Read more about the article Walnut Canyon National Monument – Flagstaff, Arizona
Native American Cliff Dwellings

Walnut Canyon National Monument – Flagstaff, Arizona

Just about 15 minutes outside of Flagstaff, lies Walnut Canyon. Established as a national monument by Woodrow Wilson in 1915, the park preserves ancient cliff dwellings from the Sinagua Indians.

The park is small; encompassing 3,600 acres and averaging 100,000 annual visitors. And because it only offers two short trails (less than one mile each), exploring can be done in an hour or two.

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Read more about the article One Day in Sedona

One Day in Sedona

In between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon lies Sedona, AZ. I remember coming here as a teenager. I recall staying in a Best Western and it being a flat, small town – sort of like a long strip. Restaurants and hotels were there but spread out. I remember seeing rocks with names such as Snoopy Rock.

No longer a sleepy town, Sedona bustles with activities, tour buses, people among beautiful red rock mountains. To get the best (the mountains) without the worst (the steeply-priced hotel rooms), consider making this a day trip from Phoenix, Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon.

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Read more about the article Kennesaw Mountain Hike

Kennesaw Mountain Hike

Thing 2 wanted to hike Kennesaw Mountain at sunrise. Since it was right after we’d changed our clocks forward, we thought it would be a great idea. Although we woke up a bit late, we hustled out the door and onto the highway in record time.

The Hike

From the parking lot, the 1-mile trail to the top of Kennesaw Mountain begins to the right of the visitor center. The path is wide and ascends quickly. I hadn’t stretched before taking the trail so I was trying to catch my breath.  Thing 2 was trying to reach the summit by sunrise so we hiked at a fairly fast pace. I should also mention that I was lugging the nicer camera with me, adding to the weight on the trail. Fortunately after one-third of the way to the top, the path flattens out for a short while when it follows an old road bed. Here the width of the trail spans at least 8 feet wide.

The trail begins

The entire trails climbs up the eastern side of the mountain so we had the beginnings of the sunrise at our backs. A hiker with two dogs passed us when the trail steepened again. This time, several stairs appeared. At about two-thirds to the top, a bench with a view of the sunrise met us. We sat down for a while and rested. (more…)