Getting Some Kind of Award

Two loooonnnngggg days in a bumpy truck - 15.5 hours the first day, 14+ hours the second day.  Pulling a trailer loaded with 4 motorcycles and an assortment of worldly possessions.  Does that qualify for some kind of award?  It seems much longer and is much more boring to be the passenger instead of the driver.  I give Ken credit for doing a great job of driving that rig - I did not believe we could make it in two days.  Good weather did help, as did fewer road construction areas than I've seen in the past.  However, the major jam outside of Oklahoma City on Sunday night was about as bad as it gets.




The rig makes it to the house - there goes the neighborhood!





                             The bikes arrive unscathed

Tuesday morning, it was wonderful to see the clear blue AZ sky, breathe in the crisp, fresh air - and devour pastries from Desert Flour Bakery.  The trailer got unloaded, I managed some time at the pool, we had a brief hike in Jack's Canyon, and topped off the day with Pizza Picazzo.  Food is definitely becoming a theme here.

And continuing with that theme...this morning included breakfast at Mesa Grill - the brand new restaurant atop Airport Mesa.  Wow!  Major windows allow views of the surrounding red rocks, tour planes and helicopters coming and going.  And the whole wheat pancakes...yum!  We enjoyed our meal with friends Richard and Kathleen.  Afterwards, the guys headed off to do guy stuff, Kathleen went home (perhaps to work on her new book due out soon?), and I hiked the Airport Mesa loop.  Always a great hike, 360 degree views of the area, lots of wildflowers still in bloom.  Fresh javelina scat on the trail, but no other sign of the beasts.  If I have to hike around their scat, the least they could do is let me get a look at them.

The sun lights up an Ocotillo taking on

autumn shades

M - I - C,   K - E - Y...

Asters bloom against a

Beavertail Cactus backdrop

This evening, attended a wonderful program on owls presented by the Keep Sedona Beautiful organization.  It was a packed house and a fun, informative presentation.  Three owls were brought in by a rescue/rehab group in the Phoenix area - such fun to see them up close!

Banshee the Barn Owl (love that name!)

Olivia, the Great Horned Owl

My favorite - Shorty, the Burrowing Owl. 

Had never before seen a live one, and it is now

my mission to see one in the wild!

Not much to report so far on birds along the trails.  White crowned sparrows, one red tailed hawk, one quail racing across the road, and some cute juniper titmice (titmouses?) at the feeder this afternoon.  Hearing hummingbird chatter, but so far have not seen any at the feeder.