Jeff and I hiked a short trail near Flagstaff’s Snowbowl ski area recently. It was at 8000 feet, and much cooler than the high desert where we live. The 2-mile loop trail led through the Lamar Haines Nature Preserve. We enjoyed the rustle of Quaking Aspen trees, grasshoppers buzzing as they flew, birds chirping and ground squirrels chiding us for being in their territory.

Just off the trail, an old cabin has collapsed. Behind the cabin, just a short way up a hill, there are a couple of springs. One has been enclosed in a springhouse, and the other is a little way behind it at the base of the cliff.

 

While Jeff was taking photographs of the springs, a family joined us. The young lady, about ten, was fascinated by the springs. When we said there were Pictographs nearby, she accompanied us as we searched for them. Jeff found another spring and the Pictographs further along the cliff, after clambering over rocks and fallen trees. She, her Mom, Jeff and I examined the cliff face to see if we could identify the Pictographs. She had a good eye. She noticed as many as we did.

After we completed our hike, we drove the rest of the way up to Snowbowl. This is one of the ski areas in Arizona, and there’s a hiking trail that heads up the mountain. I wandered around the meadow, under a ski lift, as Jeff took some photos of Hummingbird Moths.

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend a summer’s day.