down at the creek

yes, this is arizona!

L and i spent half a day up north on a hiking adventure at fossil creek...had never done it before and it was absolutely breathtaking.

laughed all the way on the drive up like we were in high school again and it was about 10 degrees cooler which was noticeable (we'll take anything we can get!)...arrived about 1:30pm and made it down to the creek at 3:30...hung out until 5:00 and made it back to the car at 6:45.

8 miles roundtrip...downhill all the way to the creek which meant uphill all the way back to the car ;)...needless to say we got our workouts and i am still sore!

didn't see too many animals except lizards and birds on the way down...everything was a lot greener than i expected and there was a nice breeze here and there, sometimes so loud through the trees it resembled the waves of the ocean.

after checking with some other hikers we finally made it down to an area near the start of the creek which was gushing freshwater...a guy there told us it was the best place to fill up our containers and we were so grateful because we had gotten low on our supply...we filled up on the way out and it was the best water we ever remembered tasting.

at the creek we tried to hike around and get further downstream to reach the waterfall but it ended in loops and dead ends and we just wanted to relax and cool off...we decided to go back where we started from and cross the creek in order to swim there. on one of our turns, L spotted a blue dragonfly and we were just dumbfounded that she was able to get so close to it while she took this image...she couldn't have been more than 6 inches away from it, and she swore it was looking at her and posing...she said she could see every detail of it and we also saw some that were black with white spots and some that were bright orange.


once we were on the opposite side of the creek, we took off our shoes and shirts and after watching and taking advice from two little girls who were clearly professionals(!), we used the same rope swing to swing out and splash into the creek...the water was perfectly chilled and the base of the creek was made up mostly of smooth rock...we could see little fish who occasionally kissed L's toes ;) and we saw tadpoles around a large mossy rock in the water...we did the rope swing a few times each and then hung out in the water...even found some cool rocks to take home.




(rope swing hanging down to water on far left and large rock below it is where the tadpoles congregated...further ahead led to waterfall, swimming hole)

we headed back up the mountain and had to stop briefly a few times to catch our breath because of the elevation but we saw some beautiful views on the way up and high-fived at the end to mark our accomplishment.

my family lives nearby and they so graciously invited us over for dinner with a surprise visit from my aunt/uncle and we sat outside on their patio...it was a perfect night as we cooled off and relaxed...thank you J&K for a wonderful end to our perfect day and for having us in your home! B&L it was so great to see you too and i just wish we all lived on the same street!!

btw - next trip equals backpacks instead of just a camelbak plus a gun, a gerber, first aid kit, flashlight, extra socks, a small towel (like a washcloth), snacks and tons of water. a sign at the entrance suggests 4 liters of water, and if you were not able to fill up at the spring in the right place, you could get sick from drinking the creek water. we happened to get lucky. ;)

thank you, L, for sharing this memorable adventure and creating some awesome memories