Friday, August 14, 2020

A Week with Cats


We couldn't pass up the chance to spend another week in Sedona, this time house and catsitting. Although it got into the mid-90s the temperatures were at least 10-15 degrees cooler than Fountain Hills, which is especially nice in the mornings and evenings, where we could actually sit outside comfortably and go for a walk or hike a little later than the 5:30-6:00 that has become the norm for us this summer.

                                                              View out the living room window.


These were our charges, Spyder Girl and Meatloaf, whom we affectionately called Meathead after we got to know him.                                                                            

                                                                         Meatloaf


                                                                          Spyder Girl


They are both very sweet cats but they are indoor/outdoor cats, with Spyder spending much of the day hanging around the yard and neighborhood. She is very good about wanting to come in before dark.


Meatloaf on the other hand spends the heat of the day inside but stays out prowling all night. We were a bit nervous about this as we have never let our cats out unattended, but this is what they are used to so we obliged. Wouldn't you know, he got bit or stung by something one day, which required a vet visit, and then a couple days later he stayed gone for two full days and nights, causing us concern as we did not want something bad to happen on our watch. He finally returned and we imprisoned him in the house our last two days there just to make sure he was home safe when his owner returned. It was an interesting week!

 The swelling made him look like a chipmunk

Besides a few walks around the lovely neighborhood, we also did several hikes. When we were there in May I hiked the Templeton trail but Jim didn't so we went back and did that one again from the other direction, starting at the Little Horse trailhead, taking the Bell Rock Pathway to the HT trail, which intersects the Templeton.

                                                                The HT trail goes under Hwy 179






                                   We saw one biker and only a few other hikers on the Templeton






We had not done the Hangover trail before, known as a double diamond mountain bike trail, but we got a late start so it was pretty warm by the time we got to the Huckaby trailhead off Schnebly Hill Rd. From there it's a 1.7 mile hike on Munds Wagon trail before it intersects the Hangover, so once we actually got to the Hangover we didn't quite make it another mile before we were getting too hot. Still a nice hike but I would like to go back and do the entire 8 mile loop one day, where you get to the challenging parts. 

There is no shortage of beautiful views on any trail in the Sedona area.















    We spotted a few Pink Jeeps on Schnebly Hill Road paralleling the Munds Wagon trail



One day we took a 65 mile drive to Prescott to visit former RVing friends Hans and Lisa, whom you probably remember from Metamorphosis Road. We may do some house/catsitting for them one of these days and they wanted to show us some things around the house and yard. We had a nice masked visit, and I realized that was only the second time we had been in someone else's place since March. What an odd world we're living in.

They recommended the Woodchute trail near Jerome and although we had hiked in that area once when we were in Prescott, it was on a different trail. So on our last day in Sedona, when it was getting into the upper 90s, we drove up to 7,000' Mingus Mtn. It was in the mid 80s by the time we finished but there was a little shade and a nice breeze. Again we wimped out and only made it about 2.5 miles (when it started getting steep!) before turning back, so we didn't get to the best viewpoint, but we had great views most of the way. 







                                                        I have a thing for alligator junipers


                                                                       Road to Jerome








                                                        San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff


      Our only wildlife sighting. He was kind enough to stop long enough for me to get a photo.


So we are back home enduring record-breaking heat, watching as the coronavirus numbers have been going down very gradually over the past month. It would be nice to think there is light at the end of this tunnel, but that is wishful thinking at this point. Between the virus and the insanity in the political world sometimes it all feels like a bad dream. If only it was...


15 comments:

  1. Thank you for the wonderful pictures and coverage of your adventures. I really enjoy them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting, our adventures are few and far between these days!

      Delete
    2. I agree Barney, I love to read/see about Jim and Gayle's adventures, a bright spot in this bad dream!!

      Delete
    3. Thanks, we need all the bright spots we can get these days :-)

      Delete
  2. We were in Sedona Valentines weekend; it was packed. Sure enjoyed the hikes, though. Have you seen any Western Bluebirds? Safe travels. https://dunngone.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there was a bluebird on the Woodchute trail but it didn't stick around long enough to get a photo.
      I guess because it was hot we only saw a handful of people on all of the hikes we did. The house we were in is located in the Village of Oak Creek and there was little traffic. We drove into downtown Sedona once and it was pretty quiet, too, but we've been there in the spring when traffic was insane. Timing is everything!

      Delete
  3. We were in Sedona Valentines weekend; it was packed. Sure enjoyed the hikes, though. Have you seen any Western Bluebirds? Safe travels. https://dunngone.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do they still have the hang-glider launch site on Mingus Mountain? I love watching those guys. It's like having one of those dreams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we heard it is still there but the trail was a few miles away so we didn't drive over. Last time we were there we saw several gliders taking off. I marvel at the nerve one must have to take that step off the platform!

      Delete
  5. I'm glad Meathead got back before the owners did! Sedona is one of our favorite places. It's great to see your pics. I still keep up with your blog after all these years since meeting at Elephant Butte Lake in '09. Seems like you've found a nice place to settle down after life on the road. - Joe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So good to hear from you! Can't believe it was 2009 when we met. Hope you and Tracey are doing well.

      Delete
  6. Nice to get out in a different, and at least slightly cooler, environment.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We love the Sedona scenery, hot or not.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Always so much beauty to enjoy in Sedona. Glad the kitty (and your nerves) survived all of his adventures during your stay :-) How fun to visit Hans and Lisa. We've been to one home as well since March, and no restaurants. A world of just occasional grocery stores is so bizarre! Delighted so many of us have safe havens. Love your pretty little Horned Toad. Hope the heat moves on soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not sure how I missed this post. I think you fell off of my blog list when I started the new blog after David died. I apologize for being so late. Wow house sitting in Sedona. Sounds like my dream. Beautiful scenery on your hike and what a view from the house. Really great pictures. Thanks for taking me away from my confines these days. I didn’t realize it got into the 90’s in Sedona. I have been melting here in Virginia in those temps. LOL at you calling the kitty Meathead. I had a calico that looked like that. She was an indoor/outdoor cat too but we lived on many acres on the farm so no danger to her. I can totally understand why you’d restrict him after those shenanigans. I so agree with you about wishing this were all a bad dream. I just read Unholy by Sarah Posner and it was a thorough journalism investigation of the Alt-Right/Christian right and Trump alliance. I had no idea this all started long before Trump. Very scary.

    ReplyDelete