Coconino National Forest (06-30-15)

Once we could, we took off for the Flagstaff area and Kaibab National Forest, looking for the road less traveled. After two hours meandering on federal lands, we were thwarted by low hanging branches and had to turn around and try a different route.











We found the perfect spot near Antelope Hill, which we hiked the following morning.









We had to  share the space with a herd of steer, which wasn’t an issue until about 5:00 when they really wanted to come over where we were.  This is them, staring at Paul.










Our next overnight spot was supposed to be near another hike we had planned. And while one of us did hike, the other of us (me) waited for the hiker to return.






As it turns out, I wasn’t in the mood to crawl underground for over half a mile.  This cave, Lava River Cave, was created hundreds of thousands of years ago, by molten rock, and was “discovered” in 1915.



  
Paul enjoyed his hike, and I enjoyed talking to all the people as they exited the cave.  Many families were hiking in the cave to escape the oppressive heat- the interior of the cave is a pleasant 33 degrees, as opposed to the not so pleasant 104 degrees in the city.


Our next stop in our loop around Flagstaff was to see, technically, more caves.  Old Caves Crater Trail was about a 4 mile hike, with lots of small caves along the way.  None of them were big, but Paul did poke his head in quite a few.



Although the caves weren’t spectacular, it felt good to be able to hike 4 miles and not be overwhelmed by the heat.



In my free time in Flagstaff, I found a new, awesome, App.  It’s called Avenza PDF Maps.

Once you download the app, you can download all kinds of maps.  Some are free, and some cost money. Most of the hiking maps cost money, but the ones I downloaded were of national forests, and showed the roads, and where the dispersed camping is.  Once it’s on your phone or tablet, your GPS will show where you are located, and you can save “spots”.  I made note of where we thought the good boondocking spots are, and even added pictures!

Time will tell how valuable it actually is, but one of the perks is that once the map is downloaded, you don’t need internet access to utilize it.  That’s pretty awesome!

Soon enough, it was time to head back, temporarily, to the heat of Lake Havasu City.

House Update

We have cement! When Wes said they were ready to pour cement, Paul was ready and waiting.

It didn’t take them very long to dump 5 trucks  full of cement in the foundation.

As we leave for the July 4th weekend, the foundation, except for the garage, is poured and ready to build.