Day 7 - Mad Creek Trail
Thursday we found another trail close by and since it was Mad "Creek" trail we were hoping for a shady walk near a cool stream. Unfortunately, we discovered that for the most part, the trail "overlooked" the stream at quite a distance, so we could see it, but not enjoy it up close and personal until near the end of the trail.












We were pleasantly surprised when the path headed down closer to the stream and I was thrilled to be able to take my shoes off and slip my feet into the cool refreshing water. My dusty hot toes felt so much better after a good soak. It was like God's little spa treatment for me.
After we left the creek we continued on to Mad Creek Barn. It was this awesome restored barn that you could just walk inside and explore. As soon as I saw it, I thought about how much Amy would love it for a photo shoot. Imagine what it would be like in every season! Amazing! I did realize that I'd love to go back to that area in the Fall especially.
The first thing Kevin did was climb up in the hay loft and sit in the open loft window. I got a few good shots but could have stayed around there for hours taking pictures. There was so much texture and character inside and out.

Soon we had to head back toward the car. We managed to make one more quick stop by the creek, then hit the road. What a precious afternoon with two of my favorite guys.

Phoenix Hiking -

It's perfect weather right now for a hike! Current temperature in the mid-fifties. This morning Terry and I took a hike around Lookout Mountain which is near 16th Street and Greenway. It was about 2 1/2 miles around the base, and a pretty easy hike. Terry wanted to hike to the top but I knew I'd probably die if I tried it since I'm so out of shape. He accommodated me and went with the loop. I really love to hike, but am always tempted to take my camera and Terry prefers to go with speed when he walks for exercise. We'll have to figure out a way to meet in the middle. I was thinking if we do a hike like this again, we could do a moderate one, then Terry could hike to the top while I play with my camera...we'll see if that works.

Terry just bought a new book of hikes in and around Phoenix so we'll have to see what cool places we can find. Anyone want to join us on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon?

We need to get more hiking and walking in now before it get too hot. I need to make it a priority. I am horrible at setting aside time for exercise. I really hate exercise for exercise sake, but if we have nice scenery, then I forget about the exercise and it's worth the time. I know in my head that I need to exercise and my doctor says that I need to as well, so it's really crazy that I just can't make the commitment. I just always seem to find things that I enjoy more.

I'll be posting more today, trying to catch up a bit, so be sure to look at all my posts.

Weekend at the "Cabin":

We just came home from a weekend at my boss's "cabin" in Forest Lakes. You can see from the photo why they call it "The Big House". It's quite a roomy place. It has 3 stories, 3 bedrooms, plus 4 additional twin beds. We were quite comfortable there, to say the least.

We went with our friends, Andy, Julie, Rochelle & Devry and we had a great time.

Friday night we discovered that Rochelle and Devry knew how to play Nertz, so of course we had to play. We had a chance to use the beautiful cards that Terry's mom brought back for us from Ireland. You'll see them here.

Andy & Julie were amazing! I don't think they've played so well in all the time we've known them. They just couldn't lose. It was crazy, but we had a blast anyway, even though they smoked all the rest of us.

Saturday we did some hiking along the Rim Trail and even saw a deer, but couldn't get a good picture of it because it ran away too fast. This was a view from the trail. It was a perfect day with temps in the low to mid 70's.

That night we went to a local restaurant called Bugles for dinner, because we heard that they had a prime rib special on Saturday nights. Overall, the food was quite under-whelming and the service was questionable as well. The funniest part of the whole night was when Julie ordered her salmon dinner and in order to cut down on calories, she asked the waitress if she could have an extra amount of vegetables instead of the baked potato. The waitress was happy to oblige. You can't believe the look on all of our faces when she brought her salmon out with a double portion of canned corn with butter!!! Not exactly the healthy vegetables that Julie had envisioned. We laughed out loud at that one. I'm not sure we'll go back there, at least for dinner.

There were quite a few pitfalls in the meal time, but I won't go into them here. Maybe breakfast or lunch might be a little safer.

Saturday night after we got home, the gang discovered the foosball table in the basement.

Again, Andy was insane and won every single game that he played, except one where he only lost by 1 point. Julie, Devry and Terry were all pretty intense as well, with bruises, sore muscles and all. Rochelle happened to be tied up on a phone call for some of the time, and I got a chance to play with my new lens and try out some of the pictures without a flash.

The last couple of photos are some of my wildlife shots. We actually saw quite a few beautiful blue birds. Not bluebirds, but birds that were blue (not sure what they were). Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good shots of them in flight and that's when their colors showed the best. Got some shots of squirrels too, but nothing special. This beetle was on the deck at the house. It was GINORMOUS!!! I thought the bees at the purple thistle were pretty cool. Enlarge to see the one in flight. I didn't even realize that I had gotten that shot until I got home and saw it on the computer. Pretty cool, huh?

Overall it was a really fun weekend. I hope we get a chance to go back there again. My boss and his wife (who's also my boss) are so generous to let us and many others use the place.