On the way home from Arizona we hiked into Bryce Canyon... the most amazing hike on a super fantastic sunny day. This is Thor's Rock.
Another amazing hike was at the Chiricahua National Monument... in the south-eastern corner of Arizona. We came here with our hiking club. They also have a "Thor's Rock" and here our next door neighbour, Toy, is posing near the famous rock.
To hike around these gigantic rocks is so thrilling! Shirley stopped for a photo op to help show the scale of these enormous layered rocks.
Michael is enjoying the view... it was truly spectacular!
We had several great hikes with our Del Web Community Hiking Club... and this was on a section of the Arizona Trail, called the Gabe Zimmerman Trail.
This was the Crested Saguaro that Shirley found near the North Cactus Forest Trail in our favourite Saguaro National Park just a few miles from where we live in Arizona.
The experts don't even know what makes these wonders of nature happen.
When Shelby and family came to visit us we did the tourist stuff at Tombstone...
Grand daughter Lucy gave us here best pose!
After a picnic in the park Shelby, Lucy, Kim and Maizy gave us their smiles.
In exchange they took our picture as well.
We spent an enjoyable afternoon on a tour at the ASARCO Mine south of Tucson.
I bootlegged this family shot in an old truck tire at the mine. I could not have paid these kids to pose like this... but the shot these kids mother took didn't have the toilet in the background.
These sandhill cranes gave us several hours of enjoyment at the Whitewater Draw, 75 miles south-east of Tucson. There were thousands of these birds there.
On our property on Mayne Island we have a natural supply of sandstone... and I discovered a small cache of rock one day this summer.
I spent a lot of time this summer taking and shaping the sandstone to put rock facing on several columns for our carport/studio addition.
My enjoyment doing rock work is second only to doing tractor work.
This rock was mostly buried and in the way... so I dug it out and pulled it over to a new home. It got a promotion!
The tractor also helped me move our water storage tank so I could make a new concrete foundation for it.
On one of our many trips to the Okanagan last summer we did the Myra Canyon hike... where there are 18 trestles. After turning the train track bed into hiking trails, a terrible fire destroyed many of the trestles... and they had to be rebuilt.
This view of the city of Kelowna was an amazing reward from the Myra Canyon trail. I estimate we were about 20 miles away from the Grand Hotel in the centre of Kelowna when I took this shot.
On our 49th anniversary we went to Kelowna Mountain Park, where they have four suspension bridges and a lot interesting things to explore and see...
Like this gigantic sundial.
This panorama has two peaks that we climbed since coming back to Tucson. In the back is Rincon Peak, where we didn't quite make the summit... and in the foreground is Pistol Hill... only a few minutes from home.
Shirley and I have done this hike several times. There is more than one trial... and we love to do this little hike since we can do the round trip in less than two hours.
When the Common Sotol blooms, you get the tall stalk below with lots of flowers.
The view of Rincon Peak as we climb up Pistol Hill.
And the view from the top is pretty spectacular in every direction.
As we close another year we are reminded that we have lots to be thankful for.
We wish only the best to each one of our friends and family... and a very Happy New Year.
"Celebrate endings... for they precede new beginnings." -Jonathan Lockwood Huie
If you wish you can explore many of the hikes by clicking on the links below the photos.
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