A Quiet Holiday

 

Just the way we like it. Debbie is our closest and only neighbor. Just a few cars and mountain bikers drove down our road yesterday. We talked to a sheriff’s officer a couple days ago and he asked us if we had seen an old truck with wood in the back. They got word that there was going to be  a big party in the woods somewhere near here. We saw or heard nothing.

It could be that the rain kept them away. Monsoon season is in full swing here in Flagstaff. We’ve had afternoon or evening thunderstorms for the past 4 or 5 days. In fact the lightning show we watched over the San Francisco Peaks last night was better than any fireworks.

We’ve seen quite a few deer and pronghorn in the meadows around our site.

And lots of Abert’s squirrels, that only live in Ponderosa pine forests. You gotta love those ears.

Our cats aren’t the only ones who like to eat grasshoppers. I watched this bird catch and eat one.

I don’t think I mentioned that Jim probably broke his little toe a few weeks ago trying not to trip over Sophie. He’s had a hard time walking because he can’t stand to wear shoes, so he’s been wearing an old, worn out pair of Birkenstock sandals. Unfortunately last week he bumped it again, which caused even more pain and swelling. So the other evening he bought a pair of Chaco’s sandals at one of the many outdoor shops in Flagstaff. He walked about 4 miles in them yesterday with no toe pain, so maybe it will finally begin to heal. And Elvis really likes the box, even though he doesn’t quite fit.

Since we were in town we wanted to eat at Fat Olive’s, a gourmet pizza place. When we got there it was a 45 minute wait for a table, so we called a couple other places we’d heard about, and they had long waits, too. We really like Flagstaff but it is a popular place. Finally found Picazzo’s Organic Italian Kitchen on our way home, which wasn’t very crowded, and the pizza was excellent although a bit pricey. You can even substitute vegan cheese for the mozzarella.

The one downside of being camped in the forest is the dirt roads get quite muddy when it rains. We got caught in a thunderstorm on our walk a couple days ago, and must have had 3 inches of sticky mud caked to our shoes.

But the benefits outweigh the negatives.