desertDJ’s Halo Halo

It’s been a while since I posted a “weekly photo” (it’s been more like yearly photo) but here is a special photo I would like to share for the Weekly Photo’s grand return!

On one of the last weekends cool weekends in the year before the hot desert son scorches everything in it’s path,  my brother in law Josh and I hiked the famous Superstition Mountains.  The alien like rock formations have always intrigued me. Visible from my 10th floor office view, they create the backdrop for the sunrise for myself and most of the East Valley. 

It wasn’t until about a year ago I found out that there is a hiking trail to the top. (Flatiron Trail)  The opportunity presented it self and we were off, early one May morning. My GPS app on my phone was off capturing my every move while I broke in my brand new Camelback for hydration, key for any desert hike.

The hike was tough, but gave me confidence in my hiking ability after making the 2,717 ft elevation climb. (See my hike stats below the photo) The awesome part of such as drastic climb is you are changing climate zones. You go from small shrubs, to tall trees. Along the way I captured this colorful cactus. The bright purple bloom is in stark contrast to the reddish brown rock that was surrounding it. Another contrast is the sea of yellow needles surrounding and seemingly protecting the delicate prize in the middle.

This was just one of the several snapshots of nature I captured on the hike.  I recommend you try this hike as soon as the weather permits! Like I said, it’s not easy, but the panoramic view from the top is a worthy reward. (Pack a sandwich to eat on top of “flatiron”)

 (Be sure to view (and download!) the full size version by clicking the image, check out the pollon on the petals) 

Here is all the details:

Snowboarding in Sunrise, AZ.

Saturday, Jan 16th – Monday, Jan 18th.

Quick Details: Staying in spacious 3 bedroom/3 bathroom cabin in the Pinetop, approx. 3 hour drive from the East Valley. Will leave Saturday (if you want to go boarding Saturday, leave early) and be back around 4:00 – 5:00 pm Monday. We will spend all day Sunday snowboarding! The rest of the time we hang out and enjoy the mountains and party it up.

Cost: Approx $100/per person . Covers 2 night stay in cabins, 1 all day lift ticket, dinner for Saturday and Sunday night. First 4 couples to pay reserves their bed. Anybody after that needs to bring sleeping bag/air mattress. $40 deposit required to secure your spot due ASAP. Final $60 due weekend before Sunday, Jan. 10th. (Special arrangements can be made if necessary)

Transportation: Carpool with everyone! (Leave in comments if you need a ride) I recommend carpooling and splitting gas cost.
Sign up: Comment on the blog (or text me!) with your name and anybody you might bring. Please try to pay or promise to pay ASAP. Rent your snowboarding gear in Phoenix! I recommend Sports Chalet. Cost to rent is about $45 for the weekend. You will need to buy your own snow goggles, I recommend Big 5 Sporting Goods.

This date is coming up fast so act quickly. Plus we can be the first ones up and by pass hour long lines if we have our lift tickets and snowboard gear since a lot of people will go up unprepared. Sunday we will be getting up early and leaving right away to go to the snow, please take showers and get all ready Saturday night.

If you have never been snowboarding, you will fall many times but you’ll get it down by the end of the day. A lot of people who are going know how to board so they can help you out if your rookies!

Other notes:

Other notes: Saturday the mountain is open for night snowboarding only $22!!. Feel free to go to that.

Here is the location we are staying at and photos:

Pinetop Country Club

Directions:

EXACT DIRECTIONS WILL BE GIVEN AFTER YOU PAY $40 DEPOSIT

This week temperatures dropped to the 60s for the high, bringing back memories of hot chocolate, Christmas lights, sweaters, and for some of us, snowboarding. Before I got into snowboarding we did the next best thing, sledding.

In 2005 a freak snow storm in March extended our winter season just a bit longer that year. Even in Sedona, the normally rusty red rocks were all but covered up with the white snow. In our attempt to reach Flagstaff for some snow play (read blog story about the accident), we only got to Prescott, which had over a foot of snow there.

Right near the trout farm in Oak Creek Canyon is a campsite I’ve visited many times when I was younger so I wanted to capture the snow with Oak Creek. This shot was taken right on the bridge that goes over the river to the trout farm.

Remember, be sure to click on the photo to see the full resolution version.

Snow in Sedona

Earlier this year we took a road trip to Colorado. To get there we had to get through a lot of Arizona, up through the 4 Corners. I was excited to drive though parts of Arizona I’ve never drove before. If I were by myself I would probably take a full day to get to Colorado with all the stops for photos. 

About an hour to an hour and a half outside of Flagstaff is the Petrified National Forest. What a unique place!  Normally when a tree dies, as all things living eventually do, it rots and turns back to earth. Well that never happened in this one small patch of Arizona. It turned into rock hard stone. In that process it also turned into a kaleidoscope of colors too. 

If you ever get the chance to visit the place, you’ll notice the whole area looks like you’re on another planet. I’ll post some of those photos another day. For new enjoy the petrified wood.  Be sure to click and view the full size image to see the detail in the wood.