Surprises in the Forest -- Apr 18, 2015

I left off in Camp Verde getting help with my ignition switch.  I am happy to report - all is well thanks to Interstate Tire N Auto!  Helaine also sprayed some kind of turbo WD40-type product on my hood latch...now it opens without having to bang on it 3 times to get it to unlatch.  Just makes life a little easier :-)  I'm on my own data time for this post, so we have a lot to cover...quickly!

After our flower exploration hikes, others were mainly for exercise in this glorious weather. However, a few surprises were in store for us on Forest Roads 500 and 500A, just up Fossil Creek Road from our site.

We'll start with FR 500A.  These "roads" are not for much other than 4WDs or ATVs....or feet!  We walk about 1/2 mile or so up the road and seeing, on our left, a rocky clearing which looked like a ledge, I said, "Nikko, lets go over there for a minute."  We walked over to the edge and this was what we saw:

HOODOOS!

A "field" of cone-shaped hoodoos were right below us.  Hoodoos are also called tent rocks, fairy chimneys or earth pyramids...all very appropriate!  What a surprise!  It was the last thing I expected to see around here!

looks like some kind of mystical shrines....

Very cool!

We probably could have hiked down there, but it was fairly steep.  With Nikko on the leash, I could imagine him scrambling down there with no problem....dragging me on something besides my feet...behind him!

Speaking of Nikko on the leash - it was primarily so he wouldn't chase any wild animals and then get caught up in cactus.  Like this, for example...  was he straining to go after rabbits or a snake?  Well, we saw both and his reaction was the same!

Yes, we did see a snake slithering through the grass one day not far from our site.  It was light in color and not very large, but I couldn't make out what kind it might be....probably best to not know! But Nikko certainly wanted to know!  He wanted to scout around for it forever.  There are, of course, rattlesnakes around here....as evident by the one we saw that didn't make it across the road...

Shooting is allowed around here....I'm not a fan of that where the general public might be walking around, but....

OK --  back to our geological finds....

Another day we went up FR500...it makes kind of a U-shape from our site up to a ridge.  We could see our house almost the whole route...

Kind of the same thing occurred as on FR 500A...we went over to a ledge and were surprised a second time!

I didn't see this blooming wildflower until I got back and reviewed my photos....

I thought something might be living in these "caves", but they weren't home that day!

This was my favorite!

These formations were interesting....they almost look "soft" the way they fold down

So, these were our surprise finds in this part of the Coconino National Forest!  I'll wrap up our stay here (we are leaving on Monday) with some miscellaneous tidbits....

There aren't many butterflies around here, but I managed to get a picture of this pretty one....

One day was "chore" day...hung out some laundry on a particularly breezy day with beautiful clouds.  There's nothing quite like air-drying!

Then, there's food!  I'm not sure what everyone thinks RVers eat....well....it's no different than what you would prepare in your own kitchens...except you probably have more than six square inches of counter space!

Asparagus/Chicken Quiche....soooooo good!

Honey-glazed pork chops!

And a few more scenic landscapes before we say goodbye....

We managed to find quite a lot of interesting subject matter within just a few minutes of our site. This was a nice spot to spend two weeks!  The weather is still quite cool around Flagstaff, so we're going to stay to the south a bit longer.  Our next stop isn't far away, but I'm not sure what to expect...guess we'll find out on Monday!  In the meantime...

Cheers from Nikko and me!  

Enjoy your weekend!