January 13, 2018

As I sit here this morning watching the day unfold with high blue skies, I suffer a small ting of guilt because my friends in the north are enduring the winter of all winters. But the feeling passes very quickly as I congratulate myself for having escaped. Arizona is experiencing above seasonal temperatures and I am soaking them up. Nearly every morning, I head for my beloved range and hike. The thing about walking old haunts is the missing years disappear and each footstep becomes as familiar as if it was yesterday. I ventured out to walk the Backbone Trail. Never knew it as called that before—biggest change of all is signage! Yes, those little known trails are now labelled and documented. I suppose they now appear on some trail guides. However, there was little evidence of crowds. One set of footprints preceded me both going and returning. On my return to the trailhead, I met a runner just entering. There have been a few changes brought on by summer rainfall washing away some of the sandy trails and making vegetation sprout and flourish. There were many more creosote bushes. I always have to crush a few leaves just to inhale the scent. I meant to take my camera and forgot it. Grrr--. It rained during the night and temperatures had dropped leaving the grasses draped in beads of moisture, a hawk challenged my interruption and the textures were in abundance with light playing along grooves and crevices. I did snap a couple of pictures with my phone, but it does not capture the depth or produce the quality I want. But the high blue sky above the yucca seeds tells why each day is glorious. My camera is now sitting beside my hiking gear.