When we left, we headed up through the mining towns of central Arizona. There is a lot of copper that is mined in open pit mines here. This is a picture taken out of the front window of the truck as we were going into a lighted tunnel that went through one of the mountains just outside of one of the mining towns.
This next picture was taken looking out of the driver's window at an open pit mine.
As we wound our way up, we came to the Salt River Canyon. In this picture you can almost see the river snaking its way through the bottom of the canyon.
When we finally got down to the bottom of the canyon, the Salt River was easy to see. People were rafting down the river. That's the highway off to the right which will help to give you an idea of the size of the river.
Going up the other side, there are canyons that are beautiful and deep. After we climbed up out of the Salt River Canyon ...
...we passed through some pine forests, and stopped in Show Low to see Don's Mom.
Then wee headed norteast through St. Johns and up toward the land. The Painted Desert is not too far away, so once in a while you see hills like these that have different colors of sand and rock layered in them.
We finally got to our land which used to be part of a huge cattle ranch. They still run cattle on part of the land, so we often see cows going by. WE are also very close to the Petrified Forest and often find pieces of petrified rock or broken pottery on our land.
Our little cabin/shack was still in good shape. It's tiny (just under 200 squre feet), but we love camping there. There's a well nearby where we can get water, and there is only one neighbor within about 3 miles. It's quiet and peaceful. I especially love the nights because there are so many stars that can be seen.
We built a front porch and got it painted. Inside we have a wood burning stove (the nights were down around freezing, and the days were up around 70 degrees F.). The weather was perfect! It may not look like anything special to others, but Don and I bult it with our own hand and it's special to us.
The dogs loved running around all morning, and then sleeping all afternoon.
It was a relazing but productive week. I didn't want to come home! We hope to go up again in a few months. It's our favorite vacation spot in the whole world!
We arrived home safely, and found all well here. Today we went to a 40th year reunion of the Kodenkan in Tucson. I was one of the members that first year as a kid, and it is fun to remember all of the years of doing martial arts and going to tournaments. Today it was fun for me to see and talk to so many friends from my youth. It's hard to believe that 40 years have gone by since I started doing Judo and Juijitsu. I just don't feel that old...hmmm...where did the time go?
2 comments:
Your cabin looks great! i wondered where you have been, i miss you all! It looks beautiful! i remember as a kid walking around my parents looking for pottery...what fun you must have locating such treasures!
I never knew it but your property is in the area of where I grew up. It looks very peaceful there, no wonder you didn't want to return.
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