendrick Park, originally uploaded by ivoryblushroses.

It has been all too easy to sit at home on my days off. I end up sewing a bit, maybe doing a little papercrafting or more likely, just sitting at the computer reading everyone's lovely blogs! It's something I'm trying to change.

So today, I went out exploring. I took US 180 north from Flagstaff about 20 miles and walked the "Walkable Wildlife Trail" at Kendrick Park. I'd driven past it on my way to the Grand Canyon before but never really stopped. What a lovely place!
Kendrick Park lpboni
I even packed along my little watercolor set up and a small folding campstool and did a little watercolor sketch.
Ghost Trees
At the far end of the trail, it wanders through an old aspen grove. Such ghostly trees! Here in the San Francisco Peaks area, the trunks appear extra white compared to the slightly more yellow greenish trunks I'm used to in Colorado.
Bird Tree
Up close the dark patches where previous branches used to be look like eyes. I love the bird face in this tree! There really is magic here if one takes the time to see!
Troll Stump
Just up the trail was this rememant of a burned out stump. Looks like a hiding place for trolls to me!
Chapel of the Holy Dove
Just across the road from the nature walk is this tiny chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Dove. It is always left unlocked. Notice the large gap under the door?
chapel of the holy dove inside
Inside the chapel, the view is of Mt. Humphreys, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet. The chapel is lovely, rustic and peaceful... and this afternoon, smelled strongly of skunk!!! I wonder who opened the door to a rather unpleasant surprise! I imagine that gap under the door means that the local wildlife takes advantage of a very nice shelter at times!
Chapel door
I love the simplicity and richness of the door to the chapel.
12 yr after fire
As I travelled on, I took one of the many Forest Service Access Roads in the area. Route 191C travels around the back side of Kendrick Park and traverses an area that had a devastating forest fire in 1996. This was one of the bad ones, that takes everything with it and leaves little behind. Now, 12 years later, the hillsides are covered with wildflowers, particularly purple locoweed.
Beauty amid destruction
How gorgeous and thick it was! While it is very toxic, addicting and fatal to cattle, the elk don't seem to be affected by it. I saw a large herd grazing at a distance.
wild garden
Who wouldn't love to have this lovely grouping of flowers in their garden? These are planted by God, on the roadside. I wish I had a better picture of them. I'm still working on how to take great pictures with my new camera and have to admit that I greatly preferred the focusing capability of my old one.
Sunset 10Jul08 N Az
To end the day, a gorgeous sunset, looking out from the higher area of the San Francisico Peak region down into the pinon/sage flats and beyond to the land that leads to the Grand Canyon. A beautiful end to a lovely day out.

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